Our Team
Meet our leadership team and Interfaith Action board members.
If you would like to contact a member of our team, please email us at swmichinterfaithaction@gmail.com with the team member’s name in the subject line.
Michael Nixon,
Co-Director
Michael is a lifelong Seventh Day Adventist and is a proud father of his daughter. He received his law degree from University of Illinois Chicago Law School and initially worked as the Legal Coordinator for the Fair Housing Justice Center in Manhattan. He also worked as a Human Rights Law Clerk for the Council on Islamic American Relations in Chicago.
Kate Bensen,
Co-Director
Kate Bensen is living her portfolio life, focused on service, faith, family and personal development. She serves on the boards of the Admiral at the Lake, a nonprofit continuum of care community, as well as MicroMetl Corporation, a leading USA manufacturer of HVAC accessories and equipment. Prior to that, Kate served as CEO of The Chicago Network for 10 years, where she guided the transformation of the organization to one that successfully empowers women to lead.
Earlier in her career, Kate led strategy for Conlon Public Strategies and was a corporate and public finance partner at the law firm Schiff Hardin LLP (now known as ArentFox Schiff).
Kate holds an AB in economics from the University of Chicago and a JD from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law.
Linked-In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/katebensen.
Steven Slaubaugh, Operations Coordinator
Steven Slaubaugh has worked in a variety of ministry settings in Michiana and beyond, since receiving his M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2017. Steven enjoys working with religious leaders, educators, and community leaders to promote awareness that leads to faith-based action. He and his partner Samantha are the parents of two wonderful kids.
Rob Burgess, Treasurer
Rob is a supporter of Emergency Shelter Services, Episcopal Peace Fellowship, Benton Harbor Soup Kitchen and Berrien Immigrant Solidarity Network. He is a retired CFO of Lakeshore Public Schools, Opinion writer for the Herald Palladium, and Coordinator of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program for Berrien and Cass Counties.
Eugene (Gene) Schoon, Co-Director
Eugene (Gene) Schoon is a lawyer with over 40 years of experience, 37 with the international law firm Sidley Austin. Gene is a member of the Shiver Center on Poverty Law board of directors and participates in other organizations focused on racial and economic justice. He dabbles at farming his 80 acres in Buchanan. Gene has a BA degree from Calvin University, an MA in history from Indiana State, and a law degree from Valparaiso University. His wife and he attend services at First Presbyterian in Benton Harbor.
Pat Robinson, Lead Advisor - Anti-Racism and Communities
Pat Robinson serves as Superintendent of Buchanan Community Schools. She has worked in the field of education for almost 25 years. Her career began in Benton Harbor Area Schools as a first-grade teacher at Stump Early Childhood Center in 1997, and her last position with the school district as assistant superintendent in early 2020.
Clark Gilpin, Lead Advisor for Promoting Pluralistic Democracy
Clark Gilpin is the Margaret E. Burton Professor, emeritus, at the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he served as dean from 1990 to 2000. He lives in Stevensville and attends the Berrien Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, where he and his wife Nancy co-chair the Social Justice Committee. Clark studies the history of modern Christianity, especially in relation to literature, and he recently published Religion Around Emily Dickinson(Penn State University Press). His most recent writing project explores the letter from prison as a genre of religious literature, The Letter from Prison: Writing Resistance in Early Modern England.
Bobbie Gaunt,
Lead Adviser - Inclusion & Participation
Bobbie Gaunt was the first woman to enter Ford Motor Company’s Sales & Marketing Management Program in 1972. Twenty-nine years later she retired as a corporate vice president and President & CEO of Ford of Canada, a 16,000-employee global affiliate where she was the first woman at Ford to lead a national operation.
Since retiring almost 20 years ago, Gaunt has relished her renewed “gift of time”. She enjoys living in Saugatuck where she and her husband Bob, before his death in June of 2020, have been able to advocate for the importance of the ideas of “leadership that is at the same time courageous and tender”; “thinking globally and acting locally”.
Gaunt graduated from the University of Pittsburgh Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in education.
Rosalie Plechaty, Coordinator - Van Buren County
Rosalie Plechaty moved to South Haven in 2009 with her husband, Walt. A cradle Catholic, she always dreamed of walking to church, but never imagined she could walk across the street to attend St. Basil's Catholic Church. Fast forward to today, she describes herself as a wandering (wondering?) Christian, comfortable attending many churches. She discovered and fell in love with Interfaith Action a couple of years ago, and with a heart of social and restorative justice, looks forward to this new county wide role.
Vicki Schroeder:
Justice Liaison for Gun Violence Prevention
Vicki has been part of Interfaith Action of SW Michigan since moving to Berrien County a few years ago. She provided leadership on Gun Violence Prevention efforts and was the Co-Leader for The Common Good. She is one of the founders of Episcopalians of SW Michigan Committed to Social Justice. She is an advocate for social justice especially in the area of gun safety. She has a career in national healthcare including strategy, policy and leadership development.
Nevine Khalil, Lead Advisor - Interfaith Collaboration & Action
Nevine Khalil grew up in Egypt and the UK, and traveled around the world as a political journalist for a Cairo-based newspaper. She now lives in the US and is fully invested in moving forward conversations on social justice, equity and religion. As a Muslim, she encourages dialogue about her faith and is keen on building bridges between different faith communities.
The Rev Darlene Kuhn, Liason to Episcopal Migration Ministries
Laura Hicks: All Are Welcome Congregations Leader
Francis Bergius: Green Faith Congregations Leader
Donna Dumke: Green Faith Congregations and Great Waters Leader
Naomi Ludman: Advisor, Cass County: provides insight and input into state/local policy issues at play in the county.
Carol Higgins: Advisor, St. Joseph County: provides insight and input into state/local policy issues at play in the county.
Don Olindorf: Advisor, Allegan County: provides insight and input into state/local policy issues at play in the county.
Rev. Sue Greenwood,
Co-Facilitator
Sue serves as the pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ of Coloma. A graduate of Chicago Theological Seminary, she has a passion for justice issues including the environment and loving all of our neighbors.
Zahid Saleem,
Co-Facilitator, Islamic Society of SW Michigan
Lou Price,
Co-Facilitator
Lou is a lifelong member of The First Hebrew Congregation. As his father before him, he has served as a Board member, Vice-President, and President of FHC. He often leads religious events at the synagogue, and has served as assistant Cantor since he was sixteen. He is a teacher of drama and communications with Mattawan Consolidated School for the last eighteen years, and has taught for 37 years. He is active in local community theatre in the Kalamazoo area, and has performed professionally on stage and local commercials. Lou is the father of Sam Price and Rachel Miller-Price, and has two grandsons, Gabriel and Hunter.
Our Board
Rev. Jeffrey Hubers, President of the Board
Rev. Jeffrey Hubers, originally from South Dakota, holds a B.A. in Communication and Religion from Northwestern College and an M.Div. from Western Theological Seminary. He was ordained in the Reformed Church in America and served as Associate Pastor in Mitchell, South Dakota, before becoming the Senior Minister at First Congregational Church of St. Joseph, Michigan, affiliated with the United Church of Christ. Since 2022, he has pursued a doctorate at Chicago Theological Seminary focused on political theology, Christian Nationalism, and religious pluralism. Passionate about interfaith engagement, Jeffrey has actively supported Interfaith’s mission, fostering relationships centered on dialogue, justice, and peace. Jeffrey, Carly, and their son, Rhys, are grateful for the diverse network of persons that make unity and care of creation, democracy, and each other possible.
Jharony Elisabet Fernández-Gibbs,
Board Member
Laura Kovnat,
Board Member
Tatiana Reinoza,
Board Member
Ma. Guadalupe, Board Member
My name is Ma. Guadalupe Sanchez, I was born in Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico. I came to Michigan in 2004, I am an active member of St. Mary's Catholic Church - Hispanic community in Niles.
I belong to the migrant ministry, visiting farm workers for more than 10 years, providing them with basic needs.
I'm currently an organizer in Southwestern Michigan with We The People Michigan. Organizing the Hispanic community to obtain driver's licenses for all regardless of immigration status, seeking dignity and integrity for all in our migrant community.
Nevine Khalil,
Board Member
Nevine Khalil grew up in Egypt and the UK, and traveled around the world as a political journalist for a Cairo-based newspaper. She now lives in the US and is interested in moving forward conversations on social justice, equity and religion. As a Muslim, she encourages dialogue about her faith and is keen on building bridges between different faith communities.