Board Co-Chairperson
Sue Sack
Dr. Sue Sack has been involved in various forms of community action since she was a young teenager, including those around sustainability, food sufficiency, health care, and land use. Initially educated as a systems analyst, she has advanced degrees in both education and theology, and is also certified as a spiritual director and a hospital chaplain. She taught for a couple of decades in higher education, and also worked for fifteen years as a pastoral minister at several local Catholic parishes. Her initial involvement with GDCC was in the 1990s, when she was one of the founding members of Creation Connections, a subcommittee focused on environmental justice. In 1993 Sue also founded God’s Garden of Eatin’, the first church-based community garden in the Dayton area, which annually still provides several thousand pounds of fresh produce to local food pantries. She is a published book author (Teilhard in America: Christ and Hope in the 1960s, Catholic University of America Press, 2018), is writing another, and has spoken at numerous national conferences. Sue is the founder of Lilac Woods Spiritual Formation, providing opportunities for spiritual direction, companionship and formation to people across the faith traditions (or no tradition). She is also an avid gardener, farmer, and mother to four sons.
Board Co-Chairperson
Marie McManus
Marie McManus retired as a civilian in 2011 from Wright-Patterson AFB after over 35 years as a contracting professional in a variety of organizations. She worked for the non-profit, SourceAmerica, from 2011-2016 seeking jobs for people with disabilities. Most recently she advised a small business seeking federal government contracts. Marie is the Treasurer of Christ Child Society of Dayton which is dedicated to serving at-risk children. She is the leadfor the St Albert the Great Social Action Ministry. She is also an active member of the Weavers of Justice which works on social justice issues in the Dayton Region.
Secretary
Dr. Martha Hurley
Treasurer
Rev. Alice Diebel
I am a community minister affiliated with the Miami Valley UU Fellowship in Dayton, Ohio. As a community minister, my ministry is outside the walls of the congregation, working for the care and concern of our city, state and the nation. My focus in the community is on reforming our systems of mass incarceration and reaching out the compassion to people who have been affected by incarceration. The ministry involves the love and care of a pastor and the active voice of the prophet. I volunteer for the Montgomery County Office of Reentry and am a contract Chaplain at the Dayton Correctional Institution.
I have been a UU for over 30 years and decided to pursue the ministry after receiving a “calling” from the voices of people deeply involved in criminal justice reform, voices such as Bryan Stevenson and Michelle Alexander. Some might say God spoke to me through them, though I would say I was answering that voice from within. All I know is that I could no longer turn away from this ache in our society.
Prior to the ministry, I served as Program Officer for the Kettering Foundation, moving to Ohio in 2005. I am from Michigan originally and worked in nursing and health care administration for about 30 years. Some say I have now connected the body, mind and spirit. I live South of Dayton with my partner and the birds that frequent our backyard feeders.
Parliamentarian
Rev. Alice Diebel
I am a community minister affiliated with the Miami Valley UU Fellowship in Dayton, Ohio. As a community minister, my ministry is outside the walls of the congregation, working for the care and concern of our city, state and the nation. My focus in the community is on reforming our systems of mass incarceration and reaching out with compassion to people who have been affected by incarceration. The ministry involves the love and care of a pastor and the active voice of the prophet. I volunteer for the Montgomery County Office of Reentry and am a contract Chaplain at the Dayton Correctional Institution.
I have been a UU for over 30 years and decided to pursue the ministry after receiving a “calling” from the voices of people deeply involved in criminal justice reform, voices such as Bryan Stevenson and Michelle Alexander. Some might say God spoke to me through them, though I would say I was answering that voice from within. All I know is that I could no longer turn away from this ache in our society.
Prior to the ministry I served as a Program Officer for the Kettering Foundation, moving to Ohio in 2005. I am from Michigan originally and worked in nursing and health care administration for about 30 years. Some say I have now connected the body, mind and spirit. I live South of Dayton with my partner and the birds that frequent our backyard feeders.
Board Member
Edwin Fuller
Edwin Fuller is a Criminal Justice Organizer for Ohio Organizing Collaborative. He also works with Building Freedom Ohio and OOC.
Board Member
Rev. Dr. Rockney Carter, J.D.
Rev. Dr. Rockney Carter is the Senior Pastor at Zion Baptist Church in Dayton, Oh.
Board Member
Sara Seligmann
Sara Seligmann is the Regional Director in the Catholic Social Action office of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. She lives in the Dayton area with her husband, son, and little dog. Previously she was a chaplain-in-residence at Georgetown University and the director of Youth Ministry at Holy Trinity Catholic Church. She was raised in Tennessee and graduated with a BA in theology from Xavier University and a MA in pastoral ministries from Santa Clara University while working as a resident minister and Ignatian Solidarity Intern in campus ministry. Between undergrad and grad school, Sara was Jesuit Volunteer in East L.A., worked on death penalty abolition in Ohio, and taught high school Theology.
Board Member
Minister Tommy McGuffey
Board Member
Rev. Anna Owens
Executive Director
Rev. Dr. Crystal Walker, Executive Director
Rev. Dr. Crystal Walker is the Executive Director of Greater Dayton Christian Connections. She has a heart for social justice working with efforts in domestic violence training and counseling, race relations, mass incarceration, revising death penalty laws, gun violence legislation, immigration reform, prison ministry, discrimination laws, human trafficking and a multitude of other issues. She is ordained in the Christian Church Disciples of Christ and co-pastors with her husband, Rev. Shelby Walker, the BTC (Before the Club Ministries online church geared towards youth. She has a rich history in the hospitality industry and serves on various boards in the community. Rev. Dr. Crystal is the recipient of various awards including the Coretta Scott King Award from the Dayton Chapter of S.C.L.C. and the Marsha Froelich Survivor Award from the Y.W.C.A. of Greater Dayton. She is a graduate from the University of Louisville with a degree in Business Management, Payne Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity and United Theological with a Doctor of Ministry degree. She has a blended family of (5) children-one deceased and ten grandchildren. Contact: drcrystal1@yahoo.com or greaterdaytoncc@gmail.com
