CTS is excited to welcome new members to our faculty and staff!
Rev. Ayanna L. Garrett will begin her role as Associate Dean of Student Life at CTS on August 15, 2020. Rev. Garrett earned a BS in Communications from the University of Illinois and Urbana-Champaign and an MS in Education with a concentration in Community Counseling from Eastern Illinois University. Rev. Garrett directed the College and Career Counseling Center at Ball State University’s Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics and Humanities and founded and directed the Sisters of Promise and Brothers of Purpose character development program in Muncie, IN. After serving in ministry for ten years, Rev. Garrett moved to Indianapolis and earned an MDiv from CTS in 2010. Rev. Garrett was previously the Director of Recruitment at Chicago Theological Seminary.
Melissa Trahyn joined the CTS staff on July 20, 2020 as our new Educational Technology Specialist. Trahyn is working with faculty and students to optimize technology for teaching and learning. Melissa comes to CTS from the Study Abroad Foundation, a nonprofit organization that facilitates study abroad opportunities in the west for students from Asia. Prior to SAF, Trahyn coordinated the International Student Services office at Butler University, where she worked with over 100 international students. She holds an MS in Education – Effective Teaching and Leadership with a focus in Instructional Technology from Butler and a BA in Music Education from The Ohio State University. She has taught online for almost five years at IUPUI in the Latino Studies Department.
Kishundra King joins CTS as Visiting Instructor of Pastoral Theology and Care. King is a fifth-year doctoral student at Vanderbilt University studying Religion, Psychology, and Culture with an interest in womanist perspectives of Black girl psychosocial development, delinquency, and crisis. She holds an MS in Counseling from Creighton University and an MDiv from Yale Divinity School, which inform her perspectives of adolescent development and care. King is a fellow in Vanderbilt’s Theology and Practice program, which requires a year-long teaching and mentoring externship. She will spend that externship at CTS this year, having officially started on July 1, 2020, and will teach in both fall and spring semesters. Dr. Christina Davis will serve as her mentor.
Rev. Jim Farrer joined CTS as the new Director of United Methodist Studies on August 1, 2020. In this role, Rev. Farrer provides support and guidance to United Methodist students as they prepare and engage ministry within UM contexts and support the seminary’s connection with the denomination. Rev. Farrer is an Ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church and currently serves as Senior Minister at Emmanuel United Methodist Church in Noblesville, IN. He holds an MDiv from Garrett-Evangelical Seminary in Evanston, IL, and a DMin from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, OH. He is a certified teacher of the Enneagram Spectrum of Personality Styles and will soon be a certified trainer.
Lindsey Nell Rabinowitch joined the CTS staff as Director for the Faith & Action Project on July 1, 2020. In this role, Rabinowitch works to bring together faith communities, nonprofit organizations and leaders in business and government in a collaborative effort to turn back the tide of poverty in Indianapolis. Her previous work experience includes working as a Pharmaceutical Sales Representative for Eli Lilly, Project Manager for Deborah Wood & Associates, and as Marketing and Communications Manager for Lacy Leadership Association. Rabinowitch also serves in many volunteer roles, including as a member of the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis Board of Directors, Co-chair of Immaculate Heart of Mary’s School Musical, and as a volunteer member of Women for Riley.
