Carol Meyer, Executive Director

Contact: carolm@sustainablesanctuary.org,
913-677-8672

Carol has been an active part of the Sustainable Sanctuary Coalition for the past five years, especially in the areas of leadership and program development. She became the Executive Director in October 2010.

Her education includes a BA in Education from Newman University in Wichita, Kansas, and a Masters Degree in Theology from St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota. She also completed Spiritual Direction Training from the Vincentian Center for Spirituality at Work in Denver, Colorado, and attended the Women’s Leadership Institute at Avila College in Kansas City, Missouri.

A love of creation has always been a part of Carol’s life. This has expressed itself in outdoor activities, gardening, membership in various justice/environmental groups, and participation in Creation Spirituality conferences and groups. In the last ten years, a passion for Earth care has become central to her life, leading her to start a Green Team at her church, write/teach classes on the subject, and get involved with SSC. She has also written for the National Catholic Reporter blog, Eco Catholic.

Carol is comfortable working in a church environment and in interfaith venues. Her experience includes being a Pastoral Associate, a Director of Christian Formation, and an elementary teacher. She was the founder and director of WomanSource, a interfaith women’s center for personal and spiritual growth in Kansas City, Missouri. She had her own business, WisdomWays Spirituality Ministries, for 13 years before becoming the Executive Director of SSC.

Expressing her enthusiasm about SSC, Carol says, “I think caring for the Earth is a central issue of our time, the ‘great work’ that theologian Thomas Berry says God is calling us to do. I am excited about the potential of SSC to make a real difference in this arena. We are in a position to better aid congregations in being at the forefront of sustainability, helping people integrate Earth care with a deeper spiritual and theological persepctive. We have some very talented and dedicated people in our organization, and with the Spirit’s help, I know we can become a recognized and influential resource and education center for KC metro area faith communities.”

Contact: toma@sustainablesanctuary.org

Tom brings over twenty-five years of business experience to his role with the Sustainable Sanctuary Coalition. In addition to his many years in the commercial real estate industry, Tom has considerable volunteer experience in the nonprofit sector including having served on the Board of Directors of Unity Church of Overland Park, 1½ years as President. Tom is also the volunteer host of a monthly teleconference series with the Tyson Center for Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace at the University of Arkansas.

Tom has received training as a vision quest guide with Rites of Passage, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to reintroduce meaningful rites of passage for people of the modern world and has used that training to found two businesses: Live a Mythic Life offers life coaching, workshops, and retreats for individuals to discover their personal vision and purpose; and Purpose Changes Everything, an organizational development consulting practice. Tom is a published author. His book, Your Place in the World, provides readers with a guide for their own heroic journeys to lives of vision, purpose, and service.

Tom is particularly interested in the intersection of spirituality and sustainability and sees the work of the Sustainable Sanctuary Coalition as an important component in this movement.