John D. Barton is professional development program officer for NetVUE and co-host of the NetVUE podcast, “Callings: Conversations on College, Career, and a Life Well Lived.” His home institution is Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he serves as Associate Director of Vocational Development for the Institute for Faith and Learning. John previously served as director of the Center for Faith and Learning at Pepperdine University, and provost at Rochester Christian University. His areas of research and teaching include African philosophy, religious literacy, Christian studies, and interreligious peacebuilding. He was the recipient of the 2021 Howard A. White Teaching Award at Pepperdine and is author of Better Religion: A Primer for Interreligious Peacebuilding (Baylor, 2022).
Areas of expertise: Faculty & Staff Development; Institutional Mission, Strategy, & Culture; Global Learning and Vocation; and Faith & Religious Context.
Sheila Bauer-Gatsos is a professor of English at Dominican University (IL). She also serves as special assistant to the provost for university-wide programs, in which she is responsible for academic oversight and program leadership, curricular initiatives and coordination, and retention and academic success initiatives. She received her BA from Illinois Wesleyan University and earned a MA and PhD in English from Lehigh University. Her most recent publication is a chapter titled “Disciplinary Form: Introduction to Literary Studies,” which appeared in Cultivating Vocation in Literary Studies (2022), edited by Stephanie L. Johnson and Erin VanLaningham. She is also a Peer Reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission.
Sheila has been working with NetVUE for over ten years supporting work on vocational exploration and discernment on her own campus and other campuses. Her recent presentations have focused on vocational discernment in literature; structural initiatives to better serve students at Hispanic-Serving Institutions; and cognitive literary studies. She has overseen several NetVUE grants at Dominican University including a grant on Contemplating Life’s Callings, a Vocation Across the Academy Grant, and a Grant for Reframing the Institutional Saga. Sheila is a NetVUE Faculty Fellow and attended the NetVUE Teaching Vocational Exploration Faculty Seminar in 2017 and NetVUE Leading Vocational Exploration on Campus Seminar in 2024.
Areas of expertise: Advising & Mentoring; Curriculum & Pedagogy; Faculty & Staff Development; Institutional Mission, and Strategy, & Culture.
Brian Bowman is an assistant professor of communication studies at Campbell University (NC). He earned his M.A. in digital communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He worked for over 20 years in the communication industry, including news and public relations. At Campbell, he received the 2020 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Brian began working in vocation at Campbell when he secured a NetVUE Program Development Grant in 2022. Under this grant, he started a faculty learning community which included 12 faculty members from several disciplines. The community helped faculty add vocational conversations to their courses and strengthened ties across the institution. Campbell University agreed to continue funding the community after the grant concluded. Brian is a NetVUE Faculty Fellow and attended the NetVUE Teaching Vocational Exploration Faculty Seminar in 2021.
Areas of expertise: Faculty & Staff Development, Curriculum & Pedagogy, and AI & Vocation.
Samantha D. Brown is an associate professor of psychology at Coe College (IA), where she is the faculty co-director of the Center for Creativity, Careers, and Community (C3). She received her BA at Creighton University and Ph.D. at the University of Iowa. Her background is in counseling psychology, with an emphasis in college student mental health.
Samantha’s scholarship intersects with vocation in academics, as her areas of interest focus on the career development of adolescents, career interventions, faculty and staff professional development, and the pedagogy of vocation. Samantha began working with NetVUE through a Program Development Grant in 2021. She is a NetVUE Faculty Fellow and attended the NetVUE Teaching Vocational Exploration Faculty Seminar in 2021. She has contributed to NetVUE’s “Vocation Matters” blog and presented at the 2024 NetVUE Conference. She led a three-day faculty and staff teaching vocation seminar at Coe College, and has presented a workshop about integrating vocation into the curriculum at Bridgewater College and MidAmerican Nazarene University.
Areas of expertise: Faculty & Staff Development, Curriculum & Pedagogy, and Career Development and Vocation.
Deirdre Egan-Ryan is professor of English and the director of faculty development at St. Norbert College (WI) where her work engages with literary modernism, race, gender, and ethnic studies. Among other publications in literary studies, Egan-Ryan is co-editor of and contributor to Modernist Women Writers and American Social Engagement (2019). She also examines best practices in community-engaged pedagogy, questions of vocation, and their place in mission-based higher education. A teacher at heart, her leadership in community-engaged teaching includes programs, workshops, and learning communities of vocational discernment that help faculty develop community-engaged courses and scholarship.
A member of the inaugural NetVUE seminar on Teaching Vocational Exploration, Deirdre has published journal articles on community-engaged pedagogy and vocation, is a contributor to the edited volume Cultivating Vocation in Literary Studies (2022), and writes for the NetVUE’s “Vocation Matters” blog. Her experiences at NetVUE also include serving as grant and journal article reviewer, helping to lead a Program Development Grant at her institution, as well as webinar panelist for various topics including the integration of vocation into classroom and institutional efforts. She has led presentations on vocation at NetVUE national conferences and helped host a NetVUE regional conference at her home institution. She enjoys the work of helping higher education institutions prepare students for lives of purpose and calling.
Areas of expertise: Faculty & Staff Development; Community Engagement; Curriculum & Pedagogy; and Institutional Mission, Strategy, & Culture.
Amy Hermanson is professor of English at Concordia University (WI). She has experience teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels in both face-to-face and online modalities. Her teaching and research interests include early modern British literature and religious culture, the history of reading, the history of rhetoric, rhetorical criticism, and writing studies. She currently chairs an interdisciplinary committee at Concordia working to integrate vocation into curricular and cocurricular student experience. She received her A.A. in liberal arts from Bethany Lutheran College (MN), her B.A. from Marquette University, and her Ph.D. in English from Texas Christian University.
Amy is a NetVUE faculty fellow and was a member of the 2023 cohort of the Teaching Vocational Exploration Seminar. She has participated in several NetVUE grant projects and has presented on vocation in several venues, including the NetVUE National Conference.
Areas of expertise: Faculty & Staff Development; Institutional Mission, Strategy, & Culture; and Curriculum & Pedagogy.
Kiki Kosnick is associate professor of French and chair of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Augustana College (IL). They earned their PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received dual undergraduate degrees in French and physiology. Their recent work on queer and feminist approaches to gender-inclusive poetics and language pedagogy has appeared in Modern & Contemporary France (2019), Teaching Diversity and Inclusion: Examples from a French-Speaking Classroom (2021), and The Modern Language Journal (2023).
Kiki began their vocational discernment as a former first-generation undergraduate student at a large state school. They are a NetVUE Faculty Fellow and participated in NetVUE’s Teaching Vocational Exploration Seminar in 2019 and Leading Vocational Exploration on Campus Seminar in 2025. They also contributed to NetVUE’s “Vocation Matters” blog and co-presented sessions on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) at the 2022 and 2024 NetVUE national conferences.
Areas of expertise: Curriculum & Pedagogy, Inclusion & Belonging, Faculty & Staff Development, and Advising & Mentoring.
Esteban Loustaunau is professor of Spanish at Assumption University (MA). He directs the University’s Center for Purpose and Vocation and the Community Service Learning program. Previously, he directed Assumption’s SOPHIA program on vocation and calling for sophomore students. Esteban’s research focuses on contemporary Mexican and Central American literature, film, and music. His scholarly work has been published in several book collections and in peer-reviewed journals including Revista Iberoamericana, CR: The New Centennial Review, Revista de Literatura Mexicana Contemporánea, and Diálogo: An Interdisciplinary Studies Journal. He is co-editor of Telling Migrant Stories: Latin American Diaspora in Documentary Film (2018) and contributed to Cultivating Vocation in Literary Studies (2023), edited by Erin VanLaningham and Stephanie L. Johnson.
In addition to his on-campus work in vocation at Assumption, Esteban has a long-standing commitment to NetVUE programming. He is a NetVUE faculty fellow and was a member of the 2017 cohort of the Teaching Vocational Exploration Seminar. He also participated in the 2025 NetVUE Leading Vocational Exploration on Campus Seminar. He has worked as a campus consultant for multiple institutions, and helped create NetVUE’s four Conversation Card decks. Esteban has also co-organized a NetVUE regional gathering, participated in NetVUE-hosted webinars, and written for NetVUE’s Vocation Matters blog.
Areas of expertise: Community Engagement, Faculty & Staff Development, Student Experience & Co-Curricular Programming, Advising & Mentoring, Inclusion & Belonging, and Global Learning and Vocation.
Devin Manzullo-Thomas is associate professor of American religious history at Messiah University (PA). He also serves as Messiah University’s director of the E. Morris and Leone Sider Institute for Anabaptist, Pietist, and Wesleyan studies; director of archives; and director of common-content courses. A historian by training, he teaches a wide array of classes in church history, historical theology, religious studies, and peace and conflict studies. His scholarly interests include the history of Christianity in the United States, public memory and commemoration, and material culture. He is the author of Exhibiting Evangelicalism: Commemoration and Religion’s Presence of the Past (University of Massachusetts Press, 2022) and Storyteller: The Life and Ministry of E. Morris Sider (Brethren in Christ Historical Society Press, 2025).
Devin attended the inaugural Enhancing Vocational Exploration faculty seminar in 2025 and has served as a reviewer for NetVUE Grant for Reframing the Institutional Saga. At Messiah University—a founding member of NetVUE—Devin has been involved in leadership of several NetVUE-funded grants, including a Grant for Reframing the Institutional Saga (2021-2023) and a Program Development Grant (2024-2026).
Areas of expertise: Institutional Mission, Strategy, & Culture; Archives; and Curriculum & Pedagogy.
Rich Meagher [pronounced MARR] is professor and chair of political science at Randolph-Macon College (VA). He is a Faculty Fellow for Brandeis University’s Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation (ENACT), a national program engaging undergraduates in state-level legislative change, and he co-authored a book about the program, Enacting Change (Brandeis University Press, 2025). As an expert observer of local and state politics of Richmond, Virginia, he hosts the podcast RVA’s Got Issues for Virginia Public media and has been featured widely in print and multimedia news programs. His 2020 book, Local Politics Matters, argues for the importance of participation in city and county politics.
Rich is a NetVUE Faculty Fellow who has consulted with institutions from Virginia to Morocco, and he co-led a NetVUE team in developing a resource bank for institutional consultations. He is an invited contributor to the fifth volume of the NetVUE Scholarly Resources Project, and his current scholarship focuses on the relationship of vocation to active citizenship. He co-led the panel, “Is This My Calling? Or Just My Major?” at NetVUE’s National Conference in 2024.
Areas of expertise: Curriculum & Pedagogy, Advising & Mentoring, and Community Engagement.
Julie Donovan Massey brings nearly 30 years of experience in faith-based higher education, most recently as interim vice president for mission & student affairs and as the president’s chief of staff at St. Norbert College (WI). Massey earned an M.Div. from Loyola University Chicago and an Ed.D. in Higher Education from Boston College. Her earliest on-campus roles were in direct ministry with students and colleagues, but over the years, she was called into greater leadership roles. In her tenure at St. Norbert’s, Massey went on to become director of mission & ministry and later the associate vice president for mission & student affairs. Her breadth of experience gives her a deep appreciation for work across campus, faculty and staff opportunities to impact students, and the institutional aspirations and concerns leaders navigate. She has authored or co-authored several journal articles and book chapters, and she co-authored the text Project Holiness: Marriage as Workshop for Everyday Saints (Liturgical Press, 2015).
For more than a decade, Massey directed vocation efforts on her campus as part of the Lilly Endowment’s “Programs for the Theological Exploration of Vocation” grants. Shortly after the NetVUE’s founding she began working as a consultant, and she continues to enjoy the opportunity to work with campuses as they develop or refine their vocation efforts. She oversaw two regional gatherings on her campus—one during the PTEV initiative and the other as part of NetVUE’s offerings. She currently sits on NetVUE’s Advisory Council as well as the editorial board of the NetVUE’s new journal, Studies in Vocation and Calling. In 2025, Massey co-led NetVUE’s inaugural Staff Seminar on Vocation, and she is excited to reprise this role in the summer of 2026.
Areas of expertise: Faculty & Staff Development, Student Experience & Co-Curricular Programming, and Faith & Religious Context.
Rebecca Pruitt is an associate professor of education and director of early childhood education at Lewis University (IL). She received a BA from Oklahoma Baptist University, and earned an MA and PhD from Oklahoma State University. Rebecca’s scholarly work centers on education program evaluation, focusing on undergraduate vocation and constructivist pedagogy within teacher preparation. She directs the Vocation Institute, a cohort of faculty and staff currently engaged in supporting the campus-wide integration of vocation.
Rebecca is a NetVUE Faculty Fellow and was a member of the 2017 cohort of the Teaching Vocational Exploration Seminar. She has led several NetVUE grant programs at her institution as well as a NetVUE Big Read program. She participated in the NetVUE writing colloquy and contributed to NetVUE‘s “Vocation Matters” blog. She is a frequent speaker and presenter at NetVUE conferences.
Areas of expertise: Institutional Mission, Strategy, & Culture; Curriculum & Pedagogy; Student Experience & Co-Curricular Programming; and Advising & Mentoring.
Caryn D. Riswold is the Mike and Marge McCoy Family Distinguished Chair in Lutheran Heritage and Mission and professor of religion at Wartburg College (IA). Previously, she taught theology and gender and women’s studies at Illinois College and Valparaiso University. There, she was a postdoctoral teaching fellow in the Lilly Fellows Program, on whose National Network Board she has served two terms. She also serves on the Faculty Working Group on Lutheran Higher Education for the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities, where she builds on the work that she does at Wartburg College to empower campus constituents at all levels to understand, engage, and live into the institution’s mission and identity. She earned her Ph.D. and Th.M. at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, her M.A. at the Claremont School of Theology, and her undergraduate degree at Augustana University in her childhood hometown of Sioux Falls, SD. Caryn is the author of four books, the most recent of which is ReEngaging ELCA Social Teaching on Abortion (Fortress Press, 2024).
Among other things, Caryn writes and speaks about pedagogy, equity, and vocation in undergraduate education. As a member of the first cohort of the NetVUE Scholarly Resources Project, she wrote in At This Time and In This Place about the liberative and humanizing dimensions of vocation for faculty and staff. She has also written for NetVUE’s “Vocation Matters” blog and serves as a peer reviewer for Studies in Vocation and Calling. She has presented at NetVUE national conferences and regional workshops and engaged in NetVUE consulting work with a variety of institutions.
Areas of expertise: Inclusion & Belonging; AI and Vocation; Faculty & Staff Development; and Institutional Mission, Strategy, & Culture.
Christopher Welch is an associate professor of religious studies at Rivier University (NH). He teaches extensively in the university’s Core Curriculum and leads professional development initiatives to incorporate a broad and deep understanding of vocational exploration and discernment into the Core and the disciplines. His work outside of the classroom is especially grounded in the integration of mission in the curriculum and in the student experience of time, leisure, and consumption as they relate to vocation.
Chris participated in NetVUE’s Faculty Development program while also coordinating Rivier’s Vocation Across the Academy (VAA) NetVUE grant. In supporting the implementation of that grant, Chris led professional development programs for small faculty groups at Rivier. He has consulted and led vocation workshops for multiple NetVUE institutions, and he participated in the 2025 Writing Workshop, from which emerged a post for NetVUE’s “Vocation Matters” blog.
Areas of expertise: Institutional Mission, Strategy, & Culture; Faculty & Staff Development; and Curriculum & Pedagogy.
Ryan J. White serves as associate dean for leadership development and applied learning and director of first-year seminars at Hope College (MI). He received an Ed.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Southern California and a M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary. At Hope, Ryan serves as principal facilitator for the “Lead with Hope” leadership education initiatives through the Center for Leadership. In this role, he guides mid-to-senior level executives in discovering their leadership signature and authentic strengths through retreats, workshops, and coaching engagements. Ryan also leads Hope’s First-Year Seminar program, recruiting, training, and supervising 40-45 faculty annually. Previously, he directed the Center for Vocational Reflection at Augustana College.
Ryan brings both scholarly expertise and practical wisdom to his work in vocational formation. His scholarly work focuses on identity development, vocational discernment, and leadership development, exploring how individuals understand and exercise their unique gifts and purpose. He has developed numerous innovative curricular initiatives at Hope including “The Second Seminar: Designing A Life That Matters” course, Hope’s Summer Bridge Program, and the ongoing “Vocational Exploration and Career Transitions” faculty course grants for disciplinary course redesigns to incorporate vocation and career. At Augustana College, he managed a Lilly Foundation “Programs for the Theological Exploration of Vocation” grant and helped oversee the $1.1 million annual Augie Choice experiential learning initiative. Ryan is an experienced NetVUE conference presenter and consultant, and he hosted the 2025 NetVUE Regional Gathering “Integrating Vocation in the Academic Disciplines” at Hope College.
Areas of expertise: Faculty & Staff Development, Student Experience & Co-Curricular Programming, Curriculum & Pedagogy, and Advising & Mentoring.
Contact Information
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