Chair
Westina Matthews, PhD
Savannah, Georgia (USA)
For many years, Westina (she/her) has connected with others through her writings, speaking, workshops/retreats, spiritual companioning, mentoring, and teaching. A graduate of the Shalem Institute, her practice reflects contemplative living through “holy listening”. For 12 years, Westina was an adjunct professor in the Center for Christian Spirituality at General Theological Seminary, teaching contemplative spiritual direction. Currently, she offers spiritual direction to seminarians and clergy worldwide, across faith traditions. After a 24 year career with Merrill Lynch, primarily responsible for philanthropy and community engagement, Westina was a fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard which took her to Burundi in central Africa. An educator at heart – with a doctorate and two post-doctoral fellowships in education in addition to the Harvard fellowship — Westina then became chief program officer for four years with the Jackie Robinson Foundation (a premiere scholarship and leadership program for college students). But writing remains her passion, the author of Dancing from the Inside Out: Grace-Filled Reflections on Growing Older (2019), This Band of Sisterhood: Black Women Bishops on Race, Faith, and the Church (2021) and lead editor of Soul Food: Nourishing Contemplative Living and Leadership (2023).
Vice Chair
Agnes Hermans
Aotearoa New Zealand
Agnes Hermans (she/her) is a spiritual companion, supervisor, and serves as a hospice spiritual care coordinator. She is one of the founding coordinators of the Contemplative Network Aotearoa New Zealand.
Agnes has a background in social work, community development, health service management as well as governance roles in community organisations. Across these roles she has worked to improve equity of access to services and outcomes for Māori and raise awareness of the effects of colonisation. She has compiled two books with stories about her community.
Agnes lives on the Whangārei harbour in the north of Aotearoa New Zealand, with her husband Peter. They have three children and three grandchildren.
Treasurer
Stephen Rivet
Dayton, Ohio (USA)
Stephen (he/him/his) is a Spiritual Director trained at the Dominican Center of Marywood with a Master of Pastoral Studies from Loyola University – New Orleans; his passion is journeying with working professionals and youth. Married to Anne for 41 years, they have four grown children and nine grandchildren. Currently a business consultant; he has over 45 years of International Business experience from engineering to sales to executive management, traveling extensively throughout the world. He is a FAA Certified Private Pilot.
His primary focus is turning vision to action with measured results and calculated strategic risk-taking. His vision for SDI is authentic, compassionate, and loving opportunities fostering a trusting and inclusive climate of diversity, creativity, and growth.
Secretary
Cindy Lee, PhD
Los Angeles CA (USA)
Cindy is a spiritual director, a teacher and trainer of spiritual companioning, and proudly Taiwanese-American. Her spirituality honors the traditions of her family which include the Christian tradition in a Taiwanese immigrant church as well as Taiwanese ancestral, Daoist, and Buddhist traditions. She is a graduate of the Stillpoint spiritual direction program in California and completed her PhD in the area of spirituality from Claremont School of Theology. She teaches as an adjunct professor in the areas of spirituality, mysticism, and spiritual direction. She is also director of the Liberated Together Spiritual Direction school that centers the healing and liberation of women of color and non-binary people of color. Cindy is the author of Our Unforming: De-Westernizing Spiritual Formation (2022) and Contemplative Witnessing: BIPOC-Centered Spiritual Direction (2025).
Wanjîkū J. Kîarîe , M.Div, SD, SEP™, FCST
Nairobi, Kenya (East Africa, Africa)
Wanjîkū is an Integrated Healer based in Nairobi, Kenya. She holds a Masters of Divinity in Biblical Studies from Africa International University, Kenya and is a Spiritual Director Trained in the Holy Conversations, Spiritual Formation Program by the Anglican Diocese in New England, Massachusetts. Through an integrative approach, she guides individuals, families, and organisations toward healing and transformation. Her work weaves together Spiritual Companionship, Family and Organisational Systems Therapy, Elemental Work, Movement Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, Ancestral and Intergenerational Healing — creating pathways for deep restoration and collective liberation. Wanjîkū is a published author, a blogger and a liturgy/meditations writer.
Joel Kushner, Psy.D.
Los Angeles, California (USA)
Joel Kushner is trained as a psychologist, hospital chaplain, and spiritual director, and holds graduate degrees in counseling and clinical psychology as well as studies in organizational psychology. He began his career working at Bellevue Hospital in NYC with the mentally ill homeless and then spent ten years as a management consultant in behavioral healthcare. Next came 18 years at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion where he founded an institute on LGBTQ+ issues and Judaism and then led the Kalsman Institute on Judaism & Health which focused on health and healing. Joel began his spiritual direction practice nine years ago. With creativity being an essential path of learning and growth for him, he later applied for the first cohort of Creative Facilitator training with the Jewish Studio Project. This became a two-year journey learning a methodology to incorporate creative process (non-product focused art making) with text study to foster growth, and as a way to deepen spiritual exploration. He has also extensively supervised chaplaincy students in learning the art of pastoral care.
Kate Keefe
Oxfordshire, England (UK)
Kate is a voluntary project manager with the Centre for Applied Carmelite Spirituality in Oxford, UK. Under the director of CACS, Fr. Alexander Ezechkwu OCD and alongside a team of friars and lay volunteers she has led several projects to support a strong foundation for the centre.
This has included the foundation and development of the CACS international safeguarding policy; the Alumni community for post-graduate students of CACS Spritual Direction Formation Programme; the establishment of the Sacred Encounter Ministry, an online CACS ministry of spiritual direction, supervision of pastoral workers/spiritual directors and one to one guided retreats.
Future projects for January 2025 include her establishing an online supervision course shaped by Carmelite Spirituality and current thinking of excellence in the supervision of Spiritual directors.
Kate is a lifelong lover of learning; she was trained as a supervisor of spiritual directors by the Jesuits in London; as a spiritual director by the Carmelites in Oxford and the One Spirit Inter-faith community in the UK. She practices within the Contemplative Christian tradition of Catholicism and sits with a White Tara Buddhist group in Oxford monthly. She is committed to inter-faith dialogue and belongs to several inter-faith groups.
Kate has always been in active as a volunteer in civil society being involved in establishing a homeless centre in London and anti-racial work in her early years in teaching. Professionally Kate has worked in university lecturing, as a high school principal, as an assistant director for the Catholic Church in England and Wales. In church ministry she has worked from church cleaning to facilitating her parish Synod discussion group. She is married to Brian, and they are parents to their adult son Levi who joined their family at 6 years of age. She currently lives in Oxfordshire on the River Thames in England.
Joan Alexander
Ottawa, Ontario (Canada)
Joan (she/her) is a Spiritual Director who studied at The Haden Institute. Her work as an administrator in the Anglican Church of Canada and her marriage to a same-gender Anglican priest brought Joan to the affirming and supportive threshold of spiritual direction.
She is also an SD Supervisor and serves on the faculty of various spiritual direction formation programs, teaching and supervising students in their formation. Joan collaborates with other spiritual companions to offer presentations, workshops and webinars on topics of interest including spiritual trauma and (2S)LGBTQIA+ allyship. She has a large practice that welcomes seekers from Canada, the USA and the UK. Joan is also responding to a call to engage more Canadian spiritual directors in continuing education and collaboration opportunities.
Joan is an avid swimmer at her local community center, loves to read a variety of fiction and non-fiction, and sings – but, only when alone! And, with her partner-in-life, adult sons and a wealth of friends who walk with her on the labyrinth path, she continues to marvel at the mysteries around each bend.
Rev. SeiFu Anil Singh-Molares, MTS (Ex officio)
Seattle, Washington (USA)
Rev. Seifu Anil Singh-Molares is the Executive Director of Spiritual Directors International (SDI), a Motivational Speaker, a Zen Priest, and a Spiritual Director / Companion / Guide. After nine years at SDI, his relish and enthusiasm for the SDI community continues to grow. He has dedicated his life to promoting the virtues of spiritual companionship as a healing modality, through various incarnations including his current ones, as well as a scholar of comparative religions. He has a graduate degree from Harvard University in that field.
