During the season of Lent, Higher Education and Ministry has asked chaplains from United Methodist-related schools, colleges, and universities to write a reflection each week through Holy Week.
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The United Methodist Church’s commitment to education is rooted historically in the vision and actions of the Methodist movement founder, John Wesley. Wesley encouraged intellectual development alongside spiritual growth. He worked to connect “knowledge and vital piety,” relate faith and reason and educate the whole person in body, mind and spirit.
The denomination’s interest in education has evolved from John Wesley’s concern for the well-being of all people. Accordingly, three concerns have motivated the United Methodist denomination to be involved in education throughout its history:
The Primer is the result of reflection and discussion around questions of identity and meaning for United Methodist-related schools, colleges and universities, particularly in North America. It reflects collaborative work with colleagues at GBHEM and Global Ministries including Dr. David Scott, executive director for theology and strategic planning, and Todd Willis, general counsel. That said, dialogue from around the world over many decades has contributed to the church-related conversation.
The Primer is a living document that provides a foundational text for the church and the academy to continue the important conversation about what it means to be a denomination with education in its DNA and the value of that relationship for UM-related schools, colleges and universities. Institutions should use all or parts of the Primer to interpret the church relationship to the campus community.
The Rev. Dr. Tammy Gieselman
Director of Education
Executive Secretary, University Senate
Susan Clark serves as chief communications officer for Higher Education and Ministry and the General Board of Global Ministries. She leads strategic communications efforts to share the mission and ministry of both agencies with key stakeholders and the public.
Clark is a mission-driven marketing and communications executive with experience in nonprofit, higher education, cultural and corporate sectors. She began her career at the Society of St. Andrew, a church-supported hunger relief organization and Global Ministries Advance partner, where she launched its first regional office in North Carolina.
After earning her MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Clark held roles at S.C. Johnson & Son, Eastman Kodak Company and the High Museum of Art. Prior to joining Global Ministries, she served nearly a decade as associate dean and chief marketing officer at Emory University School of Law, overseeing communications, recruitment marketing, events and publications.
A graduate of Duke University, Clark has lived in Atlanta for many years but still calls the Eastern Shore of Maryland home. Her work reflects a deep commitment to storytelling, strategic engagement and advancing the church’s mission through effective communication.
Kerri Broussard serves as director of human resources for Higher Education and Ministry and the General Board of Global Ministries. The HR department is responsible for providing support to employees during their employment lifecycle at both agencies, which commences with recruitment and onboarding, continues through talent management and ends with offboarding or retirement. Broussard has been with Global Ministries for 18 years.
She is a member of both local and national chapters of the Society of Human Resource Management. She holds a bachelor’s degree and is a Senior Certified Professional through the SHRM. Broussard was born in Jamaica, migrated to the United States with her family at age 3 and grew up in New York City. She and her husband Chris have three children: Adam, Adalyn and Addison.
Roland Fernandes serves as general secretary for the General Board of Global Ministries, which includes UMCOR, and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, agencies of The United Methodist Church. In this dual role, he oversees the denomination’s worldwide mission, relief and development efforts, while also leading the agency that connects the church and the academy and prepares clergy and lay leadership for ministry. He oversees programs and partnerships in more than 100 countries, including nearly 200 missionaries serving in more than 60 countries.
Fernandes first joined Global Ministries as a missionary, serving in India and the Philippines before moving to New York to work in financial services. Over his 30-year career at the agency, he has held key leadership roles, including chief operating officer, chief financial officer and interim general secretary. He has been instrumental in guiding the agency through numerous transitions.
A layman from Kolkata, India, Fernandes holds a master of commerce from Calcutta University and is a Chartered Accountant. In 2025, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters for his leadership in global mission and education.
Committed to humanitarian service, Fernandes has founded agencies that serve vulnerable populations and has volunteered for many nonprofit boards. He currently serves as an ex-officio voting member of the board of trustees of American University, is a member of the board of trustees of Africa University in Zimbabwe, Meharry Medical College, Wesleyan Impact Partners and is a member of the Board of Councilors of the Wesley Zaidan Foundation of Japan. He has previously served as a long-time board member for Church World Service.
His leadership is rooted in his faith and defined by a commitment to collaboration and mutuality in service. He views mission as “the heart of the church’s work” and sees the agencies as uniquely positioned to further God’s mission globally.
The Rev. Meg Lassiat serves as executive director of ministry for the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. She leads the ministry team in areas related to licensed and ordained ministry in The United Methodist Church, including enlistment, candidacy, credentialing, theological education, conference relations and continuing formation for clergy.
Lassiat previously served in GBHEM’s Division of Ordained Ministry from 2005 to 2020 and has held roles at the United Methodist General Commission on the Status and Role of Women, as well as in local church ministry. She is an ordained deacon in the Indiana Conference and a graduate of Emory University’s Candler School of Theology.
Throughout her career, Lassiat has focused on building communities, supporting vocational discernment, and creating opportunities for others to live into their callings. She has served on district and conference Boards of Ordained Ministry and as a jurisdictional delegate.
She finds deep fulfillment in collaborative leadership, helping teams imagine, build and grow ministries that make a meaningful impact. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, traveling and spending time at the beach.
Dr. Philip Wingeier-Rayo serves as executive director of education. He brings more than 25 years of experience in theological education, having taught at institutions including Seminario Baez Camargo in Mexico City, Pfeiffer University, Perkins School of Theology, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and Wesley Theological Seminary, where he served as dean for four years.
A former missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries, Wingeier-Rayo served for 15 years in Latin America and is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. His global experience informs his commitment to intercultural theological education and contextual ministry.
He is the author of five books, including John Wesley and the Origins of Methodist Mission (Abingdon, 2025), La Evangelización y la Misión de Dios (Foundery Books, 2020), and Cuban Methodism: The Untold Story of Survival and Revival (2006). His book La Biblia a través de los ojos de Juan Wesley (2019) will be released in English later this year.
Wingeier-Rayo and his wife, Diana, live near Washington, D.C., and have three adult children.
Dr. David W. Scott serves as executive director of mission theology and strategic planning at Higher Education and Ministry and the General Board of Global Ministries. In this role, he supports United Methodists worldwide in discerning how to faithfully participate in God’s mission today.
A respected scholar and author, Scott co-edited Methodism and American Empire: Reflections on Decolonizing the Church. His other works include Unlikely Friends, The Practice of Mission in Global Methodism, Methodist Mission at 200, Crossing Boundaries, and Mission as Globalization. He has also contributed numerous articles and book chapters on mission theology and Methodist history.
Before joining Global Ministries and GBHEM, Scott taught religion and leadership at Ripon College, where he helped students explore the intersection of faith, ethics and global engagement. His writing and leadership continue to shape conversations about the future of mission in a changing world.
