The Board
Kim Messenger Chairperson, works as children and families pastor at her church, where she adapts Godly Play for grown-ups and children in various settings. Kim came through Life/Work Direction’s vocational and pre-marital processes. She and her husband, Will, are navigating how to help their two teenage daughters discover their own life/direction while also caring for their aging parents. Because Kim loves bringing people together, she has catered several Life/Work Direction retreats and assisted in the leadership of Discover Weekends.
William Messenger is the Executive Editor of the Theology of Work Project, Inc., an international organization dedicated to researching, writing, and circulating materials about ways the Christian faith contributes to the secular workplace. His professional experience includes directing Gordon-Conwell Seminary’s Center for Faith and Ethics in the Workplace, teaching at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY) and Laidlaw-Carey Graduate School (Auckland, New Zealand), and guest lecturing at Holy Cross College (Worcester, MA). Will serves on the Board of Directors of ArQule, Inc., a bio-tech company near Boston. His other corporate business experience includes IBM, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and Advanced Metabolic Systems. Will is ordained in the Episcopal Church. He has a physics degree from Case Western Reserve University, an M.B.A from Harvard Business School, an M.Div. from Boston University School of Theology, and a D.Min. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Along with his wife, Kim, Will has benefited from Life/Work Direction’s vocational and pre-marital offerings.
Morenike Eastman After spending the first 10 years of her career as a benefits consultant, Morenike has been enjoying a new season of life in connecting with recruiters and helping students navigate their post graduation choices through her work at Boston College’s Career Center. Her energy comes from hearing people’s stories and empowering them to pursue their passions. Having first interacted with Life/Work Direction in 2013 through the Discovery Weekend programming, Morenike is no stranger to the vocational and spiritual direction process. She’s personally benefited from both services early in her career. As a board member, Morenike wants to ensure that Life/Work Direction continues to provide a space to help others grapple with existential questions and discover more about how “wonderfully complex” (Psalms 139:14 NLT) we each have been made. In addition to serving on the Life/Work Direction board, she is also a board member of Reservoir Church in Cambridge. Morenike holds a bachelors in economics from Brown University.
Heather Ray has over twenty years’ experience working in professional services firms supporting civic sectors, including healthcare and higher education, with responsibilities spanning executive assistance, event planning, project management, and staff development. She has served as many years in lay ministry leadership, including the joint planning and delivery of a range of workshops, retreats, and special events and weekly small group facilitation. Heather holds a BA from Wells College in Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Cultures with a concentration in French. A past participant of the Life/Work Direction Threshold program, she joined the board to uphold the organization’s ongoing commitment to individuals’ journeys of self-discovery and expression in vocation, avocation, and key relationships.
Vernée Wilkinson has a passion for building community with local advocates, small business owners, and artists. She is a spiritual director that loves to companion those who are in transition or have felt disconnected to traditional Church culture.