»Founders Day

Dr. Gabriela “Gabby” Castañeda
Vice President of First-Generation and Promising Futures Programs, Chapman University
Workshop: Charting the Path to Belonging: Finding Home When You're the First

Have you ever stood at the threshold of a community, wondering if you truly have a place at the table? Have you felt the quiet struggle of learning unwritten rules, finding your voice among new faces, or seeking a genuine connection in a space where you feel like the “first” or the “only”? 

This deep, human yearning for belonging reflects our desire to connect with one another. Yet, for many, the journey to feeling truly at home is a pilgrimage marked by challenges. This workshop uses the powerful lens of the “first-generation” experience to highlight the challenges and opportunities of navigating new environments. Whether you are the first in your family to attend college, the first to take on a leadership role, or simply the first to walk through your church's doors, your story of resilience holds wisdom for us all. 

Together, through guided reflection, storytelling, and collaborative discussion, we will explore: 

• The courage it takes to cross a threshold.
• The gracerequiredto welcome the stranger (and to be the stranger). 
• The practical steps we can take to dismantle barriers and build a “beloved community” where everyone can flourish. 

Dr. Gabriela “Gabby” Castañeda is a dedicated leader in higher education, currently serving as Vice President of First-Generation and Promising Futures Programs at Chapman University. She holds a Doctorate in Community College/Higher Education Educational Leadership from California State University, Long Beach, as well as a Doctoral Institute Certificate in the Study of Race and Equity in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. Additionally, she earned her master’s degree in Higher Education Leadership and bachelor’s degree in psychology from California State University, Fullerton.

Since beginning her career in 2007, Dr. Castañeda has gained extensive experience in various administrative roles across diverse higher education settings. Her leadership focuses on fostering comprehensive, student-centered environments and developing effective policies and strategies that enhance student success. She deeply values working alongside talented students, colleagues, and community partners, finding these collaborations both fulfilling and inspiring.

Beyond her role at Chapman University, Dr. Castañeda actively contributes to the broader community through service on numerous nonprofit boards, including the Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, World Affairs Council of Orange County, and Charitable Ventures. She believes in bridging education with professional development, empowering students to build confidence and pursue career paths aligned with their goals.

Over the years, she has held prestigious leadership positions such as CSULB Educational Leadership Future Faculty and Alumni Fellow, Co-Lead for the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), Director for the Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges & Employers (MPACE), and President of the Latinx Staff and Faculty at Chapman University. In these roles, Dr. Castañeda has spearheaded initiatives aimed at promoting excellence, access, and opportunity within higher education and the broader community.

Her unwavering commitment to transformative leadership and inclusive excellence underscores her mission to empower communities and champion student achievement. Through her visionary guidance, Dr. Castañeda continues to advance education as a catalyst for meaningful advancement and opportunity for all.




Dr. Angela Lederach
Assistant Professor, Peace Studies, Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities and Social Siences
Workshop: Repairing Relations in the Wake of Violence: Embodying Peace, Justice,Mercyand Truth

How do you repair social and political life in the midst and aftermath of violence? What allows societies to transition from contexts of political violence towards more just and peaceful relations? This participatory workshop will explore the challenges, tensions, and possibilities thatemerge by bringing together the key dimensions of transitional justice and reconciliation: Peace, Justice, Mercy, and Truth.

Rebecca Anderson, StoryHour Facilitator

Rebecca (she/her) is ordained in The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), with standing in the United Church of Christ, as is co-pastor of Bethany United Church of Christ in Chicago. She’s a graduate of Hampshire College (playwrighting) and the Divinity School at the University of Chicago. Active in the Chicago storytelling scene, she’s performed with events like RISK!, 2nd Story, The Moth, This Much is True, and The Paper Machete. She’s the founder and head honcho of Earshot Stories, running storytelling workshops across the country. Rebecca is a 2025 recipient of a Reflective Leadership Grant from Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.

A weaver, gardener, fair weather cyclist and starry-eyed pessimist, she’s always looking for the least crowded forest preserves, knows the best places to pick juneberries, and almost certainly wants to have coffee with you.

Chapman Community Story Tellers


Rev. Terri Hord Owens 

Rev. Teresa “Terri” Hord Owens is the General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. She is the first person of color and second woman to lead the denomination, and the first woman of African descent to lead a mainline denomination.  

Elected in 2017, Rev. Hord Owens was re-elected to a second term as General Minister and President in 2023. Her ministry actively reflects the Disciples’ priority of being an anti-racist church, being a movement for wholeness, and welcoming all to the Lord’s table as God has welcomed us. Her exhortation to the church is “Let’s be the church we say we are. It is in being who we say we are that we actively bear witness to God’s limitless love for all.”   

Rev. Hord Owens earned her bachelor’s degree in Government with a minor in Afro- American Studies from Harvard University. Hord Owens’ resume includes more than 20 years in corporate America leading diverse teams in data management in healthcare and other industries before she entered seminary.  

A graduate of University of Chicago Divinity School, Rev. Hord Owens served 12 years as the Dean of Students at her alma mater. Rev. Hord Owens also served as the pastor of First Christian Church of Downers Grove, Illinois, where under her leadership, FCCDG became an open and affirming, anti-racism, pro-reconciliation congregation.  

Hord Owens is widely sought after as a preacher, speaker, and workshop facilitator. Her ministry and intellectual interests include spiritual development, a theology of reconciliation, cultural intelligence, developing inclusive and multi-cultural congregations, and the mentoring of young adults.  

In addition to collaborative service with Disciples ministries and congregations as they seek to make justice happen, she has been active in leadership in the Poor People’s Campaign, Repairers of the Breach, and other ecumenical and interfaith collaboratives. In keeping with the Disciples’ historic commitment to Christian unity, she serves in leadership at the National Council of Churches as the Treasurer of the Governing Board and a member of the World Council of Churches Central Committee. 

Rev. Hord Owens is married to Walter Owens, Jr. They are the proud parents of an adult son, W. Mitchell Owens, III and daughter-in-law Adriana Owens. She is also the joyful grandmother of Zachary Owens.  



Rev. Rachael Prayor

Mentored into ministry from childhood at Sylvania United Church of Christ in Northwest Ohio, Rachael’s call and vision are rooted in extravagant welcome, faithful generosity, and a commitment to advocacy and justice.  She holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan and an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary. Rachael lived and worked in eastern Austria as an English teaching assistant through the Fulbright program for two years between college and seminary. 

Before coming to the SCNC, Rachael served as Associate Conference Minister with the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference and as part of the Tri-Conference staff team in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota. She also spent 7 years working with Kansas Interfaith Action: first as a board member and volunteer, then three years as Board Chair, followed by a staff role as Director of Engagement and Development.  Rachael has served local congregations of the UCC and the ELCA in interim, transitional, and settled calls.  She also has experience in campus ministry, in children and teen ministries, and with new church starts.  She is a former participant with the UCC’s Next Generation Leadership Initiative (NGLI). 

Along with her husband Adam, Rachael is parent to four young children. She enjoys cooking for friends, reading, cold weather, and travel to new places. 
 

Rev. Tanya Lopez

Rev. Tanya Lopez serves as Senior Pastor of Downey Memorial Christian Church. She has been involved in church leadership at the congregational, regional, and general levels. She is currently serving as the First Vice-Moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Pacific Southwest Region. 

She sees herself as a bridge to help bring communities and generations together. She believes faith and justice cannot be separate. And that passion for justice is part of all she does in her work both in and outside of the church. She has been active across Los Angeles County with various immigrant rights organizations and community organizing groups as she continues to live into her call of being an active participant in co-creating the Kindom of God for all. 

She has a background in Psychology and Education. She earned her BA in Psychology from Cal State Fullerton and her Master of Divinity from Claremont School of Theology. She was ordained into Christian Ministry in 2022. 

She and her husband, Rev. Al Lopez, are the proud parents of two wonderful girls and love spending time with their two feisty dogs. 

Annie Mellott '13

Annie Mellott is a librarian and mom to two girls, Marigold and Matilda. She graduated from Chapman in 2013 with a BA in Religious Studies and was active in the Disciples on Campus program as well as at the Fish Interfaith Center.  



David Ruby '15

David Ruby (they/them) is a musician, speaker, and producer. A graduate of Chapman University, they have worked in television for the last ten years, while serving Disciples and UCC church music ministries in Orange County and greater Los Angeles. They specialize in progressive theology and creative worship experiences, and are passionate about gathering around a table that welcomes all.  



Gracie Wakefield '27

Gracie Wakefield is in their third year here at Chapman University majoring in Theatre Performance, with minors in General Music and Honors. Raised in a Christian home in Dallas, Texas, Gracie’s faith is an important part of their life, and they are so blessed to have found a community through Disciples on Campus at Chapman, where they currently serve as Worship Coordinator. In addition, Gracie serves as the Director of Facilities Management for Delta Delta Delta as well as rising President of the Coalition of Artistic Students in Theatre. Outside of academics, Gracie has dedicated the past 8 years to mental health advocacy within the queer community partnering with organizations like Planned Parenthood, Girl Scouts USA and the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Through their studies, leadership, faith, and advocacy, they are passionate about ensuring everyone has an inclusive community to turn to, where they can have a seat at the table no matter what.



Rev. Jack Veatch

Rev. Jack Veatch (he/him) serves as the Director of Church Relations at Chapman University, connecting the university and its founding denomination, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and covenantal partner, the United Church of Christ. He has been formed First Christian Church of Stow, Kent State University (KSU) and the United Christian Ministries at KSU, the North Hollywood Interfaith Food Pantry, the Disciples Divinity House of the University of Chicago, Ellis Avenue Baptist Church, the Interreligious Task Force on Central America, the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland, and Evergreen Christian Church and the many more people who have served as examples of faith and leadership.

When not at Chapman, Jack spends time with his wife, Rev. Aneesah Veatch, son, Fletcher Rohan Veatch, and dog, Duke. He loves games (of all kinds!), reading, and gardening. He has a preference for the analogue, even when digital works better; an appreciation for the arts, even if he is not artistic; and despite now living in California, he is still painfully Midwestern.

All events are in the Fish Interfaith Center unless otherwise noted.

Saturday, March 14

ALO Hotel by Ayres
3737 W. Chapman Ave, Orange CA, 92868

Special Chapman University Rate of $139.00 per night plus occupancy tax (includes full American buffet breakfast, parking, and Wi-Fi access).

To make a reservation, call: (714) 978-9168 ext. 0 and ask for the “Chapman Rate.”