Co-Founder, Leadership Circle member

Dr. Kim Penner is a scholar, teacher, and congregational minister. She is currently Associate Teaching Faculty at the University of Alberta, St. Stephen’s College, Sessional Instructor at the University of Waterloo, and Pastor at Stirling Ave. Mennonite Church in Kitchener, ON. She teaches in the areas of sexual ethics, queer theology, intersectional theology, power, and peace and violence.

Kim is currently working on a book titled, “Power, Desire, and Theology: Cultures of Abuse in Christian Institutions” under contract with Bloomsbury Press for publication in 2025. She is passionate about embodied faith and understandings of the sacred dedicated to peace, justice, and love in all our relationships.

Website

Co-Founder, Leadership Circle member

Leah Reesor-Keller is a writer, speaker and leader who helps groups and nonprofits set vision and strategy for transformational change. She is the author of Tending Tomorrow: Courageous Change for People and Planet about faith, leadership and culture shifts in the context of climate change.

Leah currently serves as Transitional Executive Director at KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, and previously served as Executive Minister of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada, part of the Mennonite Church Canada denomination. She has nearly 20 years’ experience working with faith-based and social justice organizations in Canada, Haiti, Jamaica, and Nepal.
Leah holds an MA in Development Studies from York University and a BA in Political Science and Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Waterloo.

Learn more at LeahReesorKeller.com

Leadership Circle member

Hyejung (Jessie) Yum is a scholar, teacher, and minister dedicated to fostering intercultural relationships across differences, including gender, race, abilities, sexuality, and religious traditions. Having lived in multicultural cities such as Los Angeles, Toronto, and now Montréal, she is deeply committed to promoting equity and understanding across diverse communities and walks of life. As a co-founder of Sowing for Peace, she cultivates everyday peacemaking in multicultural contexts.

Hyejung is a faculty member at Concordia University in Montréal and previously taught social justice and religion at the University of Toronto. Her research and teaching focus on violence, peace, decolonization, intersectionality, and religion in settler-colonial and multicultural contexts. She has conducted research on decolonizing peace at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and has been invited to speak at Universität Hamburg and institutions across North America. Her work appears in various journals, magazines, and books. Since 2016, she has co-edited The Korean Anabaptist Journal and serves on committees, including Mennonite Scholars & Friends at AAR/SBL and the Executive Council of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada.

Leadership Circle member

Pablo Kim Sun is a Mennonite pastor, scholar, and leader in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB). He is committed to supporting church communities and non-profit organizations in excelling in DEIB initiatives, enabling them to navigate complex and polarized societal issues effectively. Pablo is a firm believer that organizations can reach their fullest potential and thrive when they genuinely integrate diverse perspectives and voices.

He is the author of "Who Are Our Enemies and How Do We Love Them?" and has an upcoming publication, "Building Mennonite Belonging: Toward an Intercultural Church," which will be released by McGill-Queen’s Press early next year.

Currently, Pablo serves as the Intercultural Liaison at the Presbyterian Church in Canada, a role equivalent to a general secretary-level position. He also contributes as the Intercultural Leadership Program Consultant for the Tyndale Intercultural Ministries Centre. Pablo holds a Ph.D. in Theological Studies from the University of Toronto. His work and reflections are deeply informed by his multifaceted identity as a Korean, Paraguayan, scholar, pastor, immigrant, and Christian on Turtle Island.

Leadership Circle member

Michele is an about-to-retire pastor, serving in an affirming Mennonite congregation in Toronto. She spent the first half of her life in Brazil as a missionary kid, where she was shaped by the culture and wonderful climate. Michele earned her Master of Divinity from Emmanuel College at the Toronto School of Theology with courses at Conrad Grebel University College and Bat Kol Institute in Israel/Palestine.

In the past she has worked in editing, translation of theological books (Portuguese-English) and administration, mainly in the field of maternal health research. She enjoys making music and has a bachelor’s degree in music in a drawer somewhere. Michele is also trained as a biblical storyteller through the Network of Biblical Storytellers International.

She believes in the power of humour, the role of grief, and in working for peace by nurturing inter-generational, inter-cultural, and inter-religious compassion.s here