Leadership Team
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Mike Christie (he/him)
PASTOR (and so are you)
Mike likes frogs and newts and mother trees and mycelium and imagining that there are gnomes in every forest. He likes hockey and is glued to every Capitals game. Mike believes that there is enough wonder in our midst to last our curiosity a lifetime. And he loves walking with his wife Emily and their dog Oliver.
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Morgan Smith (she/her)
BOARD CHAIR
Morgan joined Branches in 2016 while a student at Gonzaga. She lived in Cambodia for a bit and loves to share stories of her time there. She loves traveling, being outside, drinking wine with friends, and cooking good food. She would love to do those things with you!
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Mackenzie Draper (they/them)
BOARD SECRETARY
Mackenzie is a 2016 Gonzaga graduate who’s been with Branches since 2018. They may be a home-body but they’ll go anywhere for a good crochet session. They love snuggling their cats and their girlfriend and it’s quite possible they have seen every episode of every different version of Star Trek ever made.
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Dempsey Floria Jorgenson (she/her)
Board Treasurer
Dempsey loves camping, sitting outside under twinkly lights with a good glass of wine, puffins, snuggling her two Labradoodles, and studying philosophy and theology. She first found Branches in 2020, during a time when she, like seemingly the whole world, was struggling to find meaningful connection. The thing that means the most to her about this community is the creative and honest confluence of questions, care, and acceptance that flows from and toward every person who stumbles upon our quirky little gatherings.
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Leila Lewis (she/they)
BOARD MEMBER
Leila joined Branches in 2018 and is oh so grateful for this community of creative thinkers and deep feelers. Leila is a community organizer, a friend, a reader, and a sister. Some of the things Leila loves most are the Spokane River, her (very cool) hat collection, crafting with friends, and morning snuggles with her cat, Katara.
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Jeff Lanctot (he/him)
BOARD MEMBER
Jeff is a maker, and occasional cleaner-upper, of messes as the Director of Marketing at a local software company. He has been married for 21 years, has a 11-year old daughter, and has been attending Branches for nearly 10 years. He loves getting coffee and talking about creativity, life balance, and whatever else is on your mind. He is a purveyor of only the finest Dad Jokes, and gives good "dad hugs" if you're into that kind of thing.
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Anne McCaslin (she/her)
MUSIC/MEDITATION
Anne is a musician, a poet, an auntie, and a teacher. She loves rivers and seeing large men walking tiny dogs.
Check out Anne’s music HERE
Contact us.
We’re not kidding when we say we’d love to chat with you about anything. We know that choosing a faith community can be hard - we’ve all been there. We’d love to hear your story and help point you in a direction that’s right for you.
The email below will be sent to every person listed above, so please let us know if you’d like a specific individual to respond.
leadership@allthesebranches.com
“You know, we used to believe that trees competed with each other for light. Suzanne Simard's fieldwork challenged that perception, and we now realize that the forest is a socialist community. Trees work in harmony to share the sunlight.”
— Coach Beard, Ted Lasso