Instructor Bios

Carole A. Buleza was appointed to the position of Director of the Department of Christian Education for the Antiochian Archdiocese in January 2000. She holds a B.A. in Elementary Education and a Master's Degree in Religion, with a specialty in Religious Education. Carole also chairs the Curriculum Department of the Orthodox Christian Education Commission. Carole has initiated, on behalf of the OCEC, a thorough revision and upgrading of the curriculum. The Way, The Truth, and The Life, published in 2004, is the first of the new series. Also in conjunction with the OCEC, Carole introduced the teacher training program "Educating Ourselves and Our Children in Godliness" which has provided hundreds of teachers throughout North America with the resources and training for success in the church school classroom. Carole is thrilled to be presenting the sixth annual Orthodox Institute at Antiochian Village, and to have initiated Mini-Institutes in the Dioceses of the Midwest, Mid-America, and the West. She gratefully acknowledges that, "It is only by God's grace and with the help of my dedicated staff, the Order of St. Ignatius, members of the OCEC Board of Trustees, and especially His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP, that we are able to provide such resources for Christian Education. May God continue to bless our efforts."

Kh. Elizabeth "Betty" Randolph is the Christian Education Coordinator for the Diocese of Miami and the Southeast. She is also a past President of the Fellowship of St. John, Southeast Region. With 25 years in the field of education, curriculum selection, and staff development, and an M.Ed. in Administration and Supervision, Betty brings manifold resources to the task of both teaching and administration. She is principal of Forest Acres Elementary School in Easley, South Carolina. Her husband, Fr. David, is pastor of Christ the Savior Church in Central, South Carolina.

Fr. George Alberts, a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, has been involved in Orthodox Christian Education for over 35 years. Ordained to the priesthood in 1973, he also studied Clinical Pastoral Education at Pine Rest Mental Health Hospital, Grand Rapids, MI, and has taught sociology at the community college level. Fr. George has served as a pastor in Michigan and Pennsylvania and is currently the  pastor of St. George Church in Danbury, Connecticut. In addition, he holds the positions of  Recording Secretary of the Orthodox Christian Education Commission, and Christian Education Coordinator for both the Diocese of New York and Washington, D.C., and the Diocese of Oakland, PA and the East.

Robert Snyder is the Religious Education Coordinator for the Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest, a position he has held for the last fifteen years. He has been actively engaged in Christian education for the last thirty years as a High School teacher, a teen youth advisor, and, currently, as an instructor in Adult Christian Education. During this time, Robert has conducted many Christian Education workshops, and written numerous articles on Christian Education for The Word and the OCEC Christian Education newsletter. He is known in his parish of St. George, Akron, Ohio, for his work as a highly successful youth advisor (achieving, among others, "Teen Club of the Year" award), as a past president of the Parish Council and since 1996, and as the recipient of the Protsyngelous Ellis Khouri Merit Award.

Vasiliki "Billie" Oldziey holds a B.A. in Humanities and Dance and a certificate in Movement Analysis. She is currently working as a substitute teacher and a vision and hearing screener for the Austin, Texas school district. She has taught church school at St. Elias in Austin for the past 18 years and is the director of the church school program. She was the founding editor of the quarterly publication, The Children's Magazine for Orthodox Christian Children. For the past five years, she has been studying iconography with master iconographer, Vladislav Andrejev and writing icons for private prayer. In the past, she served as the Southwest Region Writing Festival Coordinator and led workshops for church school teachers. She is the Christian Education Coordinator for the diocese of Wichita and Mid-America.

Kh. Linda Funk recently joined the Christian Education Department as Coordinator for the new diocese of Eagle River and the Northwest, with the blessings of His Grace, Bishop Joseph. Kh. Linda is a teacher of piano. Her husband, Fr. Bernard, is the priest at St. Vincent of Lerins Orthodox Church in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. They have 4 adult children.  Linda is also an OCEC trainer, and assisted Myra Kovalak, Director of the OCEC Department of Teacher Training, in revising the course outlines for the workshop, "Educating Ourselves and Our Children in Godliness."

Joseph Tershay, a member of St. Peter and Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church, Santa Cruz, CA, has been the Christian Education Coordinator for the Diocese of Los Angeles and the West for over ten years. He is the author of The Wonder of It All, the pre-school manual published by OCEC in 1982, as well as many articles on cooperative learning for The Word and other Archdiocesan newsletters. Joe has brought nearly thirty years of teaching experience to bear on the field of Christian Education. After graduating from San Francisco State University with a BA in History, an MA in Education and a High School teaching credential, Joe first taught history in a local high school before shifting his focus from the content to the process of learning; he qualified in the Montessori method and obtained credentials in Early Childhood, Special Education, and as a Resource Specialist with the Alum Rock School District, San Jose, CA, for the past sixteen years. He has also worked for many years as a Church School Superintendent and is co-author of the Church School Director Manual.

Gail Meena attends St. Matthew the Evangelist Orthodox Church in North Royalton, Ohio. She has taught Church School for 25 years and was a church school director for 3 years at St. Luke's Orthodox Mission in Solon, Ohio. She teaches special needs students in grades K-6 in Parma, Oh. She has 3 children, ages 23, 20, and 15.

Leslee Abud's background is in Education, specifically Christian Education. At the age of 24, she was accepted into the Religious Education program at St. Vladimir's Seminary. At the same time, she was enrolled at Concordia College in Bronxville, New York, where she completed her Bachelor degree in Educational Services. Leslee is married to V. Rev. Joseph Abud and is the mother of three children. She is the Church School Director of her parish, St. George Orthodox Church in Flint, Michigan and is also an Associate of the Department of Christian Education. She has previously taught elementary education in Catholic, Lutheran, and Orthodox parochial schools and is currently working as a substitute teacher in her local school district.

Myra Kovalak has served on the Department of Christian Education for the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania, as well as the Dept. of Christian Education of the Orthodox Church in America for the past ten years, writing curriculum, coordinating retreats for teens and women, teacher workshops, children's activities, and summer camps.  She serves as chair of the Teacher Training Department of the Orthodox Christian Education Commission.  She holds a BA in English and Secondary Education, and has done graduate work in elementary and secondary education.  She participates in the Antiochian Archdiocese's annual Orthodox Institute for Christian Education, as well as Teacher Training Workshop presentations at St. Tikhon and St. Vladimir Seminaries.  She is the language arts teacher at St. John Neumann Regional Lower Academy in Williamsport, PA.  She serves on the board of the Lycoming Unit of the American Cancer Society, working on the annual Relay for Life, as well as the Reach-to-Recovery and Support Group programs for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. She is married to Fr. Daniel Kovalak of Holy Cross Church in Williamsport, PA., who serves on the OCA Department of Evangelization.  They have 2 daughters, and two grandchildren.

Catherine Sullivan holds a Bachelor's degree in Education and a Master's degree in Theology and Religious Studies with a concentration in Christian Education.  She is certified to teach both elementary and secondary students and has over twenty years of teaching experience. She was the first Director of Christian Education for the US Coast Guard and has served as a Director of Christian Education for several parishes. Catherine is an associate of the Department of Christian Education specializing in Small Church School Resources.

Sandy Mitchell received her B.A. in Biology from Cornell College. She currently teaches science to students in grades 1-12 at St. Peters Classical School Fort Worth, Texas.  She is a member of St. Peters Antiochian Orthodox Church, where she serves as part of the teen SOYO advisor team. For 18 years, she has been an active part of St. Peter's Christian Education department, serving as Church School Director, teacher, and VBS coordinator. 

Sandy is the Christian Education Director for Camp St. Raphael, for which she writes and compiles a yearly curriculumn. She serves the Department of Christian Education as the Western Rite liaison, a teacher trainer for the OCEC, and as an associate Christian education coordinator for the Diocese of Wichita and Mid America.

Phyllis Meshel Onest brings to us thirty plus years of experience in the field of Religious Education at the Metropolis and Parish levels. She has served as Religious Education Director; Church School Director & Teacher, plus Leader of Bible Studies; Adult Education Classes & Retreats. Phyllis co-founded ORTHODOX FAMILY LIFE journal, wrote for the Greek Archdiocese Center for Family Care & the Orthodox Observer and serves as a Resource Specialist.

After teaching Jr High math and science for several years, Phyllis studied at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (Brookline, MA) and earned a Master of Divinity (1977). In 2008, she began a new, full-time position as Director of the Office of Religious Education for the Metropolis of Pittsburgh. Phyllis travels throughout the Metropolis leading Teacher Training Seminars and speaking on Orthodox Christian family life. She is the mother of two young adult daughters, Michelle and Maria, her constant source of insights on education and parenting. Her website - www.phyllisonest.com - is filled with resources and ideas for Orthodox Teachers, Clergy and Parents.

Alan Irvine is a professional storyteller from Pittsburgh.  He performs at schools, libraries, museums, and churches throughout Pennsylvania. He is the leader of Logos, a Youth Storytelling troupe at the Church of the Ascension in Pittsburgh.  Alan's most recent Biblical stories include the nativity story told from Joseph's point of view and the story of the great fish mention in the book of Jonah.

Anna Timko-Hughes is the Religious Education Coordinator for the Diocese of Worcester and New England. Currently a member of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, Lawrence, MA where her husband is the pastor, Anna has been actively working for the Orthodox Church for nearly thirty years. She first served as Secretary, Treasurer and Governor of local and regional Pennsylvania chapters of the Federated Russian Orthodox Clubs of America, then as an Elementary Grades Sunday School Teacher for the OCA, and, for the past sixteen years, as a Pre-School through High School Sunday School Teacher for the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese. She has also served as the regional and local Religious Coordinator for Antiochian Women. Anna's background is in the field of Education: she graduated from Wilkes University, PA, with a BA in Sociology with Secondary Education Certification and then, after taking courses in Psychology and Curriculum at Penn State, she graduated from Lamar University, TX, with an M.Ed. in Secondary Education , concentrating in History. Throughout her teaching career, she has been involved in teaching and developing curricula for gifted young people. She is the author of the Gifted Education Curriculum Handbook: Secondary Level (Phillipsburg, PA 1980) and more recently, authored the Interactive Guide portion of The Divine Liturgy (OCEC, Yonkers, NY, 1996).

More Information on Our Speaker

Maria (Kouremenou) Khoury is the author of Orthodox Christian children's books including Christina Goes to the Holy Land walking the footsteps of Christ. She is a graduate of Hellenic College (l982), Harvard University (1985) and Boston University (1992) with a doctor of education degree. Born in Tripoli, Greece, she was raised in Denver, Colorado.

Maria is the author of Witness in the Holy Land (distributed by www.HolyCrossBookstore.com), a publication reflecting personal experiences living under military occupation with her husband the honorable Mayor David Canaan Khoury and three children Elena, Canaan, and Constantine. Her articles have been published world-wide in numerous newspapers and magazines and have been translated to various languages bringing awareness of the Christian presence in the Holy Land.

Dr. Khoury is a volunteer at St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Taybeh, Palestine, (www.saintgeorgetaybeh.org) fundraising for a housing project to help sustain the small Christian community. She has also spent three years training teachers in new classroom strategies in the Latin Patriarchate Schools throughout Palestine. She served as the only female principal at the Friends Boys School of Ramallah (l996) and worked closely with church leaders in Jerusalem as a consultant for the World Council of Churches (2004) and also headed the project to establish the International Academy of Art-Palestine (2007). She serves on the Advisory Council of World Vision Jerusalem, the Taybeh Education Fund which she founded and another non-government organization called Juhoud for community and rural development; She was a speaker at the International Bishops' Conference at Bethlehem University (Jan 2004) and over fifty churches throughout the United States. Maria Khoury has organized three successful village festivals in Palestine, Taybeh Oktoberfest 2005/06/07 boosting the local economy.

The Khourys returned to the Holy Land (1995) following the Oslo Peace Agreement boosting the economy with an investment in a microbrewery producing the one and only Palestinian beer, "Taybeh Beer" (www.taybehbeer.com) and diversified (2001) to help farmers in fair trade bottling Taybeh Olive Oil (www.taybeholiveoil.com). The "Christina Books," published in Jerusalem promote ancient Christian values, centuries-old traditions and spiritual growth:

Christina Goes to Church (1992)

You Are Special: An Alphabet Book for Children (1993)

My Orthodox Counting Book (1999)

Christina Learns the Sacraments (2001)

Christina's Favorite Saints (2002)

Christina Goes to the Holy Land (2003)

Christina's True Heroes (2005)

Coloring with Christina (2007)

A Message from Maria Khoury:

Greetings from Taybeh where today St. George Greek Orthodox Community celebrated The Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Old Julian Calendar, thirteen days later than the New Calendar. As Fr. Daoud Philip Khoury, our first cousin was conducting the Liturgy in the morning, thousands of Christians who had permits for only one day were crowding the Qalandia checkpoint to get into Jerusalem either to pray or shop. Many Palestinian Christians have a tradition to venerate the empty Tomb of the Mother of God and light candles on the left and the right of the staircase leading to the crypt. The lit candles down a hundred steps is a magnificent site itself as people pass the tombs of Sts. Joachim and Anna on the right and the tomb of St. Joseph the Betrothed on the left. This morning I prayed in Taybeh were also Fr. Tawfiq Nasser, our retired priest, has celebrated the 50th golden year of service to Christ and in June received the special blessing and cross during a special service officiated by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilus III. However, three days prior to the feast day for the Mother of God, as is also a tradition here in the Holy Land, I had the great blessing to be in the procession where the Greek Patriarch with all the faithful walked the icon of the Holy Mother of God from the convent next to the Holy Supulchre down the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, through all the stations of Christ’s passion to prepare for the celebration that took place today in the Church dedicated to the Ever Virgin Mary. It’s an extraordinary and beautiful procession to attend before sunrise and listen to the chanting dedicated to the Holy Mother of God. Not only do people come from all over the world to walk in this solemn procession in remembering the falling asleep of the Most Holy Theotokos but also bus loads use to come from all over Palestine. With the restrictions of only having a one day permit on the feast day, Palestinian Christians are missing out on these centuries old values and traditions that have maintained our deep Christian roots in the Holy Land. My son Canaan will soon return to Boston for college so he was thrilled out of the three months summer vacation to be allowed one day to visit Jerusalem. The excitement was overshadowed by the hundreds of people at the checkpoint and the long wait. Thus, holding the permits, the American passports and using an Israeli registered car, I tried to help him reach Jerusalem faster via another checkpoint (Hizma). The soldiers, of course refused to let him or my husband David, the mayor of Taybeh enter Jerusalem. I tried to plea with the soldiers that the day was ending and the permits were expiring at 10 pm so I really wanted to take my family briefly into Jerusalem. I said please, “they have American passports.” “Please they have a permit” Please conduct a random act of kindness we identified ourselves and we are unarmed civilians.” Other than pure misery and harassment, I cannot understand why Palestinians who are also holders of a valid American passport and go to the trouble to follow the crazy Israeli regulations of getting a valid permit cannot use it at the Hizma checkpoint and must be confined to only one checkpoint that always has hundreds of people waiting and hours backed up. Why can illegal Israeli settlers enter the West Bank from any checkpoint they wish and Israeli products flood the Palestinian supermarkets from any checkpoint they wish? But it’s pure discrimination and an outright violation of human rights for Palestinians. I am thinking that on each and every holy day we constantly seek God’s divine grace and love just to have the strength to survive in a land sanctified by Christ Himself but made violent and miserable by the occupation forces. Thus as the Ever Virgin Mary was a source of consolation and edification to the Apostles two thousand years ago, may she continue to be so for the Christian community in the Holy Land so that we may keep our true hope in Christ our God.