OneLife Institute is blessed by the servant-leadership of some amazing individuals. Their profiles, below, offer only a hint of the gifts of heart and experience they bring to all that they do...
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Terry Lee Williams (Board Treasurer) holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from Weber University, a Master's Degree in Economics from the University of Utah, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the University of Creation Spirituality. He recently retired from his position as a health sciences administrator with the University of California Office of the President in Oakland, CA. Williams has served as an ordained Elder and Pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal tradition and was appointed as Bishop Adjunct in the Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church based in Ghana, West Africa. His interest in fostering ecumenical spiritual practices from various faith traditions has included spiritual journeys to Tibet, Korea, Africa, India and China. With regard to this work he says, "As a founding member of the OneLife Institute board of directors, I am proud to be part of an organization that promotes deep ecumenical spiritual renewal."
Williams has an historic place in Utah politics where, as a State Senator, he sponsored social justice legislation including the vitriolically debated bill creating the Martin Luther King, Jr. State Holiday. He also advocated economic divestiture to end apartheid and sponsored nuclear disarmament resolutions. He was supporter in the early 1980's of legislative funding for research and education related to the then not well known AIDS virus.
Terry is an Architectural Tour Guide with the Asian Arts Museum and a Docent with the Museum of African Diaspora, both in San Francisco, CA. He serves on several boards, volunteers and tutors with local schools, and is a student of Tai Chi. He writes, "My passion is cultivating what Dr. Howard Thurman called the Inward Journey. This applies to not only the individual, but to the inward journey of the community, to organizations, and to the global family because despite our cherished individualism, we so desperately need one another. I believe that the inward journey leads to this realization and to our connection with the Divine."
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| Terry Williams |
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| Liza Rankow |
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| Liza J. Rankow (Board Chair)
is an interfaith minister and the founding director of OneLife
Institute. She holds a B.A. in Human Development from Hampshire College,
Bachelors and Masters degrees in Health Sciences from Duke University
School of Medicine, and a Ph.D. in Religion and Social Transformation
from Union Institute & University.
Rankow practiced as a PA in pediatric hematology-oncology at Duke
Hospital before receiving grants from the National Institutes of Health
and the American Cancer Society to address health care access issues for
marginalized populations of NC women. She worked as a trainer and
consultant for medical professionals, Dept. of Health and Human Services
(DHHS) agencies, and community based organizations in the provision of
culturally competent care to diverse populations, and developed
extensive resources for community and professional education.
Liza has provided spiritual counseling and offered classes and
workshops in spiritual development for over 20 years. She is a popular
speaker and teacher known for bringing compassion, creativity, and
insight to the process of individual and cultural healing and
transformation. As a scholar and activist, her main interest is exploring the
powerful synergy between mysticism and social change. She maintains a
special emphasis in the life and work of Dr. Howard Thurman, teaching a
variety of classes on Thurman in both academic and community settings. Liza is producer and co-editor of the six-CD audio collection, "The Living Wisdom of Howard Thurman" (Sounds True, 2010). Currently she is working on a book examining the theological and
paradigmatic context of "mystic-activism" from an interfaith
perspective, and offering practical applications of this wisdom for the
critical issues of the present day.
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Crystallee R. Crain (Board Secretary) is an educator, writer, academic, activist, and lover of friendship. She works as an adjunct faculty member at DeAnza College and the College of Alameda where she teaches Grassroots Democracy: Race, Politics and the American Promise, Grassroots Democracy: Social Movements 1960 to the Present, and American Government. She is one of the creators and the primary instructor for the Violence Prevention Certificate Program at the College of Alameda. In addition, she is a consultant for the New Sector Alliance.
Crain has 10 years experience in multiple sectors and has had many successes in the leadership development and training world. She has worked as a freelance journalist, professor, activist, and trainer for organizations in California and across the nation. She was responsible for the creation of Heal the Streets, a violence prevention / youth leadership development program in Oakland, based at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. More recently she helped develop COMMIT (Community Leadership Institute), whose mission is to engage, educate, and model change through justice-seeking and accountable leadership practices focusing primarily on cultivating action and peace.
Crystallee is a PhD Candidate in Transformative Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. She holds a Master of Arts in Social Sciences, and a Bachelors in Political Science. In January 2011 she received the Norman Lear Award from People for the American Way.
A major theme is Crystallee's work is to support the individual and community promise of healing by translating pain into positive social change and power. This is a testament to her own personal experience that has guided her spiritually.
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| Crystallee Crain |
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