DUKE DIVINITY SCHOOL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director, Thriving in Ministry Coordination Program, Leadership Education
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate Editor, Faith & Leadership
Job Titles:
- Admissions Staff Member
- Admissions Officer
- Senior Admissions Recruiter
A native of Spartanburg, S.C., Rev. Ashley Cross has lived in North Carolina since 2011. She earned a B.A. in political science and philosophy at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 2015. She earned her M.Div. at Duke Divinity School in 2019, having concentrated her studies in Christian education. Ashley is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and can often be found with a latte and a smile. She was ordained in 2019, and currently serves as a children's minister at Union Baptist Church here in Durham, N.C. Her belief that faithful Christian witness promotes individual and world transformation motivates her to aid those who are interested in pursuing a theological education and those called to vocational ministry. Ashley is enthusiastic about working with prospective students who are interested in Duke Divinity School.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Communications
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Course of Study
Job Titles:
- Administrative Coordinator, Faculty Affairs
Job Titles:
- Staff Assistant, Leadership Education
Betsy came to Duke Divinity School in 2010 as director of annual giving and soon after became a major gift officer before being named director of development in 2018. Prior to Duke, Betsy worked for nine years in development at Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill and before that had served as vice president and regional marketing manager for Nations Bank/Bank of America. She earned a B.A. from the University of Virginia and is married to Allan Poole, pastor of Blacknall Presbyterian Church in Durham. Allan and Betsy have three adult children.
Job Titles:
- Director, Thriving Rural Communities Initiative
Job Titles:
- Staff Assistant, Baptist House of Studies
Job Titles:
- Staff Assistant
- Staff Assistant - Office of External Relations
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Development
Carl joined the External Relations team in 2018, and as director of the Divinity Annual Fund and as a major gift officer, will also work to strengthen Divinity's ties with United Methodist alumni and constituents. Carl is a 1995 M.Div. graduate of Duke Divinity, as well as a 1996 Master of Sacred Theology graduate from Yale. He is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and most recently served University UMC in Chapel Hill for ten years. He has served on the Divinity National Alumni Council since 2016 and was chair of the Board of Higher Ed NC Conference of the UMC until 2016. Early in his career, Carl served as chaplain at Columbia College in S.C. and Methodist College in Fayetteville, as well as several other pastoral appointments in UMC churches. Though Carl earned his B.A. from Wake Forest in 1991, his Duke blue blood runs deep. His father, Bill King, was the Duke University archivist for 30 years, and Carl's grandparents met at Duke in the 1920's when Trinity College became Duke University. Carl is married to Stacy Wood, and they live in Chapel Hill with their two young daughters.
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean for Administration and Finance
Job Titles:
- Media Production Specialist
Job Titles:
- Director of Financial Aid
- Office of Financial Aid As the Director
Cassandra joined the Office of Financial Aid as the director of financial aid in the spring of 2014. She has more than 20 years of financial aid and higher education experience, and previously served as the associate director of financial aid at Fayetteville State University and senior account executive for Sallie Mae Incorporated, providing higher education institutions with funding and technology solutions. Cassandra also previously served as director of financial aid for Duke's Fuqua School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Director of Strategic Development, Ormond Center
Job Titles:
- Staff Assistant, Field Education
Job Titles:
- Consulting Faculty
- Fellow in Speech
Christine Parton Burkett has served as the lecturing fellow in speech at Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C., since 1991. In this role, she has worked with seminary students across Christian traditions to encourage their strengths and identify areas for growth, focusing especially-but not exclusively-on excellence in full-bodied delivery. She has been a featured presenter at more than one hundred retreats, workshops and conferences for clergy around the United States and in Canada, and she regularly coaches clergy and lay worship leaders using tools that she has created including reader's theater, choric readings, and biblical story-telling. Her writing on preaching, scripture reading, and other forms of public proclamation has been featured in publications such as Faith & Leadership and The Concise Encyclopedia of Preaching (1994). She holds degrees in theater and speech language pathology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Job Titles:
- Chapel Organist and Divinity School Organist
Job Titles:
- Director of the Center for Writing and Academic Support
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean for External Relations
Dan graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1983 with a B.S. in naval architecture and a commission as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He served on USS Rentz FFG-46 as communications officer and damage control assistant, then as NROTC instructor at the University of Southern California where he also earned an M.A. in comparative politics and a Ph.D. in American politics. Dan transferred to the Navy Reserve where he served numerous roles; he retired as a commander in 2004. In his civilian career, Dan served Occidental College in development and as an adjunct professor before returning to the Naval Academy where he started the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation and co-designed a successful $250 million campaign. Most recently, Dan served as president of Montreat College for nine years. Dan is married to Karen Brown Struble, a clinical psychologist, and they are the parents of two children, Amanda and Ben. Dan loves to spend time with his family, read, exercise, and waterski.
Job Titles:
- Director of Field Education
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Academics and Registrar
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Office of Black Church Studies
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Leadership Education
Job Titles:
- Admissions Staff Member
- Admissions Recruiter
Originally from the panhandle of Florida, Eliza Stewart loves the city of Durham. She earned a B.A. in religion at Huntingdon College in 2018 with a minor in history and focus on Christian education. She earned her M.Div. at Duke Divinity School in 2021. Eliza has a passionate heart for ministry, justice, and photography. Born a United Methodist, she responded to a call to ministry in 2013 in the United Methodist Church while also following a passion for photography and digital communication. She believes in the transformative impact of higher education to equip and form students for endless vocational possibilities post-graduation.
Job Titles:
- Financial Analyst, General Administration and Finance
Job Titles:
- Project Coordinator, Ormond Center
Job Titles:
- Communications Specialist, Leadership Education at Duke Divinity
Job Titles:
- Director of Digital Strategy
Job Titles:
- Admissions Staff Member
- Senior Admissions Assistant
MacGregor is a native North Carolinian, originally from Charlotte. He spent many years living in Boone, N.C. while he attended college at Appalachian State University where he earned a B.A. in religious studies. He recently graduated from Duke Divinity School with an M.Div. and is currently a candidate for ministry as a deacon in the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. He and his wife, Anna Britt, live in Durham with their dog, Murphy. In his free time, MacGregor enjoys checking out local coffee shops and restaurants, being outside near a body of water, and watching sports (baseball, football, and of course college basketball). He is passionate about listening to people's stories and walking alongside them as they are discerning a call to ministry.
Job Titles:
- Admissions Staff Member
- Admissions Assistant
Originally from Texas, Marleigh and her husband now reside in Durham. She received her B.A. in communications from Baylor University. Marleigh is passionate about the people around her, good books, national parks, and college football. She enjoys working with prospective students and seeing them pursue faith and academia at Duke Divinity School.
Job Titles:
- Admissions Staff Member
- Director of Admissions Operations
Morgan is here to help prospective students travel on their path through all stages of the admissions process and manages the admissions staff. She has more than 20 years of admissions experience including work with Duke University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions. She is a graduate of Kenyon College in Ohio and holds a master's degree from Duke University. Morgan is originally from Raleigh and she and her family are currently members of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Durham.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Advancement Services
Sarah comes to the Divinity School from Duke Medical Center Development and Alumni Affairs, where she had worked since 2008. She is from Charlotte, N.C., and earned a B.A. from North Carolina State University. Sarah is married to Blair, who is a Durham native. They attend Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church in Durham. Sarah enjoys visiting local restaurants, spending time with family, and exploring the outdoors.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Admissions, Recruitment, and Student Finance
Todd walks with current and future church leaders as they discern their vocation, helps them determine if theological education at Duke Divinity is a part of their calling, and then helps them figure out how to fund their education. An ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, Todd has served as a community pastor at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Downtown and has also planted a missional house church in Durham, N.C. Todd attended college at Olivet Nazarene University and has an M.Div. from Duke Divinity School and a M.P.A. from NC State University. Todd is married to Laura, and they have two young daughters.