ICJS Staff
Dr. Christopher M. Leighton
Dr. Christopher M. Leighton is an ordained Presbyterian minister who has served as the Executive Director of the Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies in Baltimore, Maryland since its inception in 1987. Dr. Leighton is a graduate of the Princeton Theological Seminary and Columbia University where he did his doctorate in Philosophy and Education. He has studied at the Baltimore Hebrew University, the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, and Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. In addition to his work at the ICJS, he has been an Adjunct Professor at the Johns Hopkins University and the Ecumenical Institute of Theology at St. Mary's Seminary & University. After co-editing Talking About Genesis: A Resource Guide for the Bill Moyers series, he conducted a variety of educational programs which explored the challenges of reading and interpreting Genesis with public and independent high school students, individuals in retirement homes and a maximum security prison, as well as a diverse cross-section of churches and synagogues.
Dr. Rosann M. Catalano
Dr. Rosann M. Catalano is the Associate Director of the Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies as well as its Roman Catholic Scholar. From 1980-1991 she was Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at St. Mary's Seminary & University in Baltimore, Maryland. She has also served as Adjunct Professor of Systematic Theology at the Ecumenical Institute of St. Mary's Seminary & University, Baltimore; and Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies at the Weekend College, The College of Notre Dame of Maryland in Baltimore. A systematic theologian, Dr. Catalano holds the Doctorate in Philosophy in Systematic Theology from the University of St. Michael's College, Toronto, where she did her major work on the theology of God and the poetry of suffering in the Book of Psalms. She is a member of a number of professional societies and ecumenical and interfaith organizations, and currently serves as the Chair of the Christian Scholars Group on Christian-Jewish Relations, a national ecumenical gathering that studies and publishes on a wide range of topics pertinent to the Christian-Jewish encounter. Dr. Catalano lectures widely to Protestant, Jewish, and Catholic audiences on theological and interfaith topics.
Dr. Adam Gregerman
Dr. Adam Gregerman is Jewish Scholar at the Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies. He focuses on the complex relationship between Jews and Christians from antiquity through the present. He has written on many topics, including Jewish and Christian polemics, mission and conversion, rabbinic theology, and Christian attitudes toward Israel. He has degrees from Amherst College (B.A.), Harvard Divinity School (M.T.S.), and Columbia University (Ph.D.), and studied at Hebrew University Jerusalem, Jewish Theological Seminary, and Union Theological Seminary. He has presented lectures in diverse settings, including academic conferences, synagogues, churches, and community centers, and taught in seminaries and universities. He is also an affiliated faculty member of the Theology Department at Loyola University Maryland and adjunct professor at the Ecumenical Institute of St. Mary’s Seminary and University. Formerly, he was visiting assistant professor of religion at Connecticut College and instructor at Columbia University, Barnard College, and Union Theological Seminary. He is on the board of the Baltimore Jewish Council and a member of the BJC/Muslims of Maryland Dialogue.
Rabbi Ilyse Kramer
Rabbi Ilyse Kramer is the educator at the Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies. She joins ICJS after spending 2007-08 in Jerusalem, Israel, as a recipient of an educational fellowship in the Melton Senior Educators program at Hebrew University. Her year-long project focused on teaching practices and curriculum development in Adult Education. As an accomplished educator, she has taught in a variety of adult education settings in the greater Baltimore and Washington, D.C. areas. From 1991-2000, she served as Jewish Chaplain at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. She was ordained and received her M.H.L in 1992 by The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, her M.A in Foundations of Education from Temple University in 1991, and her B.A in History from Lafayette College in 1984. She has lived and studied in Israel in 1982-83, 1987-88, and 1990-91 at Hebrew University, Neve-Schechter, and The Shalom Hartman Institute. Her published curricula include 'Tales from the Talmud' and 'Mahloket: Sacred Arguing in Jewish Tradition.' She is the writer and instructor of 'Bridges: from Jewish Learning to Jewish Living.'
Janis L. Koch
Janis L. Koch is an Associate Scholar at the Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies. She received a B.A. from Goucher College with a major in Russian language and literature and spent twenty-seven years teaching Russian to children and adults. Ms. Koch received an M.A. in Theology with a concentration in Jewish-Christian relations from the Ecumenical Institute of Theology at St. Mary's Seminary & University in Baltimore, MD. Her Master's thesis is entitled Christology and Covenant: Covenantal Perspective and the Centrality and Function of Jesus Christ. Ms. Koch's primary interest is the Apostle Paul, and she teaches the ICJS Mini-courses called Rescuing Paul and Rescuing Romans 9-11.
Laura Riger
Laura Riger is the Director of Administration at the ICJS. Ms. Riger is responsible for the implementation of ICJS programs and oversees all ICJS administrative functions. Ms. Riger's background includes community organizing, educational and health care administration, and public/private school teaching. Prior to her tenure at the ICJS she was Vice President of Administration at the Traditional Acupuncture School in Columbia, Maryland. She holds Masters Degrees in Education and Health Care Administration.
Nancy J. Hagner
Nancy J. Hagner is the Director of Development at the ICJS. She is responsible for fundraising, leadership development, and increasing member and community awareness of the work of the ICJS. Prior to joining the Institute, Ms. Hagner was Director of Programs, Stewardship, and Education at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church in Owings Mills. Prior to that she was a Vice President for Private Client Services at Bank of America. She has a B.A. in History and Economics from Wellesley College.
Josh Seipp-Williams
Josh Seipp-Williams is the Director of Technology at the Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies. He comes to the ICJS after spending four years with the Maryland Institute College of Art, managing their image database and Web site content in the Office of Communications. He is a graduate of Hampshire College in Amherst MA, where he studied music performance and multimedia production. He continues to play music semiprofessionally and enjoys spending time with his wife, children, and menagerie in York, Pennsylvania.
The Reverend Robert A. Waddail, Jr.
Bobby Waddail works as the ICJS Bookkeeper on a part time basis. Bobby was Baptist Campus Minister at Towson University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County for almost thirty years before retiring in June, 2007. He holds a M. Div. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a B.S. in Business Administration, majoring in accounting, from the University of Kansas. Bobby is married to Christy, a Baltimore County ESOL teacher, and they have three boys. Bobby has participated in many ICJS programs and events over the years.
Mary Ann Krastel
Mary Ann Krastel is an administrative assistant at the ICJS. She offers past experience with non-profit organizations, having worked with the Sisters of Mercy as an office manager, receptionist and editor of the sisters' weekly electronic newsletter; and with the Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart as assistant Director of Development and editor of their quarterly magazine. Mary, who has a Masters Degree as a Reading Specialist from Loyola College in Baltimore, has also taught English and reading to both junior and senior high school students.
