Our Leadership Team

Rev. Dr. Lori Whittemore

Founder, Executive Director, Board President

Rev. Dr. Lori Whittemore is the founder of SCS Maine and is currently serving as the Executive Director.  Lori received her doctorate of ministry from the George Fox, Portland Seminary, her master of divinity from Bangor Theological Seminary, and bachelor of art in psychology from George Washington University. Lori has served as executive director of the Abbey of Hope interfaith cooperation circle and previously created and organized the spiritual care programs for the Maine region of the American Red Cross, and State of Maine, Maine Responds teams.  The vision for SCS Maine came to Lori after graduating with her Mdiv as a model for putting spiritual care out in the world outside of established institutions.

Rev. Jackie Thornton

Clinical Director

Jackie is our Clinical Director. She earned an Master of Divinity degree from Bangor Theological Seminary. She is a certified Maine Law Enforcement Chaplain with 16 years of experience in serving Law Enforcement Agencies. She is well versed in stress management for first responders and Critical Incident Stress Management. She is ordained in the United Church of Christ and provides  ministry services for churches around the state.  Jackie joined our team as an on call  chaplain in 2021.

Diane Dicranian

Diane Dicranian, Board Treasurer, is a Quaker and Clerk of Midcoast Meeting of Friends. Diane attended Bangor Theological Seminary.

  • Diane was recently certified as a Youth Mental Health First Aid Provider. Diane serves on her Meeting's Ministry and Counsel as well as New England Yearly Meeting of Friends Ministry and Counsel.

Rev. Linda Card

Rev. Linda Card, Board Member, is an ordained interfaith chaplain who came to the field after a 25 year career in technology sales.

  • Linda is currently a volunteer chaplain at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, Linda is a certified End of Life Doula who enjoys working with others, both individually and in groups, where she practices non-judgemental, compassionate listening. She tries her best to meditate and laugh daily.

Rev. Liz Farmer

Liz, Board Member, is an ordained chaplain and meditation teacher. She has worked in a variety of contexts, including health care, end of life, education, and carceral settings.

  • Liz (She/her) also co-leads a meditation community in Southern Maine dedicated to engaging with the connections between wisdom teachings and social justice. Liz currently serves as a mentor for students in Upaya Zen Center’s chaplaincy training program and is studying to be a lay teacher of Zen under the guidance of Roshi Joan Halifax. She recently served on the board of Renewal in the Wilderness, a Maine-based organization dedicated to guiding encounters in nature for people working in helping professions.

Rev. Sue Gabrielson

Sue, Board Secretary, is the ¾ time minister at the UU Congregation of Fort Myers, Florida after serving the Sanford and Saco UU churches in Maine for 15 years.

  • Rev. Sue (as she is affectionately called) spent 8 years as director of private, bi-lingual schools in Costa Rica. She has also organized political campaigns for same-sex marriage, healthcare as a human right and climate change, she has taught classes at university, and served on many community boards including: York County Community Foundation for 10 years, Regional Boards for the UUA, School Boards in Costa Rica and more) She has two master's degrees, one in Adult Education and one in Divinity and is ABD in a PhD program in Multi-Disciplinary Human Services. Sue has worked in higher education administration and sailed three times on the Semester at Sea Program. She has two daughters: Grace and Ellie. She loves reading, playing pool, walking, biking and other outdoor activities. She currently lives in Monteverde, Costa Rica with her Tico husband (commuting monthly to Florida). Sue offers spiritual care in both Spanish and English for SCS Maine.

Rev. Lisa Steele-Maley

Lisa, Board Member, was ordained in the Interfaith tradition by Chaplaincy Institute of Maine (ChIME) and now serves as Dean.

  • In actions and words, Lisa weaves together her role as mother, daughter, wife and educator. Attentive to the affirming rhythm of the natural world and the details of daily living and relationships, Lisa strives to nurture the fierce and tender connections between self, spirit, land, and community.

    Lisa lives in an aging farmhouse on the coast of Maine with her husband and an assortment of wild and domestic critters.

Melinda Thomas

Melinda, Board Member, is a certified human rights consultant through the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights.

  • Melinda is a life-long student and practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism in the Nyingma lineage and a graduate of Sutrayana Seminary at Karme Choling. Melinda was formerly on the Board of Directors for the Center for Spiritual Direction in Springfield, Massachusetts. Melinda has worked in human services for over 30 years and is currently Project Manager at New England Arab American Organization. She has a M.A. in Culture Studies and an M.F.A. in writing.

Vanessa Titang

Vanessa, Board Member, is a minister in the Unitarian Universalist denomination. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Smith College, with majors in Philosophy and Sociology.

  • Vanessa also holds a Master of Science from Wheelock College, in Organizational Leadership; and Master of Divinity from Meadville Lombard Theological School. Prior to graduating from seminary Vanessa served as intern minister for three collaborative churches in Downeast Maine.

Morgan Rowe

Operations and Communication Manager

Morgan is a graduate of the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine (ChIME), a lifelong artist and seeker, certified life coach and a collector of useful skills in the field of communications and working with people so that they may be heard, seen, and understood.

Hannah Neer.

Administrative Assistant

Hannah is currently a college student at Husson University and works as a part-time correctional officer.

Katherine Pelletreau, MPH

Spiritual Summit Coordinator

Katherine is an Ordained Minister and Chaplain through the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine. She found her calling in spiritual care after a professional career in health policy and association management. She currently resides in Maine and Cape Cod and is the mother of two wonderful young adults. Katherine is thrilled to be putting her skills to good use working on this year’s Summit.