Brian Riendeau – Chair
Brian is Executive Director of Dare to Care Food Bank. Established in 1971, Dare to Care delivers over 19 million meals each year through a variety of programs to Kentuckiana families struggling with hunger. He previously served as Vice President of Government & Community Affairs at Yum Brands, and spent six years as a Legislative Assistant for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in Washington, DC. Brian serves on the board of the Kentucky Food Bank Association and is a member of the Kentucky Hunger Task Force
Crawford Wells – Treasurer
Crawford is retired from working in the restaurant industry for over 40 years. He sold his last restaurant, W. W. Cousins, in 2017. He is also on the board of Commonwealth Bank and Trust’s Holding Company.
Barbara Barry Banta
Retired from a 30+ year career in publishing, publication design and small business ownership, Barbara is a founding member of the Mindfulness Mentors, an Earth and Spirit Center outreach program in which volunteers mentor and share the practice of mindfulness with some of Louisville’s underserved communities. Barbara has been an enthusiastic meditation student at the Earth and Spirit Center for 10+ years. She and her husband have raised three sons within the Saint Agnes Parish School and community.
David M. Feldkamp
David is an Assistant Jefferson County Attorney prosecuting child abuse cases for over 20 years. He also maintains a civil law practice. David has completed multiple classes at the Earth and Spirit Center and is an advocate for mindfulness among his fellow attorneys.
Dr. Ashley Hicks
Ashley is a specialist in couples/family therapy, a licensed marriage and family therapist, and assistant professor of marriage and family therapy at Louisville Seminary. Ashley has worked in a number of clinical settings serving clients from diverse backgrounds including racial/ethnic minorities, LGBTQ populations, homeless and low socio-economic individuals and families. She currently operates a small private therapy practice in Louisville, KY where she serves individual, couple, and families in the local community and surrounding areas. Ashley is also a yoga teacher.
Dr. Haleh Karimi
Haleh is a University Lecturer at the University of Louisville’s College of Business, teaching in the Computer Information Systems department. She holds a PhD in Management and an MBA. She has served as a consultant, IT developer, startup CEO, and as the nonprofit executive director of Interfaith Paths to Peace. She was given the Women STEAM Leadership award in 2020 by the RockIT Women organization. Haleh is a Kentucky Colonel and a recipient of Kentucky’s 2017 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award.
Br. John Monzyk, CP
Br. John has been a member of the Passionist community, a Catholic religious order, for over 50 years. He holds a doctorate in physics and has taught at the high school through university level. He currently serves as the Superior of the Sacred Heart Passionist Retreat, which founded the Earth & Spirit Center and on whose property the Center operates.
Deryl Sweeney
Deryl is a meditation student and the co-owner of CoPilot LLC, a firm that provides marketing and technology solutions for a variety of for-profit and non-profit business. He is also the founder of CureCF, a foundation devoted to raising funds for medical research of cystic fibrosis.
Jerry Weber
Jerry is the retired executive director of Boys and Girls Haven in Louisville, KY. He is active on several local nonprofit boards.
Ryan Whelan
Ryan is a native Louisvillian working in Commercial Real Estate, both as consultant and investor, since he returned home in 2016. He previously worked on democracy promotion and elections across Asia with the Asian Network For Free Elections (ANFREL), where he served for six years as ANFREL’s Campaign & Advocacy Program Officer. Prior to that he served in the Peace Corps in Northeast Thailand, worked in the immigration legal clinic with Catholic Charities, and attended Northwestern University Law School where he focused on governance, environmental law and international rule of law issues. When not working, he’s an avid cyclist and traveler.