Purple Table Series: "It’s All About the Table!" Webinar Speakers

The Rev. Dr. Miriam Méndez is a native New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent with a deep and longstanding connection to the American Baptist Churches. With over 25 years of dynamic leadership across pastoral ministry, regional work, spiritual direction, mentoring, seminary teaching, and community engagement, Rev. Méndez has developed a rich and multifaceted perspective on church leadership. In her role as Executive Minister for ABCNJ, Rev. Méndez collaborates with local churches on a variety of critical issues, including conflict resolution, pastoral search committees, leadership development, and revitalization efforts for declining churches. Her approach has always been rooted in building strong, collegial relationships with church leaders, and strengthening ties within the region. Before her tenure in New Jersey, she served as the Associate Executive Minister for the American Baptist Churches of the Central Pacific Coast in Oregon, where she also planted Esperanza Church, the first bilingual (Spanish/English) congregation in the region.

Sydney Swonigan is a business strategist, Certified Co-Active Professional Coach (CCPC), and founder passionate about helping families and women thrive through life’s transitions. She leads planning and insights for Xbox at Microsoft, where she partners across teams to shape strategy and drive data-informed decisions for one of the world’s largest gaming platforms.

She is also the founder of Exes & Babies, a co-parenting media and education platform reaching thousands of families through coaching, community events, workshops, and a nationally recognized podcast designed to turn conflict into collaboration.

Spiritually grounded and purpose-driven, Sydney believes leadership starts from the inside out. Her favorite and most important role is being mom to her son, Dior.

Dr. Marissa Muoio is the Academic and Program Administrator in NYU’s Office of Student-Athlete Excellence, advancing academic support, eligibility, and leadership development through the Violet Leadership Academy. She holds an Ed.D. from Seton Hall University in Education Leadership, Management, and Policy. Previously, she served as Director of Strategic Initiatives & Leadership and Director of the National Center for Girls’ Leadership at Stuart Country Day School. A recognized voice in girls’ education and equity, she authored The Cor Cordis Blueprint for Student Well-Being, presents internationally, and was named a 2023 YWCA Princeton Tribute to Women honoree for advancing inclusive, purpose-driven education.

Kelmadis Pérez Rivera was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, in late December 1976, and was raised in the rural areas of Dorado, Ciales, and Naranjito. She is the second child of Rev. Justino Pérez Ojeda (may he rest in peace) and Zaida D. Rivera Rivera. She has an older sister, Keyla, and a younger brother, Kaleb.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in Agronomy and Soils (Agricultural Sciences) from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez Campus and a Master of Arts in Religion from the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico. She also completed a Certification in Participatory Environmental Management and Ecotheology at the Evangelical Seminary, a Diploma in Ecojustice Ministries from United Theological College in Bengaluru, India, and a Certification in Climate Justice and Faith from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. She was also part of Cohort 3 of Púlpito Fellows.

Kelmadis has served as a Bible school teacher for more than 30 years. She has also been a summer camp leader with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Puerto Rico (Campamento C.M. Morton) and a volunteer reforestation leader (Ciudadana Botánica) with the organization Para la Naturaleza. She was a founding member of the Interreligious Women’s Collective in Puerto Rico. In addition, she has served as secretary and co-coordinator of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Dialogue Table and is an active member of the Women’s Pastoral and Gender Justice ministry of the Latin American Council of Churches.

Since March 2000, she has been married to Jesús Rodríguez Cortés. She is the mother of Gabriela Victoria Rodríguez Pérez and Jesús Gabriel Rodríguez Pérez. She lives in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico.

She is currently developing Finca Eirène, a family-based ecofeminist agricultural project that hopes to become a community project in the future. The farm is based on agroecology and agroforestry, and currently includes fruit trees, vegetables, and hens.

Dr. Rocío Cardona holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, and currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico in Bayamón. She grew up at the (Disciples of Christ) Christian Church in Puerto Rico, and for the past three years have become a member of the Presbyterian Church in Bayamón. In both congregations she has served as a teacher.

Being the first Afro-Latina in receiving a post-doctoral research scholarship from the provost office at the University of Pennsylvania Rocío, knows what are the challenges for women, afro descendants, and Latinos in the sciences, but also how faith can impact the ways those challenges are faced.

She is passionate about teaching and being a mom. She will bring to the table an honest conversation of how science has strength her faith, and also how her faith has shaped the way she navigates the challenges on the road.

Hannah Grieser is a wife, mother, writer, and, above all, a disciple of Jesus. She believes that God uses work to transform us while inviting us to partner with Him in redeeming the world. That conviction fuels everything she does, whether she’s ghostwriting books, editing content to clarify a message, or playing cars with her one-year old son.

She currently has the honor of serving as the Grant Writer and Content Manager for Sinapis, an organization that makes disciples and alleviates poverty through the power of entrepreneurship. There, she blends strategy and story to help drive real, measurable change in frontier markets.

In 2024, Hannah founded Milk & Honey Content Creation, a collective of writers that empowers Kingdom-minded ministries, leaders, and businesses to magnify their message and transform lives through the written word. As a full-service book writing and consulting agency, Milk & Honey provides prayerful partnership and technical support at every stage of the writing and publishing process.

Her favorite things to do are spending time with her family, reading the Word at a local coffee shop with her husband, Mason, and spending time outdoors.