Board of Directors

Board of Directors

June Kirk

I have been a member of the Board of Directors of The Interfaith Peace Project since 2008 and was elected President of the Board in 2022.  I am the docent for the Interfaith Peace Center and Library in Antioch, CA.  “We are what you need us to be” is the philosophy that welcomes everyone who visits the Center. 

It is my blessing to be called Mother, Grandmother, and Great Grandmother.  I hold a Master’s in Pastoral Ministry and Certification as a Spiritual Director. My work has included Parish Leadership, Children’s Education, Retreat Work, and Consulting. 

Early in my involvement with The Interfaith Peace Project the Board members were asked: “Do you want your work to be part of The Interfaith Peace Project and do you want The Interfaith Peace Project to be part of your work?” My answer in 2007 was “Yes”. All these years later, The Interfaith Peace Project has become an integral part of my life, and this has been my great honor and privilege.

Patricia Black

I have been the Treasurer of The Interfaith Peace Project since its inception in 2006. I volunteer most of my time in Interfaith Ministry to the incarcerated, the houseless, the hungry, and the poor. Since 1992, I have been a Detention Minister, most recently at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, CA. I am retired Director of Adult Faith Formation at St. Isidore’s Catholic Church in Danville, CA. I was the former Vice-President of Operations of Bay Area Rentals and held various management and bookkeeping positions. I love to travel around the world!

Susan Batterton

I serve as the Secretary of the Board of Directors. I graduated from Urbandale High School in Urbandale, Iowa, in 1969 and Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1974. I worked for 38 years as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist, retiring in 2012 as the Clinical Lab Manager of Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in Martinez, California. I became involved in Interfaith work after attending The Interfaith Peace Project’s September 21, 2009, celebration of the International Day of Peace at St. Ignatius of Antioch Church.  It was there that I met people of other faiths one on one . I was able to hear their personal faith stories and realize their stories were as valid as my own. I  began to volunteer at the Interfaith Peace Project in 2009 and eventually took over the responsibility of keeping the website up to date and sending out our emails to over 700 recipients. I was elected to the Board of Directors and Secretary of the Board in 2022.

Rev. Patrick Davis

I am a retired United Methodist Pastor after serving 30 years in the United Methodist Church in the North Alabama, Tennessee, and California Nevada Conferences.   I am the Founder and Executive Director of the Bay Area Alliance for Youth and Family Services, Inc., a short-term residential therapeutic program providing mental health and residential services to youth in need of out-of-home care.  

I received Ordination from the California-Nevada Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in Sacramento, California.  I hold a Master of Divinity from the Candler School of Theology, Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia.  I am the author of “Creating Caring Communities” an ecumenical educational program sponsored by the California Council of Churches.

In addition to pastoral training, I have extensive experience working with ecumenical and interfaith agencies as a Christian Educator with a focus on faith development and youth ministry.   As a professional and as a volunteer, I serve with other professionals on the South Valley Interfaith Clergy Association and the Interfaith CommUNITY Council of Santa Clara where I have provided innovative training structures for the California Department of Social Services for Administrators seeking State Certification as Administrators in Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Programs in California.  I was one of the founding organizers of the South County Interfaith Clergy Association known for its active leadership for interfaith activities and social justice. I can be reached by email:  [email protected]  

Melissa Granchi

I have worked as a Licensed Marriage and Family therapist and in other roles in the field of mental health for over 20 years. In 2019, I received a DMin in order to support and facilitate retreat work with my husband, Phil. Currently, I oversee operations of Nautilus Book awards, which recognizes and honors books that contribute to the greater good of humanity and the planet. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and can frequently be found reading books or going for a run outside. 

Rev. Leah Grace Maxwell-Styles

Inspired by those seeking to create peace, I began volunteering with the Interfaith Peace Project in January 2016, joined their Board of Directors, and in 2017 became the Director of one of the project’s newest centers. I was ordained as an Interfaith Chaplain at the Chaplaincy Institute in March 2018, Interfaith Spiritual Director in September 2020 and am currently enrolled in a dual Master’s Degree Program at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. I identify my spirituality as “spiritual, not religious”. 

I am passionate about my study of traditional Hawaiian dance, Hawaiian culture and Indigenous spirituality.  I have experience as a hospice volunteer and as an advocate for marginalized people including youth at risk, the elderly and their caregivers.  I live in Cloverdale, California with my wife, Beth, and our Bassett Hounds, Happy and Exuberant. 

Past Board Members

Rev. Andrea Goodman
In Memoriam
August 30, 1950 – December 31, 2021

Rev. Andrea Goodman was the Co-founder and President of the Board of Directors of The Interfaith Peace Project. Andrea was ordained an Interfaith Minister in 2009 by the Interfaith Chaplaincy Institute and was an interfaith spiritual director from 2002 until her death in 2021.  Andrea was a volunteer hospital chaplain and led Sacred Visits for The Interfaith Peace Project. She was a seasoned human resources and diversity professional.

Lonnie Bristow, M.D.
Emeritus Board Member

Lonnie joined the Board of Directors of the Interfaith Peace project in 2010 leading the Peace Pole Initiative. The Peace Pole Project was founded in 1955 by Masahisa Goi in Japan after the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima. The Interfaith Peace Project planted our first Peace Pole on September 21, 2009, and has continued promoting The Peace Pole Project in homes and communities in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Lonnie is an award-winning physician and is a former President of the American Medical Association. Lonnie retired from the Board of Directors in 2017, and was appointed Board Member Emeritus.