Ron Shive served as the Sr. Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Burlington for twenty years until his retirement in June 2022. Prior to that, he served three churches in South Carolina-in Greenville (First), Travelers Rest (Trinity), and Chapin (Lake Murray).

Ron served as the Chair of the Middle East Study Committee (2008-2010) that was mandated by the 218th (2008) General Assembly, and as a member of the Middle East Monitoring Committee (2010-2012) of the P.C.(U.S.A.). Ron served on the Steering Committee of the PJN from 2014-2018. He has traveled with a group from his church and community to Jordan, Israel, and Palestine numerous times—almost once per year since 2008. Most recently (February, May, November 2024), Ron co-led two PJN Solidarity in Suffering delegations and one CMEP trip to Palestine and Israel. Locally, he is working with GOAL Justice (Greenville Organized for Accountable Leadership) to work on social justice concerns in Greenville County.

Rev. Marietta Macy, MDiv (she/they) was first introduced to the subject of Palestine and Israel while serving as a Youth Advisory Delegate for the PC(USA) General Assembly in 2004 and has stayed connected ever since. She graduated from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 2014 with her M.Div. and from 2013-2019 she served in various roles on the Steering Committee of the Palestine Justice Network of the PC(USA) including as Co-Moderator.

Dave Jones has served as our treasurer for years. He has taken Palestinian human rights overtures to his presbytery for the last six GAs and can walk you through the process if you want. Contact him at djones1948@sbcglobal.net or call him at 415-453-2079 if you would like to some wisdom on the overture process to educate your church or presbytery.

Dee Roberts (she/they) is currently working as the Reference and Outreach Librarian at Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta. Her focus for Palestinian liberation is to introduce more people to the narrative of Palestinians by bringing those voices into the collections within theological libraries in the United States. Dee is committed to combatting disinformation and misinformation as it relates to Palestine.

Dee is the co-host of Bad Theology: Busted, the Podcast of the Institute for the Study of Christian Zionism. She is a dog mom of two, a multi-instrumentalist, and a beginning gardener.

Bob Ross is a geography professor at Point Park University, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has written several articles about Palestine/Israel, mostly about the BDS movement. He is currently working on a book about the role of American churches in the South African anti-apartheid movement. He has been a member of IPMN since 2012 and served on the steering committee between 2014 and 2017. He has also served as co-moderator of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and as a member of the Fossil Free PCUSA steering committee. Bob has traveled to Palestine with several delegations, both as a participant and as a co-leader. In addition to joining movements for justice, Bob loves watching baseball, playing softball, hiking with his family, running, and watching his toddler son grow up right before his eyes. He is a member of East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but as the spouse and son of Presbyterian ministers, he shares his Sundays with multiple congregations.

Rev. Dr. John C. Welch, MDiv, PhD comes with a wide variety of experience in corporate, ecclesial, and higher education environments. Over a twenty two year period, he worked as a systems engineer, Manager of Corporate Financial System and a Managing Consultant for companies such as IBM, Grubb & Ellis, and Deloitte & Touche. Subsequently, Dr. Welch spent almost 14-years as Vice President for Student Services, Community Engagement and Dean of Students at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. During that time, Dr. Welch led cross-cultural, socio-political engagement opportunities for students to the Caribbean, Mexico, Colombia, Israel/Palestine, and South Africa with the hope of expanding student global awareness and improve cultural competence.

Rev. Addie Domske (she/her) is a social worker and theologian. Addie served on the PJN steering committee from 2014-2018 and returned in 2024. She is the National Field Organizer for Friends of Sabeel North America and often organizes with Christians for a Free Palestine.

Addie loves the concept of sumud, baking without a recipe, struggling to learn Arabic, and taking care of her turtle and black cat Bissa (بسة). She lives with her spouse and kid in Pittsburgh. She writes often about Palestinian liberation work over at https://addiedomske.substack.com/.

Rev. Dr. Shannon Smythe serves in a validated ministry in the Presbytery of the Coastlands as Director of Field Education and Vocational Formation at Princeton Theological Seminary. She has spent the past decade engaging in Reformed theological scholarship and teaching in both seminary and undergraduate contexts and pastoring in PC(USA) churches in NY, DE, and NJ. With a strong commitment to seeing God’s shalom kin-domcome on earth as it is in heaven, her goal is to help cultivate students who “are able to facilitate the gathering of people together,” inviting them “into a shared offering of themselves to one another” (Willie Jennings). Shannon lives in Morrisville, PA with her husband, Kevin, son, Micah, and dog, Chloe.

Emma West Rasmus (she/her) is a Washington, D.C.–area public servant and justice advocate who has held senior roles at the U.S. Department of Justice, including managing large national gender-based violence grant portfolios and advancing access-to-justice initiatives for under-resourced communities. Her work spans violence prevention, transformative justice, civil and economic justice, and grassroots organizing. 

She is active in movements for Palestinian freedom, an end to occupation and state violence in the US and its colonies, and full democratic rights and self-determination for the citizens of Washington, D.C. Emma authored an opinion essay in The Hill, “I’m a Life-Long Democrat, but Biden Lost My Vote Because of Gaza," after a transformative trip to the Occupied West Bank in 2024 with PJN & Sabeel. She also practices relief printmaking, fiber art, and other forms of political art and music to help make sure the revolution is beautiful & irresistible.

The Rev. Dr. Mary E. Westfall currently serves as Relational Co-Leader of the Presbytery of the Coastlands, in central New Jersey. She has spent a lifetime working in the PCUSA, first at the NYC denominational offices working on women’s issues, and later as a pastor on the Upper West Side in a diverse urban congregation. Her ministry included a decade in campus ministry and nearly 20 years in parish ministry in northern New England prior to becoming a Mid-Council leader in California and now in NJ.

Her ministry has always prioritized social justice/restorative justice and received a PhD in environmental ethics which she taught for several years at the University of New Hampshire. Working intersectionally, Mary has emphasized the role of faith communities in promoting and embodying “the Beloved Community”and continues to provide leadership with the Poor People’s Campaign and is active in interfaith collaboration. Her passion for Palestinian liberation  grows out of a theological conviction regarding the integrity of all persons and rooted in liberation theology and the call to bring down the mighty and lift up the lowly and marginalized. She is passionate about the church being bolder and more engaged on behalf of the vulnerable, following the witness of Jesus Christ.