Board and Staff
Board bios
David Spain Jump to top ^
Rev. David Spain, President of The Xenia Institute, is the Senior Minister of the First Christian Church of Norman, Oklahoma. Rev. Spain serves on the board of Norman Mission Ministries and also on the Oklahoma Regional Board of the Commission on the Clergy. A resident of Norman for 10 years, Rev. Spain is committed to the work of social justice and community reconciliation. Rev. Spain has worked with and on behalf of the local of chapter of Habitat for Humanity, Food and Shelter for Friends, Health for Friends, and has traveled nationally and internationally on mission trips. Rev. Spain recognizes that addressing the root causes of injustice and inequality are essential to healing a society and its people and that the starting place for such healing is learning how to speak, listen, and engage our fellow citizens for the common good.
Lynne Levy Jump to top ^
Lynne Levy is a medievalist working on The Variorum Chaucer, a research project at OU, publishing editions of the works of the 14th century English poet Geoffrey Chaucer. Lynne received her undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University and her MA and PhD from the University of Oklahoma. Before becoming one of the editors of the Variorum Chaucer she taught in the English Department at OU. She presently teaches an Adult Sunday School class at First Christian Church, Norman; the class, called the Seekers’ Class, continually strives to increase the overall religious literacy of its members and is a weekly exercise in implementing the sort of dialogue that Xenia promotes. Lynne has many and varied interests, among them: reading, gardening, singing, hand work of all sorts, birdwatching, travelling, and reading Latin and Biblical Greek. She is married to David Levy, emeritus professor of American History at OU; they have two adult children, also professors. David and Lynne have lived in Norman for more than 30 years and have been active in the civic life of the community as well as in campus life. Lynne has been active in the Xenia Fellows program from its inception.
Melanie Hall Jump to top ^
Melanie Hall, Secretary of The Xenia Institute, is the Deputy Administrator and Director of Enforcement for the Oklahoma Department of Securities. A native Oklahoman, Melanie graduated with a BBA from the University of Oklahoma and earned her law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. A resident of Norman since 1977, Melanie is a member of the First Presbyterian Church where she is active in the mission and social justice programs. With a keen interest in politics at the local, state, and national levels, Melanie recognizes the ever increasing importance of dialogue in solving the critical issues of our communities, nation and world.
Michael Palermo Jump to top ^
Michael Palermo, a native of Houston, Texas, retired from real estate in 2005 after spending 33 years building a successful office with over 40 agents. After moving to Norman two years ago, he and his wife Paula opened Michelangelo’s Coffee & Wine Bar, a similar establishment to the coffee and wine bar Michael opened in Denver by the same name. Michael has served the various communities in which he has lived by volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters and Catholic Charities of Houston, Galveston and Denver. Michael has also traveled abroad on various mission trips. Michael believes there is a need for dialogue in all kinds of communities and feels fortunate that The Xenia Institute is committed to fostering dialogue and communication right here. Upon first learning of Xenia, Michael was reminded of a saying of his late father, “talk slow, but think fast.” Michael appreciates the skills of careful consideration and meaningful dialogue that are reflected in that saying, and he is pleased to see them at work in the Norman community.
Charles Gilbert Jump to top ^
Charles Gilbert is a retired professor in the University of Oklahoma School of Geology and Geophysics. An alumnus of OU from the late 1950s, he taught at Virginia Tech for 15 years, Texas A&M for 7 years, and OU for 17 years. Major research interests now are concentrated on understanding the geological history of the Wichita Mountains area of southwest Oklahoma. As a member of First Presbyterian Church, he was a representative to Xenia’s predecessor organization, the United Ministry Center, and has continued on the board with the founding of Xenia in 2008. Charles is particularly interested in the way Xenia’s work brings diverse groups in our community into dialogue, improving the lives of all involved and working toward a dialectic of the commons.
Vicki Schaeffer Jump to top ^
Dr. Vicki J. Schaeffer, a native of Salem, Ohio, is currently Director of Recruitment for the McClendon Honors College and an adjunct Assistant Professor for the College of Liberal Studies at the University of Oklahoma. She received a Doctor of Music Degree from Indiana University-Bloomington, with a double major in organ performance and church music. She also holds degrees from Mount Union College and Kent State University. A church organist since the age of 15, currently serving as organist at First Christian Church in Oklahoma City while maintaining an active recital and workshop schedule, Dr. Schaeffer has spent the majority of her career in education, having held teaching positions in Ohio, Hawaii, and Oklahoma. Serving both public and private institutions as well as universities has laid the foundation for her belief in the Xenia mission. She has seen first hand how building relationships through listening and dialogue can help to transform lives.
Kay Ham Jump to top ^
After a long career in leadership positions with the American Red Cross, Kay is an adjunct faculty member for the OU College of Liberal Studies and the Department of Human Relations. She teaches courses in conflict resolution and the study of organizations through the lens of the human relationships that make them what they are. She also consults with organizations and has co-authored chapters for The Handbook of Human Resource Management in Government. An active volunteer, Kay is a member of the Norman Human Rights Commission, National Issues Forum moderator, Norman Public Library literacy tutor, HeartLine teen suicide prevention facilitator, and past president of PFLAG Norman.
Kay is drawn to Xenia because its values and mission are consistent with her belief that people with divergent views can develop and strengthen their capacity to engage constructively in authentic dialogue about matters that are important to them.
Bob ThomasJump to top ^
Bob Thomas was named on July 18, 2011, to serve as the Executive Director of The Xenia Institute. A native of Oklahoma, Bob has lived and worked in various parts of the country with those around him never missing his pride in his Oklahoma roots and his joy in being a Sooner. Chalking it up to diversity, Bob completed his undergraduate studies at Texas Tech University with a degree in Political Science and conducted his graduate studies in Public Administration at North Texas State University. Bob later worked as an Assistant Director of Athletics at Texas Tech and later served in the same position at Appalachian State University. Bob’s work in service to academic missions attracted the interest of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In 1990, he responded to a call to work for the NCAA with primary responsibilities for the development of an athletics certification program to serve colleges and universities in response to the Knight Commission’s call for reform in intercollegiate athletics. The program developed continues to stand as the primary tool used by institutions of higher learning to establish and maintain dialogue on intercollegiate athletics’ dedication to academic missions, governance and rules compliance, academic integrity, student welfare, minority plans and gender-equity. As the NCAA moved its offices to Indianapolis, Bob remained in the Kansas City area, serving as the Director of Athletics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and subsequently serving as the Executive Director of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association. “In all settings in which I have worked, I have recognized that our most significant progress and greatest accomplishments were the result of healthy dialogue,” Bob proudly states. “The mission of The Xenia Institute captures the power of what can happen when people speak, listen and engage others for a common good. I am dedicated to enhancing further our service to others, enriching lives, organizations and communities through the transformative nature of dialogue.”
Staff bio
Lisa Schmidt Jump to top ^
Lisa Schmidt, Xenia’s Director of Community Engagement, is a doctoral candidate in adult and higher education at the University of Oklahoma with more than thirty years of higher education administration and university teaching experience. She is currently serving her fourth term on the Norman Human Rights Commission and is an active and engaged member of St. Thomas More University Parish. Her dissertation topic is academic service-learning, exploring how engaging in deliberate, meaningful and reflective service as an undergraduate might impact professional commitment as well as degree completion, especially among women in engineering and science. As Director of Community Engagement, Lisa is responsible for identifying and developing ways for Xenia to be involved in addressing critical community issues through dialogue, partnerships, and public events. Of particular interest to her are issues related to social and economic justice and inclusiveness. She is a Norman native and her doctorate will be her third degree from the University of Oklahoma.