Emiritus Board Member

Mel is focused on issues of hunger, spirituality, and healing prayer as a United Methodist minister before moving to California to study with Matthew Fox.  In California, he became Fox’s personal assistant and co-director of the Doctor of Ministry program at the University of Creation Spirituality. He is a founding board member of CSC. Mel does Spiritual Companioning. He connects to nature through his garden and through immersing his hands in clay as he creates ceramic vessels.  He lives with his husband, Paul, in Walnut Creek, CA.

a retired chaplain , permaculturist and facilitator of the Work that Reconnects.

She graduated from UCS in 2001 and is a spiritual companion, workshop leader and presenter in Unitarian congregations.  She is also active with the DeepTime Network as meditation mentor and learner.  Penny and Gail Ransom are regular moderators  of the webinar, Creation in Crisis, a CSC sponsored offering.

Patty attended the University of Creation Spirituality from 1998 to 2009 and earned her DMin degree. It did take eleven years, and the benefit was meeting so many faculty and students in its incomparable program. Her novel focus was on the Wonders of the Milky Way Galaxy. That was an enriching and life changing influence. In March of 2013 she retired from IT Project Management and transitioned to work in Environmental and Social Justice issues. She has sponsored workshops on the East Coast by UCS faculty: Michael Mansfield and our beloved, late Jeremy Taylor. Patty co-hosted with Rev. Dr. Wayne Schwandt, of beloved memory, the 2012 CSC National Gathering in Rockville, Maryland, the 2024 Cape Cod Gathering, and the 2025 Virtual Gathering. Patty works with the CS team preparing liturgies for the First Sunday evening gatherings.

Charlie Dorsett is the founder of Seraphic Grove and hosts the podcasts Creation's Paths, Hallowstead, and Church of the Oak. As a nonbinary Christopagan Druid, science fiction and fantasy author, podcaster, and artist, Charlie brings a unique blend of creativity and spiritual depth to their work.

They serve as a vision keeper for sacred spaces within the Charter for Compassion and have practiced Creation Spirituality since 1999, inspired by Matthew Fox’s teachings. A lifelong mystic with a deep connection to saints and angels, Charlie has delved into western esotericism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Shamanic Judaism. Their personal spiritual practice, shared through the Wisdom’s Cry website, reflects their belief in the power of lived spirituality.

Co-President

Diza is a co-founding director of Rockhaven Ecozoic Center (2003). Gifted in ritual, soul-work, and play, she lends her spirit to the ecozoic community in the St. Louis area. As teacher, spiritual companion, and soul (end-of-life) midwife, she facilitates retreats, gives workshops, and leads worship ceremonies and rituals.  Diza is committed to fostering the sacred feminine dimension of the Divine and promoting an evolutionary consciousness while engaging in the “Great Work” of our time.

Brian Dorsett brings a rich background in finance, hospitality, and media to the Creation Spirituality Communities (CSC) Board. With over a decade of experience as a restaurant owner and manager, Brian developed strong skills in team building, operations, and bookkeeping. Before that he was in banking, insurance, and mortgage services, including time as a licensed insurance agent and assistant branch manager. Brian now supports digital media projects, serving as a podcast editor and operations coordinator for spiritual and creative content for Creationspaths.com. Passionate about community, justice, and sacred storytelling, Brian has over four decades studying religions, philosophy and spirituality with over two decades practicing Creation Spirituality after being inspired by Matthew Fox's work in 1999 and currently assists Creation Spirituality Communities through web and tech support.

Co-President

Michael Mansfield began his Creation Spirituality journey in 1978 when he first heard Matthew Fox presenting at the National Pastoral Music Convention in Detroit, MI. In 1986, he studied at Holy Names College’s Institute in Culture and Creation Spirituality (ICCS) in Oakland, CA with Luisah Teish and experienced Matthew’s liturgical exploration at The Mass of the Inner Child. In fall of 1986 until spring of 1992, Michael began teaching Creation Spirituality through dance, drama, and ritual at Pacific School of Religion at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. In 1994, he joined the faculty at ICCS. In Fall of 1996, Creation Spirituality moved “On Broadway” in downtown Oakland as The University of Creation Spirituality (UCS). Michael continued as faculty and began serving in the administration during the founding of this new moment in Creation Spirituality history. From 1996 until the present, Michael has been involved in The University of Creation Spirituality and Wisdom University in all of its many incarnations. Currently, he collaborates with the creative Creation Spirituality teams organizing First Sundays and Creation Spirituality Community Gatherings. His interest is in the intersection of dance, theater, education, justice, and Spirit. He has a kinesthetic bias.

Secretary

Morgan's journey into Creation Spirituality began in 1991 after hearing an NPR interview with Matthew Fox. In the aftermath of the Gulf War, amid a climate of fear and uncertainty fueled by nonstop media coverage, Fox's philosophy offered a healing, hopeful counterpoint. She enrolled that Fall in his Institute in Culture and Creation Spirituality (ICCS) at Holy Names University in CA. The experience profoundly shaped her worldview and continues to inform her life. After receiving her MA in Creation Spirituality, Morgan earned an MSW, MBA, and pursued legal studies. She trained in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction with Jon Kabat-Zinn, dreamwork with Jeremy Taylor, and Dream Theatre Therapy. As a social worker, she helped people affected by mental illness, addiction, and domestic violence before moving into leadership and advisory roles across mission-driven ventures and innovative industries. Morgan has volunteered by facilitating support groups, teaching yoga, dreamwork, and art-as-meditation, and currently leads workshops on creativity, healing, and purposeful living. She has spoken on topics ranging from trauma recovery to emerging technologies and humanitarian issues. Her creative work includes writing, poetry, film, and mixed-media arts, with performances across the US and UK. She currently serves on the nonprofit boards at Creation Spirituality Communities and Living Light Theatre.

Lori joined Creation Spirituality Communities not long after the pandemic ended In 2021. When Patty Mcgrath went to Italy for the winter Lori volunteered to take her position and fill in for Our First Sunday’s gatherings which were then CSIWE and we met every week. When Patty returned, Lori stayed on as part of the team and became more and more involved, creating the slides and the PowerPoints and the tech stuff and contributing a significant amount of content including her own poetry. She has taken all of the certification courses and a number of others and has audited some of them a second time. Lori has been a very active volunteer at her Unitarian Universalist Church in Shenandoah Valley of Winchester, VA. She’s worked on the worship committee for the last three years and is now taking the position of Adult Faith Development Coordinator. This work has synced with Creation Spirituality in so many ways. The many presentations and talks she has done at her UU church are similar to the goals and ideas of Creation Spirituality. Lori taught high school English for 20 years and still has a deep love of education, literature, and spirituality. She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1992 with a Masters in Education and a major in English and Secondary Education. She graduated Magna Cum Laude and was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi. Lori is retired and after many hours working with Creation Spirituality and her church, she loves to garden and read and spend time working with others.

Rev. Dr. Carolyn Million, MD,

Board President has been mixing ministry and medicine all of her adult life. She grew up in the Baptist church, but most of her profound early experiences of God were in nature. She pursued ordained ministry through the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where her clinical pastoral education inspired her to study medicine. In 2002, she was Matt Fox’s surgeon, which led her to pursue a DMin in Creation Spirituality. She now has a part time private solo practice in Proctology in San Francisco and lives with her husband and teenage children on Alameda island.

Brian Dorsett

Brian Dorsett brings a rich background in finance, hospitality, and media to the Creation Spirituality Communities (CSC) Board. With over a decade of experience as a restaurant owner and manager, Brian developed strong skills in team building, operations, and bookkeeping. Before that he was in banking, insurance, and mortgage services, including time as a licensed insurance agent and assistant branch manager. Brian now supports digital media projects, serving as a podcast editor and operations coordinator for spiritual and creative content for Creationspaths.com. Passionate about community, justice, and sacred storytelling, Brian has over four decades studying religions, philosophy and spirituality with over two decades practicing Creation Spirituality after being inspired by Matthew Fox's work in 1999 and currently assists Creation Spirituality Communities as CSC Coordinator.

Morgan Crena

Morgan is a business strategist with expertise in finance, strategic planning, and operations. She works with entrepreneurs, emerging technology startups, and early-stage companies across industries including biotechnology, sustainable building, agricultural technology, and cryptofinance. Her background includes investment analysis, financial modeling, pro forma development, capital raising, investor relations, and co-founding a fintech and cybersecurity company. As Treasurer, Morgan brings strong financial acumen, strategic thinking, and a commitment to transparency, accountability, and sound fiscal management. She is passionate about supporting organizations that create meaningful social and economic impact.