The Advisory Council of the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University is composed of alumni and friends of the College. It exists to:

  • Assist the Templeton Honors College in maintaining a distinctive niche within higher education that includes great books and ideas, the integrated formation of students, and preparation for service to the common good.
  • Provide consultation to the Dean regarding professional needs, challenges, and opportunities both locally and nationally.
  • Enhance the academic quality of the Templeton Honors College through financial development.
  • Facilitate the vocational development of Templeton students through mentoring, internships, and research opportunities.
  • Promote public awareness of the Templeton Honors College, its programs, and activities.

Members of the Advisory Council

Leah Sioma

Leah Sioma is a graduate of the 2010 Templeton Honors College class. At Eastern she majored in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics and was a Fellow of the Agora Institute for Civic Virtue and the Common Good. Since then she has worked with non-profit organizations to connect CEOs, foundation executives, philanthropists, and nonprofit leaders around the world. She is passionate about Great Books, Big Ideas, Chance the Rapper, her husband David, and her newest love, her son Theo.

Redmond Brubaker

Redmond Brubaker is the Executive Assistant to the President of the John Templeton Foundation, a philanthropic organization that invests in research at the intersection of science and theology. There he works with the President across all of the organization’s initiatives, from strategic planning for future grant making, to the management of the investment portfolio, to interfacing with the Board of Trustees. Previously, he served as a member of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences department at the Foundation, managing a portfolio of grants in the areas of astronomy, physics and computer science. He graduated from the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in both Mathematics and Philosophy. Redmond and his wife Christina (Templeton Honors College class of 2012) have two daughters, Haya and Arden, and live in Ambler, Pennsylvania. They worship at the First Presbyterian Church of Ambler where Redmond serves as an Elder.

Zach Custer

Zach Custer was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the Templeton Honors College in May of 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. While at Eastern, Zach did undergraduate research in nanoparticle technologies and interned as an Applications Chemist with a local polymer chemistry company. Zach also met his now wife, Samantha, during his time at Eastern. Since graduating from Eastern, Zach has worked as a chemist at Merck & Co. where he develops quality control test methods for new pharmaceutical products. Zach and Sam currently live in Ardmore, PA.

Nathan Farris

Nathan Farris is a native son of Overland Park, Kansas. He moved to the Philadelphia area to attend the Honors College. He graduated summa cum laude in 2013 with a degree in philosophy and economics. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He graduated law school magna cum laude in 2016. He works at one of Philadelphia’s top law firms: Ballard Spahr. At Ballard, Nathan’s practice focuses on real estate law. Nathan is an active member at Liberti Church Center City. He and his wife Betsy live a row-home in South Philadelphia with their adorable puppy.

Joshua Gibbs

Joshua Gibbs teaches great books at Veritas School in Richmond, Virginia, and regularly speaks at national conferences on classical education. His work has been published in First Things and he is a frequent blogger for the CiRCE Institute. His first book, How To Be Unlucky: Reflections on the Pursuit of Virtue (CiRCE Institute, 2018), is part memoir and part commentary on Boethius’ The Consolation of Philosophy. It earned acclaim from Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse and Norms and Nobility author David V. Hicks. Josh’s forthcoming book (Spring 2019) addresses assessment and the use of catechisms in the classroom.

Allison Greenplate

Allison Greenplate is a Pennsylvania native. She graduated summa cum laude from the Honors College in 2012 with a degree in biology. During her time at Eastern, Allie conducted research with Dr. Maria Fichera, studying drug resistance in the parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. After graduating, she spent two years working as an Assistant Scientist at Janssen before pursuing a Ph.D. in Pathology, Microbiology, & Immunology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. Allie was awarded her Ph.D. in May of 2018 for her research investigating the systems immunology response to immunotherapy in patients with melanoma. She and her husband, Jason, are currently in the process of moving from Nashville to Philadelphia where she will begin a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.

Allen C. Guelzo

Allen C. Guelzo is the Director of Civil War Era Studies and the Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College. He is one of three recipients of the 2018 Lynde and Harry Bradley Prizes, an honor which recognizes individuals whose accomplishments support the principles and institutions of American exceptionalism. One of the country’s preeminent Civil War era historians and a leading authority on President Lincoln, Professor Guelzo has written for and appeared on numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Brian Lamb’s BookNotes, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Among his many honors are a 2010 Grammy Award nomination for a BBC Audio production of the Lincoln-Douglas debates; the Lincoln Award of the Union League of Philadelphia; and three Lincoln Prizes for books about Abraham Lincoln. Dr. Guelzo was nominated by President Bush to the National Council on the Humanities and was awarded the Medal of Honor of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. He has been a fellow of the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History at Harvard University and the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. Guelzo holds degrees from Cairn University, Reformed Episcopal Seminary, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Allen lives in Paoli and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania with his wife, Debra.

Christopher Hall

Christopher Hall serves as the President of Renovaré, a Christian non-profit organization dedicated to helping individuals and churches to become better Christians by engaging in “intentional Christian spiritual formation.” For nine years, Chris served in a number of administrative roles at Eastern University, including Dean of the Templeton Honors College, Dean of Palmer Theological Seminary, Provost, Chancellor of Eastern University, distinguished professor of theology, and director of academic spiritual formation. Dr. Hall possesses a B.A. from UCLA in history, an M.A. in biblical studies from Fuller Theological Seminary, a Th.M. from Regent College, and a Ph.D. from Drew University. He has served in the pastorate overseas (France, 5 years) and in Canada (British Columbia, 2 years). He has also served as Director of Pastoral Care at New Jersey’s only state gero-psychiatric hospital.

Dr. Hall has ministered in Asia, Africa, South America, Europe, the Middle-East, Canada, and the United States. He is associate editor of the Ancient Christian commentary on Scripture, and his books include Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers, Learning Theology with the Church Fathers, Worshiping with the Church Fathers, and his newest release, Living Wisely with the Church Fathers.

He and his wife, Debbie, live in Pennsylvania and have three grown children, Nathan, Nathalie, and Joshua.

Caren Lambert

Caren Lambert received her BA in English from Yale University (Summa Cum Laude) after which she worked as a management consultant in New York City. She returned to school to earn her PhD in American Literature from University of California, Berkeley specializing in regional literature, with a focus on the American South and the construction of regional identity. After graduating in 1999, she moved to Moscow, Russia where she was an adjunct professor at Moscow State University in a program for bilingual Russian undergraduates run by the University of Colorado, Denver. She then became an assistant professor at the Russian American Christian Institute, a Christian liberal arts university training Russian students to be agents of renewal and reconciliation in society.

In 2008 she returned home to the Philadelphia area with her two sons. She has taught as an adjunct professor at Eastern in the Templeton Honors College and at Main Line School Night, the local adult extension school. She is an active member of the Quaker community at Radnor Friends meeting where she works to make their large property a haven for native plant and animal species. She is also involved with local organizations that offer free English language and reading instruction to immigrants.