HERE TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY
OUR TEAM
REV. CHRIS SHELTON
PASTOR
A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Chris Shelton came into the Presbyterian family while studying Drama and Music at Texas Woman's University. Chris, who had grown up Baptist, was a scholarship choir member at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Denton, TX. The creative Spirit was particularly alive at Trinity, and the worlds of theology, the arts, justice, curiosity and imagination found new life for Chris – and an unexpected journey began. After college, Chris made the leap from Texas to New York City, earning his Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary. Chris was ordained into service in 2004, as Co-Pastor of three congregations in Bergen County, NJ. In 2007 he joined the staff of Hudson River Presbytery (a regional community of 88 churches) as Congregational Connections Presbyter – where he worked with social-justice seekers from across the Hudson Valley. Chris was called as Broadway's Pastor in 2011, and continues to be thrilled to be a part of the vibrant BPC community. While at BPC, Chris has written many hymns and songs for worship. His songs, published by GIA Publications, are now included in hymnals in the US and Scotland. In the summer or 2024, while on sabbatical, Chris was overjoyed to get back to his theatrical roots, putting on his own cabaret performance here on the Upper West Side. Chris and his husband Kevin are awfully proud parents of their 8-year-old son, Ciaran.
REV. BECCA SEELY
CAMPUS MINISTER
Becca Seely leads the way with LaMP, the campus ministry we share in partnership with Advent Lutheran Church and the Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew (United Methodist). Becca was not raised in church and first began to explore questions of faith when she was in college. As a result, she is particularly passionate about working with young adults who are asking questions about God and what gives our lives meaning and purpose. She loves hearing people's stories, learning new things, and discovering the unexpected ways God is working in the world around us. In her free time, she enjoys running, cooking, hanging out with her wife and kids, and planning elaborate theme parties. She is a graduate of Yale Divinity School and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. She is an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Becca is the director of The Vine NYC, an ecumenical, progressive Christian campus ministry network of which LaMP is a branch.
REV. BRYAN MEALER
CHAPLAIN - BROADWAY COMMUNITY
Bryan Mealer is a mental health chaplain, writer, and author. Before coming to Broadway Community, Bryan worked as a mental health clinician and chaplain on one of New York City's Safe Options Support (SOS) outreach teams, helping clients experiencing poor mental health and homelessness stabilize mentally, physically, and spiritually and transition into supportive housing.
Bryan trained as a chaplain at Bellevue Hospital while earning his Master of Divinity (MDiv) at Union Theological Seminary and is ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Before entering ministry, Bryan worked as a journalist and published four books, one of which, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, was a New York Times bestseller.
JULIA HORNER
COORDINATOR OF CHILDREN & FAMILY MINISTRY
Julia Hallissey Horner (she/her) was raised in Cleveland, Ohio and lives now in Washington Heights in New York City. She attended the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program where she graduated with a double major in Dance and Women/Gender Studies. Julia also has her Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary where she concentrated on Interreligious Engagement and Worship, Preaching & the Arts. Working as a freelance dance performer, she has performed works with Winnie Berger's Mook Dance Company & Antonio Brown Dance across New York State and New Jersey. She currently performs with Hudson Ballet Theatre and is in her fourth season with the company. Additionally, Julia has worked extensively with JUNTOS Collective, a dance non-profit, working as a staff member, dance performer, and dance educator, traveling in New York, San Francisco, Boston, Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Colombia. Additionally Julia is a choreographer and dance educator at Discovery Programs on the Upper West Side, and at City Center Dance in White Plains. She is pursuing ordination within the United Church of Christ, called to build community through vulnerable storytelling and the arts and advocate for diverse voices and representation in intercultural and interfaith justice work.
STEPHANIE COOKE
ADMINISTRATOR
Stephanie Cooke joined the BPC team in 2014 in the position of Church Administrator. She has a background in both office management, with a degree from Berkeley College, and child care, making her an excellent fit for our team. She is a lifelong Bergen County, NJ resident; in fact she is part of the 4th generation of a large family born and raised in Bergen County. Stephanie is an avid sports fan, following her favorite teams, the Yankees, the Jets, and the Islanders. She also loves to do photography as a hobby. And, fair warning, Jersey Girl though she proudly is, you might just hear country music coming from her office.
ANTONIO TRUYOLS
LEAD MUSICIAN
As an internationally performing pianist and composer and educator, Antonio Truyols has enraptured audiences across four continents. His performance credits include appearances at embassies in Washington D.C. and Europe, the Royal Palace in Bucharest, and feature performances in Switzerland, Italy, Spain, France, Northern Africa and China in the jazz and classical genres. Truyols has toured China multiple times, the most recent of which included dozens of solo features across the mainland from the southern Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces to northern Inner Mongolia. His work in China has also extended to incidental music where he wrote and recorded original music for a new production of Pride and Prejudice at the Poly Theater in Beijing. Unit Three, the piano trio founded and led by Truyols earned the prize of Best Band in the Bucharest International Jazz Competition. As a soloist, Truyols served as Artist in Residence at the Tianjin Grand Theater in mainland China as the debut jazz performance in Tianjin where his performance was described as “Magic on the Piano.”
For his performances and compositions, he has garnered awards from the American Viola Society, the Maurice Gardner Composition Competition, the Nottingham International Jazz Piano Competition, and the Downbeat Awards. A true crossover pianist, he has performed with Paquito D’Rivera, Joshua Bell, Wynton Marsalis, Chris Thile. Truyols has also arranged and recorded albums with Lee Konitz, John Ellis, Donny McCaslin, and Joel Frahm among many others. His work whether it be in jazz, popular music, film music, or concert composition reflects the unique blend of his Spanish, Peruvian, and Puerto Rican heritage. Truyols is a truly American Sound that continues to capture the attention of his listeners.
PATRICK MAHANEY
MINISTER OF LIGHT & SOUND
Patrick Mahaney is a very handy person to have around. Patrick has been a part of the BPC family since he was a kid, and it seems unlikely that he'll ever grow up, which is good news for everyone! Patrick brings light to our building in ways practical and metaphorical, both inside and out. An information technology specialist by day, and a theatrical designer by night, Patrick always has some creative project going on. For down time, you might find him on a sailboat off Long Island, or in an RV (or motorcycle) heading cross country. Patrick also serves as one of BPC's great team of Elders.
ISAAC ADLERSTEIN
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - BROADWAY COMMUNITY
Since December 2021, Isaac Adlerstein has served as the Executive Director of Broadway Community. Raised in Queens and Long Island, Isaac has formally been involved in homeless services since 2017, when he began his work at the Interfaith Nutrition Network (The INN), Long Island’s largest homeless services agency. At The INN, Isaac served at the agency’s flagship soup kitchen and assisted Guests with securing employment, housing, and other resources. He ultimately joined The INN’s staff and led projects to develop more effective case management and reporting tools.
Immediately prior to joining Broadway Community, Isaac served as the Director of Volunteer Services at Commonpoint Queens, Queens’ largest social service agency. There, Isaac oversaw all agency volunteer operations and mobilized 1,500 volunteers to provide critical support to the agency's food pantries, workforce development initiatives, senior centers, and after school programs.
Isaac has also worked with Paul’s Place in Baltimore, the Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services, and Habitat for Humanity NYC.
In the Summer of 2023, Isaac led a $75 million initiative with the Eric Adams Administration and New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS) to create 50 new shelters within houses of worship for asylum seekers — with the programs of Broadway Community being held up as the model for what's possible. Isaac was a central part of a working group about the faith community's response to homelessness and wrote the language upon which the program is based.
Isaac holds a Bachelors in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University and currently serves as the Board Chair of the Emergency Shelter Network (ESN), a subsidiary nonprofit of NYDIS that empowers faith-based organizations to provide shelter, assistance, and support to New Yorkers experiencing homelessness.
JAYA MISRA
NURSERY SCHOOL DIRECTOR
Jaya Misra is the Nursery School Director of the Great Little School at BPC. Prior to her role as Director, she worked as an Assistant Preschool Director, Child Development Specialist, and as a classroom teacher for ten years. She is an advocate of play based, developmentally meaningful education.
Other areas of importance in her life are animal rescue, creative writing, and spending lots of time with her family and friends. She is grateful to be in such a warm and accepting community and to work with children, teachers, and families.
DALE WHITE
BUILDING SUPERINTENDENT
Dale White is an Equity Actor/ Theatrical Carpenter. He has over 12 years of experience within the theatre and now spends most of his time keeping the cogs of BPC running. He enjoys building random things, playing video games, karaoke, and spending time with the dog.
Dale always cheers for all the Detroit teams in sports, but never cheers for winter.
TIM FIELDS
CHEF & FOOD SERVICE DIRECTOR - BROADWAY COMMUNITY
Chef Tim shares his culinary skills and experience with our Soup Kitchen guests -- serving up beautifully prepared, tasty meals every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.
LAURENS FELIKSDAL
RECEPTION
Laurens Feliksdal was born in Suriname, in South America. He graduated from the Algemene Middelbare School, the oldest educational institution in Suriname. He came to the United States in 1986, and has four children: Gilton, Eunice, Jamal, and Chantal. He loves sports (especially the local New York teams) and enjoys good food. Laurens says, “I love working for BPC, because I meet new people every day and get the chance to help.”
GREGORY TOGBAH
RECEPTION
Gregory Togbah is a New Yorker, through and through. Born in Metropolitan Hospital and raised in the City all his life, Gregory says, “I’ve seen a lot, as a child and as a grown-up, but life goes on.” Gregory is the senior member of the Broadway Presbyterian Church staff, having worked here since 2002. One of his favorite jobs at BPC is opening the church doors on Sunday morning – in doing so, Gregory gets our spirit of welcome started. A fan of different kinds of music, he also likes to D.J. whenever he gets the chance.
SASSY
CHURCH DOG
True to her name, Sassy is our building's "sassy," but lovable mascot. She can often be seen tagging along with the Building Superintendent or hanging out in the church office. She even gets to visit the Nursery School kids from time to time. She loves chasing balls in the Parish Hall and helping out around the building, especially since it usually leads to treats from all her friends!