DWRC Advisory Board
Jane Willard has been a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist since 1976. After receiving her M.A. from Azusa Pacific University, she began her practice of 25 years at Shepherd’s House, a Christian counseling center in Van Nuys, CA. There she specialized in treating adult survivors of childhood trauma, utilizing imagery prayer and inner healing. She presented papers on this topic at conferences of Christian therapists. In 2010 Jane completed a three-year program in spiritual direction and led 3 groups through the 30 weeks of Ignatian Exercises. She continues to offer spiritual direction and prayer counseling from her office in Chatsworth.
Jane and Dallas have an adult son, a daughter and son-in-law, and one very precious granddaughter.
During a career in commercial publishing in London, James Catford published a number of global leaders as well as the adult works of CS Lewis. During his fourteen years leading the British Bible Society he set up a think tank on public Christianity called Theos. A frequent visitor to China, he served for ten years as vice-chair of the Amity Printing Company, the largest provider of Bibles in the world. And, until recently, he chaired the third oldest publisher in the UK, founded in 1698.
Today, James supports Christians in leadership around the world as Global Ambassador for American Bible Society and he chairs the newly established Center for Christianity and Public Life in Washington D. C.
A former chair of the renewal ministry Renovare, James now serves on the board of the Martin Institute at Westmont and chairs the Cultura initiative for emerging leaders. He is also a member of the Dallas Willard Research Center advisory board and is a judge for the annual Dallas Willard Book Award.
James lives in London with his wife Sue, a former TV news journalist and anchor who worked for the BBC.
Mark Nelson grew up near Chicago, graduated from Wheaton College with a degree in philosophy, and earned a master’s degree and doctorate in philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. Before coming to Westmont in 2006, he taught at the University of Leeds in England. He studies ethics, epistemology and the philosophy of religion. His many publications include: “What the Utilitarian Cannot Think,” “Ethical Theory and Moral Practice,” “Non-contradiction: Oh Yeah and So What,” “Think,” and “Y and Z are not off the Hook: the Survival Lottery made Fairer.”
Mariah Velasquez is the Associate Director for the Martin Institute. She especially enjoys cultivating spaces for students, faculty and staff to encounter the Trinity.
Mariah graduated from Westmont College with a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. She will complete a professional certificate in interpretation and translation (Spanish/English) from University of California San Diego in June 2019 and a certificate in spiritual formation through the Renovaré Institute in fall 2019. She is married to Eduardo and they have a son, Leandro and a daughter, Luciana.
Diane Ziliotto has been at Westmont College for over twenty years and has served in several different roles in the library during that time. Currently, she is the Special Collections librarian as well as the College Archivist. She also provides instruction to students during the academic year and is the Liaison Librarian to Sociology and Anthropology, Modern Languages, English, and Theatre Arts. Her interests (if she could ever find enough free time) include local history, genealogy, cooking and cookbooks, local birds, ceramics, and quilling.