Staff

Philip Lee
General Secretary
Philip Lee, a British national, joined WACC in 1975 and is currently General Secretary and editor of the international journal Media Development. Publications include Requiem: Here’s Another Fine Mass You’ve Gotten Me Into (2001); Many Voices, One Vision: The Right to Communicate in Practice (ed.) (2004); Communicating Peace: Entertaining Angels Unawares (ed.) (2008), and Public Memory, Public Media and the Politics of Justice (co-ed.) (2012). In January 2013 he was conferred Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa) by the Academy of Ecumenical Indian Theology and Church Administration in Chennai, India. Staff Liaison for WACC-North America Region, he speaks English, French and Spanish.

Sara Speicher
Deputy General Secretary
Sara Speicher, originally from the USA, and now a dual UK/USA citizen, serves as Deputy General Secretary of the World Association for Christian Communication. An independent media and communications consultant since 2004, she joined the World Council of Churches in 1997 as a program assistant in the WCC Program to Overcome Violence. In 1999, she became a WCC communication officer and then coordinator of WCC Public Information. At the end of 2003 she moved to the United Kingdom where she set up an independent media and communications consultancy, working with organizations such as the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, World AIDS Campaign, Cordaid and World YWCA.

Joseph Patterson
Financial Controller
Joseph Patterson joined WACC in 2015 as Finance Manager with responsibility for accounting, finance and reporting. A Jamaican-Canadian he holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science Degree from the University of Calgary and is a Canadian designated Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), and Certified General Accountant (CGA).

Sarah Macharia
Programme Manager for Gender and Communication and for Monitoring Rural Poverty Reporting
Sarah Macharia joined WACC in April 2007. Of Kenyan origin, she is a feminist political economist with a Ph.D. in Political Science from York University, Toronto, Canada. She has extensive work experience in the field of gender and human development having worked with various African civil society and international development organisations. She is also currently a contributing researcher at the International Secretariat for Human Development housed at the York University. Staff Liaison for the WACC-Africa region, she speaks English and French in addition to two East African languages.

Lorenzo Vargas
Program Manager for Communication for Social Change
Lorenzo Vargas is a communication for development specialist and researcher on citizens’ media. A Colombian-Canadian, he directs WACC’s Communication for Social Change Program, which supports grassroots sustainable development initiatives in the Global South. He holds degrees in international development and communication from York University and McGill University, and is pursuing a PhD in Communication and Culture at Toronto Metropolitan University, where he is affiliated with the Global Communication Governance Lab. He has also pursued studies on media and Internet policy at DiploFoundation, the University of Brasilia and the University of Oxford. His publications include Citizen’s Media as a Tool for the Local Construction of Peace in Colombia (2013); Indigenous Community Media Aid Reconciliation in Canada (2015); and Expanding Shrinking Communication Spaces (ed. with Philip Lee) (2020). Staff liaison for the WACC Caribbean and WACC Asia Region, he speaks Spanish, English, and French.

Terri R. Miller
Communications Coordinator
Terri R. Miller joined WACC as Communications Coordinator in 2022. The US-born Canadian resident has long-time experience in communications work with regional and international faith-based organizations. She served as communications officer and translator for the European ecumenical network Church and Peace and as web editor for the Lutheran World Federation. An independent consultant since 2015, she has collaborated with global NGOs such as the Anglican Communion Office, the Anglican Alliance, the International Catholic Migration Commission, and the World Council of Churches. She speaks English, French, and German.

Gisèle Langendries
Programmes and Funding Officer
Gisèle Landendries is a graduate in Latin American Studies from the University of Essex, United Kingdom. Born in Belgium, she joined WACC in 1999. Staff Liaison for the WACC-Caribbean Region, she speaks French, English and Spanish.

Shari McMaster
Administrative Coordinator and Board Liaison
Shari McMaster joined WACC as the Administrative Coordinator with a view to providing assistance and support to the Secretariat and the Board after working for many years as a law clerk. She is a graduate of the Non-Profit Management course at Ryerson University.

Saskia Rowley
Web Design and Communications Consultant
Saskia Rowley joined WACC on a part-time basis as a web design and communications consultant. An accredited designer, she manages the graphics and print department for the Anglican Church of Canada and is the art director of Anglican Journal, the Anglican Church’s national newspaper. She served as vice president on the board of the Canadian Church Press and is a member of the Society of News Designers.

Simon Chambers
Director of Communications (ACT Alliance)
Simon Chambers has a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Religious Studies from the University of Toronto and over 20 years of work experience in the Anglican Church in Canada. He moved to the position of Head of Communications for ACT Alliance from The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund, Canada,  where he served as a Communications Coordinator since 2010. From 2011 he served as the Chair of ACT Alliance’s Communications, Media and Brand Advisory Group and has considerable experience of print, web, photography, social and traditional media, fundraising and marketing.