Bishop Ullestad currently serves on the boards of Lutheran Services in Iowa, Wartburg College, Allen Hospital, Allen College, and the Partnership for a Drug Free Iowa/Face It Together. He is chairperson of Barnabas Uplift: an Interfaith Social Ministry Network, and the Cedar Valley’s Promise Board.

His past roles have included serving as advisory bishop to the ELCA Church Council, the Augsburg Fortress Board, and the Board of the Division for Church in Society; chair of the Region V Steering Committee, the Committee to Create Lutheran/Episcopal Educational Opportunities, and the ELCA’s Seventh Initiative: Developing Leaders for the Next Century; president of Ecumenical Ministries of Iowa; co-chair of Wartburg College’s Commission on Mission Faith Task Force and the ELCA/The Disciples of Christ dialogue; and member of the Genetics Social Statement Task Force, the Steering Committee for the ELCA Commission for Women, the Representative Panel for Restructuring, the Renewing Worship Liturgical Music Development Panel, and the Committee for Theological and Ethical Concerns of the Conference of Bishops.

Prior to his election as bishop, Pastor Ullestad served as assistant to the Bishop of the Northeastern Iowa Synod from 1988-1992, and as pastor of St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Hudson, Iowa from 1979-1987.

Bishop Ullestad holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa; a Master of Divinity Degree from Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa; a Master of Sacred Theology Degree from Wartburg Theological Seminary; and Doctor of Divinity honors from Wartburg College and Wartburg Theological Seminary. His internship was in Guttenberg, Garnavillo and Clayton Center, Iowa, with a Clinical Pastoral Education at Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey.

Bishop Ullestad is married to Ruth Ullestad who is a retired music educator and church musician. They are the parents of Erik, Krista, and Kara. Erik is married to Allison and they have a daughter, Anna, and two sons, Isaac and Evan. Krista is married to Adam Kilgus and they have a son, Martin. Family activities and music are among Bishop Ullestad’s favorite leisure activities.

 Brackett earned his Master of Divinity degree from Wartburg Theological Seminary and served as pastor for St. Paul, Postville, from 2005 to 2015. During that time Brackett had an active role in nurturing partnerships and ministries to serve the broader community, such as the community food pantry, Helping Services for Northeast Iowa and Barnabas Uplift certified nurse aide training. Brackett has served on the Northeastern Iowa Synod Council and as chair of the synod’s First Call Theological Education Committee. In addition, he is a certified trainer for both the Safeguarding God’s Children and Safeguarding God’s People safe ministry courses.

Prior to entering seminary, Brackett served as a program director, then as a quality improvement coordinator for Hillcrest Family Services in Cedar Rapids and Dubuque for 11 years. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Coe College in Cedar Rapids and his Master of Science degree in rehabilitation counseling from Boston University, Boston. Brackett and his wife, Susan, are the parents of three children.

Linda is a member of the Eastern Iowa Church Chapter of the National Association of Church Business Administration (NACBA), the Lutheran Church Business Administration Association (LCBAA), and NACBA. Prior to coming to the synod office she served as Director of Volunteer Services at Allen Hospital, Waterloo, Iowa, and Coordinator of Volunteer Services, Covenant Medical Center, Waterloo, Iowa.

Pastor Anderson is married to Beverly, an elementary teacher, and their daughter, Michelle, lives in Minneapolis. He serves as a member of the Iowa Council on Human Services (DHS), a member of the Bremer County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and Emergency Coordinator of the Bremer County ARES and president of the Saint Paul’s School Board.

Prior to joining the synod staff, Pastor Anderson has served as a parish pastor at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Charles City and Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in La Crescent, Minn. Pastor Anderson has been trained in mediation at the Iowa Mediation Service (2006) and is a graduate of The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (’89) and Luther College, Decorah, Iowa (Sociology/Religion ’85). He served an internship at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, ELCA in Baraboo, Wis., and his CPE alternative was a “Public Ministry Experience” through the Urban Academy in Chicago served at Chicago Uptown Ministries, a street mission on the near north side of Chicago.

Contact Pastor Anderson at the synod office or via Facebook, or follow him on Twitter.

 

Pastor Colville-Hanson has served in the Northeastern Iowa Synod since 2005 in parishes at Roland and Ridgeway, as well as in Western Iowa, East Central Wisconsin and South Central Wisconsin. She earned her master’s of divinity from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, Calif., and doctor of ministry from Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

Contact Pastor Colville-Hanson at the synod office or via Facebook, or follow her on Twitter.