About Us
Claire Cox-Woodlief
Hello! I am Claire Cox-Woodlief. I’m a native North Carolinian and reside in Apex with my spouse David. We are empty nesters with three young adult children and a grand-dog. I was raised in the church and my spiritual growth has been accelerated from what I like to refer to as my para-church experiences. Throughout my participation in the Two-year Academy for Spiritual Formation, God made it clear that I was being called to a new thing. I like to surround myself with people who are not afraid to learn, grow, and challenge the status quo and I have learned to practice and appreciate some of the spiritual disciplines I’ve been exposed to, most importantly spending time in silence with God as I strive to listen attentively. The Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Reconciliation work has become a clear call as I have developed authentic relationships with a growing number of people of color. These relationships have helped me gain a better understanding of how we are all formed by our cultural identities and life experiences. I’ve been on a journey to increase my intercultural competence with a goal towards cultural humility and have become passionate about wanting to help others learn and grow in this area as well. After working for about 8 years with about 100 churches, and becoming equipped in a variety of ways, God brought me to a place and time where I felt led to create CCW Transformation Ministries to respond to God’s call to focus on serving individuals, churches and other organizations in some very specific ways. I also serve as the co-director of the North Carolina Institute for Spiritual Direction and Formation. I hope you’ll explore these pages to see how my collaborators and I might serve you! In my free time, I love to cook, read, go boating and spend time with family and friends.
Collaborators
Bryana Clover
I’d like to introduce you to Bryana Clover! Bryana is a Michigan-native, currently residing in Raleigh North Carolina with her husband and 3-year old son. She has over a decade of experience working in various strategic marketing roles within Agribusiness. We have been friends for about four years, connected by mutual friends and drawn together by our shared desire to work alongside churches for racial healing work. I recently described Bry as “wise beyond her years” which is just a glimpse into her depth. After months of meeting periodically at Common Grounds (a local coffee shop) and dreaming of what it might look like to help create inclusive cultures for all races, it became a matter of not if, but when we would leave our secure positions to more deeply follow God’s call on our lives. Bryana and Claire partner in offering Diversity, Inclusion, and Racial Equity services to faith based and other communities, including our Decolonizing Christianity Workshop series. To learn more about Bryana Clover, visit https://1619consulting.com/.
Bob Albritton
Meet Rev. Dr. Bob Albritton. When you invite CCW Transformation Ministries to help your church or organization engage in Conflict Transformation, Bob will likely be partnering with Claire as we feel that having a male and female partnership is ideal and in faith-based organizations we feel that our Clergy and Lay perspectives bring value as well.
Bob grew up in Florida and is ordained with the American Baptist Church. He and his wife Rev. Becky Albritton have two married children, but no grandchildren (yet!) He has served Baptist churches in Indiana, Ohio, Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia. He found his home in Wesleyan spirituality and has served United Methodist Churches in North Carolina for the past 8 years, currently at Jonesboro United Methodist Church. He has served on a church staff for 47 years with 35 years as a senior pastor. Bob has received over 70 hours of training in Conflict Transformation and teams with others to help churches navigate through a conflict. As a pastor, he lives in an environment where conflict is expected and experienced. We have found that our partnership as male pastor and female layperson helps to create environments where we can be relatable to groups in churches who may need help creating space for healthy conversations. We have witnessed how healing can take place through the power of the Holy Spirit. Bob likes to compete in foot races at the state, regional and national levels, completing 14 marathons including 6 Boston Marathons and he has qualified for the 2021 Boston! He also enjoys skiing (water and snow), tennis, table tennis, golf, guitar, singing, reading and laughing at himself.
Reggie Edwards
Meet Reggie Edwards. She’s the better half of Ebony and Ivory Ministries, our partnership. We met through a mutual friend a few years ago and my life has been better ever since! She has become a dear friend and a favorite breakfast partner. Regelyn “Reggie” Edwards is the Executive Director of The Encouraging Place, a non-profit ministry in Raleigh, NC created to serve women/families and work toward racial healing.
A Raleigh native, Reggie is an ordained Minister of the Gospel and she has over 25 years of experience working in urban communities. She has impacted over 5,000 women through women’s empowerment programs and is a Certified Life Coach.
Reggie has led hundreds of men and women in a deeper understanding of race and reconciliation serving as a consultant with churches/organizations on Biblical
Reconciliation and works to help churches bridge the racial divide. Reggie also holds annual conferences and forums on dismantling racism…God’s way. She believes one cannot adequately deal with issues around racism without a historical, cultural, structural and institutional analysis. Reggie is a strong proponent of the Racial Equity Institute and participates on a regular basis.
Reggie and Claire have partnered to host several Meet Me at the Table events, bringing together people of faith who want to form relationships with people of varying cultural identities. We are available to help you form such partnerships, to facilitate Sacred Conversations to End Racism discussion groups, to lead Ebony and Ivory Women’s retreats together and to co-lead Faith and Racial Equity workshops together.
Khris Ford
Meet Khris Ford. Khris and Claire have maintained a growing friendship since she moved from Texas to NC and became active at Saint Francis UMC in Cary. Khris and Claire have a shared call to create a top-notch training program to equip and deploy Spiritual Directors in eastern North Carolina (and beyond) and with God’s help and a fantastic team it’s coming to fruition in the NC Institute for Spiritual Direction and Formation. We have also journeyed together through the Two-Year Academy for Spiritual Formation. She is a spiritual director, licensed professional counselor, and retreat leader. Khris is passionate about the transformative potential of the process of grief and enjoys working with persons who have experienced loss. Khris offers direction for those participating in the 19th annotation of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. Khris has two adult children and finds joy as a grandmother to four grandchildren. Khris and Claire partner to lead opportunities for group spiritual direction and formation and events that empower women.
Carol Goehring
Carol Goehering, a native North Carolinian, served the church for 41 years, under episcopal appointment to a variety of contexts, as pastor and leader. Now retired from full-time ministry, she continues to serve as a coach to pastors in transition, pastors in a leadership development process (Bishop’s Emerging Leader Initiative, BELI), and others, applying appreciative coaching strategies.
In addition to coaching pastors, she brings the same discipline to groups (church and non-profits). When you invite CCW Transformation Ministries to help ensure health and a bright future in your organization, Carol may be called on to help with discerning vision, equipping leadership, innovating or adapting programs, revising structure, and implementing assessment strategies for greater effectiveness. In a time of rapid change, the church must innovate and adapt. Carol and Claire are prepared to assist churches adapt to the Post-COVID culture.
Latercha McKnight
Meet Latercha McKnight. Latercha and Claire have been working together since 2017 in creating spaces for racial healing to take place. We’ve formed an intentional relationship based on discussing race relations and our perseverance at uncovering the uncomfortable has fostered a friendship as unique as our backgrounds.
Latercha is a thought-leader, harnessing her spiritual and scientific energy to educate and confront racist systems while simultaneously celebrating her Blackness. For the past decade, she have been dedicated to listening. Listening to God, listening to herself, and listening to history as a means of spiritual and historical reflection.
As a leading scientist in the corporate pharmaceutical world for the past 20+ years, she has no shortage of experience in navigating the intricacies required of being a black female within a white male dominated industry. She is the anomaly – and has decided to embrace it.
Her gifts of speaking can also be attributed to her experience as a certified Lay Speaker in the Methodist Church. She is deeply involved in both speaking and community outreach on several different boards in the church community, and is often called upon as an expert at bridging these gaps within the community at large.
Latercha and Claire are available to help secular and faith based organizations bridge intercultural communication gaps. To learn more, visit A Path to Racial Healing.
Geoff Hayes
The Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Hayes is a retired United Methodist minister. A graduate of the Claremont (CA) School of Theology, Geoff served churches in Michigan until his retirement in 2009. Geoff and his wife Pam currently reside in Cary, NC, where they are members of St. Francis United Methodist Church. While Geoff preaches and leads worship occasionally at St. Francis, he functions primarily as a layperson. He serves as a Stephen Minister in the church’s lay caregiving ministry, as a Family Support Volunteer for Transitions LifeCare (formerly Hospice of Wake County), and in the church’s music ministry. Geoff has also led a number of adult studies, focusing primarily on progressive theological thought. His most recent teaching has centered on efforts to promote civil conversation and productive disagreement in the midst of social division and polarization. And as an active hospice volunteer, Geoff is currently exploring grief, bereavement and other end-of-life issues.
