Staff & Volunteers

Karl E. Johnson, Director of Chesterton House, received his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from Cornell University. Johnson previously served as the Dan Tillemans Director of the Cornell Team and Leadership Center, a division of Cornell Outdoor Education. He designed Cornell's Hoffman Challenge Course, provided leadership development programs for corporations such as JP Morgan Chase, and served as a trainer, consultant, and expert witness in the outdoor education field. He has guest lectured in the departments of Education, Natural Resources, and Applied Economics and Management at Cornell, and in Ithaca College's Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies. He has also taught Cornell Adult University's popular Outdoor Thrills and Skills course for alumni since 1993. Johnson has received several writing awards, including a 1995 Amy Award for writing in religion, and was recognized as a 1999 Academy of Leisure Sciences Future Scholar. His interests include human relations with the natural landscape, from wilderness to urban environs. Publications.

Justin McGeary is the Director of Undergraduate Programs for Chesterton House. He graduated from Geneva College, summa cum laude, where he studied English Literature. After two years of part-time work as a technical writer and seminary studies, he joined the Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO) and Chesterton House in campus ministry. He is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. His interests include biblical theology, the history of ideas and culture, good food, good movies, good conversation, and good friends all enjoyed in God’s grace and goodness.

Sam Portnoff works at Cornell University with the PhysTEC project and teaches engineering at Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3). Before moving to Ithaca Sam worked for the Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO) doing campus ministry at Elmira College. He helps with the Chesterton House by doing website development and recording guest speakers.

Chuck Tompkins served as Pastor of Bethel Grove Bible Church in Ithaca for nearly 20 years before leaving in 2005 to do freelance ministry at Cornell and in the community with various nonprofit organizations. He spends most of his time encouraging and coaching people in their spiritual development. He works with Chesterton House to develop the Friday Conversations as well as connecting with faculty to encourage them in their academic calling.

Camille Wilson graduated from Cornell in 2000 with a Bachelors in International Agriculture and Adult Education. She is currently in her final year of a Masters program at at Johns Hopkins University in Clinical Community Counseling. Camille volunteers for the Chesterton House periodically creating fliers and brochures. She is actively involved in her church in northern Virginia ministering to young families while serving as the Nursery Coordinator.

Greg Wilson works for Social & Scientific Systems, Inc. as a Principal Systems & Software Engineer. He received his bachelors and masters degrees from Cornell University. He helps make various print and other promotional materials for the Chesterton House. He is a Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and works with engaging youth and culture.

Ray Zimmerman is a husband and father of two daughters and a son. He is Senior Research Associate in Cornell's Department of Applied Economics and Management, doing research in the engineering and economics of electric power systems. He is the primary developer of MATPOWER, an open-source power systems simulation software package used worldwide for research and education, and PowerWeb, a web-based electricity market testing platform. He has served Chesterton House above and beyond the call of duty as webmaster from the ministry's inception. In the early 1990s, Ray started an intentional Christian community that included CH Director Karl Johnson, and which served as the inspiration for CH's current residential initiative.