Leadership Team

Ecumenical Spiritual Director; Member of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart from Monroe, MI

Evelyn Craig serves as a Spiritual Director for pastors and those studying at Duke Divinity School. She thrives on her ecumenical involvements with seekers from all denominations and those not affiliated with religious institutions. Evelyn enjoys long walks and Tai Chi. She found her “tribe” through Peace Hill at Avila, and appreciates learning from others in the Peace Hill community, allowing her to expand her awareness and experience.

Founder and Former Director, Housing for New Hope; Graduate, Living School Program of Center for Contemplation and Action

Terry Allebaugh dedicated much of his working career toward ending homelessness and  the creation of affordable housing.  He also worked as an adjunct instructor in housing policy at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Terry is a long-time student and practitioner in the wisdom and contemplative traditions. Currently he serves as a community elder to nonprofit leaders. He enjoys making music, cooking, hiking, reading, and writing.

Emeritus Pastor, First Baptist Church, Raleigh; Adjunct Instructor, Shaw and Duke Divinity Schools

 Dr. Dumas Harshaw has dedicated over five decades to Christian ministry, focusing on teaching, preaching, and spiritual formation. Ordained by the National Baptist and American Baptist conventions, he has preached globally and studied Christian thought extensively. He is a student and researcher of the thought and impact of Howard Thurman around “Contemplative Engagement,” allowing him to bring expertise as a board member that deepens the foundations of Peace Hill’s work.

Retired pastor, Metropolitan Community Church

 Phil Mathews worked in pastoral ministry for over 30 years, including serving as HIV/AIDS Chaplain, Program Director for AIDS Interfaith Network of North Texas, and a variety of roles at the Cathedral of Hope Metropolitan Community Church (MCC). While Associate Pastor at MCC of Washington DC, he led mission teams in the Dominican Republic. His last service in professional ministry was as Pastor of Imani MCC of Durham NC. Peace Hill has become one of his “faith communities” since retiring from ministry in the church.

Spiritual director; Contemplative Retreat Leader, School of the Spirit (Quaker)

April Allison offers spiritual direction for individuals and groups through Heron Rising, and is a Contemplative Retreat Leader for the School of the Spirit (Quaker). April moved to Durham in June of 2023 from mid-Michigan with her spouse, Melanie Morrison. Being contemplative by nature and justice-seeking by conviction, her passion is to assist individuals and communities as they grow in right relationship within themselves, with one another, and with the world around them.

Music Artist; Senior Fellow, Self-Help

Lois Deloatch’s prior leadership roles include Executive Vice President at Self-Help, Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement at NCCU, and Executive Director of the NCCU Foundation. For 21 years, she worked at Duke University as Associate Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, Major Gifts Officer, and Development Officer. She is also an active music artist, a longtime resident of Durham, and a native of Northampton County, NC. Her service with Peace Hill is focused on uplifting the community, especially under-resourced and systematically oppressed people, and advancing peace.

Minister for Intercultural Engagement, Duke University Chapel

In addition to her work at Duke Chapel, Racquel Gill is the Theologian in Residence for the Resource Center for Women and Ministry in the South and a member of the board of directors at the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice. Racquel is grateful for the radical welcome and acceptance she received from the Peace Hill community and continues to share and explore connections between advocacy for the world and the life of the Spirit as a board member.

Retired; School for Conversion; North Carolina Poor People’s Campaign; Freedom Church of the Poor; Raging Grannies; NC Union of the Homeless

Gann previously served as International Programs Coordinator for Duke Divinity School Center for Reconciliation and worked with the Mennonite Central Committee in Swaziland, Lesotho, and Uganda. Gann came to Peace Hill seeking balance between justice work and spiritual growth, and draws on her experience as a peace and justice activist to contribute to Peace Hill’s mission as a board member.

Associate Pastor, Pullen Memorial Baptist Church; Spiritual Director, Root Cause Collective

In addition to her roles at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church and Root Cause Collective, Chalice Overy co-directed a BIPOC clergy support initiative through Duke Divinity School’s Clergy Health Initiative and provides spiritual support for folks doing justice work. Chalice believes that a connection to The Divine or one’s own soul is necessary for sustaining integral justice movements. She focuses on trauma-informed and culturally-informed spiritual practice, and enjoys movement, spending time outside, skiing, and pickleball.

Director, Living the Word, Justice and Equity Ministry, NCC-UMC & Lilly Endowment Thriving Congregations Initiative

For the past 30 years, Micheline’s work has focused on grassroots leadership development and building the capacity of community-based and faith-based organizations as a former trustee of the Stewards Fund, director of two faith-based initiatives, Families First and the Voices programs of JUBILLEE-NC, and evaluator of Walltown Neighborhood Ministries. She enjoys investing in Durham as a member of the Durham Chapter of the Links, Inc., an international African American women’s service organization that recently raised $65,000 to combat homelessness in our city.

Peace Hill Founder; Pastor Emeritus, Watts Street Baptist Church; Founder of End Poverty Durham; Co-Founder of the Religious Coalition for a Nonviolent Durham

Mel Williams has been a pastor of maverick Baptist churches throughout his career, including Pullen Memorial Baptist in Raleigh, Oakhurst Baptist in Atlanta, and Watts Street Baptist in Durham. He is committed to social justice activism anchored in contemplative practice. He is a lifelong singer, having sung in the Yale Glee Club, Robert Shaw’s Atlanta Symphony Chorus, and the folk band Bloomsbury. He also has been known to sing in the middle of his sermons. Mel also enjoys hiking, splitting wood, flower arranging, and learning from his grandchildren.