Administration & Staff

Carol Hart

Development Coordinator
chart@iws.edu

Carol Hart graduated from Minnesota School of Business’ Legal Secretarial program. She is a graduate of Rhema Bible Training Center with a certificate in Teaching. She previously served IWS as the Host Home Coordinator for over ten years.

Catherine Nance

Interim Registrar
registrar@iws.edu

Catherine Nance holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Converse College (South Carolina) and a Master’s of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music in NYC. She has been Director of Music Ministries at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Aiken, SC. Catherine is a graduate of the DWS program at IWS and has been a Teaching Assistant for the DWS704 class since 2019. She enjoys helping students through their time of study at IWS as way of serving the Kingdom.

Christi Matteson

Vice President of Finance and Administration
christi.matteson@iws.edu

Christi Matteson holds a Bachelors of Science in Management Information Systems from Florida State Univeristy. She worked as a Management Consultant for over 20 years and is a Certified Management Consultant. Additionally, she has experience working with non-profit organizations both on staff and as a board member.

Darrell Harris

Dean Emeritus of the Chapel

Darrell Harris is the founder of Star Song Records, a contemporary Christian music company. He developed and marketed the music of Twila Paris, Newsboys, Bill Gaither Trio and Vocal Band, and was the original publisher of The Complete Library of Christian Worship. He served IWS as its chaplain from the school’s inception in 1999 until 2019. Darrell is the recipient of the D.W.S. Honoris Causa from the Institute for Worship Studies.

Dinelle Frankland

Academic Dean & MWS 501 Professor
dfrankland@iws.edu

Dinelle Frankland has a Bachelor of Sacred Music degree from Lincoln Christian University and a Master of Music in Church Music degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, both with a piano performance emphasis. She holds a Doctor of Worship Studies degree from the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies, where she currently serves as professor and Academic Dean. She previously taught music and worship at Dallas Christian College and Ozark Christian College and has taught as an adjunct for TCMI Institute, a seminary near Heiligenkreuz, Austria. She is the author of His Story, Our Response: What the Bible Says About Worship and travels throughout the U.S. as a speaker and worship leader.

Frank Fortunato

Coordinator of Missional Relations and Director of the GROW Center
frank.fortunato@iws.edu

Dr. Frank Fortunato has served in music ministry his entire lifetime. He taught college music courses followed by music ministry with Operation Mobilization’s mission ships. Frank completed his Master’s studies in ethnomusicology and a doctorate in worship studies from the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies.

James R. Hart

President of IWS
president@iws.edu

Dr. James Hart holds a B.M. in Sacred Music from Oral Roberts University, an M.M. in Trumpet Performance from the University of Tulsa, and a D.W.S. from the Institute for Worship Studies where he graduated with the Alphas—the first graduating class—in 2002. He was critical to the formation of IWS in Florida and has held administrative responsibilities since its inception in 1999. He is a professional trumpeter, choral director, and a published composer/arranger, songwriter and author.

Jennifer Nicholson

Director of Library Services and Institutional Effectiveness
jennifer.nicholson@iws.edu

Jennifer Nicholson serves as the director of the IWS Library, leads institutional assessment, and is a faculty member in her role at The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies. Jennifer Nicholson holds a B.S. in International Affairs with a minor in Music from the Florida State University, her M.W.S from the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies, and a Master of Arts in Library and Information Science from the University of South Florida School of Information.

Jessica Jones

DWS 801 Professor & Associate Academic Dean
jessica.jones@iws.edu

Rev. Dr. Jessica Jones serves as one of the Thesis Directors of The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies, as well as the Associate Academic Dean. Jessica is an ordained deacon in the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) and has held multiple provincial roles, most recently as the Provincial Canon for the Next Generation Leadership Initiative for the ACNA. She currently serves as the Archdeacon and Canon for Leadership for the Gulf Atlantic Diocese.

Jun Harada

Online Instruction Support Technician
jun.harada@iws.edu

Jun holds a bachelor’s in management from Skidmore College with a minor in Music & Theatre, an M.Div. from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, an MBA from the University of Colorado, and a Doctor of Worship Studies from IWS. He has been in full-time ministry working with Young Life over the past 20 years in the US and Japan. He has been serving in small churches for over 30 years and now he is an ordained pastor for ECO Presbyterian Church in Colorado. He previously was a member of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus (the choir that sings with the Boston Symphony and the Pops Orchestras).

Ken Rushing

Interim Director of Technical Services
krushing@iws.edu

The Rev. Dr. Ken Rushing is a Priest in the Anglican Communion and has served churches from Texas to Florida since 1978. He has been involved in computer technology since the early 1980s and is the owner of an IT company—Rushing to Serve. Ken earned a Bachelor Music in Church Music from the University of Southern Mississippi, a Master of Music from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a D.W.S. from the Institute for Worship Studies, graduating as an Alpha in 2002.

Mark Torgerson

Bibliographer
mtorgerson@judsonu.edu

Dr. Mark Torgerson is Professor of Worship Studies at Judson University in Elgin, Illinois. He received an M.Div. from North Park Theological Seminary and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame in liturgical studies. He is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Covenant Church and an artist

Maureen Roe

Administrative Assistant
maureen.roe@iws.edu

Maureen holds a Culinary Arts Degree from American River College and B.A. from George Fox University. She joined IWS in May of 2023 as a part-time administrator and is passionate about her faith life, family, and food. She has many years of experience as a teacher’s assistant and administrator for Catholic schools. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida with her amazing husband, boy/girl teenage twins, and dog.

Nancy Nethercott

Chaplain, GROW Center Co-Director, & Certificate of Worship Formation Professor
nnethercott@iws.edu

The Rev. Dr. Nancy Nethercott served as a TEAM missionary in Japan for 30 years and currently has her ministry of “Global Training in Spiritual Formation and Biblical Worship” under Faith and Learning International. Besides teaching internationally, Nancy meets with people as a Spiritual Director and Ignatian Prayer Guide and teaches Japanese classes near her home in Indianapolis, Indiana. Nancy is an ordained priest in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) in the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes (ADGL).

Nichole Criss Sullivan

Communications Director
nichole.criss@iws.edu

Dr. Nichole Criss Sullivan holds a Doctorate of Worship Studies from the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies, a Master of Arts in Christian Leadership from Hope International University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Kent State University. An award-winning piano instructor and collaborative pianist, Nichole is a multi-year recipient of the Steinway & Sons Top Teacher Award and the 2019 Church Mutual Religious Scholars Award. She and her husband Tyler live in Houston, Texas.