About

Local Planning Group 2026

Four chaplaincies, the Dioceses of Mainz and Limburg, the Federal Association of the Catholic Church at Universities, the Protestant Church of Hessen and Nassau are happy to participate in this conference. The Catholic University Chaplaincy and the Protestant Chaplaincy of Mainz and Frankfurt and its colleagues are happy to offer facilities, rooms and court yards to hold a conference.

Members of the Local Planning Group

  • Ali Kosari, ESG Frankfurt
  • Almuth Rawe, KHG Mainz
  • Anja Zimmermann, ESG Mainz
  • Bianca Mondello, KHG Frankfurt
  • Christina Schloesser, KHG Frankfurt
  • Christine Gärtner, ESG Frankfurt
  • Christine Schardt, KHG Mainz
  • Daniela Ak, KHG Frankfurt
  • Friederike, ESG Frankfurt
  • Granaz Baloch, KHG Mainz
  • Holger Dörnemann, KHG Frankfurt
  • Ilona Klemens, ESG Frankfurt
  • Joachim Braun, KHG Frankfurt
  • Juri Malleker, KHG Mainz
  • Dr. Kerstin Söderblom, ESG Mainz
  • Laura Knäbel, KHG Frankfurt
  • Lili Rädlein, KHG Frankfurt
  • Luise Gründer, Diocese of Speyer
  • Maik Zahn, KHG Mainz
  • Stefanie Zehe, KHG Frankfurt
  • Thorsten Trost, KHG Mainz
  • Vanessa Karwat, KHG Mainz
  • Viva Roumieh, KHG Mainz
  • Wail Omer, ESG Frankfurt

Local Supporting Organizations

  • Christine Schalk, Diocese of Mainz
  • Dr. Lukas Rölli, Bundesverband Katholische Kirche an Hochschulen (BKKH)
  • Mathias Berger, Queer in Church
  • Michael Langer, WELTfairÄNDERER, BDKJ Mainz
  • Amnesty International HSG Mainz

Executive Committee-International Associations of Chaplains in Higher Education

  • Günther Sturms, Chair, Representative of CEUC, Delft University/Netherlands
  • Jill Shaw, Vice Chair, Representative of ANZTCA, Massey University/New Zealand
  • Rev. Dr. Gregory McGonigle, Secretary, At Large, Emory University/USA
  • Rabbi Barry Baron, Treasurer, At Large, Colgate University/USA
  • Christine Schardt, Conference Coordinator 2026, Representative of CEUC, University of Mainz/Germany
  • Anthony Cruz Pantojas, Board Member, At Large, Tufts University/USA
  • Rev. Herbert Brisbon III, Board Member, Representative of ACSHLE, Dillard University/USA
  • Rev. Dr. Monica Sanford, Board Member, At Large, Harvard Divinity School/USA
  • Rev. Ellie Hummel, Board Member, At Large, Mount Allison University/Canada
  • Betti Gombkoto, Board Member, Representative of CEUC, Evangelical Lutheran Church/Hungary
  • Rev. Dr. Jeremy Clines, Conference Coordinator 2022, Representative of CEUC, Sheffield University/United Kingdom

Conference Administration Team

  • Christine Schardt, Conference Chair Mainz
  • Dr. Kerstin Söderblom, Conference Chair Mainz
  • Christina Schloesser, Conference Facilitator Frankfurt
  • Ilona Klemens, Conference Facilitator Frankfurt
  • Viva Roumieh, Conference Business Organisator Mainz
  • Vanessa Karwat, Conference PR Mainz

IACHE History

The International Association of Chaplains in Higher Education is an international multifaith professional association for chaplains in higher education. An international committee was first established as the planning committee for the first higher education chaplaincy Global Conference held in Vancouver in 2000. In planning towards the second Global Conference in Brisbane 2004, a new international committee was formed. This committee widened its charge and also began to work toward developing an international association. In preparation for the Global Conference in Finland in 2008, another international higher education chaplaincy committee was formed. In each of these instances, the members of the committees were representatives nominated by national and regional chaplaincy associations. An initial draft of a constitution for an international association was prepared by Erich Von Dietze, chair of the International Higher Education Chaplaincy Committee 2002 – 2006. The constitution which follows has been revised by members of subsequent international committees.

IACHE Constitution

The current IACHE constitution may be found here.  The IACHE Executive Board revises this document from time to time to keep it current with changes in the field.

IACHE Executive Board

IACHE has an Executive Board that manages the affairs of the association. Its members are elected or nominated by its member associations or by the executive board itself. All executive board members are appointed for a period of 4 years (from one Global Conference through the next Global Conference). The chair, secretary and treasurer are the three officers of the executive board. Find all the executive board members on the official IACHE site.

Member Associations

The International Association of Chaplains in Higher Education has several member associations:

  • Aotearoa New Zealand Tertiary Chaplaincy Association – ANZTCA
  • ​Association for Chaplaincy and Spiritual Life in Higher Education (USA) – ACSLHE
  • Conference of European University Chaplains – CEUC
  • Tertiary Campus Ministry Association (Australia) – TCMA

If you want to receive further information about IACHE, please subscribe here to the newsletter.