Dr. Alisha Biler
Writing Center Coordinator
Originally from Ohio, Alisha comes to The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary after spending several years in South Carolina working on helping students develop writing skills. She earned her undergraduate degree at Bowling Green State University and her M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of South Carolina. With an educational background in Linguistics, she enjoys all things related to language, reading, and writing. She is excited to join the community here at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary to support both students and faculty in their writing and ministry.
Kathy Driver
Prior to coming to The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2014, Kathy Driver worked for seven and a half years in the Writing Center at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. She enjoyed working with students of all ages and nationalities there and has had the privilege of serving students at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary since 2014. She and her husband came to The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary due to his appointment as seminary librarian and church history professor. She graduated from the University of Alabama (Huntsville) with a B.A. in English and Music minor and a M.A. in Theological Studies from Southwestern Seminary.
Zak Tharp
Online Resource Director
Zak Tharp has served The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in a variety of academic institutional roles. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Historical Theology at Ridley College Melbourne and completed an M.A. in Theological Studies from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2019. He holds a B.A. in Communications Studies with a minor in Leadership from Stephen F. Austin State University. He has served as a Pastor-in-Training and churches’ administrative assistance. Currently, his research interests are the theological exegesis of Congregationalist theologian Jonathan Edwards and the life and thought of Baptist pastor John Gill. Zak is married to Hannah and enjoys coffee, hiking, theology, and seeing people savor Jesus.
Gracie Owens
Gracie is originally from Kansas City, Missouri but has long called Louisville home. Currently, she is pursuing a B.S. in Humanities with a minor in ESL at Boyce College. She is grateful for the opportunities the Lord has given her to serve as a teacher assistant at Landmark Christian Academy and to help students improve their writing skills through the Writing Center. In her spare time, she tends to meander through one of the nearby parks, bake bread, or enjoy a cup of coffee and a good book on her grandparents’ front porch.
Elizabeth Arnold
Elizabeth grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. She earned a B.A. in Political Science at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and an M.A. in Government from Hillsdale College. She worked for a U.S. Congressman for seven years before shifting to be at home with her two sons. She and her husband live near Washington D.C and attend Capitol Hill Baptist Church. Her husband is an online M.Div. student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. She looks forward to helping students excel at writing! In her free time, you can find Elizabeth quizzing her husband on Greek vocabulary or watching Perry Mason.
Jonathan Ginn
Born and raised in Sacramento, Jonathan received his B.A. in Classics from the University of California, Irvine in 2015. He spent several years working as an accountant for the California State Teachers Retirement System, before moving to Louisville in 2018 to attend The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he has completed an M.Div. in Christian Ministry in 2021 and Th.M. in Biblical Studies in 2022. During the summer of 2023, Jonathan accepted the call to serve as preaching elder at Franklin Street Baptist Church, a small revitalization in the heart of Louisville. In addition to his ministry, Jonathan also helps as a teaching assistant for some of the professors as well as a substitute teaches for Jefferson County Public Schools. He loves good movies or a juicy cheeseburger, and he longs for the day when the Sacramento Kings will return to NBA relevance.
Dr. Todd Bernard
Originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Dr. Michael Todd Bernard graduated from George Washington High School. After serving four years in the United States Army, he returned home and completed his B.A. in English and Secondary Education at Mount Mercy University. After teaching at his alma mater for two years, he and his family moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where he has taught on both the college and high school levels for over 20 years. He completed his M.A. in Educational Administration at Western Kentucky University and he obtained an Ed.D. at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Bernard preaches the gospel around the country, participates in local distance races frequently, and enjoys time with his four children, eight grandchildren, and his wife of over 35 years.
Skylar Jones
Skylar Jones is pursuing her M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. In 2024, she received her B.S. in Biblical Counseling from Boyce College. Skylar has written articles for The Gospel Coalition, where she currently serves as an editorial intern. Recently, she received her certification as a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu instructor under the training of Eve and Rener Gracie in Torrance, California. In her free time, she enjoys running, reading, and writing.
Esther Lim
Esther is half-Taiwanese but was born in Malaysia. She came to the United States at 19 to pursue a degree from Northern Illinois University. While there, she earned her B.A. in English with a double minor in Linguistics and Japanese Studies. During her junior year, she participated in an exchange program to Hyōgo, Japan. In 2018, she was accepted to the M.F.A. program at the University of New Hampshire to study Creative Writing with an emphasis on Fiction. By divine providence, she became an M.Div. student in Apologetics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in August 2020 and graduated in December 2023. She is now pursuing a Th.M. in Philosophy and Theological Studies. She loves a good classical story with a cup of tea, and when she needs a break from academic English, she’ll dabble in amateur art, go on a walk in the neighborhoods surrounding campus, or try her hand again at some creative writing.
Allie Murray
Allie graduated from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with an M.Div. in Christian Ministry in 2019. She started as an online student in 2015, then spent two years as an on-campus student along with her husband. She currently resides in Delaware, where she went to college and earned a Bachelors of Civil Engineering from the University of Delaware. She has served in various roles at her local church and college ministry. Allie enjoys chasing around her two young children, discipling and training others, trying new things, cooking, and all things artistic.
Jenn Stec
Style Reader
Jenn lives in Lancaster, Kentucky and has been married to her husband Tim for 25 years. Jenn holds a B.S. in Commerce from Washington and Lee University, with emphases in Accounting and Finance. She enjoyed a number of years working for IBM prior to leaving the professional workplace to focus on home-educating their three children. Tim completed his M.A. in Biblical Counseling at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in May 2022. Jenn and Tim have three children and a son-in-law: daughter Hannah Miller, who graduated from Boyce College in 2023, son Raigan, who begins his freshman year at Boyce in Fall 2023, and son Bryant, who is in 9th grade. Their son-in-law, Titus Miller, is a Boyce student in Biblical Counseling. Jenn started working for the Writing Center in 2021 and assumed the role of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Doctoral Style Reader in July 2023. When she is not teaching, she enjoys visiting national parks, drinking dark roast coffee, and crocheting.
Dr. Ann Riedling
Dr. Ann Riedling grew up in a small town in Indiana. She holds a B.S. in Education, an M.Ed. in Library Science, and doctorates in Educational Administration and Theology. Ann served as a professor for over thirty years, teaching primarily Library and Information Science. For approximately ten years, she owned an online editing company, WordWizard, and during that time edited thousands of materials from a wide variety of topics. Ann also wrote twenty books, eighteen textbooks, and two trade books. Her passion is travel and she served as a Fulbright Scholar for three years in the Middle East. She has visited over fifty different countries.
Sam Garcia
Sam was born and raised in Cuba. He earned an M.Div. and Th.M. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he also is currently a Ph.D. student in Systematic Theology. In addition to serving as a Writing Center Mentor for Hispanic students, he serves as Minister of Education and Outreach at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, TN. He has been married to Janet for more than 15 years and they have two daughters.