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Father Michael Oleksa, Th.D., was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He came to Alaska in 1970 from St. Vladimir’s Seminary in New York at the invitation of the Alutiiq village of Old Harbor on Kodiak Island. Over the next three decades he served as a Russian Orthodox priest in over a dozen Alaska Native villages. In 1988 he completed his doctoral degree at the Orthodox Theological Faculty in Presov, Slovakia, with an emphasis in Native Alaskan History during the Alaska Russian period (1741-1867).

Recognized as an “Elder” by the Alaska Federation of Natives, a Distinguished Public Servant by the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska, and honored by the Alaska State Legislature and the National Governors Association, Dr. Oleksa is a storyteller who seeks to foster greater understanding across boundaries of race and culture. Father Oleksa is a leader in the development of cross-cultural education in Alaska, an educator of Alaskan teachers, and a student of Alaska Native languages and cultures. His most recent book, Everyday Wonders, was published by Ancient Faith Press.

Father Oleksa is now a retired priest, continuing to teach Alaska studies at Alaska Pacific University and resides in Anchorage with his Yup’ik wife and son Michael, enjoying retirement with his six grandchildren.

Dr Ralph Lee is an associate faculty member for Orthodox Mission, and his research focuses on understanding primarily Oriental Orthodox Christian traditions, especially in Ethiopia. He also supervises doctorates within the Cambridge Theological Federation, especially at the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies. He is a member of the board of the Lausanne Orthodox Initiative, and a representative of the Navigators UK, focussing on disciple-making in Orthodox contexts, and on ministry to young academics and professionals. Ralph and his wife, Sarah, lived and worked in Ethiopia for 16 years, where he taught chemical engineering and later theology. Ralph received his PhD from SOAS University of London in Symbolic Interpretations in Ethiopic and Early Syriac Literature, and also holds a PhD from University of Strathclyde on Ethiopia: The Environmental Implications of Industrial Technology. In 2014, he was awarded an MBE for services to the British and Commonwealth community in Ethiopia.