Karen Barr to Step Down as GLAD Council Moderator, Dan Adolphson Serves as Moderator-Elect

Karen Barr, Moderator of the GLAD Alliance Council for the past 6 years, has announced her plan to resign as Moderator this fall. At their June meeting, the Alliance Council selected Rev. Dan Adolphson to serve as Moderator-Elect. Dan will become Moderator of the Council when Karen steps down at the GLAD Leadership Fall Planning Retreat. Dan was selected to serve as Vice Moderator last summer with an eye towards transitioning him into the Moderator role.

Planning ahead for a smooth transition, Karen and Dan have been working closely together as Moderator and Vice-Moderator for most of the past year.

Dan brings to the Moderator-Elect position a diverse background in education, sales, marketing, tourism and non-profit administration that has prepared him well for leading GLAD. Prior to being called as Associate Pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Minneapolis last year, Dan was the director of United Arts Fund, Minnesota’s only workplace giving fund for the arts, and the former program director of the COMPAS/Travelers Arts & Diversity grant program. He is past president of Tour Minnesota Association, the largest organization dedicated solely to Minnesota’s statewide group travel industry.

Along with Dan’s 17 years of experience in tourism and customer service management, Dan has spent 10 years teaching and conducting vocal and instrumental music in grades K-12, collegiate, and community music settings. Dan has served a variety of churches in Minnesota and Nebraska in music ministry. Today, the main focus of his ministry is education, community outreach, and social media.

Dan has an MDiv from Phillips Theological Seminary, Tulsa, OK; a Mini-MBA in Non-Profit Organization Management, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, MN; and a Bachelor of Music Education, Crown College, St. Bonifacius, MN.

To the Alliance Council Dan brings a passion for education, for interconnectedness between GLAD and the other racial, ethnic, and social justice ministries within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and for leading GLAD as the Alliance lives out its mission in our constantly changing world.

Saying goodbye to Karen as Moderator, we are confident that she will continue her service to the Alliance and to justice in many ways. We have an abundance of gratitude for the work that Karen has accomplished for the Alliance. She has worked towards a more cohesive, diverse, and active Council, and it is with heavy hearts we thank her as she steps out of this role.