Reverend Carol Been completed her undergraduate studies at University of California, Santa Cruz and was ordained at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley in 1989. After serving as associate pastor in Santa Clara, she became an interim pastor, leading congregations through times of crisis. She is certified as a workshop facilitator, conflict management consultant and pastoral counselor. After a history of working on matters of justice, from civil rights to migrant workers, from anti-war to homelessness, and participating in the base Christian community movement in the Philippines, Rev. Been began addressing the crisis of working poverty, first through organizing northern California clergy to support the Los Angeles grocery worker lockout and then educating faith communities about Proposition 72, a solution to health care for low wage workers. Rev. Been is called by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to do the ministry of justice in the interfaith community and has served the Interfaith Council for Race, Religion, Economic and Social Justice since December of 2004.
Judy Esber is a junior at the University of California-Santa Cruz, majoring in Community Studies. Before transferring to UCSC she interned for two years at Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice-Los Angeles, a sister organization of The Interfaith Council, where she worked with congregations in Pasadena and Glendale supporting hotel and mental health workers. In 2006, Ms. Esber joined the Interfaith Council as part time staff. Her current work involves reaching out to young leaders and new religious communities to support worker justice in Santa Clara County.
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