Our Staff

Dr. Churchill came to AVDF from the John Templeton Foundation (JTF), where he served as Director of Philosophy and Theology, a program that oversees approximately $50M in active grants to organizations spanning the globe. In that capacity, he significantly expanded JTF’s support for inter-disciplinary research, especially between scholars in the sciences, philosophy, and theology. He also successfully managed the expansion of the Foundation’s support for work in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.

After receiving his M.A in philosophy at Texas A&M University and his Ph.D. in philosophy from Indiana University, Dr. Churchill moved to the Templeton Foundation as Program Officer in Philosophy and Theology. A year later, in November 2011, he was promoted to Director. In this role, he designed a variety of grant programs supporting interdisciplinary research on topics such as free will and neuroscience, intellectual humility, and analytic theology. In 2013, his department launched a portfolio of “New Frontier” grants that expanded Templeton funding in areas outside of North America and Western Europe. By 2018, this portfolio had grown to $15M in active grants supporting academic research and public engagement throughout Latin America, East Africa, and the Middle East, most notably Turkey, Jordan, and the UAE.

Dr. Murray joined AVDF from the John Templeton Foundation where he served first as Vice President of Philosophy and Theology and, since 2011, as Senior Vice President of Programs. In that capacity Dr. Murray was responsible for overseeing the growth of the Foundation’s grant making that supports academic research and public engagement in the sciences and between the science and the humanities. During this period the Foundation’s annual grant support grew from $72M to $162M. He further managed the expansion of the Foundation’s work beyond North America and Western Europe to Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. In 2016, he completed a re-launching of the Foundation’s departments of Communications, Public Engagement, and Strategic Alliances.

Dr. Murray began his career at Franklin and Marshall College where he was the Arthur and Katherine Shadek Chair in Philosophy and the Humanities. He also held faculty positions at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, the University of Notre Dame, and Oxford University. He has published numerous academic articles as well as monographs and edited collections with Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Blackwell, and Yale University Press. His research focuses on issues at the intersection of science, philosophy, and theology, as well as on seventeenth century Continental philosophy. Dr. Murray is currently a Senior Visiting Scholar at Franklin and Marshall.

Dr. Murray is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, in philosophy from Franklin and Marshall College, and his Master of Arts and Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. He and his wife Kirsten, a Director at Creative Health Services, a large community behavioral health agency in suburban Philadelphia, have three children, Samuel, Elise, and Julia.

Miica joined AVDF recently from the nonprofit organization the Schuylkill River Greenways National Heritage Area of Southeastern Pennsylvania, where she served as the Communications Director and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. In her communications role, she was responsible for all media relations, branding, and messaging efforts. As the Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Miica provided presentations and training about justice and equity to organizations such as the Alliance for Watershed Education of the Delaware River, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Trails Advisory Committee, and WeConservePa.

Prior to her work at Schuylkill River Greenways, Miica was a Community Engagement Coordinator at the Pottstown School District and a journalist at The Mercury Newspaper of Pottstown. As part of her duties in these roles, she was the Networks Workgroup Co-Chairperson and Communications and Messaging Workgroup member for the Pottstown Trauma Informed Community Connection, which facilitated training and understanding of Adverse Childhood Experiences.

Miica received her Bachelor of Science degree, summa cum laude, in Journalism from Lincoln University of Missouri.

Jessica joined AVDF most recently from the John Templeton Foundation, where she served first as the Associate and then as the Senior Program Associate for the Public Engagement department, which aims to reach the broader public with research results through funding programs ranging from films and podcasts to events and educational curriculum. During her eight-year tenure, the Public Engagement portfolio more than doubled in its annual grant payout. In addition to leading broader cross-departmental efforts, Jessica ran the departmental operations including event planning and project management, while also playing a critical role throughout all stages of grant-making and grant-monitoring, with a particular focus on financial and organizational compliance.

Originally a Florida native, Jessica received her B.A. in Psychology summa cum laude and M.B.A. in Management from Eastern University outside of Philadelphia. She is also a member of the Psi Chi and Delta Mu Delta honor societies and is a Certified Associate in Project Management, a designation received from the Project Management Institute.

Before joining AVDF, Nate worked in philanthropy as a Program Officer with The Ford Family Foundation in Oregon. He managed a diverse education portfolio to improve outcomes for children and youth in rural Oregon that included early learning initiatives, youth development programming, social-emotional learning and college and career pathways. Through intentional place-based grantmaking and the development of new strategic focus on education transitions, the educational portfolio expanded under his guidance thus increasing the amount of grants supporting rural education.

Prior to his time in philanthropy, Nate began his career in education where he started as a school counselor working in urban settings in Georgia. During this period, he developed programs focused on fostering social, academic and career skills for students as well as families. In addition to these programs, Nate led new initiatives that ultimately increased graduation rates and improved school accountability measures under No Child Left Behind.

Motivated by a desire to better understand the education system as well as create positive change across a larger landscape, Nate transitioned from the school setting to the Georgia Department of Education where he managed multiple federal programs. Initially as a specialist with the Parent Engagement Program, Nate created guidance and resources to strengthen family-school partnerships to improve academic achievement. He was promoted to manage the 21^st Century Community Learning Center program and successfully oversaw competitive grant applications awarding $40M to both school districts and community organizations while administering new opportunities to increase funding for summer learning. Following the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, Nate was charged with establishing the new Student Support and Academic Enrichment program that allocated $33M to help school districts provide all students with access to a well-rounded education, improve school conditions for learning and strengthen the use of educational technology.

Nate earned a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh followed by a Master’s in Education from the California University of Pennsylvania. He lives outside of Jacksonville with his wife and their four boys.