Liz Ward
Elizabeth (Liz) Ward, newly appointed Director of Shalem's Spiritual Guidance Program for the Class of 2011, has been a part of the Shalem community since 1987—participating in Shalem groups and pilgrimages, serving on Shalem's Board of Directors and a variety of Shalem committees, and offering short programs in the Mid-Atlantic region. She has been on the teaching staff of the Spiritual Guidance Program for several years and has also taught in Shalem's two other long-term programs: Leading Contemplative Prayer Groups and Retreats and Clergy Life and Leadership.
In addition to her work with Shalem, she has been a spiritual director for the Virginia Theological Seminary and for clergy and lay leaders of various denominations throughout the Eastern United States for the last 15 years. She has guided several churches through communal discernment processes and has served as a Diocesan Spiritual Discernment Facilitator (DSDF) for the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. As a DSDF, she provides retreats and mentoring for discernment groups in a variety of local Episcopal churches. She also serves as an elected member of the Virginia Episcopal Commission on Ministry and co-leads retreats for seekers beginning to discern ministerial calls for the Diocese of Virginia.
Prior to her spiritual direction work, Liz was the Director of the Center for Women and Families in Alexandria, VA. She also taught English for a number of years, has offered educational programs to various organizations, and co-led a T.S. Eliot and George Herbert Pilgrimage to England.
She has a B.A. with honors from Western Maryland College, an M.A. in International Relations from The American University, and an M.A in English from Georgetown University. She had a Fulbright Travel Grant to study the changing role of women in Tunisia and co-created a curriculum for teaching non-western studies as part of her M.A. in International Relations. She is a 1994 graduate of Shalem's Spiritual Guidance Program.
Liz has one grown son, Sean, who lives and works in London. She and her husband, Bill, live in Alexandria, VA, where they share their home with their two cats, Casey and Belle.