Layer 1

presents

Director of Upper House Commons

Stephen & Laurel Brown Foundation

Madison, WI

https://slbf.org

The Stephen & Laurel Brown Foundation (SLBF/Foundation) serves the University of Wisconsin and Madison communities by leading Christian thought and formation to shape today’s pluralistic university. We gather communities, educate for formation, and produce scholarship within the university context for greater Christian impact.

SLBF comprises several initiatives: Upper House Commons, Upper House Fellows, Lumen Center, New College Madison, and the Studio.

The Foundation includes two physical properties: Upper House – based in University Square in the heart of the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, and Dottie’s Ranch – a retreat center located 15 miles outside Madison.

Upper House is a member of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers.

SLBF's MISSION

Leading Christian thought and formation to shape the University of Wisconsin community.

SLBF's VISION

Renewed Christian presence in the pluralistic university where all are learning and serving to create a more virtuous world.

STRATEGIC ANCHORS

  • SLBF will provide high-impact Christian gathering, community formation, and learning opportunities for the UW-Madison community at Upper House and, experimentally, in new places locally and across Wisconsin.
  • SLBF will engage UW-Madison by producing public-facing scholarship bridging the Christian intellectual tradition with the academic disciplines, and by developing a foundational Christian curriculum made available to the university community as for-credit courses.
  • SLBF will be an externally competitive, caring employer and an exemplary ministry partner.

Upper House is a center for Christian study and practice at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Upper House Commons gathers the university community to ignite theological curiosity, enrich the life of the soul, and activate faith for the life of the world.

The Director of Upper House Commons will serve at the intersection of these efforts, helping plan and coordinate public programming and gateway events that introduce university stakeholders and community members to the work of the Foundation and the larger Christian study center movement.



OUR STORY



The Stephen & Laurel Brown Foundation was incorporated in 2013.

The Foundation’s first initiative-Upper House-is a physical location and a center for Christian study and practice located in the heart of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Upper House was launched in January 2015.

Founding Vision

Co-founder Steve Brown supported numerous campus initiatives at UW-Madison prior to launching Upper House. He participated in faith-based and interreligious dialogue, served on the steering committee for the Lubar Institute for the Study of the Abrahamic Religions, and funded a trilogy of courses on early Christian literature, the Pauline Epistles, and the Gospels. Upper House is an extension of his desire to offer a place for Christian faith exploration and education.

Of the foundation’s vision Steve Brown says,

“We believe the Christian faith has a lot to contribute to the sifting and winnowing of great ideas, we want to challenge the campus, we want to engage the campus, and we want to support the campus through being a part of the vibrant conversation occurring at UW-Madison.”

Co-founder Laurel Brown adds,

“Even if we don’t know it, we all have a common goal—to better understand Christ and who we are as children of God. Providing this space—to gather, explore, and connect—is an important part of Upper House’s mission. We are trying to meet one of the most basic of human needs—to know Christ.”

Upper House is a center for Christian study and practice at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The space is 16,500 square feet of light, comfort, and warmth, created to serve students, faculty, and community members—a vibrant presence at a world-class university—where learning and new initiatives ignite change and faith is transformative.

From the Grand Hall to the Den, Steve’s Café, the Porch with its swings, and the various meeting rooms, Upper House exudes a warmth and comfort that permeates our community and transformative programs. The space is frequently used by various parachurch ministries and students, as well as faculty, public groups, and a church-in-residence.


In carrying out its mission, at Upper House and beyond, the Foundation works in partnership with community leaders, nonprofit organizations, student-based ministries, and churches, along with university departments, centers, and institutes. Since its beginnings, the Foundation has welcomed over 500,000 in-person guests from all walks of life.

Learn more about the Spiritual History of UW-Madison by watching this.

At thational level, SLBF is part of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers, a network of peer organizations on university and college campuses. In collaborating on grants and initiatives, Upper House engages with other study centers advancing a vision for Christian formation and scholarship in pluralistic environments.

A recent example is the Foundation's leadership of a John Templeton Foundation grant (the Higher Pursuits Project) which yielded new programs as well as research and publication on the religious history of UW–Madison.

THE TEAM

John Terrill, Executive Director, Stephen & Laurel Brown Foundation

John guides the overarching vision and strategy for the Stephen & Laurel Brown Foundation, which includes Upper House and several other key initiatives. He loves the entrepreneurial nature of his work and relishes the opportunity to build a healthy organizational culture.

John is a collaborative leader who works to build a healthy team culture with deep bench strength. He is committed to helping team members grow spiritually and professionally, and he ensures that there is alignment between job roles and team members’ vocational interests, skills, and giftings.

John is a graduate of Indiana University, holds an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, as well as master’s degrees in theology and religion from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Seattle Pacific University in industrial and organizational psychology.

John is married to Vanja, and they live in Middleton, Wisconsin with their daughter, Elena.


Learn more about all the remarkable leaders at the Stephen & Laurel Brown Foundation HERE.

OUR CULTURE, VALUES & STATEMENT OF FAITH

OUR CULTURE

SLBF has a comprehensive vision of transformation that integrates mind, body, and soul. We seek this vision for ourselves as well as our community at large. To that end, we work as a team that is highly collaborative and creative. We value the talent of good teammates, their gifting, and their unique image-bearing capacities. We work hard, taking time to celebrate important milestones along the way. Ideation and innovation are core to how we work and think about serving our community. The Foundation's culture is highly entrepreneurial.

OUR CORE VALUES

We Embody Lavish Hospitality

Reflecting God’s boundless love, we extend heartfelt hospitality in all we do. We treat everyone as a neighbor and attend to their needs as if attending to Christ himself. We desire our guests to experience our offerings as memorable as much for their intellectual and spiritual content as for their aesthetic and relational attributes.

We Practice Purposeful Weaving

We bring our authentic selves to our project in a spirit of collaboration under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Together, we create a tapestry far more beautiful, valuable, and strong than any of us could weave on our own. This contributes to a healthy culture, a vibrant spiritual ecosystem, and a thick public witness to the University community.

We Spit-Shine Everything We Do

Humility and excellence anchor our approach to work. No one person is above getting down to shoe level to pitch in with the humblest task. Through diligence and attention to detail, we bring extra polish and shine to each aspect of our project.

ESSENTIAL COMMITMENTS

We Seek the Lord Our God

We pursue Christ with the totality of our lives, including our work.

We Love the University

We value the good work of the University and the role it plays in the lives of individuals and institutions, and therefore, seek its flourishing for God’s greater purposes.

We Value the Whole Body of Christ

We anticipate Christ’s multicultural kingdom and, therefore, seek to foster a community that values and reflects the diversity of orthodox communities and belief.

OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH

We believe in...

The only true God, the almighty Creator of all things, existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit full of love and glory.

The unique divine inspiration, entire trustworthiness and authority of the Bible.

The value and dignity of all people: created in God’s image to live in love and holiness, but alienated from God and each other because of our sin and guilt, and justly subject to God’s judgment.

Jesus Christ, fully human and fully divine, who lived as a perfect example, who assumed the judgment due sinners by dying in our place, and who was bodily raised from the dead and ascended as Savior and Lord.

Salvation by God’s grace to all who put their faith in Jesus Christ alone.

The indwelling presence and transforming power of the Holy Spirit, who gives to all believers a new life and calling to obedient service.

The unity of all believers in Jesus Christ, manifest in worshiping and witnessing churches making disciples throughout the world.

The victorious reign and future personal return of Jesus Christ, who will judge the unrepentant and redeemed with justice and mercy, receiving the redeemed into eternal life.

To God be glory forever.

WHAT WE DO


WHAT WE DO

Foundation's Five Initiatives

Upper House Commons gathers the University community for spiritual, intellectual, and vocational formation.

Upper House Fellows is a growing community of UW students who explore big questions about life, faith, calling, and following Jesus.

The Lumen Center is a community of scholars deepening the dialogue between Christian thought and the academic disciplines through scholarship and public engagement.

New College Madison is our aspirational initiative for a foundational, for-credit curriculum that offers students at pluralistic universities access to the Christian tradition.

The Studio is our media initiative that produces podcasts and makes our programs available for online viewing.

UPPER HOUSE COMMONS SERVES

Students: As an R-1 university, UW-Madison annually enrolls 38,000 undergraduate and 13,000 graduate students. Through our Upper House Fellows Program we offer students an opportunity to explore theology, calling, the arts, and service for the common good. We also annually hire interns, whom we train and mentor.

Faculty and University Staff: To support faculty and staff who are often isolated professionally and spiritually, we offer thoughtful, cutting-edge programming, and engage the big questions animating today’s academic landscape.

Pastors and Ministry Leaders: Bridging Christian traditions, we champion a healthy, better-connected church in Dane county by hosting conversations on issues at the nexus of faith, culture, and ideas. We serve area pastors and campus ministries through equipping programs, including our co-leadership of a Lilly Endowment grant.

Marketplace Leaders: Being in a capital city with many impactful industries and start-ups, we serve as a resource to leaders as they integrate their faith and work and enlarge their vision for serving the common good in every professional discipline.

Artists: Makers and creators find a warm welcome at Upper House, where we believe rich, purposeful aesthetic experiences are essential to personal, social, and spiritual well-being. Our programming seeks to elevate the arts and makers alike.


THE OPPORTUNITY, THE CHALLENGE & THE FUTURE

THE OPPORTUNITY & THE CHALLENGE

Upper House Commons serves a spectrum of audiences with distinctive and unique personas and needs. As the organization has grown significantly over the last decade, so has the reach and the diversity of programming; thus creating a need for a more clear strategic focus for Upper House Commons.

Looking ahead toward the future, Upper House Commons will serve as a place for gathering a wide range of audiences and providing an on-ramp to introduce students, community members, and partners to the targeted programming that the SLBF now offers.

The greatest opportunity for this Director of Upper House Commons is to provide strategic leadership in and amongst the SLBF team on programming and priorities for future academic years. This Director will be collaborative and work to ensure the programs hosted at Upper House are executed with a high degree of excellence in hospitality while also creating more awareness for the additional areas of programming that the SLBF offers.

Additionally, this leader will be adept at galvanizing audiences through public speaking all the while partnering closely with their highly talented colleagues in the Foundation who have deep expertise in academic, theological, and thought-leading places of influence in the Madison community.

The greatest challenge for this Director of Upper House Commons is coordinating and strategically prioritizing multiple opportunities for programming while adhering and filtering through these initiatives with the lens of the Foundation's newly created Strategic Anchors. Additionally, this Director will be tasked with identifying future programs and events to serve the needs of the many diverse audiences that Upper House is focused on - including undergraduate and graduate students, campus ministry partners (CRU, InterVarsity, Navigators, etc.) faculty, church leaders, business community leaders, and artists.

NEXT SEASON OF LEADERSHIP

The Director of Upper House Commons will be a strategic leader who is gifted in coordinating, leading and executing programs in a highly collaborative way.

  • Commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ that extends to all dimensions of life
  • High level of spiritual maturity and affirms the Upper House Statement of Faith
  • Demonstrated leadership and breadth of experience in event management, program coordination and execution
  • A promoter of Upper House who galvanizes students and community partners to engage and participate in SLBF initiatives
  • Passionate about hospitality and creates a welcoming and servant-driven culture
  • Confident and charismatic public speaker who enthusiastically communicates at events and in the Madison community about the work at Upper House
  • Experience in leading and empowering a team of hospitality and event staff
  • Collaborative approach and experience in partnering with diverse stakeholder groups
  • Deep intellectual curiosity and passion for connecting Scripture and theology to the scholarly and professional pursuits for target audiences

FIRST-YEAR WINS

The Director of Upper House Commons will...

  • Build a strategic program calendar with clearly identified goals and objectives that align to the SLBF strategic anchors and initiatives
  • Maintain the spit-shine hospitality culture and create an environment where all guests feel and experience the love of Jesus in the Upper House Commons space
  • Gain the trust of peers, consistently demonstrating the Upper House Programming activities will be executed with a level of excellence
  • Engage in conversations with core audiences, seeking and applying feedback to initiatives, while evolving and adjusting along the way
  • Lead the Program Leadership Team with humility, clarity and curiosity while providing clear strategic direction on priorities and expected outcomes
  • Create new programming and bring ideas to colleagues to support and complement the strategic priorities for the Lumen Center, Lumen Fellows and New College Madison
  • Help lead and support expansion of Upper House concept beyond Madison to other parts of the state within the UW University system

Madison, WI

The Director of Upper House Commons will work at Upper House on the campus at UW-Madison in a beautiful office location with convenient access to local coffee shops and restaurants. Some limited travel is expected for this position as we extend our footprint regionally and participate in national Consortium of Christian Study Center events and conferences.

Madison is located in South Central Wisconsin, on an isthmus, and is surrounded by five lakes—Lake Mendota, Lake Monona, Lake Wingra, Lake Kegonsa, and Lake Waubesa. The State Capitol of Wisconsin, Madison is known for its beautiful lakes and parks, bike paths, farmers markets, world-class university, exemplary healthcare, innovative businesses, and many top-notch museums and cultural venues.

Read more about why Madison is one of the best cities to live in the U.S. here.

POSITION PROFILE

Director of Upper House Commons

As a senior leader of the Foundation, the Director of Upper House Commons (DUHC) will help steward the SLBF's overarching vision, provide strategic support to the Executive Director, and contribute to a high-functioning executive team that serves all stakeholders (e.g., board members, staff, external partners, university students, faculty, and church and civic leaders), and contribute to a healthy organizational culture.

The Director of Upper House Commons will work alongside the Executive Director in the following areas: (1) provide vision and strategic leadership for all SLBF public programming to accomplish the Foundation’s Ends, Mission, Vision, and Values, which includes leading the Program Leadership Team (PLT); (2) design and execute public programming that serves our general university community; (3) coordinate all public programming generated by various SLBF initiatives, including but not limited to the Lumen Center (TLC) and New College Madison (NCM) (4) oversee all SLBF student engagement, including the Upper House Fellows Program, Intern Program, other student-oriented work, and explore ways to build relationships with incoming college students and their families before matriculating to college; and (5) lead SLBF’s efforts to explore expanding its Christian study center reach to college communities across the state.

REPORTS TO:  Executive Director of the Stephen & Laurel Brown Foundation

PARTNERS CLOSELY WITH: Key leaders and staff across the organization

LEADS : 3-5 Direct reports with university community programming and hospitality responsibilities

LOCATION: Upper House, located on UW-Madison campus

Responsibilities

Provides vision and strategic leadership for all SLBF public programming (30%)

  • The DUHC develops and implements a strategic plan for SLBF public programs that fulfills the foundation’s Ends, Mission, Vision, and Values.
  • Leads the PLT in conceptualization, coordination, successful execution, and evaluation of all Upper House Commons programs and events, with particular attention to relevant Foundation stakeholders.
  • Works with the Foundation's Executive Director to create appropriate metrics, policies, and norms to measure the SLBF’s progress against its stated ends and strategic goals.
  • Assists the Executive Director in advancement planning and fundraising for Upper House Commons initiatives.
  • Serves in external roles that advance Upper House Common’s mission, such as external board, civic, and church involvement, and participates as needed in committees for the Consortium of Christian Study Centers or similar endeavors.

Designs and executes public programming that serves general UW-Madison communities (20%)

  • Develops and maintains a strong bench of program curators across SLBF initiatives to plan and execute a wide variety of programs, including, but not limited to, lectures, symposia, concerts, learning cohorts, and experiential field encounters.
  • Curates individual programs and learning cohorts within Upper House Commons that serve the strategy for SLBF public programming.
  • Champions and contributes to the SLBF project management system for program development in Asana (our internal project management system).
  • Conducts annual reviews and oversees personal development plans to support individual staff within Upper House Commons in achieving their personal and organizational goals.
  • Works with the Executive Director and other staff colleagues to recruit, hire, develop, and retain high-caliber staff for Upper House Commons.

Coordinates all public programming generated by various SLBF initiatives (20%)

  • Collaborates with the Director of New College Madison and the Director of the Lumen Center to advance the Foundation’s End Goals.
  • Remains attentive to stewarding the health and thriving of the Hospitality Team as the vital mechanism for executing all SLBF public programming.
  • Collaborates with the Director of Marketing and Communications to promote Foundation program offers effectively.

Oversees all SLBF student engagement (15%)

  • Partners with the Upper House Fellows Program Director to develop a multi-year strategy to build and expand the Upper House Fellows Program (UHFP).
  • Maintains relations with the Upper House Fellows Program Advisory Council (FPAC) to strengthen relationships between the UHFP and local churches, ministries, and UW-Madison campus organizations.
  • Partners with Student Enrichment teammates to build and maintain a healthy Upper House Intern Program that serves the needs of the SLBF stakeholders and ensures that our collegiate staff are growing and serving in ways congruent with the program’s goals.
  • Explores ways to connect high school students and their families to the SLBF’s work and mission before they arrive on campus.

Helps lead SLBF’s effort to serve university and college communities across the state (10%)

  • Develops a strategy to expand SLBF programming to other parts of Wisconsin.
  • Develops networks with church and marketplace leaders in Wisconsin that are proximate to private colleges and UW-system universities.
  • Conducts research and environmental reconnaissance to inform the SLBF’s expansion strategy and supporting plans.

Personal Growth and Renewal (5%)

  • Commits time to personal renewal and cultivating the fruit of the spirit by exercising spiritual disciplines.

Qualifications

  • Commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and a high level of spiritual maturity, including care and concern for the whole body of Christ.
  • Strong interpersonal, organizational, and leadership skills with a demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects with flexible schedules.
  • Ability to coach and develop staff, volunteers, and other external stakeholders.
  • Love for the university and its array of stakeholders.
  • Demonstrated commitment to the life of the church and the scholarly enterprise of the academy.
  • Excellent writing/editing and verbal communication skills.
  • Demonstrated church- or university-level teaching experience.
  • High energy, maturity, and leadership with the ability to serve as a unifying force in building a healthy organizational culture.
  • Ability to self-initiate, self-monitor, and work effectively in a dynamic setting.
  • Sincere commitment to working collaboratively with diverse stakeholder groups, including peer directors and senior leaders.
  • A master’s level degree or equivalent leadership experience and expertise in theology, education, or a related field with deep intellectual curiosity and passion for connecting scripture and theology to the professional pursuits of university faculty, staff, undergraduate and graduate students, and community and marketplace leaders.


CONTACT

Ready to take the next step?

If after a thorough review of this profile, you would like to explore this opportunity please contact:

Toni McEwan // [email protected]