Our Staff

Dr. Anna Stewart has been a part of the Valpo community since 2012. Prior to that, she earned her doctorate in English from the University of Texas at Austin, where her work was supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Antiquarian Society, and the Albert Greenfield Foundation Fellowship in African American History.  She came to Valpo as a Lilly Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities and English and continued on at Christ College (the honors college) as an adjunct assistant professor and community education program coordinator. Prior to joining the Institute for Leadership and Service (ILAS) in the Division of Calling and Spiritual Life, she served for eight years as Assistant Dean, first in the College of Arts & Sciences and then in Christ College. 

ILAS is dedicated to preparing students and our campus community members for lives shaped by a sense of calling–equipped for thoughtful reflection, engaged in the larger world, and responsive to its deepest challenges.  Dr. Stewart is excited to bring her experience, passion, collaborative spirit, and love of students to the Institute as we seek to further our mission on this campus.

Katherine (Kat) Peters holds degrees in Spanish and International Service from Valparaiso University, a Master’s in Education from Framingham State University, and a Master’s in Territorial Rural Development from the Latin American Faculty on Social Sciences in San José, Costa Rica.  She lived in Costa Rica for nearly a decade, where she served as the Assistant Director of the Institute for Central American Development Studies, a language institute and study abroad program.  Kat currently teaches Spanish at Indiana University Northwest, and lives in Valparaiso, Indiana, with her husband and two bilingual sons.

Rachel MacDonald received her Bachelor of Science from Washburn University and her Masters of Arts from Denver Seminary. Before coming to Valpo, she served as an Associate Pastor in Ottawa, Illinois. She enjoys talking with students and supporting them in their formation as they discover more of who they are called to be. In her downtime, Rachel plays strategy board games with her husband, reads fantasy fiction, bakes cakes, and plays with her two dogs.