Our Team & Network

The Centennial Fund is the WSCF’s endowment fund, established in 1995, to ensure the continuation of the Federation’s work of nurturing ecumenical leaders committed to working for justice and peace for generations to come. The Fund is working to strengthen its fundraising efforts so that it may remain in a position to support the WSCF for years to come.

Centennial Fund Meeting in Helsinki, Finland, June 2019

The Fund is managed by a Board of Trustees, drawn from Senior Friends (former members and friends of the WSCF). The Board releases the income from the fund to support WSCF programmes, publications and leadership formation.

Brief introduction of CF members

Ambassador Ilari Rantakari
CHAIRPERSON (Finland)Amb. Ilari Rantakari

Mr. Jannes Hutagalung
VICE-CHAIRPERSON (Indonesia)Mr. Jannes Hutagalung

“After spending more than 3 decades in Indonesian civil service including 9 years with the World Bank in Washington, D.C. I retired in 2008. I since then became more active in my church, as an elder and participate in a number of activities beside joining two choirs. I am also doing some part time work as a consultant. I married to Sondang whom I first met in 1972 at the National Congress of GMKI. We married in that year, blessed with 3 sons and 7 grandchildren. I became a member of GMKI since 1963 and an active member until 1972 when I started working as a civil servant at the Ministry of Finance of Indonesia. During my active years in GMKI I was once Secretary of Jakarta Chapter and a Chairman of National Committee from 1970-1972. Being member of CF is my first experience with the Federation. CF could play a very important role for the future of the Federation when the support from our traditional contributors is declining. CF should become a vehicle for mobilizing financial supports particularly from among members. One of the challenges faced by CF is how to raise the awareness of as many members as possible about the financial situation being faced by the Federation and to be motivated to help.”

Rev. Dr. Bruce Rigdon
TREASURER (USA)

Mr. Mathieu Durrleman
MEMBER-AT-LARGE (Genève)Mr. Mathieu Durrelham

Rev. Sheryl Johnson
MEMBER-AT-LARGE (Canada)Rev. Sheryl Johnson

Sheryl Johnson was deeply involved in the Canadian SCM and now currently working on a PhD in Theology and Ethics at Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, USA. She has been involved for several years with WSCF-Canada, a body primarily devoted to fundraising for the WSCF Centennial Fund (with a percentage of other funds raised going to the endowments of SCM Canada and WSCF-North America) and sees part of her role as connecting this group more deeply with the Centennial Fund itself. Sheryl has served in a variety of roles from local unit coordinator (at the University of Toronto) to co-chair of SCM Canada to a variety of regional and WSCF global roles. She first became involved with SCM in 2005. As WSCF, like much of the ecumenical movement, struggles to sustain long-term, stable, funding particularly for its core budget as its traditional funders are experiencing declining resources and changing approaches to funding, I believe the role of the Centennial Fund is to step in to provide that, as much as possible, to enable WSCF to live into its call to be a bold and prophetic space for the generations to come.

Shali D.O Kapepo
MEMBER-AT-LARGE (Namibia)Shali D.O Kapepo

Dr. Salters Sterling
MEMBER-AT-LARGE (Ireland)Dr. Salters Sterling

“I am a 79 years old Irish person with university qualifications in History, Politics, Education and a life-long interest in the welfare of the marginalised through the ecumenical service of the Church. A student SCMer from 1952-1961, Britain and Ireland SCM Staff Member from 1961-1970. I have attended the WSCF GA 1964, 1968 and 2008 and 2015 as Senior Friend. Currently accompanying the ExCo as representative of the CF Board. The Centennial Fund will continue to support the work of the Federation with funding within the terms of reference of its Foundation and as Senior Friends by supporting the work of the Officers and Staff of the Federation.”

Ms. Ebere Ubesie
WSCF TREASURER (Nigeria)Ms. Ebere Ubesie

Ebere is from Nigeria, she is a Chartered Accountant, under the Nigerian and UK professional accounting bodies. She is currently writing her PHD thesis at University of Johannesburg. Ebere joined the Student Christian Movement in Nigeria during secondary school where her leadership skills were recognised. Recently, she was named National President of SCM Nigeria, after serving in several leadership positions, among them, National Finance Secretary, Coordinator of the National Women’s and Children’s Affairs and National Treasurer. Among her achievements as National Treasurer was to “modernise” the financial system of the SCM of Nigeria. At the global level, she was a WSCF delegate to the UN Commission of the Status of Women. Ebere is a member of the Anglican Church.

Mr. Marcelo Leites
WSCF GENERAL SECRETARY (Uruguay)Mr. Marcelo Leites

Marcelo is from Uruguay. He comes from a long history of involvement with the Student Christian Movements (SCMs) in Uruguay and WSCF LAC. He was the Regional Secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) from 2012 and Director for WSCF’s Global Program on Ecological Justice since 2016. Prior to this, Marcelo was a member of the Student Christian Movement of Uruguay from 2005 to 2011. He worked as a Social Educator, Campaigner and Accompanier for youth-related programs and projects in Montevideo, Uruguay before joining WSCF as the interim regional secretary for LAC in 2011. Marcelo studied Social Work for 2 years and Philosophy for 4 years at the Universidad de la República in Montevideo, Uruguay, and graduated in 2011. He has been involved in Climate Justice Advocacy since 2012 and is a member of the WCC Climate Change working group and the ACT Alliance Climate Justice Group.