Biographies: Committee on Military Ministry (CMM) Members
Regina Largent
Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Regina Largent served on active duty in the U.S. Army for 23 years, in numerous public affairs and personnel management officer positions in the U.S. and abroad. Her joint service included duty in Haiti as the Director of the Joint Information Bureau and Spokesperson for the Multi-National Forces. She was a contributor of doctrine to the US Army Public Affairs and Personnel Services manuals, and she earned her spurs with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Fulda, Germany. Additionally, Regina served as an Army educator—Associate Professor of English at the U.S. Military Academy, and a final military assignment as Professor of Military Science and Army ROTC Commander. She is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and Staff College and the Department of Defense Advance Communications Program. Her awards include the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal (with three Oak Leaf Clusters).
Following her military career, Regina started and directed the University of Portland’s First-year Student Resource Center and the First-year Seminar Programs and was a member of the English faculty. As an expert in the academic engagement of first-year college students, she was a speaker for several years at national conferences from California to Maine. Regina has also chaired and participated on national standards evaluations including regional university academic accreditation and university NCAA athletics certification program.
Currently living in Richmond, Virginia, Regina is a member of First Unitarian Universalist church where her spouse, the Rev. Jeanne Pupke, is the senior minister. She is an active member of her church and serves on the Thomas Jefferson District Chalice Lighters Committee. Her interests include denominational growth, supporting excellence in ministry and in adult religious education programs.
Lisa Presley, chair
Lisa has been a member of Civil Air Patrol, the civilian non-combatant auxiliary of the US Air Force for the past five years, but her real interest in military chaplaincy arose out of her experience as a volunteer police chaplain. While serving her community in such a capacity for over ten years, she realized that there are many things that military and police chaplaincy have in common. Lisa entered a Doctor of Ministry degree program at Meadville/Lombard Theological School to pursue her questions about such chaplaincies.
Lisa’s D.Min. project (completed in 2007) involved surveying Unitarian Universalists about their attitudes toward the police and military, and interviewing present and past military and police chaplains. The project highlighted the tensions that can exist in these types of chaplaincies: being theologically well-suited while facing questions and concerns from both Unitarian Universalists and non-UU military/police chaplains. It was partially out of this work that the Committee on Military Ministry was born—as well as from Lisa’s concerns about her friends and colleagues who serve in such positions. She worked with a team of former and current military to aid the UUA in creating policies and procedures around military chaplaincy.
Lisa was ordained to Unitarian Universalist ministry after receiving her Master of Divinity degree in 1991 from Harvard Divinity School. She received her Doctor of Ministry degree in 2007 from Meadville/Lombard Theological School. She has served our movement through both called and interim ministry, and also served for two years an interim District Executive. She ordinarily resides in Southeast Michigan with her partner Amy and their cat Squash.
Kenneth Sibley
Major Kenneth Sibley is the active duty Staff Judge Advocate, Grissom Air Reserve Base, Indiana. Among other assignments, Ken previously served as Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, RAF Mildenhall, UK; as Chief of Military Justice, 13th Air Force, Anderson Air Base, Guam; and as Area Defense Counsel, Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. Ken deployed overseas for Operations Provide Relief (Kenya) and Enduring Freedom (Philippines). In 2001 and 2002, he taught the Law of Armed Conflict to Air Force officers of the Philippines and Singapore. He is a contributing author to the Air Force JAG Corps leadership manual. In 2007 he was selected for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel.
Ken is a summa cum laude graduate of Ohio State University, Phi Beta Kappa, with a Bachelor of Arts in Classics (Greek, Latin, and a minor in French). He is also a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville.
As a child, and into his twenties, Ken attended All Soul’s Unitarian-Universalist Church in Kansas City, Missouri. He was on the committee that hosted the annual Raymond Bragg Symposium on Humanism. He maintains membership in the American Humanist Association.
Ken lives with his wife Laura and two sons in Greentown, Indiana. The family attends services at the Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship of Kokomo, Indiana, where Laura is the Fellowship Secretary.
Matt Tittle
Ministry is a third career for Matt. He is a 2004 graduate of Meadville-Lombard Theological School in Chicago, Illinois, where he received a Master of Divinity degree. Until May 2004, Matt was an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and was previously the Assistant Director of the U of I Campus Honors program. He earned a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the U of Illinois in 2001. Matt also holds an M.A. in the Teaching of Russian, an M.A. in national Security Affairs from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, and a B.A. from the University of South Carolina. He is a graduate of the U.S. Defense Language Institute, and is a certified teacher for grades 6-12.
Before his academic and ministerial careers, Matt served on active duty as a naval officer for over 11 years. He was commissioned as an Ensign through NROTC in 1982, and served initially as a Surface Warfare Officer, but primarily as a Naval Intelligence Officer specializing in Soviet/Russian affairs. In 1993 he transferred to the Naval Reserve where he remained a very active selected reservist until he retired in 2003 at the rank of Commander (O-5). During his naval career, he served as a nuclear weapons inspector in Russia; conducted research for the Dept. of Defense POW/MIA Office; saw combat action in Grenada and Lebanon; and had the opportunity to travel to over thirty countries on five continents.
Matt grew up primarily in Charleston, South Carolina. His wife, Gail, is a social worker specializing in child welfare and currently working at the Manger of Curriculum Development with the Protective Services Training Institute at the University of Houston. Matt and Gail have two children, Alex and Andy. Matt is also a triathlete, and you can find more about him on his personal website.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
