Our Staff
Stan Mattson
Position:
Dr. Mattson is the Founder and President, Director of the C.S. Lewis Study Centre at The Kilns in Oxford, England and Director of the triennial C.S. Lewis Summer Institute in Oxbridge.
Education:
He has a Bachelor’s degree in Education from the State University of New York, Oswego; Master’s degree in history from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Ph.D. in American Social and Intellectual History from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Background:
A past member of the faculty of Gordon College and of the faculty and administration of the University of Redlands, Dr. Mattson has also served as Headmaster of The Master’s School of West Simsbury, CT. He founded the C.S. Lewis Foundation in 1986.
Family/ Interests:
He and his wife, Jean, have two adult children, Todd and Elizabeth, and five grandchildren. Dr. Mattson’s interests include sailing, singing, and playing traditional folk music.
Gayne Anacker
Position:
Dr. Anacker is Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Assistant Director of the triennial C.S. Lewis Summer Institute in the Cities and Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, England.
Education:
He holds the B.A. in Philosophy from Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California; the Master of Theological Studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, Massachusetts; the M.A. in Philosophy from Washington State University in Pullman, Washington; the Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of California, Irvine.
Background:
Gayne has been Vice President of the C.S. Lewis Foundation, on a volunteer basis, for over 15 years. He began his career as Prof. of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, California. He was also Founding President of Community Christian College, Redlands, California. Immediately prior to joining the Foundation full-time, he was on the staff of California Baptist University, Riverside, California as both Prof. of Philosophy and as an administrator, first, Associate Provost, then Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Family/ Interests:
He and Karen, his wife of 32 years, have one child, Rachael, a home-schooled high school junior. As a family, they enjoy music, reading, and politics. In addition to serious addictions to Narnia and Middle-earth, they are also Harry Potter fans
Dick Durant
Position:
Dick serves as Treasurer and Director of Administration for the C.S. Lewis Foundation.
Education:
Dick earned his Bachelor of Science in Physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology, his Master of Arts in Theological Studies from the International School of Theology, and his Master of Business Administration from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Background:
Dick has been involved in leadership, management, and development work for Christian ministries, other non-profits, and businesses for more than thirty years. He served for 14 years with Campus Crusade for Christ in campus ministry and various administrative roles. Since 1988, Dick has served as a leadership and organizational consultant, seeking to help the leaders of Christian ministries, non-profit organizations, and businesses clarify and achieve the vision God has placed in their hearts and the hearts of their team members.
Family/ Interests:
Married since 1981 to Brenda, the Durants have three children, two sons and one daughter. They live in Redlands, California, and are very active in their local church. Following their children’s activities in youth sports, music, and theatre has been the focus of much of their interests.
Kate Simcoe
Position:
Kate is the Kilns Coordinator and Director of Summer Seminars in Residence at The Kilns, Oxford, England.
Education:
Kate received her Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design, California State Univ. Long Beach. She also took independent studies courses in dance, theatre and art at Rancho Santiago College, California.
Background:
She has served with the C.S. Lewis Foundation since 2001. In addition, Kate is an Interior Designer, residential and commercial design, a private residential design consultant, and an independent film set designer. Her previous experience includes being an Administrative Assistant in the educational and institutional fields, a costume designer and a dance instructor.
Family/ Interests:
She has been married 28 years to the love of her life, Duncan, an artist, musician and arts educator. She enjoys time with her family and cats, traveling, gardening, reading, movies, having musical evenings with her friends, flower arranging and decorating her home again and again and again.
Steve Elmore
Position:
Steve Elmore is the Foundation’s Director of Communications.
Education:
He has a B.A. in English from Pepperdine University and an M.A. in Literature and Film from Claremont Graduate University.
Background:
He has worked in education, clerical work, and technical/computer work. He occasionally teaches part-time at local community colleges and has been with the C.S. Lewis Foundation since June 2006.
Family/ Interests:
He and his wife Becky have a four year old daughter, Rowan. His interests include literature, film, pop culture, video games, and playing with Rowan.
Debbie Higgens
Position:
Dr. Debbie Higgens is Resident Director at The Kilns.
Education:
Debbie received her B.A. in English Education from Columbia Union College, Maryland; her M.A. in English from Andrews University, Michigan; and her Ph.D. in Medieval and Renaissance Literature from Middle Tennessee State University,Tennessee. Her dissertation title is “Anglo-Saxon Community in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings” and she wrote her dissertation while living at the Kilns as a Scholar-in-Residence.
Background:
Debbie has taught in the English Department of Southern Adventist University for the past 17 years. She has also served as a full-time missionary in Costa Rica, lived in Japan as a child, and spent five of her teen-age years living in Turkey and Germany. Debbie has been involved with the C.S. Lewis Foundation since 2002 and first visited the Kilns in its early renovation stages in 1994.
Family/ Interests:
She has two children, Christina and Nathan, who are also avid readers and have travelled extensively. Debbie has been an equestrian since her childhood and enjoys falconry whenever she gets a chance; her favorite bird to fly is the owl. She enjoys reading and researching Anglo-Saxon literature and artifacts as well as the works of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Alyssa Jacobsen
Position:
Alyssa serves the Foundation as Oxbridge Events Coordinator.
Education:
She has a B.A. in History from Walla Walla University, Walla Walla, Washington. She also attended La Sierra University (California) and Newbold College (England), where she studied communications, history, and English literature. She has been with the C.S. Lewis Foundation since June 2007. She is currently enrolled at American University studying Cross-Cultural Communications.
Background:
She has worked as a Teacher’s Assistant, a reporter for her college newspaper, a sales associate, and a substitute teacher.
Family/ Interests:
Her hobbies include traveling, photography, art history, beaches, visiting museums, dancing, sea doos, languages, and reading.
Mary Cariaga
Position:
Mary is the Foundation's Bookkeeper.
Education:
Mary has a B.A. in Business Administration from California State University San Bernardino.
Background:
She began working as a bookkeeper in her father’s business at the age of 14, and has been putting numbers in their place ever since.
Family/ Interests:
Mary loves being a mom to three teenagers, and just sent two of them off to college this year. She also enjoys quilting, reading, traveling and keeping up with friends on Facebook.
Mary Key
Position:
Dr. Key serves as Director of Special Programs for the C.S. Lewis Foundation.
Education:
Mary earned both her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and her Master of Science in Counseling Psychology degrees from California Baptist University. She earned a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology with a specialty in College Student Development through the School of Education at the University of Southern California.
Background:
She has served California Baptist University as faculty teaching in the Psychology, Education and Literature departments and in the Counseling Graduate Program. She has held positions as Counseling Center Director, Director of Women’s Housing, and Career Services Director. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, was in private practice for several years, and conducted seminars in organizational consulting. Her calling for the past several years has been to Home Education (particularly focused on their three children), and the development and networking of community resources in that context.
Family/ Interests:
Mary, her husband, Scott, and their two sons and daughter are avid Lewis and Tolkien fans. As a family, they enjoy every aspect of theater – acting, singing, dancing, dramaturgy, “propping,” and cheering on those who do it all. Their home is held up by bookcases, and their refrigerator is barely visible through the magnets collected from travels to over 40 states and 6 countries.
Nan Rinella
Position:
Nan serves as Director of The C.S. Lewis Retreat.
Education:
Attended the University of Colorado, UCLA, and studied journalism at West Texas A&M. She was a National Journalism Center senior fellow with Human Events in Washington D.C. and is a graduate of Bible Study Fellowship and Christian Leaders, Authors & Speakers Services Seminar and Personality Training Workshop.
Background:
Nan is a former flight attendant and inflight coordinator, winning a system wide award for the best domicile newsletter. She’s been a writer, speaker, and freelance journalist for the last 20 years, publishing over 200 articles in Amarillo, Texas, publications, and in Daily Devotions for Writers, Focus on the Family Magazine, and Consumer Research. Over the last 20 years Nan has served as program and publicity chair, and president with Panhandle Professional Writers and directed their annual writers’ conference, Frontiers in Writing. She has written a book on travel.
Family/ Interests:
She and Joe have been married 40 years. Their son Ryan is married but no grandchildren yet, but they do have a grand dog and five cats. Nan is an avid student of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and is currently writing a Narnia inspired novel. Nan considers herself a “Hobbit in Narnia.”
Andrew Lazo
Position:
Andrew serves as Faculty Liaison for the C.S. Lewis Foundation. He also serves as Special Programs Coordinator for many of our individual events, including The C.S. Lewis Retreat.
Education:
Coming soon!
Background:
Coming soon!
Family/ Interests:
Coming soon!
Lancia Smith
Position:
Lancia serves as the Assistant Director of The C.S Lewis Retreat and as an Organizational Development Consultant for the Foundation.
Education:
Lancia did her bachelor’s work in English Literature at the University of Colorado in Boulder and she is now continuing her studies with a specific focus on the works of C.S. Lewis and apologetics in literature.
Background:
Always of an entrepreneurial bent, Lancia is president of an environmental consulting and engineering firm based in Denver CO; has been photographing professionally for more than 25 years and spent many years in publishing and graphic design. Having served in church leadership capacities for more than 25 years, she has an extensive background in lay counseling in addiction recovery, bereavement, and women survivors of abuse. Lancia writes on topics related to C.S. Lewis, spiritual development, and arts intersecting culture. She also hosts the website “Cultivating the Good, the True and the Beautiful” at lanciaesmith.com.
Family/ Interests:
Lancia is happily married to Peter and they are parents to 6 adult children and two fabulous son-in-laws, and are grandparents to two adorable granddaughters. They also co-pastor a house church. Lancia is happiest in the garden, behind a camera, listening to the music of conversation at the dinner table, being settled at the keyboard writing, lost somewhere deep in a book, watching movies with Peter who makes her world turn, or most of all, in the company of the Lord. She's loved and studied C.S. Lewis since she first read "Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy."
Kirk Manton
Position:
Kirk serves as the Production Manager for The C.S. Lewis Retreat, the C.S. Lewis Summer Institute, and other special events.
Education:
Kirk earned his Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies at The Union Institutes.
Background:
Kirk served the local church as a youth pastor for over 10 years. Since that time he has worked in the film and video production and the event production industry. He trained and worked for years on all kinds of film and video projects as a freelance lighting technician and he help found and manage a film lighting rental company in Orange County California. Kirk then transitioned into event production managing for companies such as The Disney Hotel and The Amarillo Civic Center. He is now the Director of Production Services at a mega church, Trinity Fellowship, in Amarillo, Texas.
Family/ Interests:
Married since 1994 to Rachelle, he has 5 children: one birth daughter, one step daughter, one adopted son, and one goddaughter. They live in Amarillo, Texas, and are very active in their local church. Following and supporting his children’s activities is the greatest joy of his life. With all four in college at one time or another now, that is about all he can do.
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