Chandra DeNap Whetstine will serve First Church as a seminary intern during the 2024/2025 academic year. Chandra currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at the One America Movement, a national organization building a united American society by eliminating toxic polarization.Chandra develops curricula and programming for religious leaders and congregations across religious, political, and racial divides. Under her leadership, the organization launched as an independent 501c3, increased staff size by more than 400%, expanded programming to over 1,200 faith communities, and strengthened program interventions with best practices from social science, psychology, and neuroscience. Prior to joining One America, Chandra spent 12 years in international development working with marginalized populations, including women and girls, people with disabilities, child laborers, and trafficking survivors in over a dozen countries. She led a $10-million, five-country project that provided wheelchair service and disability inclusion in India, Kenya, Nicaragua, Romania, and El Salvador. She has also worked at the US Department of Labor’s Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking and the United Nations Development Programme in Bhutan. Chandra holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre from the University of Indianapolis, a Master’s Degree in Diplomacy and International Relations from Seton Hall University, and certificates in Women in Leadership and Diversity and Inclusion. She is currently a seminarian at Wesley Theological Seminary. Chandra lives with her husband, mother, and three children in Virginia where she served for 7 years as co-lead of the Worship Support Team at Hope United Church of Christ. She is also a trained birth doula, recovering theater professional, and proud Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.