The Rev. Dr. Karen Rezach was ordained into the priesthood in the Diocese of Newark in 2018. For four years, she served as a part-time priest at Christ Church in Short Hills, NJ. For the past 8 years, Rev. Karen served as the extended supply priest at St. Thomas in Lyndhurst. She continues to lead the “Monday Night Bible Study” at Christ Church in Ridgewood, as she has for almost 20 years! She was called to Grace Church in June 2020 to serve as the Part Time Priest-in-Charge.
In addition to her position at Grace Church, Rev. Karen is the Founding Director of The Ethics Institute at Kent Place School. A leader in primary and secondary school ethics education, she has been teaching and facilitating ethics workshops for students, parents, faculty, administrators and private organizations for over 13 years. She has developed partnerships with leading ethical institutions, including The Hastings Center and Georgetown University’s Kennedy Institute of Ethics, to develop signature programs for high school students. Her doctoral research, “Spiritual Leadership as a Model of Effective Leadership in Independent School,” explores the ways that educators can bring values and moral awareness into non-sectarian settings, and was the catalyst for the founding of the Ethics Institute at Kent Place School. Rev. Karen is the coach of the National and NJ Champion Kent Place High School and Middle School Ethics Bowl Teams.
Rev. Karen has an M.Div. from Yale University, an Ed.D. from Seton Hall University. She has 24 years of experience as an independent school administrator, including Director of the Middle School at Kent Place and Assistant Head of School at St. Philip’s in Newark, New Jersey. She serves on numerous Boards related to education, ethics and community outreach.