ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM
Paula Marchman
MA, LPC, Managing Director
Paula Marchman, MA, LPC, is the managing director of Family Life Ministry (FLM) for the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta. She practices Christian Psychotherapy in a private Counseling Office in Atlanta. Paula received her Baccalaureate degree in biology/chemistry from Georgia State University and her masters degree in professional counseling from Richmont University. She is a Level 2 Gottman certified couple therapist and trained facilitator. Paula also enjoys working on Family Insights, a podcast found on The Orthodox Christian Network & FLM. She is a member of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Paula and her husband Tom Lekas enjoy spending time with their eight grandchildren.
Lucia Claire
Media, Marketing, and Website Administrator
Regina is a recent graduate from the University of Georgia with her a B.S. and a B.A. in physical and human Geography, respectively. She attends Saint Philothea Orthodox Church in Athens, Georgia where she also teaches Sunday school and chairs a committee to improve the sustainability of the church. Additionally, Regina serves as Vice President of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship at UGA. When she is not studying the effects of human behavior on the environment, she enjoys reading, writing, visiting the Georgia Botanical Gardens, and making tea. Regina is passionate about engaging with fellow Orthodox college students and discovering how to live in the fullness of the faith as a young woman in the 21st century.
Edna King
Education, Curricula Writing, author, and contributing writer
Edna King is a former teacher and preschool director. She earned a Bachelors in Education and a Masters in Early Childhood Education and taught for seventeen years. She and her husband Mark are parishioners at Saint Mary of Egypt in Roswell, Georgia. Mark and Edna have four children- three adult sons and their daughter who fell asleep in the Lord at the age of eight after a long battle with cancer. Edna is one of the authors of Woven, a book for Orthodox teen girls, and Forged, its companion book for young men. Her articles have appeared on Pravmir and the Sounding Blog on OCN.
Rev. +Fr. Paul Kaplanis
Spiritual Advisor
Father Paul Kaplanis graduated from Western Connecticut State University in 1979, with a B.S. Degree in Social Science and History. In September 1979, he entered Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. On June 27, 1982, Father Paul and Presbytera Evi (Spiliopoulou) Kaplanis were married at the Dormition Greek Orthodox Church in Danbury. In 1983, he graduated with his Master’s of Divinity Degree and upon receiving the Taylor Scholarship, Father Paul enrolled in the Master’s Program at the University of Thessaloniki, Greece. After one year, he returned to the U.S and was ordained by His Grace Bishop Philip to the Holy Diaconate at his hometown parish on October 28, 1984 and to the Holy Priesthood on November 11, 1984. Father Paul was bestowed with the Offikia, (office) of father confessor and stavroforos by Bishop Philip and on September 2002, His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios bestowed upon Father the Offikion of Protopresbyter. Father Paul is the Dean of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation in Atlanta, Georgia.
STAFF WRITERS
Angie Nasrallah
Staff Writer and Photographer
Angie Nasrallah is a writer, teacher, urban farmer, wife and homeschooling mother to five children. A graduate of Florida State University, she also earned her M.Ed in Secondary English Education from The University of Georgia. Angie began her teaching career at UGA as a graduate assistant in the Challenge Program for gifted and talented students. Since that time, she has taught writing and literature in a variety of contexts including public and private school, technical school, hybrid school and homeschool. She currently teaches her youngest son at home. An avid nature lover, Angie enjoys spending time with her boys discovering and photographing cool earthy things. With the older kids, she often finds herself in the role of coach and encourager. When she’s not with her family or out tending the chicken coop, you might find her writing stories and articles for her blog. She and her husband, subdeacon Matthew, live in Marietta, Georgia and are actively involved in St. Basil the Great Orthodox Mission.
Khouria Faith Potter
Staff Writer
Khouria Faith Potter received her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Richmont Graduate University in Atlanta, GA. She lives in South Glens Falls, NY, where her husband, Fr. Gregory, is the priest of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church. She has a background in International Affairs and non-profit work and did her clinical work for her counseling degree at a women and children’s homeless shelter, where she specialized in grief counseling and DBT. In her spare time, Faith enjoys knitting, tending to plants, and singing shape-note music.
Jacob Sparks
Staff Writer
Jacob Sparks graduated from the University of Georgia in 2020 with undergraduate degrees in both math and religion; during his time at UGA he served as president of their Orthodox Christian Fellowship chapter. He is currently enrolled as a seminarian at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, where he is learning how to better serve God and the Church. In his spare time, Jacob can be found reading the Bible and the Church Fathers, goofing off with his friends, or writing a biography of himself in the third person.
Sarah Ickes
Staff Writer
Sarah is grateful to have found her way to the Orthodox Church and is blessed to be married to her best friend and partner in salvation, Chaz. They are currently located in Yonkers, New York, as Chaz pursues his Master’s of Divinity at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. Being involved in the community and liturgical life at seminary continues to be a blessing and privilege for them both. Sarah has a B.A. in Communication from Ohio State and a Master's of Education from Ashland University. She has served as an English teacher in South Korea, a middle school teacher in Ohio, and fourth-grade teacher at Greek American Institute in New York. Sarah and Chaz are expecting their first child in September 2022. Sarah will be staying home to raise their baby, while continuing to work as a Small Group Leader for Effective Christian Ministry, a ministry of the Greek Archdiocese of America, and pursuing her interest in writing! In her spare time, Sarah enjoys relaxing in nature, reading, and dance fitness.
Noelle Bandy
Podcast Co-host
Orthodox since Great Lent of 2000 and homeschooling just about that long, Noelle holds a BA and MS degree in mathematics from Agnes Scott College and Georgia Tech. She's been teaching math at high school and college levels for most of the last 30 years and currently teaches at local hybrid schools in the Atlanta area. She and her husband, Brent, have two of their five children still at home, one in college, one in PT school, and one out Doing Life. Noelle loves to find time to read and to look for ways to connect the logic side of math with the story side of our beautiful universe. The Bandys attend St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Church where Noelle sings in the choir and makes the coffee.