Our Staff
The staff at the Center for Religious & Spiritual Life are here for you. We want the Center to be your space for religious and spiritual growth and fulfillment. Whether it’s celebrating a holiday or holy day, finding funding for a speaker or event, getting support for life challenges, or looking for faith-based community, we’re here to help. You can contact us with the information below, drop by the chapel during our open hours, or make an appointment.
Matilda Cantwell
Director of Religious & Spiritual Life and College Chaplain
mcantwel@smith.edu
413-585-4595
Helen Hills Hills Chapel B12
Reverend Matilda Rose Cantwell is the director of the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life and college chaplain. She served as the senior fellow for interfaith initiatives for three years, working with CRSL to promote its theme of justice, identity and social change, collaborating with others to undergird and rejuvenate social justice work with contemplative and reflective practices. She works closely with various religious and nonreligious student organizations on campus, faculty, staff, and community partners; and especially enjoys both her collective and one-on-one conversations with students. Matilda holds a bachelor's degree in religious studies from Lewis and Clark College, a master's degree from Smith College School for Social Work, and a master of divinity from Yale Divinity School.
Maureen Raucher
Operations and Finance Manager: Adviser to the Christian and Humanist Communities
mraucher@smith.edu
413-585-2754
Helen Hills Hills Chapel B7
Maureen is a program coordinator for the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life. She has worked at Smith since 2002 and now advises student religious organizations on funding, event planning and logistics. Maureen supervises and manages our programs and events, acting as the building liaison with students groups, college departments and public program planners. She supports the director, the Steinem Initiative and Smith's community religious advisers. Maureen has a bachelor of science degree from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
Kim Alston
Program and Communications Manager; Muslim Student Adviser
kalston@smith.edu
413-585-2753
Helen Hills Hills Chapel B6
Kim Alston manages CRSL programs and special projects in creative collaborative partnerships with students, faculty, staff, community members and community religious leaders as she directs the Center’s communications strategy. She has served the College for 14 years, supporting students on their spiritual path; working on issues of equity, inclusion and social justice, including serving as co-chair of the Cromwell Day Committee; and helping students navigate College systems. She advises Muslim students and student secular and religious organizations, such as Al Iman, the Muslim student organization and the Muslim student-led Intra-faith Committee. Kim is fascinated with the intersection of Islamic religiosity, spirituality, culture and history. She is passionate about developing programming that supports religious literacy, encourages curiosity and addresses student interests. She has a journalistic eye for seeking out Islamic knowledge and resources from her days as an investigative reporter. Kim is working on a special project designed to explore the integral relationship religious identity has with equity and inclusion. She received her undergraduate degree from Boston University and graduated from Clark University with a master’s in public administration. She is currently studying at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace to be certified in Islamic Chaplaincy. One of Kim’s greatest desires is to help students fulfill their own leadership goals and vision.
Rabbi Noam Lerman
Jewish Student Adviser
nlerman@smith.edu
Helen Hills Hills Chapel B14
Rabbi Noam Lerman (they/them) is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was ordained at Hebrew College in June 2020. Noam has acted as a chaplain for elders, incarcerated and previously incarcerated individuals fighting for survival and healing. They are the founder of Sha’arey Ometz Gates of Resilience, an online-based Jewish spiritual community, and they facilitate Tzelem-Boston, which is a group for Jewish trans, nonbinary and genderqueer teens. They are one of the organizers and co-founders of Let My People Sing!, an intergenerational and liberatory Jewish singing retreat. Noam is a musician, Hebrew scribe, Restorative Justice Circle Keeper, and they deeply enjoy spending time in nature.
Anna Ostow
Contemplative Practice, Mindfulness, and Social Change Facilitator
Anna Ostow (she/they), nature loving human and somatic educator, is the contemplative practice, mindfulness, and social change facilitator at the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life. She is passionate about relational work, the practices of holding complexity and contradiction, and creating spaces of belonging where people get to bring their whole selves. She teaches Mindful Mondays and supports the CRSL in a range of other communications and program coordination roles. Her formal training includes her studies at Starr King School for the Ministry and the Strozzi Institute, and she particularly counts Robert Horton, Janet Carter, Meredith Broome, J. Tyson Casey, and the entire UNtraining community as her teachers. You can go to Anna for support around conflict, for inquiries regarding social conditioning, for support in establishing a daily practice, and for help in figuring out what matters to you.