ELCA NEWS SERVICE January 31, 2006 Kristi Bangert Named Executive Director, ELCA Communication Services 06-014-JB CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), announced Jan. 31 that he has appointed Kristi S. Bangert to a four-year term as executive director, ELCA Communication Services, effective Feb. 1. Bangert, 59, who joined ELCA Communication Services in 1997, is currently director for marketing, public relations and planning, and has been the unit's interim executive director since Nov. 18, 2005. In her new role she will succeed the Rev. Eric C. Shafer, who concluded his service with the churchwide organization in November and this week accepted a call as senior pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church, Lansdale, Pa. "In this information age when we are wonderfully interconnected but also overwhelmed with messages and communication systems, Kristi Bangert will lead ELCA Communication Services with imagination, wisdom and collaboration," Hanson said. "She brings to this position great experience in marketing and public relations, and a knowledge and love for this church. I am delighted that Kristi will lead as we move creatively, consistently and boldly to tell the story of what God is doing in the lives and ministries of this church," he added. In her role as director for marketing, public relations and planning, Bangert has led a staff of seven. She has been responsible for directing marketing, public relations and communication strategies based on organizational mission and goals. Bangert led Communication Services' strategic planning and implemented the church's graphic identity. She was frequently called on to facilitate communication planning for a variety of organizations and has made several presentations on communication planning and marketing. Bangert was born in Minneapolis. In 1967 she earned a bachelor's degree from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn., one of 28 ELCA colleges and universities. From 1994 to 1997 Bangert was director of development and public relations, Lutheran Deaconess Association, Valparaiso, Ind. From 1988 to 1994 she was associate vice president, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) Foundation. Bangert was also public relations manager at LaRabida Children's Hospital and Research Center, University of Chicago; director of community relations, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, Augustana Center, Chicago; communication specialist, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (Moline, Ill., and Chicago); and a teacher of textile arts and design, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Flossmoor, Ill. Bangert is an active member of the American Marketing Association and was a longtime member of the Association of Lutheran Development Executives (ALDE). She served on the ALDE board of directors and was president of the ALDE's Chicago chapter from 1990 to 1992. Bangert and her husband, the Rev. Mark P. Bangert, John H. Tietjen chair of pastoral ministry: worship and church music, LSTC, reside in Chicago. They are parents of five grown children. --- Information about ELCA Communication Services is at http://www.ELCA.org/communication/ on the ELCA Web site. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog