About Us
Providing and Advancing Spiritual Care
The Institute for Advancing Spiritual Care (formerly Episcopal Community Services of Utah) is a national leader in providing and advancing spiritual care through chaplain education, research, innovation, and the preparation of highly qualified chaplains. No one should face life’s hardest moments—or its greatest celebrations—without compassionate support.
Through accredited education and supervised clinical experience, we prepare chaplains to serve in hospitals, senior living communities, hospices, corporations, and other settings where compassionate care matters most. We place qualified chaplains where they can make a meaningful difference.
As the profession evolves, we’re helping shape its future through research, innovation, collaboration, and best practices while expanding access to exceptional spiritual care for people and communities everywhere.
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The Institute for Advancing Spiritual Care is on a mission to provide and advance spiritual care.
The Institute is a pioneer in training and placing multi-faith chaplains to provide compassionate spiritual care that heals and empowers the people we serve, and strengthens the systems that serve them. Through empathy and professionalism, the Institute forms leaders who bring spiritual care and presence into the most vulnerable moments of life.
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Founded under the leadership of Rev. Linc Ure, Episcopal Community Services has provided spiritual care and education with compassion and care for over 41 years. We are excited to share the next chapter in that work. We are now the Institute for Advancing Spiritual Care.
The Institute for Advancing Spiritual Care remains rooted in the rich Episcopal tradition of community stewardship. Our history can be traced back more than 150 years. The cornerstone for the Cathedral Church of St. Mark’s was laid, parishes and missions were formed throughout the region, and the first Utah hospital, also named St. Mark’s, was founded.
From humble beginnings serving miners in a small adobe building, St. Mark’s Hospital became a pillar of medical care in Utah, proudly boasting many of the state’s first medical services including:
Utah’s first ambulance service
Utah’s first aseptic methods
Utah’s first bacteriology lab and x-ray machines
Utah’s first school of nursing
Hospital chaplains
Today, we continue our legacy of commitment to provide and advance spiritual care. We are one of the largest employers of professional chaplains in Utah, training skilled multi-faith chaplains through the Center for Advancing Spiritual Care & Education, a division of the Institute.
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Fr. Lincoln Ure (1946–2016) founded the ECS Spiritual Care & Education Center and established Utah’s first ACPE-accredited Clinical Pastoral Education program. For more than four decades, he helped shape the practice of professional spiritual care by mentoring hundreds of chaplains who continue to serve in hospitals, hospices, faith communities, and other settings throughout the region and beyond. His vision of compassionate presence, deep listening, and whole-person care continues to guide the work of the Institute for Advancing Spiritual Care today.
“Listen… just listen to the reverential humming in each person… It’s their soul.”
— Fr. Lincoln Ure
Our Team
Karen Pena
Executive DirectorKaren Peña serves as the Executive Director for the Institute for Advancing Spiritual Care, where she leverages over two decades of executive leadership to advance spiritual care education and organizational mission. Since assuming the role of Executive Director in 2024, following her tenure as Director of Operations beginning in 2016, Karen has been the primary architect of the organization's strategic expansion. Under her guidance, the Institute’s clinical footprint has grown from two hospitals to nine, while also incorporating spiritual support services within five low-income senior housing communities.
Bradley Baird
Lead Chaplain Manager & St. Marks Hospital Spiritual Care DirectorBrad Baird serves as the Lead Chaplain Manager for the Institute for Advancing Spiritual Care, where he integrates skilled spiritual guidance within clinical healthcare environments while spearheading the professional development and mentorship of the chaplaincy team. With a distinguished background in acute care spiritual support, Brad has provided a steadying, compassionate presence for patients, families, and medical staff. Brad’s academic foundation includes a Master of Divinity from Central Seminary, an MBA from Westminster University, and studies in Anthropology and Social Sciences at the University of Utah.
Zach Plants
Chaplain Manager, St. Mark's Hospital and Lakeview HospitalZach grew up in Rome, Georgia, and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies with a focus in Nonprofit Management from Maryville College before completing a Master of Divinity at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. He completed his chaplaincy residency with Episcopal Community Services at Lakeview Hospital and St. Mark’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. Zach now manages Spiritual Care at Lakeview Hospital and serves as a staff chaplain at St. Mark’s, with a particular focus on supporting hospital staff. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his cat, Luca, reading, baking, and attending live theater.
Chaplain Barbara balances her background in hospitality business management with both her healing and spiritual education and artistic creativity to provide presence, spiritual care, and direction while leading the Senior and Community Living Chaplaincy. She and her team addresses the unique needs of aging individuals, their families, and housing staff by providing guidance in areas such as grief counseling, mental health challenges, life transitions, coping skills and community building. She is a deeply prayerful humanitarian who honors all faiths-all people, and represents the Institute at Salt Lake Interfaith Council gatherings.
Senior Living Community Chaplain ManagerREV. Barbara Novak
Chaplain Kathleen Zenger Nilsen
Chaplain Kathleen Zenger Nilsen, an ACPE-trained Chaplain and Kessler Certified Grief Educator, specializes in trauma-informed spiritual support for Women's Services, focusing on crisis intervention, end-of-life care, and fetal demise. With a background as an Outreach Coordinator for The Sharing Place and extensive experience in mental health advocacy and nonprofit leadership, she brings a wealth of expertise to her role. Kathleen holds a B.S. in Psychology and a Secondary Teaching Certificate from the University of Utah, and she is dedicated to mentoring future chaplains while fostering inclusive, compassionate care for all.
Chaplain, Women’s Services
Chaplain K. Peterson
Night Chaplain at St. Mark's Hospital Kraig “K” Peterson is a Staff Chaplain with Episcopal Community Services (ECS), providing empathetic spiritual care at Ogden Regional Medical Center, Lakeview Hospital, and St. Mark’s Hospital. Kraig offers mental, emotional, and bereavement support to patients, families, and staff, and is fluent in American Sign Language. Grounded in 8 units of Clinical Pastoral Education at ECS, a BS from Utah State, and an in-progress Master’s in Chaplaincy at BYU, Kraig draws on diverse experience as a documentation specialist and power tumbling coach to bring a detail-oriented, holistic approach to interfaith care.
Chaplain Ryan Sorensen
Chaplain, First Responder LiaisonRyan Sorensen is a staff chaplain bringing a compassionate, multi-faith approach to his ministry, with specialized training in HCA hospitals and hospice facilities supporting his work with first responders. He holds a B.S. in Psychology and Communications from BYU-Idaho (2024) and is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity at Abilene Christian University. With extensive prior experience in youth mentorship, event coordination, and special needs support, Ryan is dedicated to empathetic, trauma-informed care. An advocate for interfaith dialogue, he previously served as Vice President of the BYU-Idaho Interfaith Leadership Society and hosts the Southeast Idaho Interfaith Podcast.
Our Board of Trustees
The Institute for Advancing Spiritual Care Board of Trustees is an integral part of our effective operation as a non-profit charitable organization in our community, fulfilling our mission of providing compassionate care when serving ill-met and unmet needs in our community, with a deep responsibility to our donors.
The Institute for Advancing Spiritual Care Board members are our financial watchdogs, our ambassadors to the community, and some of our greatest supporters. Our members understand our programs and work to improve them through their participation, donations, and committee work. We are incredibly grateful for their efforts.