Church Staff

Mike Pulsifer, Interim Pastor - Mike is in his 39th year of service as a pastor. He grew up in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and attended Westminster College, in Fulton, Missouri and Princeton Theological Seminary. Mike has served churches in a rural county seat town in Oklahoma, in a college community in Iowa, in an urban setting in southern California, and in a suburban community in northern New Jersey. Mike is married to Marion Craighead and has two married sons and three grandchildren. He describes his ministry at the Ardmore Church this way: "As your Interim Pastor I will be working with you to do two things: 1) to continue and to build upon the faithful ministry for Christ which you have done for the last one hundred years; and 2) to prepare you to search for and find new pastoral leadership as you being your second hundred years of faithful ministry."

Gary Garletts, Director of Music/Organist – Gary is in his 30th year of professional music leadership. At APC he directs Chancel, Youth, Children’s and Handbell Choirs, and plays, conducts and/or coordinates music for all worship services. During 2001-03 he administered a complete rebuilding of the church’s pipe organ. During APC’s centennial year (2007), Gary led its Chancel Choir on a tour of Scotland and Northern England. He also completed “My Top 100 Organ Pieces,” a 14-month long series of concert-level works played as preludes and postludes. Gary grew up in Fayette County, PA, where he later directed music programs for Trinity Presbyterian Church (Uniontown) and the Greater Uniontown Chorale. In the 1990’s he directed a comprehensive music ministry at First Presbyterian Church, Lancaster, PA. Gary earned music degrees at Oberlin College and Duquesne University, and is an Associate of the American Guild of Organists. In demand as a vocal accompanist, he plays regularly for students at West Chester University, and for choirs at conferences of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians. Gary is also Artistic Director and Conductor of the 80-voice Chester County Choral Society. He lives in Havertown, PA with his wife, Twila and son, Nathan.

Kristen Thomas Clarke, Director of Christian Education (part-time) – Kristen grew up in Ohio and now lives in Wayne with her husband and two young children. She has a degree in Library Science and works part time for the Lower Merion Township Free Library System. She directs the children and youth ministries at APC including Sunday School, Middle High and High School youth fellowships, Vacation Bible School, and youth mission trips.

Anne S. Foote, Director of Pre-School – Anne served the church as Director of Christian Education for 15 years and is now in her 20th year as Director of the Pre-School. Before she came to work at APC, Anne was an elementary teacher in the Lower Merion School District. She is the Chair of the 100th Anniversary Committee which is responsible for planning all of the activities celebrating the centennial of the church in 2007 She has directed Wednesday PLUS continuously for 20 years, and she organizes trips for the “Keenagers”, a group of retired members who enjoy local trips to interesting places and programs. She lives in Gladwyne with her husband and they are the parents of two grown daughters.

Joanne Poorman, Church Administrator/ Pastor’s Secretary – Joanne grew up in the Ardmore Church and married Rev. Sturgis Poorman, also a "child of the church" and currently a Parish Associate at APC. They have lived in upstate New York, Phoenixville and Zimbabwe where Sturge pastored churches. They have two grown sons and four grandchildren. Joanne is in her 20th year on staff at Ardmore.

Pearlie Diesinger, Preschool administrator/Church Secretary – Pearlie was born and raised in the south and moved to suburban Philadelphia when she married husband Bill. She began work at APC 38 years ago as an assistant teacher in the pre-school. She has been on staff ever since, mostly in her current capacity. Pearlie and Bill live in Wayne and are parents of a grown son and 2 step-grandchildren.

James Moore, Custodian – When he is not keeping the church property clean and in working order, he pursues two passions: guitar music and cooking. He cooks for the weekly noon-time Men’s Bible Study. He is a liturgical guitarist at his parish church in Norristown and has played guitar at Ardmore for the pre-school and youth programs. Jim is the father of two grown children.

Donald Tokash, Financial Administrator – Don has been on staff part-time at APC for almost two years. He handles all financial matters and records for the church, including book-keeping and recording pledges and contributions. He is also the Treasurer and Office Administrator at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Berwyn. He lives in Berwyn. Don has two grown children and two grandchildren.