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Speakers

Keynote Speakers

Sung Yeon Choimorrow

Sung Yeon is a first generation Korean American immigrant working mom who is passionate about building power to create change so her daughter can live in a more just world than the one she inherited. Sung Yeon leads NAPAWF as their executive director with the vision to build power with AAPI women and girls in […]

Sung Yeon is a first generation Korean American immigrant working mom who is passionate about building power to create change so her daughter can live in a more just world than the one she inherited.

Sung Yeon leads NAPAWF as their executive director with the vision to build power with AAPI women and girls in the United State to create change so that we can have agency to make decisions about our bodies, lives, families and communities. NAPAWF works to engage voters to get out and vote as well as continue to engage in advocacy on issues that impact AAPI women and girls the most such as immigrant rights, reproductive health and rights, affordable health care and economic justice.

Before working at NAPAWF, Sung Yeon was the Director of Organizing at Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ) leading collaborative work with community organizations, unions and faith communities on worker organizing and worker justice public policy. Prior to IWJ, Sung Yeon was a Community Organizer at Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago where she created a pan-Asian American community coalition in Chicago to work together on elections, immigration reform, the state budget, and redistricting.

You can follow Sung Yeon on Twitter at @schoimorrow and follow NAPAWF at @NAPAWF on twitter and/or Instagram!

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Heather McTeer Toney

Elected at age 27, Heather McTeer Toney knows what it means to be a public servant. She was the first African-American, first female and the youngest to serve as Mayor of Greenville, Mississippi from 2004-2012. In 2014, she was appointed by President Barack Obama as Regional Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Southeast Region. Known […]

Elected at age 27, Heather McTeer Toney knows what it means to be a public servant. She was the first African-American, first female and the youngest to serve as Mayor of Greenville, Mississippi from 2004-2012. In 2014, she was appointed by President Barack Obama as Regional Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Southeast Region. Known for her energetic and genuine commitment to people, her work has made her a national figure in the area of public service, environmental justice and community engagement. She currently serves as the Climate Justice Liaison for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Senior Advisor to Moms Clean Air Force, two affiliated organizations that represent over 3 million environment allies committed to fighting climate change and protecting children from the dangers of air pollution.

Heather has appeared on numerous news outlets and has written for publications including New York Times and the Washington Post. She is a regular columnist for DAME magazine. Most recently, Heather was one of the essayist featured in the breakout climate book of 2020, “All We Can Save”, essays from women at the forefront of the climate movement.

Mrs. Toney earned a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College and her law degree from Tulane School of Law. She is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and attends Oxford University United Methodist Church. She is a member of the board of directors for Vote Solar and the Mississippi Free Press. She is married to Dexter Toney and they have three children.

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Janet Wolf

Janet Wolf has worked as a poverty rights organizer, United Methodist pastor with urban and rural congregations; college and seminary professor; learner, teacher, animator with think tanks inside prisons.

Janet has worked as a poverty rights organizer, United Methodist pastor with urban and rural congregations; college and seminary professor; learner, teacher, animator with think tanks inside prisons. She works with the Children’s Defense Fund focusing on public theology, transformative justice and nonviolent direct action organizing to disrupt and dismantle the cradle to prison pipeline through leadership by and partnership with those who are now or have been caged. She is the Dean of CDF’s Proctor Institute’s Dale P. Andrews Freedom Seminary and a member of the Coordinating Committee with the National Council of Elders. She is the author of the Mission u study Practicing Resurrection: The Gospel of Mark and Radical Discipleship.

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‘Ainise ‘Isama’u

My United Methodist Women story began with a conversation with Brenda Tuita, who was the California-Pacific Conference United Methodist Women Limitless Young Women Coordinator, regarding an event for UMW.

Greetings and Malo e Lelei! Kuou tuku ha Fakamalo mo fakafeta’l kihe ‘Otua Mafimafe kihe tauhi ‘ofa kuo ne fai ma’mku mo kitutolu hono kotoa. My name is ‘Ainise ‘Isama’u and what an honor it is to be with you all! I thank God for the opportunity and blessing!

My United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women) story began with a conversation with Brenda Tuita, who was the California-Pacific Conference United Methodist Women Limitless Young Women Coordinator, regarding an event for UMW. The conversation led to talking about Limitless. That’s when I attended my first conversation with the West District Limitless team. As we know, Limitless is a UMW Life Mentoring Program for Young Women. To be brutally honest, I admit I was a skeptic at first because growing up, UMW wasn’t exactly my “cup of tea.” I thought it to be a group of seasoned women who gathered and talked about things from 1869, had long drawn-out meetings and spent time in a circle just sewing their life away. Little did I know that attending a conversation with Limitless would lead me to be a United Methodist Women member for the rest of my life. Today, I am a mother of an 8-year-old girl, a wife, a friend, a mentor… a leader. Since that conversation life hasn’t been the same. Almost everywhere I go I meet someone with a United Methodist Women connection. I always feel welcomed and like I have a place at the table.

I have served on the district level and also on the conference level. I still remember how nervous I was to send out my first newsletter to all United Methodist Women of the California-Pacific Conference. My nervousness was automatically put to peace because I never felt alone. As the former Communications Coordinator for Cal-Pac Conference UMW, the lessons I learned in this role taught me so much about being organized, working with women of all ages and making sure information is sent out in proper time. Trust me, there were many learning curves, but the California-Pacific Conference UMW Team were amazing teachers from day one. It’s not really that they taught me, but they embraced me and showed me the way while allowing me to have my own voice. These women have stepped into my life to continue showing me. This group of very special women … bold, courageous, daring and loving women opened their hearts and mentored me.

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Harriett Olson

Harriett Jane Olson has served as chief executive officer of the United Methodist Women’s national administrative and policymaking arm since 2007.

Harriett Jane Olson has served as chief executive officer of the United Women in Faith's (formerly United Methodist Women) national administrative and policymaking arm since 2007. United Women in Faith is a U.S.-based women’s organization in The United Methodist Church, with nearly 800,000 members engaged in work with women, children and youth in the United States and over 100 other countries. United Methodist Women operates and owns the Church Center for the United Nations in New York City, which it makes available to the U.N. and NGO community. A Harvard Law School graduate, Ms. Olson practiced real estate and environmental law (1983-96) in New Jersey. From 1996-2007, Ms. Olson was senior vice-president for publishing, editorial director of The United Methodist Publishing House in Nashville, Tenn., whose imprints include Abingdon Press and Cokesbury. Ms. Olson has a bachelor's degree from Houghton College in Houghton, N.Y., where she serves on the board of trustees.

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Keynote Speakers will be announced soon! Please check back later.

Townhall & Workshop Speakers

Sophia Agtarap

Interrogating the Myth of Good (White) People

For Such a Time as This: Racism, Antiracism and The United Methodist Church

Director of Equity and Language Services, Sumner-Boney Lake School District
Sophia Agtarap is a 1.5-generation Filipina American and a deaconess in The United Methodist Church—a lay order of persons called to full-time vocation in ministries of love, justice and service. She serves as director of equity and language services at a school district in western Washington, where she is excited to be leading the work of equity as she partners with the community, families, students, and district administration to create the conditions where all may find belonging and thrive. Agtarap's training in education and digital media has allowed her to bridge the church and the world as she resources individuals and organizations exploring emerging communication tools. She has worked for The United Methodist Church's agencies in roles at the intersections of social concerns and digital media. She is a qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory and enjoys coming alongside organizations to equip them in the areas of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. Much of her life's work has involved advocacy and engagement in the areas of immigration, economic justice, health care, poverty, homelessness and educational access. She is a proud member of United Methodist Women and is honored to serve her community as former assistant dean and dean of Mission u in the Tennessee Conference. She lives with her spouse, toddler and three pups. She is the daughter of a retired United Methodist clergyperson and public health nurse.

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Catherine Akale

Leadership Development: A Necessity for Change-makers

Regional Missionary, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Mudime Catherine Akale is a regional missionary with United Women in Faith. She is from Cameroon, a bilingual (French and English) country in Central Africa.

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Ruby Anderson

LDD: Conference Resource Room Management

Board of Directors, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)
Ruby Anderson serves at Scott Memorial United Methodist Church, resides in Southfield, Michigan and is lay leader of her church and district. She has served as president, vice president and secretary of program resources for Scott United Women in Faith and secretary for program resources for her conference and Regional School of Christian Mission. Anderson was her conference's mission ambassador to Sudan, Africa, and a United Methodist Women Volunteer In Mission leader to Northern Ireland and other VIM explorations. She is currently in her second 4-year term on the national board of directors of United Women in Faith, and is a member of the resource management team and the finance committee. She is a retired social studies teacher.

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Giovanni Arroyo

Worship for a Liberated Church: Decolonizing Christian Worship

General Secretary, General Commission on Religion and Race of The United Methodist Church

The Rev. Giovanni Arroyo is a native of Puerto Rico and an elder of the Baltimore-Washington Conference. For the past decade, he has led the programmatic work of the General Commission of Religion and Race in its efforts of engaging diverse groups in vital conversations on race, culture, diversity, inclusion and equity; developing intercultural leaders; and addressing the racial inequities within the church. The development of GCORR intercultural competency trainings has been a key area of expertise that Arroyo has led due to his experience in serving in cross-racial/cross-cultural ministry settings for almost two decades. His doctoral work is on Wesleyan leadership and intercultural competency.

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Sarah Augustine

Restoring Just Relationships: The Critical Role of Just Transition Toward Climate Justice, Just Energy for All

Sarah Augustine, who is a Pueblo (Tewa) descendant, is founder and cochair of the Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery Coalition and Executive Director of a dispute resolution center in central Washington State. She is also the co-founder of Suriname Indigenous Health Fund (SIHF), where she has advocated for vulnerable Indigenous Peoples since 2004. She has represented the interests of Indigenous community partners to their own governments, the Inter-American development bank, the United Nations, the Organization of American States Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the World Health Organization, and a host of other international actors including corporate interests. She is a columnist for Anabaptist World, and co-hosts the Doctrine of Discovery podcast with Sheri Hostetler. In Washington State, where she lives, she serves in a leadership role on multiple boards and commissions to enable vulnerable peoples to speak for themselves in advocating for structural change. She and her husband, Dan Peplow, and their son live in the Yakima Valley of Washington. She is author of the book The Land Is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery (Herald Press 2021).

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Haejin Ban

LDD: Conference Language Coordinator—Officer Update

Board of Directors, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Haejin Ban sits on the United Women in Faith Board of Directors, serving on the Planning & Assessment and Editorial committees. Before joining the board, she served as a Korean language coordinator for the North Georgia Conference and as a secretary for her district. Ban has been a social worker for more than 20 years, concentrating on community organizing related to senior issues from housing to health care to hospice. She is particularly interested in community education and developing outreach programs. Currently, she is the managing director of Care Lift Corp., providing advocacy, education and support for care partners in the metro-Atlanta area.

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Esther Barkat

Learning to Breathe: Understanding the Power of Our Emotions

Former Board of Directors, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Esther Barkat is a retired professor of psychology and is a nationally certified and licensed school psychologist. She currently works at Fairfax County Public Schools as a school psychologist. Born and raised in Pakistan, she came to America in 1973, and earned her doctorate from West Virginia University and her school psychology degree from Marshall University, West Virginia. She has taught at universities and has worked as a school psychologist, therapist and child development specialist. She has published several articles concerning South Asian families and has presented papers at several local, national and international conferences. Barkat has served on the United Women in Faith Board of Directors (2012-2020). She also served on the General Board of Global Ministries Board of Directors, representing United Women in Faith. She was a member of the Northeast Jurisdiction leadership team and served as a consultant to the South Asian Youth Ministry program headed by Global Ministries. Barkat is married to Aslam Barkat, a retired United Methodist pastor. Her husband is serving at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Falls Church, Virginia. She has three children and one granddaughter.

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Lauren Breck

Fierce Women, Fiercer Relationships

Deaconess, Order of Deaconess and Home Missioner

Lauren Breck is a deaconess who was dedicated in May 2021 and is being consecrated at this Assembly. She has grown up in The United Methodist Church and currently attends Zoar United Methodist Church in Snellville, Georgia, teaching Sunday school to middle school students, leading children's church and serving as a lay speaker. She currently serves as Limitless co-coordinator for the North Georgia Conference, has worked and led the children's study for Mission u and Faith, Fun and Everyone. Breck is a pediatric occupational therapist and brings her unique understanding of growth, development, healing and creativity to developing dynamic and personal studies to encourage finding your voice, your confidence and strength in God.

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Kim Brown Montenegro

Interrogating the Myth of Good (White) People

Pastor, Fair Oaks United Methodist Church

Kim Montenegro is an engaging and encouraging diversity equity inclusion presenter and a pastor in the California-Nevada Annual Conference. For over a decade she has worked as an inspirational facilitator, trainer and lecturer. Her work emerges from years of self-exploration and academic study. Group dialogue, self-inquiry, reflection and whole-body learning by participants are some of the strategies she employs. She invites people to grapple with both the intellectual and emotional complexities of diversity, equity and inclusion. Montenegro identifies as a multiracial African-American woman. Caring about diversity, equity and inclusion isn't just an academic pursuit for her, but a reflection of who she is. She grew up in a multicultural family in Stockton, California, studied cross-cultural sensitivity in seminary and has led workshops across the United States. She is always looking for co-conspirators to build a more inclusive society. She attended Saint Mary's College of California and Pacific School of Religion, where she received her Masters of Divinity. She and her husband have three children.

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M. Garlinda Burton

Living Loudly: Social Action as an Expression of Faith

For Such a Time as This: Racism, Antiracism and The United Methodist Church

Former Interim General Secretary, General Commission on Religion and Race of the UMC

M. Garlinda Burton is a United Methodist deaconess with more than 40 years' experience as a writer, editor, speaker, Christian educator and advocate for racial and gender justice. She served as interim general secretary for the denomination's General Commission on Religion and Race (2020-2021), where she led the creation of learning engagements and resources to challenge the worldwide United Methodist Christian church to confront and root out racism in its own structure, systems, worship and disciple-making. Burton previously served as general secretary of the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women, where she raised the denomination's awareness of the issues facing women of color, women from Africa and women from the Philippines. Before taking on leadership ministry in church agencies, she worked as a journalist in public newspapers and at UMNews Service as a news director, also serving as editor of Interpreter magazine and the churchwide program calendar. Burton lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she is a member of the board of visitors at Vanderbilt Divinity School and secretary of the board of directors of the Wesley Foundation at Tennessee State University. She served as the the founding executive director of the Nashville Freedom School Partnership (2014-2020), a literacy program developed by the Children's Defense Fund to promote reading proficiency, activist citizenship and cultural pride among low-income Black and Brown children and youth.

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Vicki Busby

Because We Believe! The Charter for Racial Justice (South Central Jurisdiction)

Charter for Racial Justice Support Team, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Vicki Busby was born and raised in the Great Lakes state of Michigan. She lived in the Los Angeles area for six years, prior to her job relocating to Texas in 1994. She is very involved with United Women in Faith, currently serving as a local United Women in Faith president, as the Northwest District United Women in Faith social action coordinator, as the Northwest District representative on the North Texas Conference United Women in Faith leadership team, on the North Texas Conference United Women in Faith Racial Justice Charter Policies Committee, as a member of the United Women in Faith Racial Justice Charter support team, representing the South Central Jurisdiction, on her church's Justice Ministry team and on the Church Council. Mission and outreach are a passion of Busby's. She has led mission teams internationally and for hurricane relief recovery in Texas and Louisiana. She has also participated on mission teams in Haiti with FUMC Plano, in Kenya with Living Water International and multiple mission trips to UMCOR Sager-Brown in Baldwin, Louisiana, with her church. She retired in 2010 after 35 years in corporate America working in property and casualty insurance and at a financial brokerage firm, mostly in the area of Information Technology. Busby lives with her husband and dog in Denison, Texas. They worship at Grace UMC in Sherman. All three love to travel and camp in their trailer. Hiking, camping, gardening, reading and crocheting are her passions.

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Emma Cantor

Women in Leadership: Live Faith Talk

Regional Missionary, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Emma Cantor is a deaconess from the Philippines and a United Women in Faith missionary. She facilitates trainers' trainings in the Asia/Pacific region. She earned a B.A. degree in Christian education from Harris Memorial College and an M.A. in women and religion from St. Scholastica's College/Institute. She completed further studies in feminist theology through St. Scholastica's Office of Formation and Religious Studies. Cantor enjoys sharing Asian perspectives and concrete experiences on leadership and finding commonalities and inspiration from that exchange.

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Tamara Clark

LDD: Conference Treasurer & Education and Interpretation—Officer Update

CFO/Treasurer, Untied Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Tamara Clark is a peacemaker at heart. She was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, into a nurturing and close-knit family that was and still is active in the community and church. At a young age she became involved in the ministries of Mid-Town Parish United Methodist Church, where she sang in the choir, helped lead the youth ministry, and was secretary for the local United Women in Faith's group. She credits her church and women's group with helping her to develop spiritually and telling her not to be afraid to lead. Clark is a graduate of Temple University's Fox School of Business. She is a certified public accountant who started her career in public accounting. She has since worked for two United Methodist annual conferences—in Eastern Pennsylvania and Wisconsin—and was elected treasurer and CFO of Untied Women in Faith one year ago. She is grateful for the opportunity to work for an organization whose work she is passionate about.

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Valerie Clark

Caring for Your Soul Through Scripture and the Senses

Board of Directors, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Valerie Clark is a member of Covenant United Methodist Church in Rochester, New York, in the Upper New York Conference. She currently serves as lay leader, chairperson of the caring ministry and co-facilitator of her local United Women in Faith unit. Clark is also a member of her district and conference leadership teams and has served on and held several leadership positions at the district and conference levels of United Women in Faith. In the past quadrennium she was the Program Advocacy Group member for her conference. Currently, she is a member of the United Women in Faith Board of Directors. Her passion is teaching and since retiring in 2011, Clark maintains a connection to the profession as an adjunct professor of undergraduate studies in literacy for the State University of New York.

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Marsha Crockett

Spiritual Direction: Coming Home to Self, God and Others

Author, Upper Room Books

Marsha Crockett is a certified spiritual director and author of six nonfiction books, including a book on the gifts of spiritual direction from Upper Room Books (release date in March 2022). She resides in Port Orchard, Washington, with her husband, and is actively involved with the Port Orchard United Methodist Church. She has led small-group ministries at numerous churches, including the recent establishment of listening groups in her local community. She believes that the spiritual journey is best lived in community where we are invited to come home to ourselves, to God and to others.

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Nora Cunningham

LDD: Spiritual Growth Coordinators—Officer Update

Spiritual Growth and Formation Specialist, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Nora Asedillo Cunningham is the spiritual growth and formation specialist for United Women in Faith. Her role facilitates opportunities for spiritual growth and nourishment that reflect a fundamental joining together of social justice with faith practice. She received her Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she studied postcolonial and liberation theologies and Christian social ethics. She has a bachelor's degree in sociology from Mount Holyoke College.

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Glory Dharmaraj

Reading the Bible Through a New Normal Lens

Retired Director of Spiritual Formation and Mission Theology, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Glory Dharmaraj is retired director of spiritual formation and mission theology for United Women in Faith. She is the president of the World Association for Christian Communication-North America. She has served as the administrator of the United Methodist Seminar Program on National and International Affairs at the Church Center for the United Nations, New York. She was previously a district program resource secretary in the former Central Illinois Conference. Dharmaraj is an author and co-author of several books, including "Concepts of Mission," "Many Faces and One Church" and "A Theology of Mutuality: A Paradigm for the 21st Century." She has addressed several national and international conferences on the themes of Christian mission, interfaith, and media and gender. Dharmaraj earned her Ph.D. from Loyola University, Chicago. She has done special studies at Harvard University and joint doctor of ministry studies at San Francisco Theological Seminary, California, and Ecumenical Theological Education at the World Council of Churches, Geneva. Her favorite hobby is listening to medieval chants and lyrics in her mother tongue, Tamil.

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Gail Douglas Boykin

Scripture Reflection and Bible Journaling

Women in Leadership: Live Faith Talk

Former Board of Directors, United Methodist Women

Gail Ddouglas-Boykin was commissioned as a deaconess in May 2020 and serves in ministry as the coordinator of ministerial services for the New York Annual Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. She served as a member of the United Methodist Women National Board of Directors (2012-2020), and as the chair of the governance committee (2016-2020). She has served as a United Methodist Women study leader for more than 10 years and has been trained to facilitate workshops and lead mission studies. Douglas-Boykin has been Bible journaling for a number of years. Although she has no formal training in Bible journaling, she believes that participants will benefit from what she has learned about meditating on the scriptures and prayer while Bible journaling.

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Magdala Edmond

Caring for Your Soul Through Scripture and the Senses

LDD: Conference Language Coordinator—Officer Update

Board of Directors, United Methodist Women

Magdala Edmond is a member of St. John United Methodist Church in Highland County, Florida. She first served in her local unit, and later served for four years as the language coordinator at the conference level. She also served for four years as a national office director and is currently serving her second term. Edmond loves public speaking and collaborating with people who have different backgrounds. As a person working in the medical field, she has a passion for helping others to build faith in God.

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Clara Ester

Because We Believe! The Charter for Racial Justice (Southeastern Jurisdiction)

Former Board of Directors, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Deaconess Clara Ester lives in Mobile, Alabama, where she served for 36 years at Dumas Wesley Community Center, a United Women in Faith national mission institution. Her affiliation with United Women in Faith began as a child attending meetings with her mother in Memphis, Tennessee. She has served at the local, district and conference levels and just completed the 2016-2020 term as national vice president of United Women in Faith. Through her high school and college years, Ester participated in numerous strikes and boycotts during the 1960s. Her interest in social welfare and justice was fueled by her early relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She was very active in the Civil Rights struggle in Memphis, and worked with several other projects throughout the South. She was one of the youth organizers for the Second Poor People's Campaign in Marks, Mississippi. Ester has consistently tried to speak out against injustices all her life because Black Americans have been trying to gain equality and justice for over 400 years.

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Jennifer Farmer

Women in Leadership: Live Faith Talk

Faith Talks, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Jennifer Farmer is an author, trainer and small business owner. She is the author of "First and Only: A Black Woman's Guide to Thriving at Work and in Life" and "Extraordinary PR, Ordinary Budget: A Strategy Guide." In addition to her books, she is an essayist whose writing focuses on everything from faith to leadership development to issues of gender and race. Her work has appeared in publications such as Thrive Global! Blavity, Society for Nonprofits, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, CNN, The Root, HuffPost, LifeHack, PR Daily, Red Letter Christians and more. Farmer is the founder of Spotlight PR LLC, a boutique firm specializing in communications strategy and for leaders and groups committed to social and racial justice, and also the founder of the Center for Social Justice Leadership, which exists to support leaders and organizations in creating more inclusive workplace cultures. She has provided services to national organizations and celebrities committed to social and racial justice space.

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Inez Freeman

LDD: Conference Resource Room Management

Program Advisory Group, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)
Inez Freeman is a member of United Methodist Women, representing the Peninsula-Delaware Conference. She has worked as a patient access supervisor at University of Maryland Shore Regional Health in Easton, Maryland, for 23 years. At Union United Methodist Church in St. Michaels, Maryland, she is currently the president of their local unit. She has served on the Peninsula-Delaware Conference United Women in Faith mission team as communications coordinator and secretary of program resources. She also served as dean of the conference's annual mission education event, Mission u. Freeman is married with two sons, and is a grandmother of four.

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Betty Gittens

Women, Leadership and Change

Executive for International Ministries, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Betty Gittens is the executive for international ministries with United Women in Faith. She leads and coordinates international programming for women, children and youth that focuses on impacting poverty through building capacities of local women leaders and supporting economic development programs. She works with the regional missionaries and local in-country teams to develop and implement long- and short-term projects for women. She serves on the Grants Review Committee and has provided past leadership on the Jurisdiction and Regional School planning teams. Gittens previously served as lead staff for United Women in Faith's mission service program, Ubuntu Journeys, which provided international short-term mission service opportunities for members. She also held the position of executive for Research and Hospitality, serving as a resource to United Women in Faith members on global issues and United Nations advocacy. She coordinated United Women in Faith's hospitality program at the Church Center for the United Nations that provided a forum for partners and civil society to engage in peace and justice advocacy at the U.N. Prior to United Women in Faith, she worked at Global Ministries as the executive secretary for Congregational Health Ministries, providing global training and resourcing while supporting networking opportunities for leaders engaged in health ministries. She received a M.A. in Government and Politics with a focus in international relations from St. John's University and a B.A. in Business Administration from Marymount Manhattan College.

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Rae Grant

New Wineskins—How to Share the New Brand

Senior Art Director, Creative Brand Manager, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Rae Grant serves as Senior Art Director, Communications for United Women in Faith. She also serves UWF as lead for The Resource Development Team and has played a key role in the visual development of the new brand for the organization. Her publishing experience with major educational and trade publishers as a creative art director and designer has informed her award-winning publication and graphic design work for UWF. Rae is author/designer of the 3-book series for kids and families; Cooking Fun, Crafting Fun, Homemade Fun (St. Martin's Press). A big believer in self-care and soul care, Rae practices yoga and gardens in her spare time.

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Deaconess Rosie Guadarrama

Knitted in Faith: Discipleship of Women Yesterday and Today

Founder and Lead Practicioner, Inclusive Modality

Deaconess Rosa Linda (Rosie) Guadarrama is the founder and lead practitioner for Inclusive Modality, where she serves as a Reiki master, yoga instructor and Ayurveda practitioner. In addition to her healing passion, she balances her sense of justice as a licensed arbitrator. At her home church, Upland First UMC, she serves as a deaconess, lay minister and lay servant. As part of her local volunteer work, she has been serving as a facilitator, having dialogues about race and related issues between Pilgrim Place residents (a retirement community for religious leaders) the National Council of Negro Women and the NAACP. As a facilitator, she experienced many "aha" moments in building unity between people who once thought they had nothing in common, eventually realizing something they already knew at some level: that we are all God's children and worthy of love. Guadarrama enjoys knitting, crocheting, reading, coloring and traveling. She shares these talents at home, on mission trips and wherever she goes. While at Chautauqua 15 years ago, she joined Knitting4Peace and has shared her talents as a travel agent, (delivering peace pals), as a diversity committee member and pod organizer. She travels with a purpose on mission trips (to Mexico, Puerto Rico and Haiti teaching knitting), Ubuntu trips (to Cambodia and Costa Rica), always sharing her gifts. She is an eternal student who loves to learn. A friend recently stated, "Rosie is a humanitarian leader, an interfaith spiritual mentor and an ambassador of ahimsa."

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Olhivia Gutierrez

Because We Believe! The Charter for Racial Justice (South Central Jurisdiction)

Program Advisory Group, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Olhivia Gutierrez is from San Antonio, Texas, and was raised in The United Methodist Church at the hands of faithful United Women in Faith. She has volunteered for many years with Justice for Our Neighbors, a UMC immigration ministry, and has served on their staff. She hopes to educate people that it is not as simple as they think to become a U.S. citizen, legal permanent resident, or even have protected status in the U.S. Gutierrez became a U.S. citizen in 2017.

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Kim Harris

LDD: Conference Vice President—Officer Update

Program Advisory Group, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Deaconess Kim Harris, Program Advisory Group liaison, has been a member of the United Methodist Church of Anoka in the Minnesota Conference for 20+ years. She has held positions of leadership in United Women in Faith at the local, district and conference levels, including as technology coordinator, vice president/program coordinator, communications coordinator, member of the nominations committee, Mission u study leader and web master. With the love a support of the local, district and conference United Women in Faith, she learned about and became a member of the Order of Deaconess and Home Missioner. She was consecrated as a Deaconess and Home Missioner in 2016, and is commissioned as an early childhood educator at Kids & Co Child Care in Anoka.

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Mikele Haskins-Delmore

Because We Believe! The Charter for Racial Justice (Northeastern Jurisdiction)

Program Advisory Group, NEJ President, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Mikele Haskins-Delmore hails from the Baltimore-Washington Conference. She currently serves as president of the Northeastern Jurisdiction of United Women in Faith. She serves on her conference's Charter for Racial Justice committee, has led several book discussions on ending institutional racism and is actively involved in issues that impact communities of color.

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Deaconess Catherine Inserra

Administration for Mission: Framed by the Lord's Prayer

Manager of Faith and Community Relations, Kids Above All, formerly ChildServ

Deaconess Catherine Inserra lives in a suburb of Chicago and is active at her home church of First UMC Park Ridge, Illinois. Her affiliation to United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women) is as a consecrated Deaconess, and she serves as the manager of Faith and Community Relations with the Kids Above All child welfare agency, which was established by Lucy Rider Meyer as a Methodist Deaconess Orphanage in 1894 in Lake Bluff, Illinois. She earned a certificate of spiritual direction at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in 2010, and served two different churches in faith and spiritual formation ministries between 2006 to 2019, including participating in Lay Servant Academies as a leader and Mission u as a study leader for children and a study leader for adults. Inserra began leading a prayer practice experience using the Lord's Prayer and introducing movement to embody the prayer in 2009, and is committed to giving it new life for such times as this and to equip women with the power of the prayer Jesus gave to us through His disciples.

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Alzira Isaac Machauene

Leadership: Empowering Women Economically and Socially

Women in Leadership: Live Faith Talk

Women's Executive Secretary, Mozambique North Annual Conference

Alzira Sebastiao Isaac Machauene was born in Mozambique and has served as United Methodist Women's executive secretary of the Mozambique North Annual Conference since 2014. She is married to a pastor and is a mother of four children, one boy and three girls.

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Mollie James-Vickery

LDD: Conference Committee on Nominations Chairpersons—Officer Update

Director of Mobilization and Advocacy, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Mollie James-Vickery is a United Methodist deaconess serving as the director of mobilization and advocacy for United Women in Faith. She has previously served as outreach director at CUMAC (Center for United Methodist Aid to the Community) in Paterson, New Jersey. Prior to moving to Northern New Jersey, she served as executive director of Edwards Street Fellowship Center, a United Methodist Community Center and Food Pantry in South Mississippi. She holds a B.A. in History from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master of Special Education from William Carey University. She was a teacher for more than 10 years previously, specializing in students with disabilities. This work inspired a passion for advocacy that still drives her work today. She is married to Scott James-Vickery, who is a home missioner serving as executive for the Office of Deaconess and Home Missioner at United Women in Faith. Together they have five children and make their home in Hackensack, New Jersey.

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Emily Jones

Understanding and Interrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline

For Such a Time as This: Racism, Antiracism and The United Methodist Church

Executive for Racial Justice, United Methodist Women

Emily Jones works as the executive for racial justice at United Methodist Women. She leads United Methodist Women's campaign to interrupt the school-to-prison pipeline. Prior to her current position, she served as the director and lead organizer for the Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty. Jones has also worked as a program manager for an education nonprofit and as a lay associate pastor for discipleship at a new church plant in Chicago, Illinois. She began her career as a labor organizer with the health care employees' union in Connecticut.

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Susan Kim

Because We Believe! The Charter for Racial Justice (Northeastern Jurisdiction)

Charte for Racial Justice Support Team, New England Conference.

Susan Kim was born in Korea and moved to New York City with her family in 1972, while in high school . In 2018, she moved to Bedford, Massachusetts, to be close to her twin granddaughters. She served as the Korean language coordinator, vice president, and president in the New York Conference United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women) unit. She is currently serving as the business manager in the New England Conference Mission u. One of the 10 members of the Racial Justice Charter Support Team formed in 2016, she also serves as the co-chair of the Racial Justice Task Force at the Korean Ministry Plan of The United Methodist Church at Global Ministries. She gave presentations and workshops at United Women in Faith gatherings and local churches. Learning of the hidden/untold U.S. history of the abused—Indigenous folks, slaves, Blacks, Latinx and Asians, together with the RJCST and sharing personal stories with diverse backgrounds—enlightened her about how deeply systemic racism is rooted in our country. This journey in racial justice empowered her to share her experience of growing up as a 1.5-generation immigrant with model minority myth and honorary white privilege. Racism has been presented as a binary issue between Blacks and whites. However, Asians have been a part of American history for over 200 years, yet are still not considered to be American.

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Elizabeth Chun Hye Lee

Restoring Just Relationships: The Critical Role of Just Transition Toward Climate Justice, Just Energy for All

Executive, Economic and Environmental Justice, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Elizabeth Chun Hye (Liz) LEE serves as United Women in Faith's Executive for Economic and Environmental Justice and Climate Justice Lead. Her primary area of work is around advancing climate justice with United Women in Faith members, church, and society, through trainings, program development, partnerships, corporate engagement, advocacy, and solidarity. Liz advocates for climate justice through the intersections of women's rights, human rights, and theology. Liz represents UWF at the US Climate Action Network, NAACP's Solar Equity Initiative, Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility and the Transit Equity Network. Liz was recognized by Sojourners as one of "10 Christian Women Shaping the Church in 2020" and served as a Women's Earth Alliance Alumnae Mentor. Prior to UWF, Liz served as the Director for Young Adult Mission Service at Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church, developing over 100 global and national partnerships and training and supporting hundreds of young adults around the world to live out their faith through social justice. Liz has also worked with the World Council of Churches' United Nations Liaison Office, focused on human rights, gender justice, migration, indigenous people's rights, and climate displacement. Liz also worked as a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs (New York) and a Williams in China Fellow at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Asian Human Rights Commission (Hong Kong). Liz has served on boards and executive teams including Global Youth Connect, Ecumenical Women at the United Nations, the World Student Christian Federation Trustees in the USA, and Nexus Korean American UMC network. She serves as the Church and Society Chair at HA:N UMC. Liz's studies include coursework in comparative politics, political identity, human rights, history, theology and women studies from Williams College, Oxford University and Regent College (Canada). Liz was born in Seoul, South Korea and grew up in NYC before studying and working globally. Liz lives in occupied Canarsie, Matinecock and Munsee Lenape Queens, New York with her spouse and daughter, navigating what it means to "Be Just. Be Green."

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Sung-ok Lee

Women in Leadership: Live Faith Talk

Connectional Officer, United Methodist Women

Sung-ok Lee is the connectional officer for United Methodist Women, where she has worked for the past 30 years. Currently, she is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and has responsibility for developing and strengthening relationships within The United Methodist Church and ecumenically on behalf of United Methodist Women; preparing United Methodist Women for participation in General Conference, particularly in legislation development, member education, advocacy and monitoring; supporting the work of the jurisdictions, organizational bylaws and governance; overseeing the work of United Methodist Women's international mission; and overseeing the work of the Deaconess/Home Missioner Office. Lee obtained her Masters in Theological Studies and Social Work at Boston University. She is a deaconess, commissioned in the New York Annual Conference. A mother of two adult daughters, she is a lifelong United Methodist and a longtime member of United Methodist Women.

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Michael Leon Guerrero

Restoring Just Relationships: The Critical Role of Just Transition Toward Climate Justice, Just Energy for All

Executive Director, Labor Sustainability Network

Michael Leon Guerrero serves as the executive director for Labor Sustainability Network. He previously served as the national coordinator of the Climate Justice Alliance. Guerrero has over 30 years of community-organizing and alliance-building experience. He was a field organizer and executive director at SouthWest Organizing Project for 17 years, leading successful environmental and economic justice campaigns. He helped strengthen environmental policy and enforcement in low-income Chicano communities. Guerrero co-founded and served as the national coordinator of the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance (2004-2012), playing a leadership role in organizing the World and U.S. Social Forums. He also served as executive director of UNITY, an alliance of national alliances organizing in different sectors of working-class communities of color in the U.S. He also serves on the board of directors of Greenpeace, Inc., and is a former board member of Jobs with Justice.

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Kim Lewis

Encountering God Through Artistic Expression

President & CEO, United Way of Yellowstone County

Kim Lewis is originally from Arizona. Her husband is a UMC minister and they have lived in the Rocky Mountains for the past 15 years. She is the CEO of a local United Way and is also a deaconess candidate. Lewis used to be an adjunct professor, teaching business communications. She learned to lead a Zoom class on "How to Encounter God Through Arts/Crafts" for her congregation during the pandemic.

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Ellen Lipsey

Because We Believe! The Charter for Racial Justice (South Central Jurisdiction)

Program Advisory Group, SCJ President, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Ellen Lipsey is a retired Texas public school teacher. After teaching elementary grades for 31 years, she chose to transition from the classroom to advocate for children and their families through the many opportunities provided by United Methodist Women. She has served in various leadership positions on each level of United Women in Faith, most recently as part of the team of jurisdiction guides for United Women in Faith's Be just. Be green. program. In that role she was promoting wholeness and justice in the way meetings and events are planned, and resourcing Conference United Women in Faith teams in reaching climate justice goals. Lipsey currently serves as South Central Jurisdiction United Women in Faith president and as a member of the board of McCurdy Ministries Community Center, one of United Women in Faith's national mission institutions.

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Dawn Martin

Aligning the Body, Mind and Spirit for Soul Purposes!

Founder, Self-care Revolution Spark

Dawn Martin is the first board-certified holistic nurse in Mississippi. She is a lifelong member of First United Methodist Church in Columbia, Mississippi, and serves as the Brookhaven District United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women) education and interpretation coordinator. After taking care of both sets of her grandparents and finishing nursing school, she embarked on a journey to inspire, encourage and empower others to take the wheel concerning their health. She is a BASI-certified pilates instructor, synergistic myofascial therapy practitioner, Reiki master, and holistic health and self-care lifestyle coach. She focuses first on posture because it is vital to performance and longevity, and every organ in the body functions better when the spine and chakras are aligned. She has created a pilates chair class repertoire that is incredibly effective at improving body awareness, core strength, posture and relieving common tension patterns. These simple exercises are easily doable by most anyone at any age or stage of fitness. Martin is also the creator of Pilates for Nurses and several other virtual courses designed to empower people to self-care. A mother of four, she enjoys camping with her family, foraging, gardening, learning, teaching and dancing.

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Dr. Karen McElfish

How Just Is My Energy and Why Should I Care?

Program Advisory Group, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

A lifelong United Methodist, Dr. Karen McElfish is passionate about her work with United Women in Faith. She currently serves as a member of the Program Advisory Group and liaison to Conference Social Action Coordinators. She has held many positions in United Women in Faith, including coordinator for social action and education and interpretation for her local unit, Arlington District social action coordinator and president, and Virginia Conference vice president and social action coordinator. She chaired the Conference Legacy Committee, co-coordinated the Conversations on A Way Forward and led studies for Mission Encounter. As a United Women in Faith representative, she serves on the board for Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, the Conference Legislative Network and the Conference Board of Church and Society. Additionally, she is the Arlington District lay leader, delegate to Jurisdictional Conference and first alternate delegate to General Conference. McElfish is a retired pediatrician, now pursuing a second career in art. She is married and has two daughters and a granddaughter. She enjoys singing in church choir and playing cello and flute. One of her greatest joys about United Methodist Women is the opportunity to work with and befriend women from many walks of life, across the United States.

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Olivia McKinsey

Fierce Women, Fiercer Relationships

Associate Music Director, Zoar United Methodist Church

Olivia McKinsey is associate music director at Zoar United Methodist Church in Snellville, Georgia. She originally hails from Maryland and now calls Snellville home. She joined The United Methodist Church eight years ago. McKinsey has worked with the children, youth and adults within her chosen missions. She is an active member of the praise team and leads roadside cleanups. She is focused on seeking out the role of women in scripture.

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Bonita Miller

Because We Believe! The Charter for Racial Justice (Western Jurisdiction)

Program Advisory Group, WJ President, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women )

Bonita Miller is grateful to live on Dena'ina Elnena land and Denendeh land in Nikiski, Alaska. There she gardens, walks, practices yoga, enjoys her vast state and keeps active as a mother of three daughters and a grandmother of five. As the Western Jurisdiction president, she is a member of the Program Advisory Group and part of the Eliminating Institutional Racism team. Her passion for justice and equality for all persons has moved her to listen, study, grapple with her privilege and learn. This cumulates in empathy and a desire to resist the forces of injustice and do what she can to act bravely to remove barriers impeding progress in race equality.

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Janet Mills

Because We Believe! The Charter for Racial Justice (Western Jurisdiction)

Program Advisory Group

An active United Women in Faith serving as Program Advisory Group member from Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. Sister Janet serves as a Lay Christ Servant and second-generational member of the historic 19th century Janes Memorial UMC in Germantown section of Philadelphia PA/ Lenape Haki-nk indigenous land area. She is a retired licensed Insurance Agent and retail sales associate. Sister Janet is a proud BA political science graduate of the oldest HBCU, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania (1837).

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Susan Moberg

LDD: Conference Secretary—Officer Update

Corporate Secretary, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Susan Moberg has been corporate secretary for United Women in Faith since April 2020. She serves as liaison to the conference secretary in additional to serving the United Women in Faith Board of Directors and Program Advisory Group. She brings strong administrative skills through past experience as the office manager for a local United Methodist church, and project management skills from years spent in corporate America.

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Yvette Moore

New Wineskins—How to Share the New Brand

Director, PR and Marketing, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Yvette Moore is director of public relations and marketing for United Women in Faith. She has served in the organization since 1989 in several communications capacities, from senior writer to managing editor to executive editor of response magazine. She has also coordinated and led communications training events for regional and district United Women in Faith leaders. Moore is also a writer and publisher living in Brooklyn, New York, with her family. Her novel "Freedom Songs" is a young adult Civil Rights classic . She recently re-issued "Freedom Songs" through her company, Jubilee Year Communications, along with its new arson-mystery sequel, "Just Sketching," and "The Birth of Christ," a colorful rendition of the Christmas story for children of all ages.

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Halina Mui

LDD: Conference Treasurer—Officer Update

Comptroller, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Halina Mui is a deaconess and CPA. She was consecrated in 2016 and is a member of the Greater New Jersey Conference. She is passionate about the ministries of love, justice and service. Mui is a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany. Her experience was in public accounting prior to joining the General Agencies of The United Methodist Church in 2004. She is thankful for the opportunity to be part of United Methodist Women, whose values she shares. Before her work with United Women in Faith, she was a comptroller at the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

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Lydia Munoz

Worship for a Liberated Church: Decolonizing Christian Worship

For Such a Time as This: Racism, Antiracism and The United Methodist Church

Lead Pastor, Swarthmore United Methodist Church

Lydia Munoz is a proud Puerto Rican made in Puerto Rico but born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She is an elder in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and currently serves as the lead pastor of Swarthmore United Methodist Church in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, in the Philadelphia area. Munoz is a graduate of Wesley Theological Seminary and is currently working on a Doctor of Ministry degree at Drew Theological School focusing on Public Theology. Her doctoral project is providing resources to help congregations dismantle racism and de-center whiteness and patriarchy in our corporate worship experience. Among her experiences developing ministries of justice among marginalized and multicultural communities, she has been involved in leading worship for 20 years in varied and diverse settings, both locally and nationally, including for the World Council of Churches Assembly in South Korea (2013), the United Methodist General Conference (2012) and the Festival of Sacred Arts in Falstbo, Sweden. She is a published author and contributor on the New United Methodist Hymnal Committee and has been featured in Abingdon Preacher's Manual (2019 and 2020). Munoz has served as worship leader for several annual conferences throughout the connection, as well as national conferences including the United Methodist Women's Mission u and General Assembly. Munoz has a passion for following the Spirit's lead in the creation of sacred moments and spaces for emergent communities, where together as the gathered we can experience the transformative power of God. Her general rule for worship is that the Church needs to worship and live incarnationally, which means we live what we sing, and we sing what we live and what we are working to become: God's Reign on Earth. She lives with her young adult and her dog.

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Grace Musuka

Restoring Just Relationships: The Critical Role of Just Transition Toward Climate Justice, Just Energy for All

Grace Musuka, Regional Missionary, United Women in Faith

Born in Mutoko, Zimbabwe, Grace is a member of the Chisipiti United Methodist Church in Harare. Grace works on behalf of the leadership of United Methodist Women organizations in Central Africa. Grace engages in leadership training for women in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Zambia,Tanzania and Zimbabwe, where she is based in the city of Harare. The program's objective is to empower women as peace builders, healers, and economic developers in their communities, and as leaders in their churches. Many of the areas served by regional missionaries are recovering from the trauma and devastation of warfare. This work also promotes ecumenical collaboration. She holds a certificate from Nyadire UMC Teacher's College in Mutoko, Zimbabwe and a Bachelor of Arts degree in home economics and biology from Drury University, Springfield, Missouri. She was also trained as a manager for women leaders in the Church by All Africa Conference of Churches. She began her professional career as a primary school teacher, and has worked for many years as a lecturer through the Zimbabwean ministry of higher education. She also trained Food Service Supervisors in the Ministry of Health in Zimbabwe. She joined the staff of the United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe as women's work coordinator in 1998. Grace says that her faith journey has been shaped by "family prayers, quiet times, reciting and memorizing Bible verses and reading the Bible, participating in community work, singing in the church choir, and teaching Sunday school." She believes that "through Christ all things are possible." Grace is committed to helping people grow through their experience in Christ. She says: "It is good reason to praise the Lord when people find their sorrow turned to joy, illiteracy turned to literacy, insufficiency turned to sufficiency, and hopelessness turned to hope in a Christian environment." "Mission giving empowers women in a Christian environment, raises their self-esteem, affords them to train in relevant skills that help them to provide for their families, the poor in their communities and to participate in church as leader. Women's leadership skills are improved and are thereof enabled to inform and increase the Christian love in families, churches, communities, countries and even the world," says Grace.

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Julie Noel

Hope For The Future: Leadership During/After the Pandemic

President, North Texas Conference United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Julie Noel is a lifelong resident of Dallas, Texas, and a member of Highland Park UMC/Dallas for more than 35 years. She serves as the president of the North Texas Conference United Women in Faith unit. She has served in a variety of leadership positions at the local, district and conference levels of United Women in Faith. Noel has a passion for encouraging and empowering United Women in Faith members to step up and embrace the call to serve as leaders at all levels. In addition to serving as a United Women in Faith leader, she has considerable experience as a volunteer leader at the national level, representing the profession of speech-language pathology on the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Board of Directors twice within a 10-year period.

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Sue Owens

Because We Believe! The Charter for Racial Justice (Southeastern Jurisdiction)

Program Advisory Group, SEJ President, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Sue Owens grew up Presbyterian, but was predestined to be a Methodist. After attending Winthrop University and Converse University, she taught Physical Education and Health at the same junior high for 29 years. She has served on the local, district, conference, regional and national levels of United Women in Faith. It was while working in that junior high school, however, that she learned of the difficulties experienced by her students who were impoverished, living in low-in-come housing projects, dealing with drugs and alcohol on a personal basis as well as in the family, and possibly seeking "alternative methods of supporting themselves." Based on her teaching experiences and while serving on the board of the Spartanburg Bethlehem Center, she sees the value of helping fight the battle of racism.

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Marchelle Phelps

Because We Believe! The Charter for Racial Justice (North Central Jurisdiction)

Program Advisory Group, NCJ President, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Marchelle "Micki" Phelps is currently serving as the president for the North Central Jurisdiction and Program Advisory Group (2021-2024). For the past four years, she has worked with the school-to-prison pipeline, giving various presentations and leading a retreat on the subject throughout the Michigan Conference for the UMC and United Women in Faith. She has also assisted in the 2021 Mission u study, "Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in School." She is a member of the Michigan Conference United Women in Faith in the Greater Detroit District and retired from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan in 2016, after 41 years of service. Phelps has been a member of Conant Avenue United Methodist Church in Detroit since 1975 and a United Women in Faith member since 1990. She began her journey with United Methodist Women as a local unit member of Conant Avenue United Women in Faith. She then served in various positions at the district and conference United Women in Faith levels. She was the last conference president of the former United Women in Faith Detroit Conference (2015-2018). Phelps has a B.A. in Sociology from Wayne State University and a Master of Science in Administration (MSA) degree in Information Resource Management from Central Michigan University. She has one son.

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Rev. Pamela Pirtle

Way of Integrity: Right Relationship with Self, Others and God

Senior Director of Leadership and Accountability, General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (COSROW)

The Rev. Pamela Pirtle of the Northern Illinois Conference is the senior director of leadership development and accountability. She is responsible for supporting each annual conference's Commission on the Status and Role of Women (COSROW), providing resources and education for the full inclusion on women and overseeing monitoring functions on behalf of the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (GCSRW). Pirtle serves the Northern Illinois Annual Conference on the Committee on Finance Administration and the Committee on Religion and Race. She serves as a board member for the Northern Illinois United Voices for Children and is a former board member of Black Methodists for Church Renewal. Prior to her position with GCSRW, she served as the pastor for Gorham United Methodist Church, located in the Washington Park community on the South Side of Chicago. Pirtle has spent most of my professional career in equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, and diversity/inclusion in higher education and government. She is passionate about social justice, education and inclusion. Her position with GCSRW allows her to merge her professional experience with a way to serve the church in ministry and enhance the Wesleyan thought, "A charge to keep we have, a God to glorify… to serve this present age, our calling to fulfill." She believes we each have a calling to leave this world better than when we arrived. Pirtle is a graduate of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (M.Div.), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (M.A.) and National-Louis University (B.A). She is currently a D.Min. student at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. She considers parenting her daughter the greatest joy of her life.

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Shannon Priddy

Letting Go of Leadership: Passion vs. Title

Former Director, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Shannon Priddy lives and works in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is a past national president of the national board of United Women in Faith and a lifelong member. She has learned that our approach to leadership grows and changes as we grow and change through opportunities of leadership.

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Katie Pryor

LDD: Conference Membership, Nurture and Outreach—Officer Update

Executive for Membership Nurture & Development, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women )

In Katie's role with United Women in Faith she equips conferences, district and local leaders to develop sustainable relationships with members through nurture/support, coaching, consultation, and peer-learning to create environments for lifelong membership. Katie is not new to the organization and has served as an intern with the Seminar Program as well as a consultant. She is a graduate of Southern Methodist University- Perkins School of Theology with a Master of Divinity, Urban Ministry focus. She has serves as a US-2 Missionary through the General Board of Global Ministries Global Mission Fellows program. She has served in leadership in North Texas United Women in Faith as well on staff with the North Texas Conference of the UMC. Katie is beyond excited to continue doing the work as she serves in this new role with many opportunities for growth, nurture, and development. She believes the key is not just to act but to listen and comprehend so that one may act effectively

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Deaconess Amy Reimer

Knitted in Faith: Discipleship of Women Yesterday and Today

Deaconess, Order of Deaconess and Home Missioner

Amy Reimer was appointed as a deaconess to Trinity United Methodist Church: Wilmette in Illinois, in June 2018. She has served as the church administrator and financial secretary there for eight years. She has been very fortunate to build many strong relationships within the church community during this time. Trinity UMC: Wilmette is also her home church, where she has been a member for 27 years. During that time, Reimer has served as a Sunday school teacher, choir member, member of multiple committees and has helped to create a prayer shawl ministry that is still going strong today. Since the pandemic, Reimer has taken on a new role leading a women's Bible study through Zoom. She looks forward to being back in community with everyone soon. She loves knitting, crocheting, cooking and singing. On her first trip to Chautauqua, New York, she met Deaconess Rosie Guadarrama (her co-presenter). Guadarrama introduced her to Knitting4Peace. Since that time, the Trinity UMC prayer shawl ministry has become a peace pod for Knitting4Peace. Members knit and crochet scarves for an annual Christmas donation to a Chicago homeless ministry. The group hopes to expand its mission work in the future.

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Adrienne Rice

Adrienne L. Rice is Founder and Executive Director of Sustainable Georgia Futures ("SGF") an organization with a mission to develop green economy pathways for people of color in Georgia by using the foundational methods of relational organizing. SGF seeks to address two of our nation's crises: climate change and systemic racism. By creating viable pathways for communities of color, especially Black communities, to access jobs and entrepreneurship in the growing green economy. Born in Chattanooga, TN and raised in both Chattanooga and Atlanta,GA by Black American working class people. Adrienne is guided by the philosophy of Ubuntu: "I am because we are; we are because I am." She believes that any part of her success is strongly tied to the paths that others have laid for her and she has carried with her a very deep feeling of responsibility for respecting that gift throughout her life. Adrienne is an accomplished organizer and strategist with more than 22 years of social justice organizing. She has organized in over 35 states within more than 100 diverse communities throughout the United States, Canada, and South Africa. Throughout her tenure her focus has been centered around campaign strategic analysis, staff development, and community engagement. A graduate of Tennessee State University, Adrienne earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology/ Africana Studies along with a Master's degree in Counseling Education from Florida A&M University. Rice is currently completing a graduate degree in Social Innovation at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, GA.

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Kenya Roberts

Put the "Fun" in Fundraising

Executive for Development Management, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Kenya Roberts has a combined 16 years of experience working with local and international nonprofits and foundations in development. She also has experience in managing fundraising campaigns and relationship building. She is the executive for development management at United Women in Faith and has the honor of working closely with United Women in Faith members around the country, who are working together toward the future of the organization through the Legacy Endowment Fund. Roberts has always had a passion for working with women and children, and she continues to do this through every facet of her life.

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Elmira Sellu

Leadership Development: A Necessity for Change-makers

Regional Missionary, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Elmira Sellu is a United Women in Faith regional missionary based in her home country of Sierra Leone, where she has been facilitating leadership training workshops for United Women in Faith. She has been a regional missionary for the past 20 years and has been working closely with women from several countries in Africa, improving their leadership skills. In addition to her diploma for women's leadership from the Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation (1994), she also has a degree in Human and Social Studies from the University of South Africa (2013).

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Khia Shaw

Soul Care Retreats: How-tos for Designing and Hosting

Director of Membership and Engagement, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Khia Shaw, a native of Southern New Jersey, serves as the director of membership and engagement for United Women in Faith. She is responsible for leading the strategic direction, vision and performance of the organizational priority, Engage. Layered by her work as an entrepreneur in corporate and government sectors, Shaw is known for creating unique partnerships to receive financial support for new initiatives. She has acquired funding for projects that top $1 billion, most recognizably for the R.I.S.E. initiative. She has spearheaded the New Jersey governor's community justice initiative and co-created the Camden City Youth Commission. She has worked on global and prominent campaigns with Fortune 500 clients, served as the lead law professor at Premier Education Group and been a publicist for three bestselling authors. Shaw has a B.A. in Political Science from North Carolina Central University, with graduate studies in law. She also attended North Carolina College for a master's in theology and is attending St. Thomas University to receive a master's in international business. She has been recognized and featured in Success from Home magazine and honored by the American Red Cross and Commission on the Status of Women.

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Rita Simpkins-Smith

How Just Is My Energy and Why Should I Care?

Program Advisory Group, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Rita Simpkins-Smith was born and raised in New York City, where she was an active member at St. Mark's UMC in Harlem. She holds degrees from Tuskegee University and the University of Illinois at Champaign. She has been married for 49 years, with three children (one recently deceased). She is a grandmother and retired public school educator, administrator, coach and counselor. She has also served as a PTA president and district director. She has served as past lay leader at Resurrection UMC, current lay member to her annual conference, certified lay servant, past president of Chicago Black Methodists for Church Renewal, older adult chairman and committee member of Nominations, Safe Sanctuary, Higher Education and Church and Society. She was elected as a delegate to the 2012, 2016 and 2020 General and Jurisdictional Conferences, and is a member of the Interjurisdictional Episcopacy Committee, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Midwest Chaplains Council, North America, World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women treasurer, and the UN Global Concerns Illinois Church Women United chairman. Simpkins-Smith has previously served on the D'Estee board of directors and currently sits on the Midwest board of directors of the Selah Freedom Foundation and co-chairs the Poor Peoples Campaign Chicago Westside Cluster. She serves as president of her local United Women in Faith unit, has co-authored the resource pamphlet, Phase III Campaign for Children on Public Education, is district and conference social action coordinator, a board member of the Marcy-Newberry Association, a participant in the Racial Justice Consultation programs, was an Assembly 2010 and 2018 presenter, a Mission u study leader and assistant dean, and Human Trafficking Task Force member. She is also a former president of the Northern Illinois Conference United Women in Faith and is the immediate past president of the North Central Jurisdiction United Women in Faith. Simpkins-Smith testified at Chevron and at the EPA hearing. During the Equity Day 2021 she gave a public hearing testimony on air quality and the harmful effects of emission to children's health and safety. She also participated in the Climate Justice Legislative Days.

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Alice Staley

LDD: Conference Communications Coordinators—Officer Update

Program Advisory Group, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Alice Staley is a United Women in Faith Program Advisory Group member from the Illinois Great Rivers Conference. She serves as the PAG liaison for United Women in Faith conference communications coordinators. She is from Bloomington, Illinois, Illinois Great Rivers Conference and joined United Women in Faith just out of high school. She has served on the district, conference and jurisdiction levels in several positions, including public relations/communications. She has also served many years with other organizations in the same role. She believes that communications is vitally important to engage persons of all ages in the mission of United Women in Faith.

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Liz Theoharis

Ending Poverty: Reading the Bible with the Poor

Director, Kairos Center for Religion, Rights and Social Justice

The Rev. Liz Theoharis is co-chair with the Rev. William J. Barber II of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, which organized the largest coordinated wave of nonviolent civil disobedience in 21st-century America, and has since emerged as one of the nation's leading social movement forces. She is also the director of the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary. Theoharis is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and teaches at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She received her B.A. in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania; her M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary in 2004, where she was the first William Sloane Coffin Scholar; and her Ph.D. from UTS in New Testament and Christian Origins. She has been published in The New York Times, Time magazine, CNN, The Guardian, Sojourners, The Nation and others. In 2018, she gave the "Building a Moral Movement" TED Talk at TEDWomen, was named one of the Politico 50 "thinkers, doers and visionaries whose ideas are driving politics," and was also named a Women of Faith recipient by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A). In 2019, she was a Selma "Bridge" Award recipient and named one of "11 Women Shaping the Church" by Sojourners. In 2020, she was named one of "15 Faith Leaders to Watch" by the Center for American Progress. Theoharis is the author of "Always with Us?: What Jesus Really Said About the Poor" (Eerdmans, 2017), co-author of "Revive Us Again: Vision and Action in Moral Organizing" (Beacon, 2018) and editor of "We Cry Justice: Reading the Bible with the Poor People's Campaign."

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Pearl Thomas

For Such a Time as This: Racism, Antiracism and The United Methodist Church

Pearl (Chalakee) Thomas is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation (MCN). She is of the Bear Clan and her tribal town is Cheyaha. She attended college late in life and received her BS degree from Northeastern State University. Pearl retired from MCN after 18 years of service. She also served on the MCN National Council for 4 years. Muscogee (Creek) Nation is a self-governed Native American tribe located in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. The Nation is one of the 5 civilized tribes and is the fourth largest tribe with over 90,000 citizens. Many of our citizens still live on their original allotment land that their great grandparents received when the Indian Removal Act of 1832. This removal was called the "Trail of Tears". Pearl is an active lifelong member of the Honey Creek United Methodist Indian Church of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. Her involvement includes local, district, conference and national activities of both the United Methodist Church and United Women of Faith. Today the OIMC continues to minister to the needs of Indian people. The present membership is approximately 6,000 with 84 churches, several of these congregations being over 100 years old. Oklahoma is home to the majority of the congregations; however, there is one church in Dallas, Texas; three churches and one fellowship in Kansas. Pearl was married to her late husband for 47 years. They have two children, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. She has been deeply committed to and involved in Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the Okmulgee Community.

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Rev. J. Dana Trent

Bread of Life: Nourishment for the Journey

Author, Upper Room Books

The Rev. J. Dana Trent is an ordained Baptist minister, a professor of World Religions and Critical Thinking at Wake Tech Community College and a former hospital chaplain. She is a graduate of Duke Divinity School. Trent's work has appeared on Time.com, and in Religion News Service, Sojourners, Religion Dispatches, and The Christian Century. Publishers Weekly calls her fourth book, "Dessert First: Preparing for Death While Savoring Life," "poignant," "hilarious" and "practical." She is also the award-winning author of "One Breath at a Time: A Skeptic's Guide to Christian Meditation," "For Sabbath's Sake: Embracing Your Need for Rest, Worship, and Community" and "Saffron Cross: The Unlikely Story of How a Christian Minister Married a Hindu Monk." She winds down from writing and teaching by leading group fitness classes for the YMCA.

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Jessica Tulloch

LDD: Conference Treasurer & Eductation and Interpretation - Officer Update

Executive for National Ministries, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Jessica Tulloch is a western Pennsylvania native who began attending United Women in Faith's meetings as an infant. She currently serves with United Women in Faith as executive for national ministries, supporting our nearly 100 national mission institutions. She is also happy to be the staff liaison for conference mission coordinators for education and interpretation, working with leaders to promote the amazing work of United Women in Faith. She has been engaged in adult education and training for more than 20 years.

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Nichea VerVeer Guy

Because We Believe! The Charter for Racial Justice (North Central Jurisdiction)

Charter for Racial Justice Support Team, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Nichea VerVeer Guy is a former United Women in Faith director, serving the Michigan Conference United Women in Faith unit. She has served at the district and conference offices, as a Mission u study leader, and as a liaison with the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility as the national board chair of finance. VerVeer Guy has been on the Charter for Racial Justice Support Team for the past four years, working to engage our members on the issues surrounding race. She has experience leading workshops, team discussions, and designing legislation. She is personally committed to antibias and racial equity within our world.

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Sally Vonner

LDD: Conference Presidents—Officer Update

For Such a Time as This: Racism, Antiracism and The United Methodist Church

Transformation Officer, United Methodist Women

Sally Vonner serves as the transformation officer at United Methodist Women, overseeing the strategic planning and implementation. She also serves as staff liaison for the planning and assessment committee of the United Methodist Women Board of Directors and the conference presidents. Vonner has led numerous workshops at Leadership Development Days and other United Methodist Women events, including Assembly. She previously resourced the conference committee on nominations and now, as the conference president staff liaison, she meets with them quarterly to provide ongoing support and leadership development opportunities.

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Sandy Wilder

Put the "Fun" in Fundraising

President, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women) Rio Texas Conference

Sandy Wilder is the president of the Rio Texas Conference United Women in Faith. Previously, she was executive secretary for financial interpretation on the staff as well as a development consultant of United Women in Faith (then the Women's Division), and served on the General Board of Global Ministries and Women's Division Board of Directors. She has been a local, district and conference officer; has written for response magazine and developed promotional resources; has taught in many conference and regional Schools of Christian Mission (now Mission u); and has led many United Women in Faith events across the country. Sandy is employed by Global Impact, a nonprofit that raises funds for its 100 international partner charities through workplace giving campaigns. Sandy has a B.A. in Spanish and French and an M.A. in Foreign Language Education. She volunteered with the Methodist Church of Bolivia for two years after her college graduation. For 16 years, she was a volunteer host for the weekly half-hour religious public affairs television program "Austin Faith Dialogue." For relaxation, she enjoys gardening, going to movies, reading science and science fiction, traveling and visiting museums.

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Becky Williams

Way of Integrity: Right Relationship with Self, Others and God

Senior Director for Sexual Ethics and Advocacy, General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (COSROW)

Becky Posey Williams joined the staff of the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women in 2014 as senior director for sexual ethics and advocacy for the worldwide United Methodist Church. In this position, she provides consultation to bishops and judicatory leaders and offers training throughout the denomination on the topics of sexual ethics and integrity in ministry, including the importance of self-care. She is also a trainer for the development and use of response teams for congregational and staff healing following an incident of sexual misconduct in a local ministry setting. Prior to GCSRW, Williams worked as a licensed clinical mental health therapist in private practice for 25 years. She also served as a trainer/consultant with annual conferences of The United Methodist Church in the areas of response to sexual misconduct and healthy boundaries for 10 years. She developed and led "Beginning Well," an 11-session small group for first-year Residents in Ministry, focusing on understanding oneself in the multiple roles of ministry. In 2007, Williams completed a two-year training and certification as a spiritual director through the Center for Ministry at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. A lifelong United Methodist, she has served in various lay leadership positions, including chairperson of the Staff Parish Relations Committee, lay leader, and on the district Board of Ordained Ministry. Williams is the mother of one daughter and enjoys being in nature, either kayaking or biking.

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Katie Willis

LDD: Conference Communications Coordinators—Officer Update

Program Advisory Group, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Katie Willis is a United Women in Faith Program Advisory Group member from the Missouri Conference. She serves as the PAG liaison for United Women in Faith conference communications coordinators.

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Faye Wilson

Knowing the Healer Within

Former Mission u Study Author, United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women)

Faye Wilson, from Salisbury, Maryland, is president of the Salisbury District United Women in Faith, Peninsula-Delaware Conference. She coauthored, with Trudy Corry Rankin, the children's mission study book, "Managing Our Emotions," and the youth mission study book, "Managing Anxiety." She has presented workshops at United Women in Faith Assemblies since 1996, and has been a study leader for many Mission u's.

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