Leadership

The Rev. Peggy Lo was recently called to serve as rector of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, Austin, Texas. Prior to this call, she was the Assistant Priest at St. Chrysostom’s Episcopal Church and Day School in Chicago.

Prior to attending seminary, she had a career in nonprofit administration and then in translation services. For six years, Peggy worked for the Public Interest Network as a campus organizer, central recruitment administrator, budget administrator, and online organizer taking her to Amherst, Boston, and Denver. She worked for the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation as a translator, lecture editor, and workshop designer.

During seminary at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, Peggy’s field placements took her to New York City, first with the Episcopal churches in Harlem through the Church of the Heavenly Rest and the Congregation of Saint Savior at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. More recently, she has served on the Episcopal Parish Network’s Annual Conference Planning Committee.

Peggy graduated from Stanford University with an AB in Psychology and minor in Asian American Studies. Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, is her sending parish.

Currently a Senior Consultant and Principal at Marts&Lundy, a strategic fundraising consulting firm, Richard Ammons has more than 30 years of experience as a higher education advancement professional.  Before joining Marts&Lundy, he was Associate Dean for the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Prior to his work at Duke, Richard served for seven years as vice president for development at Colby College, managing the College’s $370 million comprehensive campaign. Richard also held leadership posts at Macalester College, Morehouse College and the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University.

Richard is currently a member of the board of trustees of the University of the South (Sewanee); a member of the vestry and past senior warden at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, Durham; and a member of the board of MDC, Inc.  He is a former trustee of the General Theological Seminary. Richard has also served on the vestry and was a member of a Rector Search Committee at St. Luke’s, Atlanta.

Raised in Atlanta and New York City, Richard completed his undergraduate degree at Amherst College and earned an MBA at Stanford University.

The Very Rev. Kate Moorehead Carroll is the 1oth dean of St John’s Cathedral, where she oversees a vibrant urban congregation of about 1,500, along with a number of non-profits birthed by the Cathedral. Mother Kate has led the Cathedral congregation in developing ministries for the homeless, immigrants, and children as well as implementing a new vision for the redevelopment of the urban core in the Cathedral District. She also serves as vice president of the Episcopal School of Jacksonville, the Cathedral School Early Learning Center, Cathedral Arts Project, Cathedral Care nursing facility and Aging True Community Senior Services.

During her tenure as Dean, Kate has helped to launch the non-profit Cathedral District-Jax, which has recruited over 44 million in residential investment into the district surrounding the Cathedral in Jacksonville’s urban core.

A noted preacher, Kate is known for her speaking and scholarship throughout the Episcopal Church. She has presented at the National General Convention as well as numerous church conferences and workshops within the United States, and is the author of five seasonal meditation books, as well as a book and three-part video series about Mary Magdalene.

Kate is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Vassar College and a cum laude graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary, where she earned her Master of Divinity. She and her husband, Dr. Chris Carroll, have three sons – Luke, Jake and Max.

Commitment to ‘Strengthening Leaders for a Changing Church through Connecting, Equipping, and Diversifying’:

“All over the world, the shape and structure of Christianity is changing. In North America, Sunday morning worship is shrinking and innovative ministries are on the rise. It is clear that technology is changing the way we write, speak, and think and that means we will be worshipping in new ways and praying in new ways. I believe that EPN is one of the incubators where great practitioners of the faith can gather and brainstorm. We need flexible, wise, creative leadership in order to take the Episcopal Church into the future.”

Jill is the Director of Operations at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in New Canaan, CT since March of 2017. She oversees finance, staff operations, facilities and communications for St. Mark’s. Prior to joining the staff, Jill was first a Church School teacher (it’s a great way to get to know the people of the parish!), then a stewardship and capital campaign caller, and in various other lay volunteer roles. Eventually, Jill served on the Rector Search Committee that called St. Mark’s current Rector the Rev. Peter Walsh, then as vestry member, Junior Warden, and Senior Warden before joining the professional staff.

Jill’s previous professional experience includes recruiting, staffing and HR administration in pharmaceutical clinical trials; hospitality operations; a brief stint in advertising; and owning/operating a retail wine store. This circuitous professional path turned out to be perfect preparation for her vocational role at  St. Mark’s. Jill also serves on the Board of Waveny LifeCare Network, a non-profit offering a full continuum of independent living, rehabilitation, skilled nursing, memory, and hospice care. Jill is a graduate of Cornell University.

A life-long Episcopalian, Jill and her husband Michael live in Norwalk, CT. Their two adult children are launched and living in Philadelphia and Baltimore.

Drew Abbott is a serial entrepreneur with a diverse background spanning real estate, hospitality, and electric technology. A former opera and concert singer, Drew brings creativity and passion to every endeavor. Deeply committed to service, Drew has held leadership roles at Christ Church Cathedral in Cincinnati, including vestry member, junior warden, and music committee chair. He is a Licensed Lay Preacher and Trustee of the Diocese of Southern Ohio’s Church Foundation. Drew is a practical, action-oriented leader who strives to build consensus, connect stakeholders, and live by the words of Micah 6:8: “…to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

The Very Rev. Dominic Barrington was appointed as the Dean of York in the autumn of 2022. Dean Barrington began his ministry as curate in the Mortlake with East Sheen Team Ministry in the Diocese of Southwark. He served as a university chaplain at St. Chad’s, Durham, before becoming priest-in-charge, and subsequently, rector at St. Peter with St. Michael’s in Kettering in the Diocese of Peterborough.

He was installed as Dean of St. James Cathedral, Chicago, Illinois, in 2015, after 20 years of ordained ministry in the Church of England. During his theological studies, he spent a year as an exchange student at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, the Episcopal seminary in Berkeley, California, from which spring a deep-seated affection for The Episcopal Church.

Dean Barrington has previously worked with the Arts Council to create and fund new regional touring opportunities for the London Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic, and other orchestras. He has worked for several years with some of Britain’s leading professional choirs and vocal groups.

He is well known in both England and the United States for his knowledge and experience of the Holy Land, where he leads pilgrimages structured to provide income and employment for the Christian communities of Palestine and Israel.

He is married to Alison, a music therapist, who has worked in both clinical and academic contexts. They have two sons, Benedict and Linus.

George has broad experience in strategic fundraising, church development, and media production. As Director of Advancement & Engagement at Christ Church Greenwich, he has led successful multimillion-dollar campaigns for church growth, capital projects, and endowment funding. He has reimagined annual appeal campaigns, spearheaded innovative capital campaigns for bricks and mortar projects, as well as growth initiatives. Previously, he held senior leadership roles at the church, overseeing major capital improvements, historic preservation initiatives, and, of note, guiding the organization through a rector transition, challenges posed by the pandemic, and community brand transformation. In the entertainment industry, George produced award-winning film, television, and theater projects, including the film Master Harold … and the Boys and the Actual Jokes for HBO among others. With a background in both arts and religious leadership, he holds an Executive Certificate in Religious Fundraising and a BA in Art History, alongside a commitment to community leadership through various boards and advisory roles.

Doyt L. Conn, Jr. began as the 10th Rector of Epiphany Parish in November 2008. “My calling,” Doyt says, “is primarily to gather people and expose them to the transforming power of an awesome, loving, inclusive God. Christianity is a lifestyle, it a practice, it is an spiritual exercise. Epiphany Parish is a gym for the human spirit where we work out through worship, prayer, fasting, tithing, sabbath, pilgrimage and living in the rhythms of the Christian calendar to become our most God-given authentic self, with the hope of being love spreading difference makers in the world.”

Over the past ten years, Epiphany Parish has grown 350%. Doyt is fond of saying evolution happens where land and water meet, and that certainly describes Seattle. Epiphany, under his leadership, is certainly changing to meet the changing spiritual landscape of 21st Century America. Teaching is Doyt’s passion, and he focuses much of this on Jesus, and teaching people to live their lives as Jesus would if he had the context of their body, and mind, and life… right now, in this city, at this time.

Doyt came to Epiphany from All Saints’ Beverly Hills, where he served as Associate Rector with primary responsibility for Pastoral Care. Doyt graduated with his Masters of Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary in 2003. He discerned his vocation as a priest in the Diocese of Ohio, where he was sponsored for ordination by St. Paul’s, Cleveland Heights.

After receiving his Bachelors of Science from the School of Speech at Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois in 1989, Doyt worked as a project director for the international relief organization AmeriCares. In 1992, he joined the Hawk Group of Companies in Cleveland, Ohio where he worked as a Director of Corporate Strategy and as a member of the mergers and acquisition team. In 1997, Doyt received his Masters of Business Administration from Case Western Reserve University. While in Cleveland, Doyt also worked as a General Manager for Cleveland Steel Container.

Doyt and his wife Kristin met while at Northwestern in 1985. They were married in Cleveland in 1994. Kristin is a family physician and practices medicine with Kaiser Permanente in Seattle. Doyt and Kristin have two children, Margaret (1999) and Desmond (2004), and he lives next door to his older sister Valerie. Doyt enjoys running with his dog Minnie, playing tennis, taking walks with Kristin, and traveling.

Dr. Ffolkes-Bryant has been an educator for over 40 years with the New York City Department of Education, starting as a teacher and is currently an Assistant Superintendent of District 75. She was the founding Principal of P.S. 315, School of the Performing Arts in 1998.

Under Dr. Ffolkes-Bryant’s leadership, P.S. 315 has been honored with numerous awards from both community and professional organizations including WNBC’s “What’s Good About New York”, the New York State Alliance for Arts Education, the Brooklyn Borough, and the Metropolitan Opera Guild, among many others. She and P.S. 315 have been recognized for community collaborations, steadily rising test scores, and reducing failure rates through education and the arts.

In 2008, Dr. Ffolkes-Bryant received the Congressional Award for Educator of the Year.

Dr. Ffolkes-Bryant joined Trinity Church in 1997. She has participated as a lay reader, congregational council member, and youth group advisor. She also was a member of the New York Episcopal Diocese’s “Children’s First” Committee.

She was educated in New York City’s public schools graduating from the Music and Arts High School. Dr. Ffolkes-Bryant received a bachelor’s degree from Aldelphi University, a master’s degree from Teacher’s College/Columbia University, and a Ph.D. from St. John’s University.

The Rev. Caitlyn Keith has been the associate rector for four years at St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields in Columbia, SC, a growing parish in the Diocese of Upper South Carolina. Prior to ordination, she served for nearly 10 years in parishes doing formation and development work, and is an alumna of the Episcopal Service Corps. She grew up on the High Plains of Colorado but came East to attend the College of William and Mary where she earned her undergraduate degree in religious studies. Caitlyn was formed for priesthood at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale where she met Scott, her theater-maker husband. If you are looking for Caitlyn on a Sunday afternoon, you’ll find her soaking in the Carolina sunshine on the porch with cold soda and their two Wheaten Terriers, Bentley and Hopps.

The Rev. Canon Steven Lee is the Vicar of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City, where he provides senior executive leadership for one of the largest institutions in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. In his role, he is responsible for the oversight and financial management of the Liturgy, Pastoral Care, and Columbarium departments, supervises the Canon for Community Engagement, and pastorally supports the worshiping community.

He also serves as the board chair of the New York Episcopal Federal Credit Union, a federally chartered institution that promotes financial literacy and offers vital financial services to marginalized communities within the Diocese of New York. Steven is also the co-founder of EAST: Episcopal Asian Supper Table, a thriving ministry now in its eighth year, which fosters community among Asian-Americans in the Diocese of New York.

Before entering the priesthood, Steven worked in finance as a derivatives trader for a Swiss Bank and later served as the executive director of a faith-based immigration ministry. He holds a degree in Classics from Yale, where he received the Buchanan Winthrop Prize for Greek Translation, and earned his Master of Divinity from the General Theological Seminary. During his theological training, he completed field placements with incarcerated men at Sing-Sing and Fishkill Correctional Facilities.

He is married to Emma, who works at the Museum of Modern Art, and together they are raising their four children—three boys and one girl.

The Rev. Elizabeth Marie Melchionna (pronounced mel-shio-na) has been the rector of The Chapel of the Cross since 2016.

After working in outdoor education and leadership development, Elizabeth Marie began her ordained ministry as a Luce Scholar teaching at Payap University and facilitating interfaith dialogue at the Institute for Religion, Culture and Peace, Chiang Mai, Thailand. Always serving with an attentiveness to leading healthy change, Elizabeth Marie has worked as a parish priest at St. Mary’s Arlington, VA and as the Davidson College Episcopal Campus Minister and Associate Rector of St. Alban’s in Davidson, NC.  She also has served as the Canon for Discipleship and Parish Life at St. John’s Cathedral in Denver, CO.

Elizabeth Marie holds degrees from Davidson College (magna cum laude) and Yale University’s Divinity School (summa cum laude). Additionally, she holds graduate certificates in Anglican Studies (Berkeley Divinity School at Yale), Liturgy (Yale Institute of Sacred Music), and Conflict Transformation (Eastern Mennonite University).

She has studied and worked around the world including Madagascar, England, New Zealand, and Thailand. Elizabeth Marie and her husband parent three kids ranging in age from diapers to driver’s license.

Since 2013, Eric Scott has been a senior member in the communications and advancement departments at Seminary of the Southwest. In 2020, he was named Vice President for Advancement and Communications, a role in which he is responsible for coordinating both internal and external communications, brand development, press relations and the development and implementation of the seminary’s strategic marketing plan. A key advisor to the dean and president, he serves as an ambassador for the seminary in a variety of public settings, including at General Convention and Episcopal Parish Network. He led the complete redesign of the ssw.edu website in 2022, the rebranding of Seminary of the Southwest in 2023, and was a key contributor to the creation of Forming Leaders At the Frontier, the campaign which raised more the $20M amid the pandemic to allow for the construction of the Bishop Dena A. Harrison Library and Learning Complex at Southwest. He is also a leader at Southwest in large-scale event planning. Among the many high-profile events Eric has led the planning for at Southwest include:  the Grand Opening of the Bishop Dena A. Harrison Library (2023), the seven unique events hosted by Southwest during the 2018 General Convention held in Austin, TX, the Celebration of the Very Rev. Cynthia Briggs Kittredge (2024), and the Installations of both Dean Kittredge (2013) and Dean Scott Bader-Saye (2025).

Eric has more than 25 years’ experience in the non-profit sector, holding roles in communications and development for iconic cultural institutions and social service providers in both Austin and New York City. He has served in critical roles at Roundabout Theatre, the Irish Repertory Theatre, PeopleFund, ZACH Theatre, and previous to his current role at the seminary he was Chief Development Officer at Any Baby Can, an Austin, TX based agency serving children with special healthcare needs. As a cradle Episcopalian and great-grandson of an Episcopal Priest, Eric brings to this position a level of resourcefulness and familiarity with our students, alumni/ae and other key constituents that are critical in communicating the story and message of the seminary. A native(ish) Austinite and proud alumnus of the University of Texas, Eric lives in Southwest Austin with his wife, Laura, and their two daughters. Their dog, Sheba, also lives there but likes to run away.

The Rev. William S. Stanley has been vicar of St. Stephen’s since February 2020. In that role Will leads the program and ministry staff of this resource parish and shares in the pastoral, teaching, and preaching work of its clergy team. A native of Washington, D.C., he is a graduate of the Landon School, the University of the South, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. He was ordained deacon and priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta and served Holy Innocents’ Church as curate for two years. He was then called west to Southern California where he served two different Episcopal parishes—St. Cross in Hermosa Beach and All Saints’ in Beverly Hills—focusing on pastoral care, outreach, and work with youth and young adults. Will lives in the Carytown neighborhood of Richmond and outside of work he enjoys exercise, time on the golf course, and exploring Richmond’s excellent food and beverage scene.

The Very Rev. Owen C. Thompson grew up in the Episcopal Church. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2003 at Christ Church Cathedral and spent 22 years in parish ministry in the Diocese of Long Island, New York, In 2021, he was called to serve in the Diocese of Southern Ohio, as the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Downtown Cincinnati.

Dean Thompson attributes much of his passion for ministry and his understanding of the role of the Church in the world to his time as a seminarian-intern at Trinity Wall Street during the terrorist attacks on
September 11, 2002, where he pastored to first responders and volunteers at ground zero at St. Paul’s Chapel.

He received his Master of Divinity degree from The General Theological Seminary, New York, NY, holds a Masters in Educational Communications and Technology from New York University’s School of Education, and a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Minor in Performing Arts from Hobart College, Geneva, NY.

Dean Thompson is the son of the late Rt. Reverend Herbert Thompson Jr., Bishop of Southern Ohio (ret.), whose ministry motto, “To reconcile. To heal. To Liberate. To Serve,” he has adopted as his own, and the late Russelle Cross Thompson, a former professional operatic soprano and an amazing mother. Dean Thompson is married to his wife of 23 years, Jonna Morales-Thompson, who is a Holistic Nutritionist; together, they have two sons, Ridley (16) and Carter (13), and two rescue dogs, Gabby and Leia. He is the middle child. His older brother, Herbert Thompson III, is a Captain in the United States Navy, and his younger sister, Kyrie Thompson, is a Registered Nurse at the Veteran’s Hospital in New City, NY.

In addition to his life and work in the Church, Dean Owen is also a community activist who is dedicated to works/causes that focus on reconciliation, peace, justice, equality, equity, food insecurity, homelessness, undoing racism, gun violence prevention, and creation care. When enjoying time off, he enjoys reading, riding, playing the djembe drum, hiking, “Netflixing,” and spending time with his family.

Erin has been a member at St. James Cathedral Chicago for nearly 30 years, serving in many lay leadership positions over those decades.  Most recently, she was a co-leader of the search committee for the Dean of the Cathedral and served as the junior and then the senior warden for the Cathedral’s Chapter/vestry.  After her vestry service ended, she stepped into the roll of volunteer legal Chancellor for the Cathedral. Erin has also long been an active lay leader of the Cathedral’s feeding ministry. The Cathedral has provided a rich community for not only Erin but her entire family with both of her children growing up in the Cathedral’s incredible choristers program and her husband holding many lay leadership positions at the Cathedral himself, from leading the ushers to serving on Chapter. 

Erin is a Midwesterner, growing up in Ohio and Michigan and coming to Chicago after graduating from Cornell in 1996 to attend Loyola University Chicago law school.  After law school she spent 23 years as a litigator at Baker McKenzie, leaving two years ago to join Venable LLP’s new Chicago office.  Throughout her career, Erin has handled complex litigation in federal and state courts and in arbitrations throughout the country, focusing her practice on product liability and related commercial litigation and product safety regulatory work.  At Venable, she helps lead the consumer product industry group and is a trusted advisor to her clients. Erin also helps lead Venable’s national pro bono practice, handling her own pro bono cases in the areas of elder law and special education, and assists the independent Venable Foundation make grants to Chicago-based nonprofits.

A former college basketball player and marathoner, Erin still enjoys the occasional basketball game and long distance run, but now spends most of her time skiing or walking her two Boston Terriers along Lake Michigan. Her family enjoys traveling and exploring our national parks.

The Rev. Canon C. John Thompson-Quartey (JTQ) is the Director of the Episcopal Anglican Studies Program and Professor in the Practice of Church Leadership at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. Prior to this assignment, he served for nine years as Canon for Ministry Development and Congregational Vitality in the diocese of Atlanta. He was the rector of St. Mary’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey from 2008 until 2014. Prior to that, he was Chaplain for Pastoral Care and Director of the Community Outreach Program at St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH from 1999 to 2005. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Rutgers University, NJ and a Master of Divinity from the General Theological Seminary, NY. He is married to Jerlyn (Jeri), and they have three adult daughters.