As a Washington, D.C. native, the National Cathedral was my first spiritual home. Although I have lived in the Bay Area since 1988, I didn’t find Grace until I brought my then 5-year-old son to a Christmas Pageant. We were both embraced by the children’s program. Teaching Godly Play has connected me back to my Episcopal roots and an amazing community. I am eager to get more involved in Grace’s service projects. I am a writer, enjoy hiking, yoga, and meditation.

I have been a member of Grace Cathedral since moving to San Francisco in 2017 and have been fortunate to serve on the altar guild (4 years) and the Stewardship committee (2 years). I am a trained pediatric neuro-oncologist and the Executive Vice President of Clinical Development at Nurix Therapeutics in San Francisco where I develop new cancer therapies. While originally from a small town in Texas, the Episcopal Church has been a guide and home for me since I lived in New York City and subsequently in Los Angeles and Phoenix.

In the Episcopal Church, I have served as acolyte, lector, thurifer, verger, and member of the Congregation Council (at St. John’s Pro-Cathedral in Los Angeles).  These experiences and those of Grace over the last couple of years have made me acutely aware of my need for Church in my life and for it in the world.  I have been so proud to be a part of the community at Grace, and I would wholeheartedly welcome an opportunity to serve as a Congregation Trustee endeavoring to advocate for and support its mission of service.

I have been a member of Grace for about nine years and enjoy worship, working and meeting up with the other members. Having taken off some participation time, I am now ready to re-engage.

First drawn to the Episcopal Church in high school, I have remained active throughout the years. While in university, I served on the National Church Student Board, founded a dining program for the hungry, and served as the youth leader for the Cathedral for the Diocese of Kansas. My experiences with the mechanics of ministry has served me as a strength in guiding and working with both volunteer organizations and my work career. When not living or working around the globe, Grace Cathedral has been my home church since 1999.

I work for Apple’s Real Estate division and lead their Architecture and Design Group and have worked with the company since 2008. From guiding architecture and programing of several multi-building campuses to collaborating with local designers for community based installations, my responsibility there is broad and impactful. With my enthusiastic and consensus driven approach, I enable our teams to make effective business decisions.

I am honored to be considered to be part of Grace Cathedral Congregation Trustees.

Originally from Upstate New York, I’ve been in the Bay Area since 2013 and have been attending Grace Cathedral since June 2016. At Grace I have been part of the Stewardship committee, congregation council, regathering team and a volunteer for various ministries as needed.

I currently work at SFMOMA as a part of the Visitor Experience Team. Aside from working in the art world, I have enjoyed being an office assistant for an international school, a wine educator in Napa valley and volunteering in animal shelters.
I enjoy reading, writing, painting and being out in nature- hiking, camping and always with a notebook in my pack. My hobbies are expertly supervised by my 1 ½ yr cat, Sophie. Traveling and exploring new places, cultures and cuisines always brings me joy.

My family arrived in San Francisco from the Midwest in 1943, when I was two years old. Soon after, we moved to San Carlos, where I was baptized in a Presbyterian Church at age six. During my childhood, my parents moved several more times, to Atherton, Menlo Park, and then Mountain View.

My parents were not churchgoers, but when I was twelve, I began attending the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, then under the leadership of Dr. Hall. I loved Sunday School as well as Dr. Hall’s sermons and became a believer there.

I was a good student and went east to Smith College, attending their chapel services regularly. I graduated with a degree in Art History in 1963 and worked for an art gallery in New York for several years before returning to California and settling in San Francisco.

In 1967, I met and married my husband, at St. Marks Lutheran Church in the city. We raised our two daughters in the Forest Hill neighborhood, and during this time, we attended the San Francisco Covenant Church, now renamed Dolores Park Church.

After our daughters went east to college, I taught second grade for seventeen years in nearby Daly City, until I retired in 2004.

Due to a dispute at our Covenant Church in 2013, the congregation split, and we left. I immediately began to attend Grace Cathedral and soon was pledging. (My husband is still meeting with a Covenant Church spinoff, which congregates in homes.)

I have always had a heart for the poor and marginalized, so at Grace, I joined the Bayview Mission. (Due to the pandemic, I have temporarily stepped back from volunteering there on Mondays, but still support them financially and should be soon able to resume my weekly work there.)

I am excited to be running for Deanery for my third year in a row! I started as the Official Youth Presence at 16, served as an adult delegate the following year, and returned to the ministry after college. I am currently a postulant for Holy Orders in the middle of my first year of seminary at CDSP. Although I always knew that I wanted to work in churches, Grace Cathedral and its wonderful people inspired me to pursue ordination to the priesthood there. College and the pandemic have prevented me from being present in-person on Sundays for years, but I have stayed involved through summer jobs, small group leadership, online worship, and my ordination process. I deeply value the importance of church governance, particularly Diocesan Convention, and its power to effect change throughout the Diocese and the Episcopal Church as a whole. I hope to continue serving in this role, fostering both local connections and wider change.

After joining the Grace Cathedral congregation in 1999 with my husband, I have served several times as a Deanery delegate, representing the Cathedral in the Annual Convention of the Diocese. Since 2009, I have served as Chancellor (outside general counsel) of the Diocese, advising the Bishop and the Diocese’s senior governing bodies. In that capacity, I serve as the Parliamentarian of the Convention and as chair of the Diocese’s Committee on Canons. I also represent the Diocese as a Deputy to the General Convention of The Episcopal Church, where I am co-chairing the legislative committee on clergy discipline.

At the churchwide level, I have served on legislative and policy committees for safe church policy, the place of women in the church (#MeToo), marriage, canon law, and clergy discipline. I am a partner at the Ragghianti Freitas LLP law firm in San Rafael, representing individuals, businesses, local government agencies, and churches in all phases of litigation, arbitration, and mediation. My practice areas include complex commercial litigation, insurance coverage, and religious and nonprofit organizations. I am admitted to practice law in California, New York, the District of Columbia, all federal courts in California, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Active member of the cathedral congregation since the Great Vigil of 1995. Married to Cathy for 50 years with two married daughters and three grandchildren. Professionally, own and manage a global, retail, travel company (franchise).

Volunteer service and activities within the church and greater community include:

• Past – trustee, Congregation Council, legacy/planned giving, stewardship, Stephen Ministry Leader, EFM graduate and immediate past President of the School for Deacons Board of Trustees.
• Current – Grace Cathedral Deanery Delegate, DioCal alternate deputy to General Convention, Province VIII Chair of Stewardship, Planned Giving and Endowments education cluster for nineteen dioceses in the West/Pacific.
• Outside the church, current member of the Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce/Visitor’s Bureau Board of Directors and Chair of the Civic Affairs program.

If re-elected and as a member of a dedicated team, it will be my privilege to continue representing Grace Cathedral at Diocesan Convention, quarterly meetings at both SF and Contra Costa deaneries and in my long-standing visits to our DioCal parishes, missions and institutions while cultivating new and existing relationships.

I live in San Francisco with my spouse and overly-bonded dog, Max. I am an attorney for the State of California, working in environmental and public utilities law. I was not raised with a religious tradition but was thrilled to find the Episcopal Church as an adult. I joined Grace in 2009, being baptized then at the Easter Vigil. 2020 was quite a first full year to have returned to San Francisco from Sacramento and to have been elected to the Deanery and 2021 was personally very hard as I know it was for so many. But for 2022 I look forward to building connections as we safely return to activities beyond screens and hope to contribute to church governance. I appreciate the opportunity and would be honored to continue to serve.

I’ve happily been a member of Grace Cathedral for the last 3.5 years, and it’s brought great joy and revelation in my life, and I’m so thankful to serve with you. I currently work for a non-profit ministry serving our neighbors in the SOMA district and discerning to be an Episcopal priest.

I have been an active member of Grace Cathedral since 2016 when I arrived in San Francisco from Boston. Immediately, Grace Cathedral felt like my first real church home in many years and I have been nourished spiritually through the fellowship of so many wonderful brothers and sisters at Grace! My spiritual journey began as a Roman Catholic and then was deepened through a Master of Divinity degree at Harvard Divinity School. My current work as a physician-researcher is to eliminate healthcare disparities and ensure health equity for all.

I believe Grace Cathedral has a proven and impressive social justice mission. I currently serve on the Stewardship Committee and the Board of Trustees. I look forward to connecting with the other Diocesan congregati