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Board Members

The United Methodist Church

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Demetrio BeachConference Lay Leader for the Peninsula-DelawareConference, Beach also serves Bethesda United MethodistChurch in Middletown, Del., as the director for Youth andYoung Adult Ministries and Grace United MethodistChurch in Wilmington, Del., as the director of WesleyanFormation. His work in the annual conference includesconnecting churches, implementing the Pen-Del HealthyChurch Initiative, starting new faith communities, andgiving spiritual guidance to laity. Beach serves onGBHEM’s Legislative and Nominating Committees.

David BeckleyPresident of Rust College, one of the 11 historically Blackcolleges supported by the Black College Fund. Beckley isa member of the University Senate and former presidentof NASCUMC, the National Association of Schools andColleges of The United Methodist Church. He earned hisbachelor’s degree at Rust College and prior to his tenurethere was president of Wiley College. Under his tenure, theRust endowment has grown from $13 million to $27 mil-lion. He chairs GBHEM’s Investment Committee andserves on the Executive Committee.

Ted BrownVice President of GBHEM and Chair of the Division ofHigher Education

President of Martin Methodist College. During his 15-yeartenure, enrollment has nearly doubled to more than 1,000students, and a 2010 fund-raising campaign raised$41.6 million. He serves as president of IAMSCU, theInternational Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges,and Universities. He received an undergraduate degree inPhilosophy at West Virginia Wesleyan, an M.Div. anddoctorate at Vanderbilt University, and did post-doctoralwork at Harvard University. Brown is on GBHEM’sExecutive Committee and the Committee on Personneland Policies.

Jennifer Copeland*United Methodist chaplain at Duke University andexecutive director of the Duke Wesley Fellowship. She isan ordained elder in the South Carolina Conference. Sheholds a B.A., M.Div., Ph.D., and a Graduate Certificate inWomen’s Studies, all from Duke University. In 1998, shewas a member of the inaugural class of the Pastor-Theolo-gian Seminars at the Center of Theological Inquiry atPrinceton Theological Seminary. In 2007, she received theAllen J. Burry Award from the United Methodist CampusMinistry Association. She was awarded the James C. BakerGraduate Award six consecutive years. She chairs theLoans and Scholarships Committee and serves on theExecutive Committee.

*Member of GBHEM, 2009–2012

Barry CulbertsonCoordinator of Pastoral Care Services at VanderbiltUniversity Medical Center. Former pastor of Mt. HebronUnited Methodist Church in Greeneville, Tenn,, he hasserved congregations in Virginia and Tennessee. He is anendorsed UM chaplain. He graduated from East TennesseeState University and earned an M.Div. at VanderbiltDivinity School. He is serves on the Endorsing Committee.

DJ del RosarioSenior pastor of Bothell United Methodist Church locatedin a Seattle suburb. An ordained elder in the Pacific North-west Annual Conference, Del Rosario was director ofYoung Adult Ministries, Discernment, and Enlistmentat GBHEM prior to joining the Bothell staff. He alsocurrently serves as executive director of Spark12, a pilotincubator for social justice ministry startups developedand implemented by teams of young adults. He is chair ofrecruitment for the Pacific Northwest Annual ConferenceBoard of Ordained Ministry and served on the personnelteam for the conference. He is a member of the LegislativeCommittee and serves on the Nominating Committee.

Christine DoranExecutive assistant to the bishop, Upper New York AnnualConference. She serves as the executive staff liaison for theUpper New York Board of Ordained Ministry, oversees the$1 million UNY Africa University Scholarship Endow-ment campaign and was a delegate to the 2012 GeneralConference. She is a member of the Legislative Committeeand the Global Education and Ministry Committee.

James (Jim) E. DorffPresident of GBHEM

Resident bishop, Rio Texas Annual Conference. He holds amaster’s in theology from Perkins School of Theology and aB.A. from Oklahoma City University. Dorff serves on the Boardof Trustees of the Texas Methodist Foundation, and the GeneralAssembly of the National Council of Churches. He also serveson the Board of Trustees of several UM-related educationalinstitutions, including Africa University, Southern MethodistUniversity, Southwestern University, Huston-TillotsonUniversity, Lydia Patterson Institute, and the Executive Boardof Perkins School of Theology. He is a member of the ExecutiveCommittee and the Personnel and Policies Committee.

*Member of GBHEM, 2009–2012 3

Beth Downs*Director, Center for Clergy Excellence, Virginia AnnualConference. She is an ordained deacon, and her chargeconference membership is with Reveille United MethodistChurch in Richmond, Va. She holds a B.A. from SalemCollege and earned her M.R.E. degree from Duke DivinitySchool. She was a member of the Board from 2008-2012 anda member of the Commission on Theological Educationfrom 2008-2012 She is vice chair of the Loans and Scholar-ships Committee and serves on the Nominating Committee.

Amy Lyn GearhartSenior pastor, Missouri United Methodist Church inColumbia, on the campus of the University of Missouri.She was member of the 2009-2012 Study of MinistryCommission and a General Conference delegate in 2008and 2012. She earned her B.A. in Religion and Humanitiesfrom Illinois Wesleyan University and an M.Div. at DukeDivinity School. She invites members of the congregationto text questions to her during the worship service, andloves being challenged by the questions, doubts, and newthinking of the student community. She chairs GBHEM’sLegislative Committee.

Grant Hagiya*Resident bishop of the new Greater Northwest Area(Encompassing the Alaska, Oregon-Idaho, and PacificNorthwest Annual Conferences). He is the current chair of the Leadership Table’s Four Focus Area’s “DevelopingGlobal Leaders for a Global Church.” He served on the2009-2012 Ministry Study Commission and will chair theMinistry Study Commission for the 2013-2016 quadrenni-um. He graduated with an Educational Doctorate inOrganizational Leadership from Pepperdine Universityin 2012, and Abingdon will publish a book, LeadershipKaizen, based on his dissertation on the Traits, Qualitiesand Characteristics of Highly Effective UMC Clergy. He chairs the Endorsing Committee.

Kimberly (Kim) Tyree IngramDirector of Ministerial Services and Conference Secretary,Western North Carolina Conference. An ordained deacon,she was co-pastor of Highlands United Methodist Churchprior to joining the conference staff. She served in the roleof interim conference director of youth and young adultsfor one year and has served in her present role for fouryears. Ingram is an avid Gator fan, having graduated fromthe University of Florida with a bachelor of Science inBusiness Administration. She received an M.Div. fromCandler School of Theology at Emory University, andhas served in ministry for 20 years. She chairs theSubcommittee on Audit and Review and is a member ofthe Legislative Committee and the Endorsing Committee.

*Member of GBHEM, 2009–20124

María R. Moreno-Jackson*Administrative assistant, hospitality and reception officerin the office of the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico andScholarships Administrator for the Methodist Church ofPuerto Rico. She is a member of Reverend LeonardoMolinary Laboy Methodist Church in Vieques, PuertoRico, where her husband is the pastor. She studied art andinterior design. She is a member of the Global Educationand Ministry Committee.

Forbes MatongaDirector of Christian Care, a leading Zimbabwean partnerfor the World Food Program and other humanitarianagencies in Harare, Matonga also teaches courses at AfricaUniversity. He served on the Connectional Table for eightyears, and is a member of the Study Committee on theWorldwide Nature of The United Methodist Church. Heis conference secretary for the Zimbabwe West Conference,general secretary of the Africa Central Conference, and aUMC delegate to the World Council of Churches in Brazil.He has been a Central Conference delegate to GeneralConference since 2000. He is a member of the GlobalEducation and Ministry Committee and serves on theExecutive Committee.

Ianther Marie Mills*Vice President of GBHEM and chair of the Division of Ordained Ministry

Superintendent, Washington East District. She is deanof the cabinet in the Baltimore-Washington AnnualConference, where she has served on the Board ofOrdained Ministry for the past eight years. She earned aB.S. in mathematics at Georgetown University, and anM.S. in computer science at the University of NorthCarolina. She holds an M.B.A. from the University ofOklahoma and earned both her M.Div.and D.Min. atWesley Theological Seminary. She is serving her secondquadrennium on GBHEM and serves on the NominatingCommittee and the Executive Committee.

Robin Minthorn*Assistant professor, Educational Leadership and NativeAmerican Studies, the University of New Mexico. Shecompleted her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership andPolicy Studies at Oklahoma State University. She earned amaster’s degree in Human Relations and another in Adultand Higher Education at the University of Oklahoma.She also holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Shechairs the Racial and Ethnic Concerns Committee and is a member of the Subcommittee on Finance.

*Member of GBHEM, 2009–2012 5

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Sergei Nikolaev*President and E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelismat the Russia United Methodist Theological Seminary inMoscow. His doctorate is from Southern Methodist Uni-versity in Dallas. He received the Dempster Fellowshipwhile at SMU. He is a member of the board of theInternational Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges,and Universities, a member of the United MethodistCommission on Faith and Order, and a member of theeditorial board of Methodist Review: A Journal of Wesleyanand Methodist Studies. He was a delegate to the 2008 and2012 General Conferences. He serves as the alternateCentral Conference representative.

Hans Martin Niethammer*Pastor of Boeblingen Circuit, South German AnnualConference, German Central Conference. He studiedtheology in Tübingen and Basel and has a doctorate intheology from Basel University. He is president of theCentral Conference Council on Finance and Administra-tion, and a member of the Board of Ordained Ministryin the Annual and Central Conference. Niethammer isalso a member of the board and executive committee ofthe UMC Reutlingen School of Theology. He serves onthe Committee on Global Education and Ministry and theSubcommittee on Finance.

Tyler SitSecond-year student in the M.Div. program at CandlerSchool of Theology. He is a certified candidate in theMinnesota Annual Conference, and was a Fund forTheological Education Fellow in 2009 and 2011. He isa member of the World Student Christian Federation,North American Region. A Boston University graduate,he earned a B.A. in communications. He ran a campusministry through Marsh Chapel while an undergraduate atBU. Sit is a member of the Racial and Ethnic ConcernsCommittee.

Barrie M. Tritle*Senior pastor, Iowa City First United Methodist Church.He has chaired the Iowa Board of Ordained Ministry since2004 and was a General Conference delegate in 2004, 2008,and 2012. He was a delegate to Jurisdictional Conferencein 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012. He was a member of the2005-2008 Ministry Study Commission. He was a memberof the General Commission on Christian Unity and Inter-religious Concerns from 2005-2008. He was a member ofGBHEM’s Board of Directors from 2009-2012. He chairsthe Personnel and Policies Committee and is a member ofthe Executive Committee and the Nominating Committee.

*Member of GBHEM, 2009–2012

Priscilla Viuya*President, Tarlac State University, Tarlac City, Philippines.She is a member of Tarlac United Methodist Church. Sheis chair of the Board of Trustees, Ecumenical ChristianCollege, and is a facilitator at the Haggai LeadershipInstitute, Maui, Hawaii. She serves on GBHEM’s GlobalEducation and Ministry Committee.

Rachel WrightSecretary of GBHEM

Director of Mission and Vision, Austin District Office ofthe Southwest Texas Annual Conference. She is responsiblefor district initiatives to increase mission field awarenessand address the Four Areas of Focus. In this capacity,Wright co-chaired the launch of Imagine No Malaria to thedenomination. She serves on the conference Committees onNominations and Futures and is on the Unification Imple-mentation Team. A graduate of Bryn Mawr College, shealso received an M.A. from the University of London. She is a member of the Executive Committee, the NominatingCommittee, and the Personnel and Policies Committee.

David Kekumba Yemba*Resident bishop of the Central Congo Episcopal Area.He was a professor and founding dean of the Faculty ofTheology at Africa University. His ecumenical experienceincludes moderator the Faith and Order Commission ofthe World Council of Churches. He currently serves as vicepresident of the All-Africa Conference of Churches. Hehas a license in theology, with distinction, from the CongoFree University at Kisangani, Democratic Republic ofCongo, and a Doctorate in Theology from the Universityof Strasbourg, France. He also chairs the United MethodistFaith and Order Committee and chairs GBHEM’s GlobalEducation and Ministry Committee.

*Member of GBHEM, 2009–2012 7

The United Methodist ChurchPO Box 340007

Nashville, TN 37203-0007

Compiled by the Office of Interpretation November 2013