GBHEM directors organize and prepare for service

Higher Education and Ministry and Global Ministries boards meet in Nashville for organization, orientation and connection.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Higher Education and Ministry and Global Ministries met together October 14-17 for a joint gathering of newly elected board members for both agencies. About a third of each agency’s directors are returning to serve an additional board term, despite the extra four years they served in the previous term because of the COVID-19 pandemic and delay of the 2020 General Conference. The benefit of their experience will ease the transition for new board members.

The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) Board of Directors consists of 23 members. The Council of Bishops assigned Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball, Western Pennsylvania Conference, returning board member, Bishop Kennetha Bishop Kennetha Bigham-Tsai, Illinois Great Rivers and Iowa, and Bishop Rodel M. Acdal, from the Philippines Central Conference, Baguio Episcopal Area, to GBHEM.

To foster interagency connections, two members who have just finished terms as Global Ministries directors were welcomed to the GBHEM board. Likewise, four directors who finished terms with GBHEM will serve as directors with Global Ministries. One director from an African central conference will be appointed by the Council of Bishops.

Committee structures have been modified as the agencies lean into their joint meeting structure. Higher Education and Ministry will have two major program committees, the Education Committee and the Ministry Committee. Several committees will meet jointly for the two agencies: Administrative Matters (which includes financial matters), the Executive/Personnel committee and the Committee on the Elimination of Institutional Racism (CEIR/WIDEA).

The full board of directors accepted the nominations committee report and elected officers. The full board member list is included below. Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball will continue as president for Higher Education and Ministry.

General Secretary Roland Fernandes welcomed new and returning directors and said he looked forward to exploring the wealth of ideas and perspectives they bring to Higher Education and Ministry. “I welcome this fresh quadrennium and connecting with the board members as they build relationships with one another and with staff, missionaries and our partners who help us extend God’s mission in the world. I appreciate the enthusiasm they bring to the task, and I’m thankful for the possibilities we have to create something new to fulfill what God calls us to do.”

Higher Education and Ministry Board Member Listing

Executive Committee

Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball, President

Bishop Kennetha Bigham-Tsai, Vice-President and Chair, Committee on Ministry

Derrick Scott, III, Secretary

Bishop Rodel Acdal, Chair, Education Committee

Carmen Vianese, Chair, Administrative Matters

Lindsey Baynham Freeman, Chair, Personnel and Policies Committee

Heecheon Jeon, Chair, WIDEA Committee (Worldwide Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access)

GBHEM Board of Directors – 2025-2028

Bishop Rodel M. Acdal, Philippines Central Conference, Baguio Episcopal Area

Darlene Alfred, South Central Jurisdiction, Central Texas

Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball, Northeastern Jurisdiction, Western Pennsylvania Episcopal Area

Bishop Kennetha Bigham-Tsai, North Central Jurisdiction, Illinois Great Rivers

Chiyona Bourne, North Central Jurisdiction, Indiana

Jorge Domingues, Western Jurisdiction, California Nevada

Andrew L. Foster, III, Northeastern Jurisdiction, Eastern Pennsylvania

Lindsey Baynham Freeman, Southeastern Jurisdiction, Virginia

Chipeng Kayemb Francois, Congo Central Conference, South Congo

Heecheon Jeon, North Central Jurisdiction, Iowa

Kathy Jewell, South Central Jurisdiction, New Mexico

Sangwoo Kim, Southeastern Jurisdiction, North Carolina

Candace Lewis, Southeastern Jurisdiction, Florida

Marcus Thompson, Southeastern, Mississippi

Jessica Trahan, South Central Jurisdiction, Louisiana

Rebecca Trefz, North Central Jurisdiction, Dakotas

Derrick Scott, Southeastern Jurisdiction, Florida

Virna Solis, Methodist Church of Puerto Rico

Abel Vega, South Central Jurisdiction, Rio Texas

Carmen Vianese, Northeastern Jurisdiction, Upper New York

Christof Voigt, Germany Central Conference, Germany

Alice Williams, Southeastern Jurisdiction, Florida

Pending election, Central Conference