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 are meeting together this week 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, 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