Board of Directors and Program Advisory Group
"United Methodist Women Announces 2020-2024 Board, Program Advisory Group"
Since General Conference’s action in May 2012, United Methodist Women is organized as an independent agency of The United Methodist Church with a modified board structure to meet the changing needs of women organized for mission.
The board now consists of 25 members (from 50) and is responsible for managing the organization’s program policies, finances, property and its top executive staff person. Twenty members were elected through jurisdictional channels and five through a nominations process to ensure diversity of age, race, language, physical ability and working status.
The leadership structure also includes the Program Advisory Group, which provides representation from each of the Annual Conferences and from 6 other general agencies, regional missionaries, deaconesses and home missioners and the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women. This Group gives voice from the membership directly into the working programs and initiatives of the organization and provides new connection across the denomination.
Program Advisory Group nominees include:
- United Methodist Women’s 25-member board of directors.
- The five United Methodist Women jurisdiction presidents.
- A representative from each conference not already represented on the 25-member board.
- Representatives of the Deaconesses and Home Missioner community
- Regional Missionaries, with voice but no vote.
The Program Advisory Group will also include representatives from other groups that will be named by those groups:
- Representatives from the board of General Board of Global Ministries.
- Representatives from five other United Methodist agencies.
- Representatives of women’s organizations related to the World Methodist Council.
Designed to focus on programmatic aspects of United Methodist Women, the Program Advisory Group gives voice from the membership directly into the working programs and initiatives of the organization and to the membership as members communicate with their conferences strengthening the connections between local women and their national policymaking body.
2020-2024 Board of Directors
The 25 persons elected as leaders for the 2020-2024 United Methodist Women Board of Directors are:
Five officers:
President: Ainise Isama'u | California Pacific Conference
Vice President: Cynthia Rives | North Texas Conference
Secretary: Bethany Amey Sutton | Greater New Jersey Conference
Chair of Governance Committee: Daryl Junes Joe | New Mexico Conference
Chair of Finance Committee: Heidi J. Careaga | Wisconsin Conference
Directors elected at the Jurisdiction meetings:
North Central Jurisdiction
Ruby Anderson | Michigan Conference
Dawn Armstrong | Dakotas Conference
Krishna Heyward | Indiana Conference
Roxie Hutsell | West Ohio Conference
Alternates
Lynn Calvert | Iowa Conference
Camille McCaskill | Illinois Great Rivers
Northeast Jurisdiction
Colleen F. Cates | Baltimore-Washington Conference
Valerie Clark | Upper New York Conference
Hazel McIntosh | New York Conference
Denise-Nicole Stone | Western Pennsylvania Conference
Alternates
Yvonne Bouknight | Greater New Jersey Conference
Denise Snyder | Peninsula Delaware Conference
South Central Jurisdiction
Darlene R. Alfred | Central Texas Conference
Daryl Junes Joe | New Mexico Conference
Cynthia Rives | North Texas Conference
Louise Niemann | Great Plains Conference
Alternates
Lynn Baker | Arkansas Conference
Cynthia Johnson | Rio Texas Conference
Southeastern Jurisdiction
Haejin Ban | North Georgia Conference
Deloris Carhee | North Georgia Conference
Betty Helms | Alabama-West Florida Conference
Caroline Martin | Tennessee Conference
Melba McCallum | North Carolina Conference
Debra Payne | North Alabama Conference
Alternates
Kim Eller | Western North Carolina Conference
Tonya Lanier | Western North Carolina Conference
Western Jurisdiction
Estella Wallace | Pacific Northwest Conference
Jana Jones | Mountain Sky Conference
Alternates
Roselyn Moy Collins | Oregon-Idaho Conference
Mele Faiva Manu-Blagojevich | California-Pacific Conference
The five additional board members are:
Heidi J. Careaga | Wisconsin Conference
Ainise Isama’u | California Pacific Conference
Bethany Amey Sutton | Greater New Jersey Conference
Pearl Thomas | Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference
Magdala Edmond | Florida Conference
2020-2024 Program Advisory Group
Board of Directors: (25 elected)
Listed at left
North Central Jurisdiction
Marchelle Phelps | Michigan Conference | Jurisdiction President
Rita Carter | Iowa Conference
Kim Harris | Minnesota Conference
Sandra Hodge | East Ohio Conference
Rita L. Smith | Northern Illinois Conference
Alice Staley | Illinois Great River Conference
Northeastern Jurisdiction
Mikele Haskins-Delmore | Baltimore-Washington Conference | Jurisdiction President
Roberta Bragan | New England Conference
Inez Freeman | Peninsula-Delaware Conference
Janet Mills | Eastern Pennsylvania Conference
Judy Raines | West Virginia Conference
Phyllis Terwilliger | Susquehanna Conference
South Central Jurisdiction
Ellen Lipsey | New Mexico Conference | Jurisdiction President
Stephenae Carey | Louisiana Conference
Madison Bishop | Central Texas Conference
Olhivia Abigail Gutierrez | Rio Texas Conference
Diana Hendricks | Arkansas Conference
Jerrie Lindsey | Oklahoma Conference
Paulette Moore-Hall | Texas Conference
Katie Willis | Missouri Conference
Pam Zwickey | Northwest Texas Conference
Southeastern Jurisdiction
Sue Owens | South Carolina Conference | Jurisdiction President
Sara Bankhead | South Georgia Conference
Beth Brown | Memphis Conference
Lynice Broyles | Holston Conference
Karen McElfish | Virginia Conference
Oneida McIntosh | Red Bird Missionary
Jennifer Noel | Florida Conference
Samoria Jacquel Session | South Carolina Conference
Mary Simpson | Mississippi Conference
Sherry Sink | Western North Carolina
Charlotte Smith | Kentucky Conference
Western Jurisdiction
Bonita Miller | Alaska Conference | Jurisdiction President
Sherri Hill | Mountain Sky Conference
Dixie Jacky | Oregon-Idaho Conference
Jennifer Miller | Alaska Conference
Marilyn Reid | Pacific Northwest Conference
Yuni Rueda Barrera | Oregon-Idaho Conference
Kathy Lynne Schock | Desert Southwest Conference
Marlene Ward | California-Nevada Conference
Regional Missionaries
Catherine Akale | Cameroon
Emma Cantor | Asia and the Pacific Islands
Hikari Chang | Japan
Grace Musuka | Central Africa
Finda Quiwa | Sub-Saharan Africa
Serna Samuel | Caribbean
Elmira Sellu | West Africa Central and East Africa Annual Conferences
Andrea Reily Rocha Soares | Latin America
Deaconess & Home Missioner Representatives:
- Cindy Johnson
- Steve Taylor
Boards and Agencies Representatives:
- Division on Ministries with Young People: Ciere Fremon Turner II
- General Board Church and Society: TBA
- General Board Global Ministries: Mary Newman
- General Board Global Ministries: Kelly Murray-Norman
- General Board Global Ministries: Christy Bulus Yusuf
- General Board Higher Education and Ministry: Cynthia Bond Hopson
- General Board of Discipleship: TBA
- General Commission Religion and Race: TBA
- General Commission Status and Role of Women: Eunice Vega-Perez
- World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women: Alison Judd
- World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women - North America: Sandra Gadson