Board & Staff >2021 Election >Nominees

Nominees - 2021 Board Election

Electing 3 Directors
The four nominees are listed below in alphabetical order. Those elected will serve a 3-year term. ​
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Roxanne Klingensmith (Diocese of Montana)
​Roxy was ordained as a deacon in 1999.  Currently, she is a member of the Fund of the Diaconate Board of Directors, a position she has held since 2019 when she was elected to complete a two-year unexpired term. During her tenure, she has served on the New Grants, History and Archives, Communications and Emergency Grant Fund Committees. She has particularly found being on the Emergency Grant Fund Committee to be a most rewarding experience!
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“Assisting deacons from a number of dioceses who have suffered loss of income due to consequences of the Covid 19 pandemic, has given me a profound appreciation of just how the Fund “has risen to the occasion” to provide necessary financial assistance to deacons so that they might survive in this most difficult of times.” Roxy would very much like to continue her service on the Fund’s Board! She knows how the Fund works, the extent of its service to deacons in need and is committed/dedicated to seeing the Fund remain in place for years to come. In her words:  “The Fund’s very existence reminds us all that we are a community bound together in our love for Jesus and our respect for our various ministries carried out in His Name—we are called to love one another, in life’s many circumstances, and the Fund inspires us to do just that.”
Pamela M. Nesbit (Diocese of Pennsylvania)
After ten years of service, The Ven. Dr. Pamela M. Nesbit retired as Archdeacon of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, and was given the title Archdeacon Emerita.  As Archdeacon she recruited and trained new deacons, and deployed and provided pastoral care to all deacons in the diocese. She has been ordained for twenty-five years. Archdeacon Nesbit retired from the practice of clinical psychology after 40 years of working with people suffering from the effects of childhood sexual abuse.  She served as a board member, and then President of the Association for Episcopal Deacons from 2011 to 2013.  She is a long time board member and current Vice President of the Fund for the Diaconate, which offers financial aid to deacons in need throughout The Episcopal Church.
Nina Pickerrell (Diocese of California)
I hope and pray you are emerging from one of our most difficult 15 months.  Back in March 2020, I scheduled bi-monthly Zoom calls with deacons of the Diocese of California.  This included active, retired, transitional deacons, as well students attending the School for Deacons.  We continue to address the pastoral needs of one another; ministries, retirement, death, medical disabilities, isolation, depression, housing and financial needs.  We have increased our membership with AED and CPF.  As a senior staff member of the Diocese of California, Bishop Marc and I meet once a month and stay in communication on a weekly basis. 

I am the owner and operator of Bayview Mission, and with 5 volunteers we expanded our ministries to serve the growing needs of our Bayview/Hunters Point neighborhood in San Francisco.  Bayview Mission serves 200 children along with their families and 45 seniors. We also serve those on our SF streets and 15 different agencies. 
 
As a member of the diocesan Resolution Committee, I had the honor to assist the Rev. Jennifer Nelson with her 2 resolutions: Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act and Anti-Racism & Racial Reconciliation Training for the House of Deputies.   Both Resolutions passed and I now serve as a member of the Healing the Racial Divide Committee.  I assisted Ms. Jeanette Dinwiddie-Moore with her resolution - Celebration of Juneteenth as a Diocesan Feast Day and Holiday.  
 
I have a quarter time position with the State of California, DAS, working with disabled seniors in San Francisco.   I continue to serve at Grace Cathedral after my retirement of 27 years.  I am the altar guild and “go to person” deacon. I also assist with pastoral calls, funerals, and the needs of seniors in San Francisco.
John F. Ray (Diocese of Atlanta)
I am grateful beyond words to those deacons who have gone before me whose work and sacrifice are examples for me. Many of them have labored without fanfare for many years, laying the foundation for where our order is today, and we must be of service to them in their time of need. I am also passionate about building the numbers of deacons who are younger and are earlier in their working years.

I was ordained in 2018 and I am currently assigned to Holy Comforter Episcopal Church in Atlanta. A mission parish of our Diocese, approximately two-thirds of our congregants are marginalized by both poverty and a mental health diagnosis. The Friendship Center, our affiliated 501c3, operates day programs throughout the week, including greenhouse and gardening, art, and woodworking, and wellness and recovery programming in conjunction with organizations such as NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness).

I’m currently working in conjunction with officials at Buford State Prison to start a gardening program for which The Friendship Center would act as a partner and supporter. Additionally, I am assisting Archdeacon Janet Tidwell in the formation program for the next class of deacons in our Diocese. I have also been active making my own visits and organizing groups to visit detainees at Stewart Detention Center, a privately-owned and operated immigration prison in Lumpkin, Georgia.

I’m self-employed through two businesses, a business-focused podcast production and broadcast operation with studios in the Atlanta area, Nashville, and the Twin Cities, as well as a small business advisory firm. I currently serve on the Executive Committee and the Board of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce. My past board experience includes Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis and the Alpharetta Business Association. My past employment experience includes Head of Trust Investments for National Bank of Commerce (acquired by SunTrust) and Relationship Manager in the Commercial and Investment Bank of J.P. Morgan.
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