The Rev. Canon Gail Avery, M.Div.
Diocese of New Hampshire
Gail has dedicated her ministry to crossing cultural, religious and economic barriers, expanding parish reach while amplifying voices of the vulnerable. She chairs the Angola Committee – a 20-year partnership between the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire and the Mothers & Union of Saint Andre Parish in Ondjiva – serves as the diocese’s Global Mission Advocate, and leads the newly formed Global Mission Committee. She earned her M.Div. at the Episcopal Divinity School, specializing in Anglican, Global, and Ecumenical Studies, and was recognized by the Boston Theological Institute for excellence in International Mission and Ecumenical Engagement. Her experience includes seven years as a maritime chaplain supporting seafarers far from home visiting New England’s ports, serving three New Hampshire parishes, and working on the bishop’s staff as canon for transition and community engagement. Recently retired, Gail continues to champion global ministries. By working both inside and outside the institutional church, Gail has developed a deep understanding of, and love for, what the church is becoming. She models a “coming alongside” approach that she believes is essential to all
successful ministries – a collaborative perspective she is eager to bring to the GEMN board.
The Rev. Yvonne Clarke, International Associate Member
Diocese of Southwark, Church of England
“I have served in ministry for over 35 years, beginning as a parochial evangelist and later moving into ordained ministry, first as a deaconess. I was the first Black woman to be ordained deacon in the Church of England and one of the first women to be ordained priest. My ministry has had both international and local reach. Originally from Jamaica, I am a mother of three. I have served as an incumbent (rector) and on diocesan committees, Bishop’s Council, and deanery and diocesan synods. I was one of the Episcopal area advisers for ordination discernment, was an Episcopal area mission team member, member of the diocesan race relations board, school governor and personnel and safe-church recruiter. I am a former corporate board member for small businesses. I value being part of GEMN, whose strong foundation in mission helps make a global difference. I joined GEMN because of its potential to extend mission into places where the love of Jesus Christ is shared through loving action. I am passionate about gathering, inspiring and equipping God’s people to build bridges, nurture inclusive communities, value one another and recognise each person’s worth. I practise Tai Chi, yoga and Pilates, play badminton, and enjoy going to the gym. I love meeting people from diverse backgrounds and bring a warm, positive personality to all I do.”
The Rev. Meredith Crigler, D.Min.
Diocese of Texas
Meredith is chair of the Diocese of Texas Global Partnerships in Mission Board, which encourages and supports global partnerships within the diocese including companion relationships with Southern Malawi, Costa Rica, and North Dakota. She is the diocese’s Global Mission Advocate. Ordained in the Diocese of Texas in 2010, she is rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Baytown, which is growing partnerships with the home churches of its parishioners from Caribbean islands. Meredith graduated with majors in both neuroscience and religious studies from Claremont McKenna College in Southern California, has an M.Div. from Virginia Theological Seminary, and a DMin in preaching program from Bexley Seabury. Born into a Navy family, she has traveled extensively across the United States and twenty-four countries/territories, including seasons as a student researcher in tropical ecology in Costa Rica, as a guest teacher in Antoa Village, outside of Kumasi, Ghana, and as a guest lecturer at Msalato Theological College in Dodoma, Tanzania. In addition to her focus on God’s mission globally and in the parish, she is a mentor and instructor with Backstory Preaching and a certified Daring Way and Dare to Lead Facilitator.
Mr. William Kunkle, Treasurer
Diocese of Southwest Florida
Bill is executive director of the Province IX Development Group (PDG), which assists dioceses in Province IX and beyond to develop sustainable programs and diocesan self-sufficiency. During his decades as a mission leader Bill has organized, led and/or facilitated more than 500 short-term mission teams. He served as executive director of the Dominican Development Group, which carries out a wide range of mission work, program support, development and self-sustainability initiatives with the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic. His work included dozens of short-term mission trips each year from dioceses throughout the Episcopal Church and from other denominations. Bill served as an appointed missionary to the Diocese of the Dominican Republic through the DFMS and then as an Episcopal Volunteer in Mission (EVIM). Bill has long served on the Companion Diocese Committee of the Diocese of Southwest Florida. He studied at the University of Cincinnati. He is the founder and president of Kunkle Contracting, Inc., a Florida-certified construction firm based in Tampa.
The Rev. Sister Sarah Margaret, SSM, M.Div., Secretary
Society of St. Margaret and Diocese of Massachusetts
Sr. Sarah is a Sister of St. Margaret, a monastic order for women in the Episcopal Church based in Duxbury, Massachusetts. She was professed in 2003 and has served at convents in Roxbury, Massachusetts (2000-2011); Port-au-Prince, Haiti (2011-2013); and Duxbury (2013-present). As one of the sisters in Haiti, she participated in work at Foyer Notre Dame and Holy Trinity Cathedral, headed the altar linen project, and taught spirituality and English at the Episcopal Seminary of Haiti, serving on its board for a year as secretary. A graduate of the Episcopal Divinity School, Sr. Sarah was ordained to the priesthood in 2011, serving her first year of ordained ministry at St. Luke’s-San Lucas in Chelsea, Massachusetts. After returning from Haiti, she spent two years coordinating the Diocese of Massachusetts’ relationship with the Diocese of Tanga, Tanzania. She holds a B.A. in French from Yale University and an M.A.T. in French from Vanderbilt University. Sr. Sarah spent ten years teaching French and English as a second language at Chatham Hall, an Episcopal girls’ school in Virginia, before entering the community.
The Rev. Robin Newman, B.S.
Diocese of New York
Robin Newman serves as deacon of St. Luke’s Church in the Bronx, New York. As a longterm mission partner with the Diocese of Central Tanganyika (DCT) in Tanzania, she has been involved in projects aligned with the vision and priorities of the local bishop. These include food security, climate change, education and deaf ministry. From 2007 until its sunset in 2015, Robin was active in the Carpenter’s Kids Program, an initiative between DCT and the Diocese of New York that educated more than 7,000 vulnerable children, many of whom were HIV/AIDS orphans. Robin studied Swahili at Columbia University and is currently attending sign language classes at St. Ann’s Church for the Deaf in New York. She is a member of the New York Global Mission Commission, SDG Grant Committee, Disabilities Concerns Committee, and co-chairs the Tanzania Task Force. She serves as EDNY’s Global Mission Advocate and was a 2024 delegate of the Episcopal Church to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. After graduating from Brooklyn College with majors in mathematics and computer science, Robin worked on Wall Street as a programmer and systems analyst. For many years, she worked in educational technology in several schools in the New York City area.
The Rev. Paul Rajan, D.Min., Vice President
Standing Commission on World Mission, Diocese of Newark & InterChristian Initiatives
Paul is Vicar of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Wantage in the Diocese of Newark, where he chairs the newly formed Global Mission Commission and is the Global Mission Advocate. He is a member of the Standing Commission on World Mission. Originally from Tirunelveli Diocese in the Church of South India, Paul was a cross-cultural missionary in the Indian state of Karnataka, where he planted more than 50 congregations. In New Zealand he worked among migrant communities of Samoans, Tongans, Fijians, Fijian Indians, Sri Lankans, Ghanaians, Nigerians and the Asian and Indian diaspora communities under the umbrella of Global Peace Mission, Ethnic Voice New Zealand, and the New Zealand government. In the USA he has pioneered InterChristian Initiatives, a mission to reach and teach. In addition to a B.Th. degree, Paul holds an M.A. from Madurai University, India, an M.Div. from Interfaith Seminary in New York, where he served as dean of students, and a D.Min. in chaplaincy from Liberty University. He is a member of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education and serves on the executive committee of the Association of Episcopal Chaplains.
The Rev. Karla Reyes
Diocese of Honduras
“I was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where I was raised by my parents alongside three sisters and a brother. I have been married for 31 years, and I have a son. My educational journey began in an evangelical elementary school and continued at a Roman Catholic high school, where I also received training in basic accounting. At eighteen, I began working in accounting and rural development before earning a law degree, upon which I served as a legal advisor for the Army and practiced law privately. Responding to God’s call, I pursued theological studies, and for over twelve years, I served as a lay pastor in several congregations in the deanery in Tegucigalpa. I completed leadership and ministry formation through Cursillo, Daughters of the King, and seminars in pastoral ministry, liturgy, human rights, leadership, disaster response and social outreach. I have represented the Episcopal Church at national and international events. I was ordained deacon in 2014 and priest in 2018. From 2009 I served as vice chancellor, and since 2016 as chancellor of the diocese. I currently serve as chaplain at El Hogar de Amor y Esperanza, vicar of two rural churches, deanery dean and co-rector of Saint Mary’s Episcopal School.”
The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe, D.D.
Diocese of Iowa
Alan served as the mission-activist Bishop of Iowa from 2002 to 2021. He was born and raised in Bradford, England, in a parish committed to global mission. After studying theology at Oxford, he spent two graduate years at the Romanian Orthodox Institute, where he also worked clandestinely for human rights. He was confirmed and became a lay reader in the Anglican Church in Bucuresti. In the USA Alan trained missionaries for the Slavic Gospel Assn. in Wheaton, Illinois, and directed a research agency, Keston USA, which supported religious freedom in communist nations. As a parish priest in Los Angeles he supported work in the Middle East and South Africa. In Iowa, Alan oversaw companionships with the dioceses of Swaziland (Southern Africa), Brechin (Scotland), and Nzara (South Sudan), and he traveled to each diocese multiple times.
Ms. Dulce Maday Cueva Schuyler
Diocese of Texas and Costa Rica
“I am a lay minister in the Diocese of Costa Rica with a passion for global mission, relationship-building, and cross-cultural ministry. Raised in the Episcopal Church in Costa Rica, I spent 14 years in the Diocese of Texas, where I was an active member of Trinity Church, The Woodlands, and supported homeless families, immigrant communities, and disaster recovery efforts. Since 2016, I have been building partnerships between churches in Costa Rica and Texas. I helped establish the partnership between Trinity Church, The Woodlands, and All Saints Church in Costa Rica and have coordinated youth pilgrimages, mission teams, leadership visits, and exploratory trips focused on mutual learning and long-term relationships. Through the Diocese of Texas’s Global Partnerships in Mission, I have helped organize youth retreats, facilitated post-pandemic visits, and supported opportunities to discern God’s mission together. After Hurricane Harvey in 2017, I served for five years with Abundant Harvest’s food truck ministry, working primarily with Hispanic and Latino families. In 2023, my family returned to Costa Rica, where I serve under the guidance of Bishop Orlando Gómez. I am discerning a call to the diaconate and remain committed to strengthening connections across cultures, supporting local communities, and participating in God’s mission both locally and globally.”
The Rev. Nancy D. Searby, Ph.D., President
Diocese of Virginia
President of GEMN, Nancy Searby serves as deacon at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Great Falls, Virginia, where she engages in relationships with Diocese of Ezo, South Sudan and with Sherborne Deanery Churches-Ezo Link, Diocese of Salisbury, England, and supports the Bishop of Ezo’s priorities in secondary education and peace-building. As a Global Mission Advocate for the Diocese of Virginia, she deepens awareness of, prayer for, knowledge of good practices for engagement in global mission across the Anglican Communion. As the Episcopal Relief & Development Ministry Partner for the diocese, she shares about work in the priority areas of early childhood development, women and girls, climate resilience, and disaster response. In the past, Nancy supported primary school education through the Carpenter’s Kids program with the Diocese of Central Tanganyika, Tanzania. She worked for 36 years at the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) and at the time of her retirement in May 2025 she was program manager for NASA’s Earth Science Applied Sciences Capacity. Building Program at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. She championed applying Earth science data to decisions that improve society. Her program built individual and institutional capacity both domestically and globally to improve disaster resilience, biodiversity and ecosystem sustainability, water resources management, public health surveillance, food security and sustainable agriculture. Nancy holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Ph.D. from Stanford.
The Rev. Canon Helen Van Koevering, D.Min.
Diocese of Lexington
Helen spent 26 years as a missionary in the Diocese of Niassa, Mozambique, where she served at various times as a community development officer, women’s desk officer, diocesan secretary, parish priest and director of ministry, and is an honorary canon. A British citizen, Helen is rector of St. Raphael’s Church in Lexington, Kentucky. She served as a missionary in Zimbabwe, as World Church Officer for Bishop Rowan Williams and the Diocese of Monmouth, Wales, and as General Secretary of the Mozambique and Angola Anglican Association. Helen is a member of GEMN’s Mission Formation Program Team. She holds a B.A. from Durham University, M.Phil. from Bristol University, and D.Min. from Virginia Seminary. She speaks Portuguese and Shona and has background in French and German. She is the author of Dancing Their Dreams: A Theological Reflection on the Lives of Anglican Women on the Lakeshore of the Diocese of Niassa, Mozambique. She and her husband Mark, the Bishop of Lexington, have three grown children.
The Rev. Allan Wallace, M.Div.
Diocese of Indianapolis
Allan serves as chair of the Global Missions Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis and is passionate about building relationships across cultures, languages and communities. He serves as rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in New Albany, Indiana, and priest-in-charge of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Jeffersonville, Indiana. A four-time participant in the GEMN Missio Conference and Mission Formation Program, Allan’s global mission work has fostered partnerships with the Anglican Diocese of Brasília and Haiti, particularly the region of Mithon. He has participated in and coordinated diocesan pilgrimages focused on relationship-building, including a recent Spanish language and cultural immersion pilgrimage to Cuernavaca, Mexico. Before ordained ministry, Allan served more than 20 years as a paramedic and earned a degree in hospital administration. He later received his M.Div. from Christian Theological Seminary and completed Anglican Studies through Bexley Seabury. Allan is committed to creating spaces of mutual companionship and collaboration so that the love of Christ may be shared among all people, in all places, and under all circumstances.