Nominating committee report
According to our bylaws, our nominating committee must report 30 days prior to our Annual meeting. Candidates shown below.
If there are any additional nominations, they will be made from the floor during the annual meeting on February 8th. Bios and pictures will be posted next week.
Each year, at the Annual Meeting, the Parish elects three Vestry members to serve three-year terms. The Annual Meeting also elects a Senior Warden and a Junior Warden, who both serve as voting members of the Vestry. Finally, the Parish also elects lay Delegates to our Diocese’s Convention, which is traditionally the last weekend in January. Additionally, the Vestry appoints other Parish officers annually, including positions such as Treasurer and Clerk.
Vestry members are leaders within the Parish community—modeling the values of the congregation, participating actively in Parish life, and staying engaged with members to remain aware of emerging needs and concerns. The Vestry is also responsible for planning for the future of the Parish and developing the policies, procedures, and practices that support its mission.
The Vestry serves as the governing board of the Parish. Meeting monthly under the leadership of the Rector, it functions as the Parish’s primary policy-making body. Acting on behalf of the congregation, the Vestry oversees corporate matters such as finances, the selection of the Rector, and the overall governance and support of Parish ministries.
The Nominating Committee
Travis Beaty, Jim Brooks, Lea Crusey, Caitlin Frazier, Martha Huizenga, Jan Lipscomb, Meg Platt, Todd Thorpe, and Michele Morgan
Positions and candidates
Senior Warden (Two-year term)
One candidate: Alix Pereira
My name is Alix Pereira and am honored am honored to be accepted as a candidate for Senior Warden. My wife Brittany and I have been members for close to fifteen years and are proud parents of Maggie (12) and Ella (6). Just prior to the pandemic I completed a 3 year term on our Vestry, during which I served on the Finance committee, and co-managed, then managed the annual pledge campaign drive for several years. I’ve also spent several years supporting the former Sunday Suppers program that fed District residents.
I was raised in NY and graduated law school in the District. After a brief sojourn practicing law in the Mid-West, I’ve spent the past 15 years serving the Federal and District governments in the Health Policy space. I currently serve the District as Chief Information Officer for the Washington DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority. In this role I support all IT functions as we strive to achieve universal health insurance coverage for all District residents and its employers. This is a lofty goal; but one that we get closer to achieving each day in spite of budget Federal and local challenges. I hope to leverage my experiences to support Michele, the Vestry, and our community.
Junior Warden (One-year term)
One candidate: Martha Huizenga
My name is Martha Huizenga, and I have lived on Capitol Hill for 25 years with my husband, Matt Wade. Matt and I own a small business called DC Access, a wireless Internet service provider serving residents and small businesses on Capitol Hill and Adams Morgan. Owning a small business here on the Hill has utilized my organizational skills and helped me become very familiar with the Capitol Hill neighborhood and our neighbors.
As a cradle Episcopalian, I enjoy the community of St. Mark’s, meeting new people, and find it easy to form more and deeper connections with the people I have met. I find this important in a spiritual community and in my life. I attend the 5 pm service and like the quiet contemplation mixed with the conventional Episcopalian prayers. At the 5 pm service, I participate as a verger, which gives me the opportunity to greet new members and participate in shaping the service and helping it grow.
Here at St Mark’s, I have been on the vestry from 2014 – 2017, served as Treasurer from 2017 – 2018, served as the Manciple, and I’m currently the Junior Warden. I enjoy taking care of the building and making sure things are running smoothly. Our building is a valuable asset — both practically and spiritually! I hope it can continue to be an asset to both the St Mark’s community and the Capitol Hill community at large
Diocesan Delegate (Three-year term)
One candidate: Randy Marks
A St. Mark’s member since 1993, I have been Vestry Clerk for two years, and the Vestry recently appointed me a Delegate to the upcoming Diocesan Convention. Previously, I served as Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, and Worship Committee Co-Sacristan (leader). I also taught Sunday School, took several mission trips to Honduras, and have done a lot of liturgy planning and prayer writing. My primary Diocesan role has been to serve on the Committee on Congregational Stewardship and Diocesan Support, helping to discern a new way of having St Mark’s and other congregations support our Diocese. I wish to serve as a Delegate to continue that work. I was a prime drafter of a resolution asking the church to remove antisemitic language from our Holy Week liturgy, which our Convention approved in 2022. I also served several times as Convention volunteer and on our Diocese’s former Interfaith and Ecumenical Commission.
Vestry (Three-year terms)
Three candidates for three positions:
- Laura Gladstone
- Randy Marks
- Bo Ranney
Laura Gladstone
Since I moved to DC in 2019, the St. Mark’s community has been a vital part of my spiritual and social life. I joined the Chancel Choir almost immediately (just in time for the pandemic shutdown and virtual choir!) and I have found great joy and fellowship in our music ministry. My training is as an experimental physicist in international scientific collaborations, and my work in DC has been providing technical guidance for the Pentagon and US Senate. I believe in the value of group work and the importance of clear, honest communication to ensure institutional health and progress.
Since Fall 2024 I have had the honor of serving as choir president, an experience that has allowed me to delve deeper into the leadership and organizational needs of our parish life. I had the pleasure of traveling to England with the choir last summer. Since September, while Jeff has been on sabbatical from conducting us, I have helped Mike our interim director of music with contacting and getting to know our group and our many customs.
I’m running for Vestry because I feel called to give back to this community that has been so welcoming and spiritually nourishing to me. It would be a privilege to serve you and contribute to the bright future of our parish.
Randy Marks
I think our greatest strength are you, our members, and, if you elect me, one focus will be on encouraging new and less-involved members to share in our work. For example, I think we need more emphasis on succession planning, recruiting future leaders well before current leaders are ready to go, so the future leaders can learn the role by helping the current leaders (as I did by finding an excellent successor as Clerk [and having him serve as our Assistant Clerk] and as our Membership Committee is doing). Serving our community has enriched my life and I want that for all of us. I also think our community would benefit from a greater sense of shared mission, such as being a prophetic voice for the value of people being part of faith communities.
A St. Mark’s member since 1993, I have been Vestry Clerk for two years and before that served as Treasurer for two years and Assistant Treasurer for a year. I think I have been to every regular Vestry meeting for those five years. Other service has included being a Delegate to the upcoming Diocesan Convention, Personnel Committee, Membership Committee, Navajoland Committee, Worship Committee Co-Sacristan (leader) for Paul Abernathy’s first two years here, Sunday School teaching, several mission trips to Honduras, and a lot of liturgy planning and prayer writing. For over three decades, I was a Federal Trade Commission attorney enforcing antitrust laws. My wonderful (retired) non-St. Mark’s life includes travel and service to the Mankind Project (which happily also involves travel).
Bo Ranney
I am honored and excited to be a candidate for the Vestry.
My background: I am currently a lawyer in the enforcement section of the FDIC where I help enforce consumer protection laws and investigate possible violations of banking laws. I previously held a similar role at another federal agency and worked for several years at a law firm as outside counsel for financial institutions. Before that I was a professional musical theater actor, before that I was a Surface Warfare Officer in the Navy with two deployments to the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf onboard an amphibious assault ship and a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and before that I sang in the youth choir and ran the soundboard at a United Methodist Church in Marietta, Georgia. I left that church as a young adult and didn’t have a church home for several decades until we found St. Mark’s.
My family has found a spiritual and social community here that has fueled and nurtured us in many ways. In recent years, we have found multiple ways to plug into St. Mark’s to worship and practice loving our neighbors, including our kids performing in the Treble and Youth choirs, and this year I’ve enjoyed being an occasional substitute teacher and guest attendee in the Catechesis III Sunday school class. Following prayer and reflection, I am excited to seek your vote for me to join the Vestry so I can step up in that role to further serve you all and our larger community.