Diocesan Staff

The Rt. Rev. Samuel Rodman

The Rt. Rev. Samuel Rodman was ordained and consecrated as the XII Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina in Duke Chapel on the campus of Duke University in Durham on July 15, 2017. He was elected on March 4, 2017.

Prior to his election, Bishop Rodman served as the Special Projects Officer for the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, a role he took on after spending five years as the diocesan project manager for campaign initiatives, where he engaged congregations, clergy and laity, in collaborative local and global mission through the Together Now campaign, helping to raise $20 million to fund these initiatives. Prior to that, he spent 16 years as the rector of St. Michael’s in Milton, Massachusetts, during which the parish established a seven-year plan that included a capital campaign for a major renovation of the church school building.

Ordained in 1988, Bishop Rodman is a graduate of Bates College and Virginia Theological Seminary. He and his wife of 32 years, Deborah, live in Raleigh. They are the parents of two adult daughters. In his free time, Bishop Rodman enjoys basketball, golf, kayaking, crosswords and creative writing.

The Rt. Rev. Anne Elliott Hodges-Copple

Anne Elliott Hodges-Copple was elected the Diocese's sixth Bishop Suffragan and the first female bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina on January 26, 2013, at the 197th Annual Convention. She was consecrated on June 15, 2013, in Duke Chapel on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Bishop Hodges-Copple grew up in Dallas, Texas, and attended Duke University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in 1979 with a major in public policy. She earned her Master of Divinity from Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, in 1984.

In the years between college and seminary and then seminary and ordination, Hodges-Copple worked as a community organizer in Massachusetts and Appalachia and as a shelter director for victims of domestic violence in North Carolina. She was ordained a deacon in 1987 and a priest in 1988.

Bishop Hodges-Copple has served her entire ordained life in the Diocese of North Carolina, working 13 years in parish ministry and 13 years as a campus minister. She served as the rector of St. Luke’s, Durham, until she was elected to the episcopate. Bishop Hodges-Copple has a particular passion for shaping mission and ministry to be attuned to the voices, needs and wisdom of disempowered communities.

In her role as Bishop Suffragan, Bishop Hodges-Copple has particular responsibilities in campus and young adult ministries, new mission starts (Galilee ministries), the Racial Justice and Reconciliation Commission, the ordination process for the diaconate, global partnerships for mission, ecumenical and interfaith collaborations and the pastoral care of retired clergy, their spouses and surviving spouses. In the spring of 2018, she led a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, her third such pilgrimage, and plans another in 2020.

Hodges-Copple is currently a member of the Executive Council for The Episcopal Church, the Board of Historic Black Colleges & Universities and the Task Force for Social Advocacy. She served on the Special Legislative Committee for Marriage at the 2015 General Convention in Salt Lake City and chaired the House of Bishops’ Legislative Committee on Social Concerns at the 79th General Convention in Austin, Texas. She is also a member of the Bishops United Against Gun Violence.

During the transition between the 11th and 12th Bishops of North Carolina, she served as Bishop Diocesan Pro Tempore, the ecclesiastical authority of the diocese.

She and her husband, John, have three adult children. John is Director of Planning for the Triangle J Council of Governments.

Lisa Aycock

As of January 1, 2019, Lisa Aycock is the lead youth missioner in the Diocese of North Carolina.

She and her husbad, Ricky, have four kids, three granddaughters, two dogs and a flock of chickens. In her free time, Lisa enjoys gardening, photography, and spending time outdoors and at the beach.

The Rev. Deb Blackwood, Ph.D.

As the liaison for refugee ministries, the Rev. Deb Blackwood is a resource, a connector of people and an advocate for those who come to our shores from different parts of the world, seeking a chance to live, work, worship and participate in this great experiment in democracy.

She is ready and willing to meet and discuss the challenges faced by the courageous people who comprise the immigrant and refugee populations, and what we can do to help and support them. Clericus meetings, Convocation gatherings, parishes meetings - wherever works for you, she's ready to help you get started or take the next step in this important ministry.

Amy Campbell

Amy joined the youth ministry department in January 2014 as a youth missioner. On June 1, 2018, she stepped into a new position as children and family missioner. She continues to coordinate Happening and will work with the youth ministry department in planning Bishops' Ball.

Prior to joining the diocesan staff, Amy had been in ministry with the people of St. Christopher's, High Point, since 1999. She lives in High Point with her husband, Marc, and her three children. Amy holds a B.S. in Liberal Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and in 2014 she completed both a graduate certificate in nonprofit management from UNCG and a certificate in youth ministry and theology from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Amy enjoys cooking, baking and napping when she is not busy with work and family.

The Rev. Steve Cheyney

In addition to serving as the campus minister for Niner United, Steve also directs the Faith and Leadership Experience, funded by the Lilly Endowment. Steve graduated from Western Carolina University, received his master of divinity degree from Duke University and earned his doctorate from Emory University, where he studied theology and ecclesiology.

Leah Dail

Leah Dail is a native North Carolinian, born and raised in Raleigh. She majored in English and American Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill and stayed there to work at the NC Jaycee Burn Center. She is married to Rick Schertz and they have four children and two dogs. After a 15-year career at home with her kids, she was the youth minister at St. Paul’s, Cary, for the past six years. She enjoys reading, gardening, and playing games with her family.

Leah is based out of the Raleigh office.

Elizabeth Dawkins

A native North Carolinian, Elizabeth Dawkins was born in Raleigh and is a life-long Episcopalian. Prior to joining the diocesan staff as executive assistant to the Bishop Diocesan, she enjoyed 15 years on staff at The Church of the Good Shepherd, Raleigh.

She enjoys spending time with family, gardening, and joining friends to see any play at the DPAC. Her addiction to modern fiction and classic literature, with a particular weakness for John Donne, is just the lingering after effect of having received an MA in English Languages and Literature from NCSU.

The Rev. James Franklin, III

Since his ordination to the diaconate in 2013 and priesthood on January 5, 2014, the Rev. James Franklin has served as associate to the rector of St. James, Wilmington. The Rev. Franklin and his wife, Samantha, have one daughter, Corinne.

The Rev. Canon Dr. Sally French

Maria Gillespie

Maria joined the diocesan staff in April 2013. Her responsibilities include all aspects of finance for the diocese, including the budget, common trust fund, health and retiree benefits and the general administration of the diocese. She also serves as the treasurer of the North Carolina Church Foundation. She graduated from The Ohio State University with a major in accounting and received her CPA. Shortly after, she attended Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio, graduating with her Master’s in Business Administration. Prior to working with the Diocese, she worked in public accounting and as an adjunct professor at Franklin University, where she enjoyed teaching students of all ages.

Maria has been married to Jim, her college sweetheart from OSU, for 25 years. She is the mom of three girls, two of whom are twins, and couldn’t imagine life without them. They are a constant joy. When not at work she enjoys being with her family and friends. Maria loves relaxing at Lake Gaston, kayaking/paddle boarding, reading and walking her goldendoodles, Ginger and Penny.

The Rev. Earnest Graham

Canon Graham serves as a regional canon located in the Greensboro and Winston-Salem convocations.

Prior to attending seminary, Canon Graham worked as a graphic artist in advertising as well as an illustrator. He comes to the Diocese from the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia where he served as interim rector of Hickory Neck Episcopal Church in Toano, Virginia, and rector of St. Matthew's in Chesterfield, Virginia.

Ordained in 2001, Canon Graham’s service to the church began long before he entered Virginia Theological Seminary. While a lay member at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Casper, Wyoming, he chaired committees and directed ministries, he led youth programs and served as a vestry member, acolyte, LEM and hospital visitor. His call deepened, leading him to VTS in 1998; he remained in Virginia following his ordination.

In his free time, Canon Graham continues to practice art, creating comic book translations of the Bible; he is currently at work on selections of the Psalms.

Toni Hagerman

Patricia Hamilton

A cradle Episcopalian, Hamilton served for many years in the Dioceses of Massachusetts, Northern Indiana and, most recently, North Carolina. For the past two years, she worked as the administrative assistant for spiritual growth and adult formation at Christ Church, Charlotte. There she was involved in creating and supporting transformative programming including Christian Essentials, Sacred Ground, The Good Book Beginning to End, and The Space Between us, to name a few.

As a graduate of Duke University, Hamilton is an avid Blue Devils fan and looks forward to March Madness and cheering on the team. Her other interests include music, reading, travel and spending time with her family. One of her favorite things is going to church, especially visiting different churches and experiencing the Eucharist in unique and inviting ways.

Lynn Hoke

A native Oklahoman, Lynn has been part-time archivist for the Episcopal Church Women since 2007 and for the diocese since 2008. Related work highlights include producing a documentary for Amarillo’s centennial; organizing archives for Baylor College of Medicine, Grace Church in Manhattan and Stepping Stones Foundation; and assisting the president of the New York Historical Society. After moving to Raleigh in 2004, Lynn joined a women’s running group and the Capital Quilters Guild. Running led to biking, swimming, yoga and traveling; quilting led to membership in two bees, which jointly have created hundreds of quilts for family, friends and local Raleigh charities. Lynn’s two adult sons are graduates of UNC-Chapel Hill and Davidson.

The Ven. Jan Lamb

The Ven. Jan Lamb is the archdeacon of the Diocese of North Carolina. While serving as archdeacon, Jan also continues in her role as chaplain to the bishop suffragan.

Jan previously served at St. Andrew’s, Haw River, where she helped to start an after-school tutoring program for neighborhood children. Lamb was ordained to the diaconate in 2006.

Dr. Sam Laurent

Dr. Sam Laurent has served as The Episcopal Center at Duke's campus minister in an interim capacity since January and assumed the permanenet position in May. A product of the youth and campus ministry programs in the Diocese of North Carolina, Sam received his Ph.D in Theological and Philosophical Studies from Drew University in August, 2012.

He lives in Durham with his wife, Kim, and daughter, Maddie.

The Rev. Canon Rhonda Lee, Ph. D.

Canon Rhonda Mawhood Lee grew up bilingual and bicultural (English and French) outside Montreal, Quebec. She has lived in North Carolina since 1992, except for a six-year sojourn in Louisville, Kentucky, where she was ordained. Canon Lee holds a doctorate in U.S. history from Duke University. She is the author of occasional essays and two books: Through With Kings and Armies: The Marriage of George and Jean Edwards and, with Craig Werner, Love and Happiness: Eros According to Dante, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and The Reverend Al Green. A student of non-violence married to a military historian, Canon Lee and her husband, Wayne E. Lee, never lack material for conversation.

A spiritual director formed in the Ignatian tradition, Canon Lee supports congregations and clergy in discernment processes, mutual ministry reviews, leadership transitions and conflict management. She is available for preaching (including in Spanish), coaching and support of clergy and lay leaders. She is particularly interested in intentional communities, ministries of presence and accompaniment, and intercultural ministries, which can take many forms—most of which, she suspects, we haven’t yet imagined.

The Rev. Kevin Lloyd

The Rev. Kevin Lloyd came to Davidson College and St. Alban's, Davidson, in August 2018. Though not born in North Carolina, he was definitely raised in the Tarheel State, having arrived here as a three month old. He is a graduate of Wake Forest University and earned his Master in Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria. Prior to coming to Saint Alban’s, Kevin served as research assistant to the Archbishop of Canterbury in London, England; associate rector at Church of the Ascension in Hickory, NC; and, most recently, as rector of Saint Matthew’s Church in Jamestown, Rhode Island.

Kevin, his wife Julia, and their two sons, Harry and Robert, live in Mooresville.

Canon Catherine Massey

Canon Massey graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in Mass Communications and has over 15 years of experience in sales, marketing and association management. Prior to working at Diocesan House, she served as parish life coordinator for St. John's, Wake Forest.

Canon Massey works with the Office of Transitional Ministry and supports congregations and clergy in transition. She administers the Safe Church program and support the work of the Commission on Ministry, the Pastoral Response Team and the Disciplinary Board.

Canon Massey enjoys learning how people and organizations work together and says it is an honor and a privilege to serve the clergy and churches in our diocese.

Canon Massey is a native of Richmond, Virginia, and has lived in North Carolina with her family for 10 years. She, her husband Robert and their three daughters live in Wake Forest and are members of Christ Church, Raleigh.

The Rev. Kevin Matthews

The Rev. Matthews is the Episcopal chaplain at St. Mary’s House, serving Greensboro colleges and universities, primarily the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. That ministry includes serving an alternative worshipping community of students, active and retired faculty, and community members who support the outreach to the schools through Bible study, fellowship meals, midweek Eucharist, service projects, crisis intervention, emergency food provision, and other activities, not only at UNC-G, but at Guilford and Greensboro Colleges as well. In his spare time, you might find the Rev. Matthews brewing beer or cider on his back deck or playing with his dog, Andy, in the park across the street from his house.

The Rev. Beth McKee-Hugar

The Rev. McKee-Huger serves as the regional deacon for the Greensboro and Winston-Salem areas.

Christine McTaggart

While Christine has enjoyed the chance to work in several interesting industries throughout her career, the common thread for her has always been marketing and communications. She enjoys seeing how communications can bring people together to share ideas, news, conversations, thoughts, discoveries and more. In her work with the diocesan communications department, she’s working to create those connection channels for all 120 worshipping communities through strategic planning, integrated communication and new opportunities to bring everyone together as a diocese.

When she’s not working, Christine enjoys spending time with family and friends, cheering on her favorite (usually underdog) sports teams, reading, doing just about anything outdoors and, above all, enjoying time with her dog, Bentley.

The Rev. Daniel Dario Robayo Hidalgo

Robayo served as the rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia for nine years before joining diocesan staff. A priest for 30 years who has served in a wide variety of parish settings and diocesan leadership roles, Robayo has great gifts in formation and congregational development. He understands his vocation as “empowering the ministry of the baptized in the church as well as in the world.” His passion is to “give people the tools to reflect theologically about their Christian identity and their place in the world so that in their daily lives they may represent Christ to the world.”

A native of Venezuela who has spent most of his adult life as an Episcopalian in the United State, Robayo seeks to walk with the worship communities of the diocese through the opportunities and challenges of being a multilingual, intercultural Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement.

Robayo is married to Nancy Urrecheaga-Robayo, an educator with many years of experience as a classroom teacher, principal and Godly Play instructor. Between them, they have 5 children and 6 grandchildren.

The Rev. Canon David Forster Sellery

Before joing the staff of the Diocese of North Carolina, Sellery served as priest-in-charge at St. John’s, Salisbury, Connecticut. He successfully opened the doors of St. John’s to the community, particularly to young people and families, through the “WiFi Café” program he hosted every week in the parish hall. As part of his community outreach mission, Sellery actively served as an emergency medical technician with the Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service.

In addition to extensive parish work, Sellery served as the director of institutional advancement for two of New York's premier not-for-profit organizations, focusing in the areas of community development and healthcare. While working in portfolio and investment management, he continued his active ministry serving as visiting clergy to parishes in Connecticut and New York and on Long Island. His experience as a commuting executive informs his perspective in serving families in commuter communities. He later returned to full-time parish work to which he brought his enhanced administrative, communications and stewardship skills.

Born in Norwood, Massachusetts, Sellery was educated in public schools in Darien, Connecticut; Malvern, Pennsylvania and Woodland Hills, California. He majored in English Literature and received his B.A. from the University of Connecticut (1989), Masters of Divinity from The General Theological Seminary in New York (1992), and Certificate in Appreciative Transitional Ministry (2013) and Certificate in Appreciative Coaching via The Clergy Leadership Institute (2015). Sellery serves as a director of Nazareth Friends, Inc. a family foundation that owns and operates four homes for people with developmental disabilities in Florida.

Sellery is married to Jane Muir Sellery. They have two sons, Robert and William.

Website: davidsellery.org
Podcast: Fr. Sellery Presents This Week’s Focus

Erin Sweeney

A native North Carolinian, Erin was born and raised in the Raleigh area. Prior to joining the team at the Diocesan House in Raleigh, she worked as an office manager and bookkeeper for several years. She finds great joy in welcoming all who visit the Diocese, and she supports the diocesan office in countless administrative tasks.

In her free time, Erin enjoys cooking, traveling, cheering on her favorite sports teams, and volunteering at her church in Wake Forest.

The Rev. Caleb Tabor

The Rev. Tabor previously served as vicar of St. Cyprian’s, a bilingual congregation in Oxford, North Carolina. He was educated at Elon University, Emory University and Virginia Theological Seminary. Originally from Efland, North Carolina, he has settled down close to home in Durham, where he lives with his husband. Theology, history, coffee, creative writing and good drag shows are just a few of the things keep him occupied in his spare and not-so-spare time.

Julie Tonneson

Julie ministers with Lutherans, Episcopalians and Friends on the campus of Elon University.

The Rev. Kathy Walker

The Rev. Kathy Walker previously served as the associate rector for pastoral care and parish life at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Tallahassee, Florida, though her call to church leadership and ministry is one she has answered her entire life. Prior to becoming a member of the clergy, over her lifetime she has served as a licensed lay reader, a lay Eucharistic minister, vestry member and church officer. She was instrumental in the founding of the David Henry Brooks chapter of Union of Black Episcopalians in the Diocese of Florida, and while serving as its president organized multiple forums about the future of Black churches.

Kathy believes strongly in the honoring and continuity of Black churches and hopes in her new role to help as many as possible not only survive, but flourish. She also wants to work with congregations to deepen their churches’ roots in the communities they already serve so well, and build leadership opportunities in the Church for future generations.

Summerlee Walter

Summerlee joined the diocesan staff in August 2011 as a youth ministry coach and assistant to the communications coordinator before assuming the communications coordinator position in 2013. Prior to her time at Diocesan House, she attended Davidson College, graduating with a BA in English, and served three years as a high school English teacher in Northampton County high schools as a member of Teach for America. Summerlee was born in Toledo, Ohio, and raised in Cleveland, and she will gladly explain to anyone who will listen why her home state is an awesome place.

When she's not working, Summerlee enjoys reading; snuggling with her dogs, Cali and Shady, and her still-sorta-feral cat, Perspehone; playing involved board games; and caring way too much about her recreational softball league.

The Rev. Rebecca Yarbrough

Rebecca works with the bishops and ministry leaders throughout our diocese to develop proposals for funding through the Jessie Ball duPont Fund to support and promote our diocese’s mission. She’s always happy to discuss the types of projects and ministries the duPont Fund supports, and she encourages those with projects to contact her to discuss the possibilities.

The Rev. Mary Cat Young

Mary Catherine “Mary Cat” Young is a life-long Episcopalian who grew up in Arkansas and Minnesota. After graduating from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, with her B.A. in Religious and Social Studies, Mary Cat served as a youth minister in the Diocese of Minnesota, then attended Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Ordained to the transitional diaconate in June 2006, Mary Cat took her first call in the Diocese of Upper South Carolina where she was ordained priest in January of 2007. While there, she served as youth and campus minister and met her husband, Chad Young. In 2011 she was called to the Diocese of New York as the Episcopal Chaplain to NYU. For eight years she has recruited, coached and organized city-wide young adult ministry while caring for a diverse and growing student community called Canterbury Downtown, based at Grace Church, Manhattan.

Mary Cat has been active in local, diocesan and church-wide ministry from the time she was a Vacation Bible School leader in 6th grade, an avid camp-goer and a diocesan youth leader in Minnesota. She has served as the Province II coordinator for Young Adult and Campus Ministry since 2015. And was on the General Convention Task-Force that created our rites for same-sex blessings, approved for church-wide use in 2018.

Mary Cat enjoys reading, playing guitar, knitting and spending time outdoors with her family. Following Buffy the Vampire Slayer and other horror comics and superhero pop-culture is also a favorite pastime.