Leadership

Rev. T. Denise Anderson

Denise Anderson is an ordained minister in the PC(USA) and currently serves the denomination as the Coordinator for Racial and Intercultural Justice at the Presbyterian Mission Agency. In 2016 she served as Co-Moderator of the 222nd General Assembly alongside the Rev. Jan Edmiston. She is also a proud graduate of Howard University School of Divinity and Virginia Commonwealth University. She and her spouse, Carter, live in Louisville Kentucky, but she still claims Virginia as home. In her spare time she likes to sew, take in concerts, and hop on a bus to New York for no reason at all.

Rev. Laura Conrad

Laura was raised by the First Presbyterian Church of York, SC as the 5th child and only daughter of Carroll and Joyce Smith. As an undergraduate at Presbyterian College, she majored in Psychology and minored in Christian Education. Her experiences in Youth Council and church camp gave her a love of community building and energizers. After Presbyterian College, Laura served as a Campus Ministry Intern at Clemson University and heard a call to Seminary. Since ordination as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in 1998, she has served the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta, Oakland Avenue Presbyterian Church in Rock Hill, SC, and has been Head of Staff and Pastor of Fort Hill church in Clemson, SC since 2009. Over the years she has served on numerous Presbytery Committees, on the boards of ARW and T.E.A.M (which is now Youth Mission), and on various planning teams. She and her husband Chuck have two children. Their son, Avery, is a first year Law student at George Washington Law School, and daughter Hallie is digitizing historical collections for the Historical Charleston Foundation and the SC Historical Society.

Robert S. Hay Jr.

Robert Hay, Jr. serves as the Senior Ministry Relations Officer for the Presbyterian Foundation. He works with congregations to create a culture of generosity, offers seminars and workshops, develops gifts and fundraising plans for ministries, and provides coaching and consulting to pastors, committees, sessions, and lay leaders. Prior to joining the Foundation, Robert served as the Chief Administrative Officer with the Hi-Hope Service Center in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer with the Care and Counseling Center of Georgia. Robert is a ruling elder in the PC(USA) and has served on committees and commissions at all levels of the PC(USA). Robert holds a MPA degree with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from Georgia State University and a BS in Business Administration from Auburn University. Robert is a member of First Presbyterian Church in Peachtree City where his wife, Rev. Morgan Hay, serves as the pastor. They live in Peachtree City, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, with their children, Stockton and Anderson.

Lesa Kastler

Lesa grew up making multiple moves, primarily in Texas, and attended high school in New Canaan, Connecticut. Following graduate school she became an Assistant Professor at Trinity University. During that time, she also taught part-time at an elementary school. At the end of her first year there, her husband’s work transferred them to Greenville, SC where they have remained. Since that time, Lesa has worked with a succession of non-profits in board membership and leadership roles. Related to her education, the majority of the non-profits she serves deal with needed interventions for children. Lesa is an ordained Elder at Fourth Presbyterian Church. As an Elder, she had the honor of serving twice as Session liaison for seminary students– one at Columbia and one at Princeton. She served also on the Seminary Student Support Committee, now the Ministry Development Committee. Lesa has also been the chair of the Endowment Trustees Board; led the Christian Education and Congregational Life committees; served with the elementary education program; and chaired an Associate Pastor Nominating Committee (that led Fourth to Buz Wilcoxon!).

Rev. Katie Owen Aumann

Rev. Katie Owen Aumann is a lifelong Presbyterian and grew up at First Presbyterian Church in Topeka, Kansas, the church where she was baptized, confirmed, ordained and married. She serves as senior pastor of Morningside Presbyterian Church. Previously, she served Covenant Presbyterian Church in Atlanta as Associate Pastor for Family Ministries from 2017-2020. Prior to moving to Atlanta, she was the Presbyterian Campus Minister at Duke University, serving both undergraduate and graduate students and the university community. She is a graduate of Duke University (BA Public Policy, 2006) and Columbia Theological Seminary (MDiv, 2011) and is now an adjunct instructor at Columbia teaching Presbyterian Polity. She has served as a liturgist, keynoter, and workshop leader at various conferences including the Montreat Youth Conference and Montreat Music and Worship Conference. Prior to seminary, she worked as a research manager at the Advisory Board Company, a health care consulting firm in Washington, DC.

Rev. David J. Powers

David grew up in Greer, South Carolina and was raised in a Presbyterian family. He earned a BA in Political Science and History at Presbyterian College and a Master of Public Administration from the University of South Carolina before discerning a call to ministry. He completed a Master of Divinity from Columbia Theological Seminary and began his ordained ministry at Madison Presbyterian Church in 2010 before being called to Idlewild as Head of Staff in 2021. David believes that the church is called and equipped by God to be a place of transformation, both personally and communally. Some of his most impactful ministry has focused on anti-racism work through formational opportunities and community organizing. Through both his preaching and his pastoral care, David encourages people to live into hopeful, Christ-centered lives amid an ever-changing world. When away from the church, David enjoys golf, hunting, all things college football (especially Clemson), and spending quality time with his friends, his family, and his dog, Sam.

Rev. Dr. Amaury Tañón-Santos

A pastor by vocation, a historian by training, and a networker by calling, Amaury Tañón-Santos (él/ he/him) serves as the Executive Director/CEO of the Schenectady Community Ministries, a half[1]century-old collaborative of faith communities in the greater Schenectady, NY area seeking to address the social, financial and political injustices that emanate from and perpetuate systemic poverty. Before his call to social NGO/not-for-profit leadership, Amaury served as pastor of congregations in urban contexts of New York and New Jersey. He also served in higher theological education as program director in the areas of multicultural ministry, faith and public life, and Latina/o leadership formation, and as staff in regional church ministry. His journey in religious vocation, community engagement, and urban life began in his native Puerto Rico (the traditional land of the Borikén Taíno). Amaury lives in the Capital Region of New York State (in the traditional land of the Mohican people), is the spouse of Jeannette, and the parent to Aiden Paul and Sebastián Mikel

Magda Yrizarry

Magda serves as the Chief Talent and Diversity Officer for Verizon Wireless. She is a 1984 graduate of Cornell University, where she also earned a Master’s degree in Regional Planning in 2001. She and her husband Ray live in Whitehouse Station, NJ, where they are active members of Stonecrest Community Church. They have three children, Jaselle, Aaron, and Melissa, with a grandchild on the way!

T. Denise Anderson, Louisville, Kentucky
Victor Aloyo, President, Decatur, GA
Aisha Brooks-Johnson, Atlanta, Ga
Carlos Cardoza-Orlandi, Waco, Texas
Brandi Casto-Waters (’13), Cape Coral, FL
Laura Conrad, Clemson, SC
Richard T. DuBose, Montreat, NC
George W. Dunaway, Marietta, GA
Florida Ellis, Atlanta, GA
Jane Fahey (’01), Atlanta, GA
Michele Garren, Atlanta, GA
Elizabeth Goodrich (’03), Birmingham, AL
Byeong Cheol Han, Atlanta, GA
Robert S. Hay, Jr., Peachtree City, GA
Brian C. Henderson, Charleston, SC
Christopher A. Henry (’07), Indianapolis, IN
Lesa Kastler, Greenville, SC
Joseph “Clay” Meux, Jr., Jacksonville, FL
Rodger Nishioka, Prairie Village, KS
John F. Oglesby, Atlanta, GA
Katie Owen Aumann (’11), Atlanta, GA
Pen Peery (’03), Charlotte, NC
David Powers (’10), Memphis, TN
Sam Rutland (’89), Vero Beach, FL
Bradley D. Smith, Columbia, SC
Millie Snyder, Charlotte, NC
Tony A. Sundermeier, Atlanta, GA
Amaury Tañón-Santos, Schenectady, NY
Claire K. Tate, Charlotte, NC
Alan Thornburg, Asheville, NC
Melford Walker, Tucker, GA
D. Scott Weimer (’91), Atlanta, GA
Buz Wilcoxon (’08), Mobile, AL
Damon P. Williams (’12), Atlanta, GA
Magda Yrizzary, Whitehouse Station, NJ
Martha Moore-Keish, Faculty Representative, Decatur, GA
Matthew Cowell, SGA President, Student Representative, Decatur, GA