The Vestry Nominations Committee (Simone Talma Flowers, Suzy Stege, and Harrison Eppright) is pleased to submit the following slate for Vestry and the St. James’ Diocesan Council Delegation. The Spirit has been at work in this process, leading us to identify four candidates for vestry and four delegates for Council, who are uniquely gifted for the work and enthusiastic to serve. This slate, in its entirety, will be up for a vote at the Annual Parish Meeting on January 28.
In developing this Vestry slate, the Vestry Nominations Committee took a careful look at our three-year goals and sought out individuals with the passion, experience, and skills needed to help us realize those goals. We are delighted to present you with a slate of proven leaders, committed to the St. James’ ethos of radical hospitality and representative of various diversities of our congregation. Vestries always work and listen hard, and they frequently have to make difficult decisions for the life of the congregation. The nominees on this slate offer their names without reticence, but with a clear-eyed view of challenges we must tackle in our multicultural community’s life together.
In early 2024, we will be experimenting with conducting Vestry business in a way that can incorporate Spanish-speakers, and we will be discerning the appointment of someone from the Spanish-speaking community for an unfinished term vacated this year. Please pray for the success of this experiment. Few vestries in the Episcopal Church conduct their business in bilingual ways, but we are unafraid to do some trailblazing in order to strengthen our multicultural community!
The congregation willing, the members of this vestry slate will join the following continuing Vestry members: Simone Talma Flowers, Clint Dawson, John May, Margaret Shaw, Harrison Eppright, Theresa Garcia, and Jill LaCour. We are grateful to Jim Crosby, Martin Jolivet, and Suzy Stege, who will roll off of the Vestry as of the Annual Parish Meeting. I should say that Martin, Suzy, and Jim were the Vestry class who came on board in 2021 during the pandemic. They have been wise and creative advisors and hard workers in a time that required that we adapt over and over again to new needs and different ways of being church together. We have faced some serious challenges together, paid off about $1 million in debt, and kept laughing and rejoicing together even in the Zoom squares.
In developing the Diocesan Council slate, the Vestry Nominations Committee thought about what will be going on at Diocesan Council 2024 and who needs to be there representing St. James’ in order for our delegation to be an effective voice and presence, alongside our clergy. This Diocesan Council slate combines Council experience with fresh eyes ready for the task.
Vestry Slate
Each year four new Vestry members are elected to serve for a three-year term.
Jeff Cox
Jeff has been a member of St. James since relocating to Austin from Tulsa, OK in 2021 where he was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church. During his time at St. James, he has served as a Reading Buddy at Norman Sims Elementary, as a eucharistic minister and on Teri Calinao’s Seminarian Lay Committee.
Jeff’s charitable volunteer experience includes serving on the board of Tulsa CARES, a social services agency providing prevention and care programs serving low income individuals living with HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C in Oklahoma. His care ministry also includes 10 years with The Herbert Birch Family Camp, a summer camp serving families impacted by HIV from the four poorest boroughs of New York City and Project CHAMP, a children’s hospital visitation ministry at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC.
Jeff is a graduate of Texas A&M University and The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He
works for Northmarq, a commercial real estate company. Jeff resides in Bouldin Creek with his partner of 6 years, Shanon, and their strong-willed, goofy goldendoodle, Dodger.
Stephanie Dodoo
Stephanie Naa Aponsa Dodoo (she/her/hers) is a licensed clinical social worker and Director for Health Access and Community Impact at the University of Texas’ Healthyhorns program, which supports and provides UT students healthcare.
Stephanie is married to Micah Barber, and they have a 7 1/2 year-old daughter (Lyric). Stephanie’s mother, Chloe Dodoo, also joins them at St. James’ when she is in town. Stephanie and Micah have been attending St. James’ since 2008. Stephanie has been fed spiritually at St. James’ Episcopal, and has served in various capacities as well, including as senior warden, part of the East Austin Wellness Center, and on the Welcome Table board.
Stephanie believes we each play a part in helping to disrupt systems of oppression, and in creating a world where we can learn from each other and welcome one another. We can all make a difference in the lives and institutions with which we come in contact.
Stephanie’s family is originally from Ghana, West Africa. She loves to cook (improvising!), to play and watch tennis, and to travel. She spends her time dreaming about future travels, getting together with family and friends, indulging in Ghanaian and other cultures, watching films, and gardening. Fostering relationships is important to her daily life, and she likes to surround herself with kind and diverse people.
Jennifer Graf
My name is Jennifer Graf and I’ve been a member of St. James’ since November 1997 (after Jazz weekend). I was welcomed with open arms by Dr. Sidney White, who asked me to join him on the Growth Committee (with Bill Bradshaw and Keith Braithwaite). We worked on finding our current property. I’ve been a licensed Eucharistic Minister and a Lay Reader in Texas since the 90s. In 2003, I helped Ed and Karen Hartwell start up I-CPR (Interfaith Community for Palestinian Rights) and gave
financial support to our precious Al-Ahli Hospital in our sister Diocese of Jerusalem. I was also a co-founder of Parenting Across Color in 2004. I became a Lifetime member of UBE in 2007, and over the years have been part of the Social Justice Committee, the Interfaith Action Team, B.E.A.T., and Connections. I’ve done “Get Out the Vote“ walks and Crop Walk with our powerhouse Hortense Lawson, and had an active role in Kwanzaa celebrations since the beginning. I helped with Freedom Schools for 10 years. I joined One Human Race at its inception and was a member of WRAP (after Eric Law visited St. James and helped us with our reconciliation work—which all preempted OHR). I even won 3rd place in the chili cook-off one time (before Pat Braithwaite and the Greenwoods cornered the market!-lol). I’m currently the librarian at Ortega Elementary School (just down the street from here) and have been in public education since 1984. I am honored to be asked to join the vestry. Thank you for this opportunity!
Rudy Green
Originally from Ft. Worth, Texas, Rudolph “Rudy” Green is a long time Austinite, having recently returned to Austin from Miami, FL. Rudy’s professional career as an attorney and businessman has spanned 4 decades and included engagements with law firms in Houston and Austin, as well as service for many years as Vice President and General Counsel for Prime Cable, headquartered in Austin. Before entering his current semi-retired status, Rudy also enjoyed a “second” career in higher education administration having served as Chief Compliance Officer for each of The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Miami. Throughout his careers, Rudy has served his community with a focus on arts, culture and education. Rudy received his B.S. from Yale University and holds J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from The University of Texas at Austin and has been a member of the St. James’ Episcopal Church community since 1997, and he served as Senior Warden when we paid off our debt.
Delegates to Diocesan Council
Delegates to Diocesan Council commit to attending the entirety of the Council meeting in 2024 and being a part of the preparation for the work of Council. Lay delegates are accompanied by our St. James’ clergy delegates: The Rev. Eileen O’Brien, The Rev. Jim Harrington, and The Rev. Robby Vickery.
Teresa Chang
Teresa is a writer, photographer, retired textbook editor and executive committee member of the One Human Race Initiative. Under her leadership, the One Human Race Initiative has moved in the direction of expansion, receiving grant funding to expand the impact of its work. She has been a member of St. James’ since 2005. Teresa and her husband enjoy eating out, travel, and evenings on the couch with their dog Bugsy.
Jorge Juarez
Jorge Alberto Juarez comes from Mexico and he has been part of the Episcopal Church for the last fourteen years. He and his family, Griselda, his wife, and his children, Jorge, Romeo, and Giselle, joined the St. James’ community as people began coming back to church from the pandemic lockdown. Since then, the Juarez family has been faithfully involved at St. James’ in a whole variety of ways from liturgical service to youth group to supporting Parish Workdays.
Rhona Williams London
I was honored to serve as a lay delegate representing St. James’ at the 174th Diocesan Council last year. My service to St. James’ and its ministries has included providing pastoral care and administrative support to our congregation’s Community of Hope, serving as worship
reader and usher and supporting Welcome Table initiatives. In 2023, I also served on a discernment committee for postulancy.
My particular calling is to work advancing racial/social justice. I currently serve as President of the Myra McDaniel Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians, which has adopted as one of its goals: “to encourage and promote diversity at all levels of the Church and society.” The One
Human Race initiative is our Chapter’s racial reconciliation ministry; I serve both on its
Executive Committee and as a volunteer. Our Chapter has engaged in voter registration work
and presented programming building awareness of the contributions of people of African
descent to the Episcopal Church. Last year, we honored Myra McDaniel— for whom our
Chapter is named—by presenting her portrait for permanent display at St. James’. I gained a greater awareness of the work of our Diocese by representing St. James’ at last year’s Council and hope to return to give voice on behalf of one of the most diverse and inclusive congregations in our Diocese.
Roger Williams
Roger Williams and his wife Norma joined St. James’ when Bill Miller was rector, and their children Joseph and Rachel were baptized at St. James’ on MLK. Roger has served St. James on the Vestry, the Finance Committee, and the Children’s Ministry, is a Lector, and has represented St. James’ at multiple previous Diocesan Councils. Roger was confirmed at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church and attended St. Andrew’s and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Schools. He is an intellectual property lawyer in private practice in Austin.
