Meet the Board of Directors

Nathan Anderson – has been with Wake Forest University since 1999 and is currently the Director, Financial Systems & Analysis. Mr. Anderson received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Computer Science as well as his Masters of Business Administration degree from Wake Forest University. He is a Deacon and Ruling Elder and currently attends Westminster Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Anne Apple – is a teaching elder in the PC(USA) who is currently an at-large member of the Presbytery of the Mid-South. She holds a B.A. in Theatre and Media Arts from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee; and a MDiv (Masters of Divinity) from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. Reverend Apple most recently served Idlewild Presbyterian Church as Executive Associate Pastor and Acting Head of Staff of Idlewild Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee; and prior to service with Idlewild, served in the Presbytery of South Alabama, as pastor to Grace Presbyterian Church. Reverend Apple has previously served as Moderator of the Presbytery of the MidSouth, General Assembly Committee Chair, and commissioner; and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Montreat Retreat Association. She lives in Memphis, Tennessee, with her partner, Jim Apple.

Steven Bass –  is a ruling elder at Magnolia Presbyterian Church. He has served in various voluntary roles for the Presbytery of Seattle. He is an audit principal for Clifton Larson Allen LLP and specializes in service to non-profit organizations. Since 2010 he has been a trustee for the PCUSA Foundation serving as the chair of the audit and compliance committee during most of that time. He is currently on the Social Witness committee. Steve earned his B.A. degree in accounting from the University of Washington. His wife Stella is a retired middle school science teacher. They have two children and four grandchildren.

Jennifer Brown – is a healthcare attorney who has served as chief legal officer of two non-profit health systems, Baylor Scott & White Health in Texas and Presbyterian Healthcare Services in New Mexico, and currently serves as chief legal officer of a national health information technology company. She is licensed to practice law in Texas, New Mexico, Missouri, Arkansas and Florida. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University and The University of Texas School of Law. She currently serves on the Leadership Council of Texas A&M University Association of Former Students and is a Court Appointed Special Advocate with Dallas CASA. Ms. Brown lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband, Woody Brown, a Presbyterian pastor who is serving as the senior pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in McKinney, Texas. Ms. Brown is a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church and participates in the Stephen Ministry program.

Judy Chang – is the founding partner of Judy Chang Law Firm, a bicoastal immigration law firm. She is an acting elder at So-Mahng Presbyterian Church and has been active in the Korean American community. She has served as Regional Governor of the International Association of Korean Lawyers, Board Secretary of NY Nanum Foundation, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees for the Korean Community Center, Board member and Legal Task Force Chair for Korean American Civic Empowerment, and Legal Task force Advisor for the Korean American Sanctuary Church Network. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Judy immigrated to Canada with her family at the age of 16 and obtained her JD from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law. She spent one year in China as a tentmaker, which she counts as one extraordinary year of her life. She is married with two very creative sons.

Melanie Hancock – is a Ruling Elder and currently serves as the General Presbyter for the Presbytery of Northern Kansas. She joined the Presbytery Staff in 1993 serving as Associate General Presbyter and Transitional General Presbyter before being elected as General Presbyter in 2019. An educator at heart, Melanie served as Christian Education Director for Sunrise Presbyterian Church in Salina, Kansas for 8 years prior to joining the Presbytery staff.

Jesse Hite –  is a retired Civil Engineer who has also served as the Church Administrator for the First Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, North Carolina. In his over 40-year engineering career, Mr. Hite provided planning and consulting services to a wide range of both public and private clients in the environmental and transportation areas. He is a Ruling Elder and has served on a number of committees and was Clerk of Session at his home church. He has served the Presbytery of Charlotte including chairing its Finance Committee and was chair of its Council for several years. Mr. Hite has been a Commissioner from the Presbytery of Charlotte to the General Assembly on two occasions. He served for eight years as a Board member for the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation including two years as its Board Chair. Mr. Hite has a Civil Engineering degree from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a Master of Engineering degree from Old Dominion University.

Kathy Lueckert  (non-voting, ex-officio) – a Ruling Elder, accepted the call to serve as the President of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation in August 2019. In her role she will also manage the Administrative Services Group. Before her latest call, she served as Director of Finance and Administration at Village Presbyterian Church in the Kansas City area and as Director of Strategic Projects for World Vision. Prior to that she served as the Executive Vice President and Deputy Executive Director of the General Assembly Council in Louisville — a predecessor to the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Kathy has also worked in local government management for over fifteen years. Originally from Columbia, Missouri, Kathy has degrees from George Mason University, George Washington University and University of Mary Washington.

Thomas C. McNeill, Jr. – (CHAIR) lives in Avon, Connecticut with wife Mildred McNeill. They have four adult children. McNeill is on the Session and Chairs the Investment Committee of First Presbyterian Church in Hartford, Ct. He was elected three times to Avon Board of Education. He serves as an administrative hearing officer for several Connecticut State Agencies. He worked for nine years at Aetna as real estate investment counsel. McNeill has been self-employed since 1987 as a lawyer doing financing, real estate, and probate estates and holds a Real Estate Broker’s license in Connecticut. He graduated from Middlebury College with a BA in History in 1975 and graduated from Northwestern University School of Law in 1978.

Raphael Medina – a Ruling Elder at the Porta Coeli Presbyterian Church in San German, Puerto Rico where he serves as treasurer and primary preacher. Mr. Medina is a retired US Army Colonel and war veteran. He has served on many PC(USA) boards, including the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board He is a graduate of the Southwest Presbytery Lay Leader course, holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical engineering and a master’s degree in Business Administration.

Stephen Rhoades – has been the Stated Clerk for the Presbytery of Santa Fe since 2016. Mr. Rhoades is a retired attorney who is currently an inactive member of the State Bars of West Virginia, and New Mexico. He holds a B.A. in accounting from Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania and a J.D from the West Virginia College of Law in Morgantown, West Virginia. Currently, Mr. Rhoades lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico and attends First Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque.

Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II (non-voting) – ex-officio) – currently serves as the Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) He is a teaching elder and member of National Capital Presbytery who has served since 2010 as a director of the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness in Washington, D.C. From 1998 to 2010 he was the organizing pastor for Liberation Community Church in Memphis, Tennessee. From 1986 to 1997 he served as pastor of St. James Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. He has a Doctor of Ministry degree from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, a Master of Divinity degree from Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Johnson C. Smith University.

Olivia Hudson Smith – is a retired attorney. Ms. Hudson Smith began as a Special Education teacher for five years before becoming an attorney. She practiced as an attorney for thirty years, the last twenty years of which were as an Assistant City Attorney Specialist in the Denver City Attorney’s Office from which she retired in 2012. After being ordained as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament in 2017, Ms. Hudson Smith has served as the Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of Denver. She has also served as Moderator of Denver Presbytery and as a board member of the Presbytery Publishing Corporation. Ms. Hudson Smith earned her J.D. in 1982 from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and graduated from seminary at Iliff School of Theology in 2013. She presently lives in Denver, Colorado, where she attends People Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Donald Wingate – is a state certified building contractor and owns and manages commercial rental properties. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Florida. Mr. Wingate has previously served on the Board of Directors for the Mission Development Resources Committee of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board and the West Orange Habitat for Humanity, and he currently serves on the Board of Directors for The Bond Foundation. He is also a member of the Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board for the City of Winter Garden, Florida. Mr. Wingate previously was a Commissioner in the 2012 General Assembly. He is a Ruling Elder of Oakland Presbyterian Church, Oakland, Florida.