Our Leadership Team is comprised of the Synod Officers which are the Moderator, Moderator Elect, the Moderator of the Mission and Ministries Commission, the Stated Clerk, and the Treasurer as well as the Synod Leader. They meet in between Commission and Assembly meetings, for decision-making and to provide guidance to staff.
The Rev. STEPHEN PARK CHOI
The Rev. Stephen Park Choi is the Moderator of the Synod’s Mission and Ministries Commission. Ordained in 2005, he is the pastor of the Stewartsville Presbyterian Church in Stewartsville, New Jersey , and a minister member of Presbytery of the Highlands. A lifelong Presbyterian from Chicago, Stephen has served in leadership positions throughout our denomination. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Princeton Theological Seminary. When not serving the church, Stephen enjoys playing and coaching basketball, hiking, watching movies, traveling, eating, and rooting for most of the Chicago sports teams.
Elder Lisa Baker
Elder Lisa Baker is the Moderator of the Synod of the Northeast. In 2014, she was recruited to participate in the Working Group on Race. As Convener, her connection with the Synod blossomed. In January 2019, she joined the Synod Mission and Ministries Commission as the representative from the Presbytery of Southern New England (PSNE) and became the Convener of the Connectional Ministries Working Group. During this time, she served on the Budget Task Force and participated in visioning retreats with the leadership. As a member of PSNE, she sat on the Roundtable, its Council. She also serves as a member of the Sexual Misconduct Response Team, the Vision and Mission Team, the Disaster Preparedness Team, and the Emerging Ministries Committee. Lisa is a past Moderator and Vice Moderator of the Presbytery and a former chair of the Committee on Representation and the Social Justice Committee of the Presbytery. She also served the Presbytery on their Budget Task force for 2 years.
Rev. Sue Smith
The Rev. Sue Smith is the Vice Moderator-Elect of the Synod of the Northeast.
Dr. Gregory Simpson
Dr. Gregory Simpson is the Synod Treasurer.
THE REV. DR. SANDAWNA GAULMAN ASHLEY
Rev. Dr. SanDawna Gaulman Ashley leads the church with skills in denominational executive leadership. For the last 23 years, she has worked serving on all four denomination levels: pastor, associate for gender and racial justice, denominational associate for leadership development, assistant stated clerk, manager for call process support and teaching elder's ministries, as executive presbyter, and presently the Transitional Leader for the Synod of the Northeast. She is a change management specialist skilled in leading organizational change. As faculty for the Presbytery Leader Formation Program, she assists new mid council leaders in serving as middle judicatories. She is a culturally proficient leader skilled in working in cross-cultural ministry settings.A member on key denominational boards, the Presbyterian Mission Agency, ACorp PC(U.S.A.), and the President of the Association of Mid Council Leaders. She holds degrees from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (Doctor of Ministry), Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity), and Georgia State University (Bachelor of Social Work).
THE REV. NANCY TALBOT
Nancy is the Synod’s Stated Clerk. After a full secular career managing nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies, she answered a call to ministry. She was ordained as a Teaching Elder while developing a new spirituality program for people of all backgrounds, races and ethnicities at Bellevue Hospital Center. Previously serving as Interim Stated Clerk for the Presbytery of New York City, she remains a member of this presbytery. Nancy holds degrees from the University of Michigan, Boston University School of Social Work, and Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. She is a board member of The SpiritHouse Project and her passions include travel and music.