Leading Women Founding Mothers Family Tree

Church of England

Leading Women began in England in 2010, founded by several English clergy including June Osborne (then Dean of Salsbury, now Bishop of Llandaff), Lucy Winkett (then Canon of St. Paul’s Cathedral, now Rector of St. James Piccadilly) and Jane Shaw (then Dean of Divinity at New College, Oxford and now Principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford).  

Leading Women in The Episcopal Church

The first Leading Women in The Episcopal Church was held in 2016, organized by the late Stefani Schatz (Canon to the Ordinary, Diocese of California), Mary Gray-Reeves (then Bishop, Diocese of El Camino Real), Jane Shaw (then Dean of Religious Life, Stanford), and Helen Svoboda-Barber (then Rector of Harcourt Parish, Gambier OH) with administrative assistance from David Wantland.

Leading Women: ACC/TEC

Leading Women: Anglican Church of Canada + The Episcopal Church happened in 2018 and was organized by Helen Svoboda-Barber (then Rector, St. Luke’s Durham NC), Melissa Skelton (then Archbishop of British Columbia and Yukon) and Rhonda Waters (Incumbent, Church of the Ascension, Ottawa) with help from administrative assistant Rachel Taylor.

Leading Women 2022

Leading Women 2022 will be November 8-11, 2022 organized by Bishops Marty Stebbins (Montana), Phoebe Roaf (West Tennessee),  Mary Gray-Reeves (College for Bishops), and Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows (Indianapolis); Dean Miguelina Howell (Hartford, CT), Yein Kim (Trinity Wall Street), Jen Adams (Holland, MI),  Vanessa Glass (Colorado), and Helen Svoboda-Barber (Durham, NC).

And More…

We are in the early planning stages of a Leading Women 2023 offering.  Our conferences have been underwritten by grants from Trinity Wall Street, Anglican Foundation (ACC), Anglican Initiatives (ACC), previous participants, Bishops, Deans, Diocesan Grants, and donations from others in support of ordained women’s leadership.