The General Convention at each regular meeting shall elect, on the nomination of a Joint Committee thereof, twelve persons to serve as Trustees of The Church Pension Fund and shall also fill such vacancies as may exist on the Board of Trustees.
Governance of The Church Pension Fund (CPF) and its three lines of business is provided by a 25-member board of trustees, 24 of whom are elected by the General Convention. CPF’s CEO and President, Mary Kate Wold, is appointed by the CPF Board and serves as the 25th trustee.
With input from the Church Pension Group’s (CPG) Executive Leadership Team, the CPF Board makes critical policy decisions affecting investment strategy, pensions, and other products and services. It oversees the financial strength of the organization and monitors CPG’s responses to enterprise risks, evolving needs, and new opportunities in its businesses. CPF trustees are expected to digest complex information about CPG’s operations, finances, short- and longer-term strategic initiatives, and other important matters. It is essential to bring to the board’s deliberations the most expert and thoughtful advice available to the Church. The sophistication of CPG’s three lines of business and the legal, fiduciary responsibilities associated with serving on the CPF Board require each trustee to be fully engaged.
Twelve trustees will be elected at the 81st General Convention. We are grateful for the work of the Joint Standing Committee on Nominations that bears canonical responsibility for vetting candidates and creating a slate of diverse individuals—clergy and lay employees—who they deem qualified to serve. Four highly effective incumbent trustees are included in the slate. Please consider them when casting your ballots later this month because continuity of experience on the board is extremely helpful.
With input from the Church Pension Group’s (CPG) Executive Leadership Team, the CPF Board makes critical policy decisions affecting investment strategy, pensions, and other products and services. It oversees the financial strength of the organization and monitors CPG’s responses to enterprise risks, evolving needs, and new opportunities in its businesses. CPF trustees are expected to digest complex information about CPG’s operations, finances, short- and longer-term strategic initiatives, and other important matters. It is essential to bring to the board’s deliberations the most expert and thoughtful advice available to the Church. The sophistication of CPG’s three lines of business and the legal, fiduciary responsibilities associated with serving on the CPF Board require each trustee to be fully engaged.
Twelve trustees will be elected at the 81st General Convention. We are grateful for the work of the Joint Standing Committee on Nominations that bears canonical responsibility for vetting candidates and creating a slate of diverse individuals—clergy and lay employees—who they deem qualified to serve. Four highly effective incumbent trustees are included in the slate. Please consider them when casting your ballots later this month because continuity of experience on the board is extremely helpful.
The Very Rev. Samuel G. Candler
The Very Rev. Samuel G. Candler is the Dean of the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta, one of the largest parishes in The Episcopal Church. He has served on the boards of several schools and agencies and helped develop the formal structure of Atlanta’s first Interfaith group, the Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta. He previously served as Dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Columbia, South Carolina. He is a writer and a frequent teacher and preacher in the US and the wider Anglican Communion. He speaks regularly on the role of religion in matters of science and environmental sustainability.
Dean Candler was elected to his first term on the CPF Board in 2018. He currently serves as Vice Chair of its Compensation, Diversity, and Workplace Values Committee and is also a member of its Investment Committee. He received a DDiv, honoris causa, from the University of the South; an MDiv, magna cum laude, from Yale University Divinity School; and a BA, cum laude, from Occidental College.
Dean Candler was elected to his first term on the CPF Board in 2018. He currently serves as Vice Chair of its Compensation, Diversity, and Workplace Values Committee and is also a member of its Investment Committee. He received a DDiv, honoris causa, from the University of the South; an MDiv, magna cum laude, from Yale University Divinity School; and a BA, cum laude, from Occidental College.
Yvonne O'Neal
Yvonne O’Neal, after a successful career as a financial consultant, now advocates for social justice. She serves as the Overseas Program Officer of Africa Development Interchange Network, a non-governmental organization (NGO) with special status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. She is a former member of the Advisory Council of the Anglican Communion Office at the United Nations. She is the past Vice Chair of the NGO Committee on Financing for Development and was a member of the Executive Committee of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women and the Co-chair of the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development–NY. She is also active in the NGO Committee to Stop Trafficking in Persons and New York City for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Yvonne serves on the Board of Directors of Stand With Iraqi Christians and on the Standing Committee and the Task Force Against Human Trafficking and the Task Force on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault in the Diocese of New York. She chaired the Companion Diocese Committee for nine years and the Global Mission Commission for six. She received the Society of Financial Service Professionals’ Paul S. Mills Scholarship and holds several professional designations and FINRA licenses.
Yvonne was elected to her first term on the CPF Board in 2018. She currently serves as Vice Chair of its Audit Committee and is also a member of its Finance Committee. Yvonne received an MA from the New School University and a BS from the University of Puerto Rico.
Yvonne serves on the Board of Directors of Stand With Iraqi Christians and on the Standing Committee and the Task Force Against Human Trafficking and the Task Force on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault in the Diocese of New York. She chaired the Companion Diocese Committee for nine years and the Global Mission Commission for six. She received the Society of Financial Service Professionals’ Paul S. Mills Scholarship and holds several professional designations and FINRA licenses.
Yvonne was elected to her first term on the CPF Board in 2018. She currently serves as Vice Chair of its Audit Committee and is also a member of its Finance Committee. Yvonne received an MA from the New School University and a BS from the University of Puerto Rico.
The Rt. Rev. Austin K. Rios
The Rt. Rev. Austin K. Rios serves as the Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of California. Prior to this, he was the Rector of Saint Paul’s Within the Walls Episcopal Church (Rome), a church of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe. Previously, he served as Diocesan Canon for Spanish-speaking ministries and Rector of La Capilla de Santa Maria in Hendersonville, North Carolina, and as Curate at Grace Episcopal Church in Asheville, North Carolina.
Bishop Rios was elected to his first term on the CPF Board in 2018. He currently serves as Vice Chair of its Investment Committee and is a member of its Finance Committee. He received an MDiv from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest and a BA in English from Davidson College.
Bishop Rios was elected to his first term on the CPF Board in 2018. He currently serves as Vice Chair of its Investment Committee and is a member of its Finance Committee. He received an MDiv from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest and a BA in English from Davidson College.
The Hon. Linda E. Watt
Ambassador Linda Watt served as a US diplomat for 29 years. A recognized expert on Latin America, she served as Ambassador to Panama from 2002 to 2005 and as acting Ambassador to the Dominican Republic from 1997 to 1999. She also served in Nicaragua, the United Kingdom, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Russia, and Washington, DC.
Linda was the Chief Operating Officer of The Episcopal Church from 2007 to 2011, overseeing the mission program, communications, development, financial, and operations staff of The Episcopal Church Center. She has been a member of the boards of Episcopal Relief and Development, Pro Mujer (a microfinance and human development organization), and the Adventures for the Mind Foundation.
In the Diocese of Utah, she was a General Convention deputy in 2016, a member of the Standing Committee, and the Senior Warden of her congregation. She served on the Church’s Task Force on Relations with the Church in Cuba. She was a deputy from the Diocese of Western North Carolina in 2022 and is currently the convener of The Episcopal Church’s Covenant Committee with IARCA (the Anglican Church in Central America).
Linda was elected to her first term on the CPF Board in 2018. She currently serves as a member of its Benefits Policy and Audit Committees. She received an MA in Latin American Studies from the University of New Mexico and a BA in History and Spanish from Vanderbilt University. She speaks fluent Spanish.
Linda was the Chief Operating Officer of The Episcopal Church from 2007 to 2011, overseeing the mission program, communications, development, financial, and operations staff of The Episcopal Church Center. She has been a member of the boards of Episcopal Relief and Development, Pro Mujer (a microfinance and human development organization), and the Adventures for the Mind Foundation.
In the Diocese of Utah, she was a General Convention deputy in 2016, a member of the Standing Committee, and the Senior Warden of her congregation. She served on the Church’s Task Force on Relations with the Church in Cuba. She was a deputy from the Diocese of Western North Carolina in 2022 and is currently the convener of The Episcopal Church’s Covenant Committee with IARCA (the Anglican Church in Central America).
Linda was elected to her first term on the CPF Board in 2018. She currently serves as a member of its Benefits Policy and Audit Committees. She received an MA in Latin American Studies from the University of New Mexico and a BA in History and Spanish from Vanderbilt University. She speaks fluent Spanish.
If you have any questions about the role or work of the CPF Board, please join us at the CPG Booth in the Exhibit Hall on Saturday, June 22, from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM ET to “Meet the CPF Board of Trustees.” Every member of the board stands ready, willing, and able to answer your questions and hear your feedback.