2021 Keynote Speakers
Watch, Listen and Learn: Keynote Speakers
The CEEP Network is honored to present the most influential thought leaders in the Church today to share their wisdom and insights with you.
The Most Reverend Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop and Primate, The Episcopal Church
The Most Reverend Michael Curry was installed the 27th Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church on November 1, 2015. He is the Chief Pastor and serves as President and Chief Executive Officer and is the Chair of the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church.
The descendant of enslaved Africans brought to North America by way of the trans-Atlantic slave routes, Presiding Bishop Curry was ordained to the diaconate in 1978. He has served in three parish ministries in North Carolina, Ohio, and Maryland and was elected the 11th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina in 2000.
Throughout his ministry, Presiding Bishop Curry has been active in issues of social justice, reconciliation, and has spoken out on immigration policy and marriage equality. His maintains a national preaching and teaching ministry and has been featured on The Protestant Hour, and The Today Show, among others.
He is married to the former Sharon Clement, and they have two adult daughters, Rachel and Elizabeth.
Catherine Meeks, PhD, Executive Director, Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing
Dr. Catherine Meeks is executive director of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing. Prior to the center’s opening, she chaired its precursor, Beloved Community: Commission for Dismantling Racism for the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta.
A sought-after teacher and workshop leader, Dr. Meeks brings four decades of experience to the work of transforming the dismantling of racism in Atlanta. The core of her work has been with people who have been marginalized because of economic status, race, gender or physical ability.
Dr. Meeks is the retired Clara Carter Acree Distinguished Professor of Socio-Cultural Studies from Wesleyan College and Founding Executive Director of the Lane Center for Community Engagement and Service. She holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Clark Atlanta University and a PhD from Emory University.
She has had many great teachers including her sons, the Bible, Jungian psychology, cross-cultural stories and other books of wisdom.
Darren Walker, President, The Ford Foundation
Darren Walker is president of the Ford Foundation, a $13 billion international social justice philanthropy. His is co-founder and chair of the President’s Council on Disability Inclusion in Philanthropy.
Before joining Ford, Mr. Walker was vice president at Rockefeller Foundation, overseeing global and domestic programs. In the 1990s, he was COO of the Abyssinian Development Corporation, Harlem’s largest community development organization.
Mr. Walker co-chairs New York City’s Mayoral Advisory Commission on City Art, Monuments, and Markers and the New York City Census Task Force, among several others. He also serves on numerous boards including Carnegie Hall, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, among many others.
Educated exclusively in public schools, Mr. Walker graduated from The University of Texas at Austin. He is the recipient of 16 honorary degrees and university awards, including Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Medal.
The Reverend Kathleen Walker, Missioner for Black Ministries, Diocese of North Carolina
Reverend Kathleen (Kathy) Walker joined the bishop’s staff in February 2020 to focus on the contributions and vitality of historically Black congregations by helping to weave their diversity into a closer bond of inclusion with other parishes and with the diocese. The goal is to ensure all predominantly Black congregations have the best opportunity to make the fullest use possible of the resources of their parishes, partnerships, and diocese.
She graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary in 2018, and shortly thereafter, joined the clergy team of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Tallahassee, Florida as associate rector for pastoral care and parish life. She is originally from Miami and was an active lay leader in that diocese prior to discerning the call to ordained ministry. Reverend Walker is a past president of the Theodore R. Gibson Chapter and Southern Region Director of Union of Black Episcopalians.
The Most Reverend and Right Honorable Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury
The Most Reverend and Right Honorable Justin Welby became the Archbishop of Canterbury in 2013. He was previously Bishop of Durham, Dean of Liverpool Cathedral, and a Canon of Coventry Cathedral, where he worked extensively in the field of reconciliation.
Before he began training for ministry in 1989, Archbishop Welby worked in the oil industry for 11 years, five of which were in Paris and six in London.
Archbishop Welby has three main priorities for his ministry — Evangelism and Witness, Prayer and the Renewal of Religious life, and Reconciliation. He is a member of the High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation for the United Nations. He is the author of Reimagining Britain and Dethroning Mammon, both published by Bloomsbury.
Archbishop Welby is married to Caroline and they have five children and four grandchildren.
The Reverend Dr. Sam Wells, Vicar, St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Reverend Dr. Sam Wells has been Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields since 2012. He has served as a parish priest for 20 years — ten of those in urban priority areas. He also spent seven years in North Carolina, where he was Dean of Duke University Chapel.
Dr. Wells is a Visiting Professor of Christian Ethics at King’s College. He is a regular contributor to Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today program. He has published 35 books, including works on Christian ethics, mission, ministry, scripture, liturgy, and preaching. Dr. Wells is married to Jo Wells, who is Bishop of Dorking. They have two children.
Reverend Azariah France-Williams
Reverend Azariah France-Williams has over a decade of experience within the Church of England and has been a pioneer priest at Ascension Church in Manchester since the summer of 2020. The role is strongly supported by the HeartEdge Network and is a new initiative to stimulate the work and worship of the Church, embedded within its community.
For the first six years of Fr. Azariah’s ministry, he worked on a group of housing estates. His role included building up a small, fading congregation into a stronger, more viable one as well as being involved in community organising and coordinating collective social change. For the next four years, Fr. Azariah spent time in a suburban setting, supporting a parish church, addressing issues of social isolation and mental wellbeing and using the arts to increase community cohesion. He is a broadcaster, podcaster, and is a visiting scholar at Sarum college in Salisbury, England. Fr. Azariah enjoys, singing, graphic novels, and writing poetry. His debut book is Ghostship: Institutional Racism and the Church of England, available through SCM Press here.
All keynote speakers and their introductions as well as closing remarks will be pre-recorded.
Rectors and Deans' Pre-Conference
Bishop Janice Riggle Huie (Retired)
Bishop Janice Riggle Huie is a retired bishop of The United Methodist Church and a former president of the Council of Bishops.
Bishop Huie currently serves in the area of Leadership Formation at the Texas Methodist Foundation where she brings her wealth of leadership development expertise and courageous innovation to United Methodist leaders across the United States.
She was elected to the Episcopacy in 1996. In her first appointment as bishop, she led Arkansas through the merging of the Little Rock and North Arkansas conferences.
In 2004, Bishop Huie was appointed to the Texas Annual Conference. Among the accomplishments of her work was the Advancing Pastoral Leadership program (APL) which has been successful in developing the leadership of young clergy throughout the Texas Conference and South Central Jurisdiction.
During her time as an active bishop, Bishop Huie served as the president of the General Board of Higher Education & Ministry (2000 – 2004), president of the Council of Bishops (2006 – 2008), president of the UMCOR Board of Directors (2008 – 2012), and president of the South Central Jurisdiction College of Bishops (1998 and 2013).
Bishop Huie retired in 2016 and joined the Texas Methodist Foundation later that year.
Cary Kelly, Consultant and Former CEEP Network Board President
Cary Kelly has spent the majority of her career to working with non-profit organizations and churches. She focuses on helping these organizations effectively promote their mission through bold visioning and board governance practices. She also has served as a certified leadership coach to priests and executives with a focus on building self-mastery and effective leadership practices. Cary has served as consultant and board president for the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes and chaired their search for a new executive director.
Today, Ms. Kelly owns a specialty food shop in the Arlington, VA area where she curates artisan- made culinary items from independent producers around the world. She mentors young entrepreneurs and minority women business owners. She worships at St. John’s, Lafayette Square in Washington, DC.
Henry Timms, President and CEO, Lincoln Center
Mr. Timms is the President and CEO of Lincoln Center, which serves three primary roles: the world’s leading presenter of superb artistic programming, a national leader in arts, education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center Campus. Previously he was the President and CEO of 92nd Street Y, a cultural and community center that creates programs and movements that foster learning and civic engagement.
Under his leadership, the 144-year-old institution was named to Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies” list. He is the co- founder of #GivingTuesday, a global philanthropic movement that engages people in close to 100 countries that has generated over a billion dollars for good causes. Mr. Timms is a Hauser Visiting Leader at Harvard Kennedy School and Visiting Fellow at Stanford University.
Mr. Timms is the co-author of the international bestselling book New Power, described by David Brooks in the New York Times as “the best window I’ve seen into this new world” and shortlisted for the FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year.
CEEP 2021 Annual ConferenceKeynote SpeakersPre-Conference SessionsWorkshopsAnnual Conference AgendaConference RegistrationPartners and Sponsors
Watch, Listen and Learn: Keynote Speakers
The CEEP Network is honored to present the most influential thought leaders in the Church today opportunities.
Women Clergy Gathering
Women clergy across the Church are invited to join for the latest Women Clergy Gathering @ The CEEP Network Annual Conference.
Pre-Conference Sessions
2021 Conference Workshops
Five Topics and three workshops per topic area. Workshops and worship will be live.
2021 Conference Agenda
The agenda for the digital Annual Conference is designed to provide thought-provoking insights, information you can use immediately, and seamless networking opportunities.
The CEEP Network is grateful to our partners who generously help to make the 2021 Annual Conference possible.