The Very Rev. Bernard J. Owens

Dean

The Very Reverend Bernard J. “BJ” Owens, IV was called as dean of Trinity Cathedral in fall 2018. He is the Cathedral’s 12^th dean since its founding.

In his first years at Trinity Cathedral, Dean Owens has worked to build on Trinity’s long history of transcendent worship, wholehearted inclusion, and committed service to the city of Cleveland, while celebrating and supporting the ministry of the many churches of Diocese of Ohio. Dean Owens has led the process of strategic visioning that identified Trinity’s vocation to be A Sacred Place for All People, and has guided the revitalizing of Trinity’s ministry structure to help achieve that vision. He is also a graduate of the 2022 class of Leadership Cleveland.

Prior to his appointment at Trinity, he served as rector at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Greensboro, North Carolina for eight years. There, he led a growing church, with new members among both young families and mature parishioners. Before St. Andrew’s, he was the Associate Rector for Children’s & Family Ministries at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cary, North Carolina.

Dean Owens attended UNC-Chapel Hill and Yale Divinity School. Between his undergraduate and graduate studies, he worked in film production in New York City. He loves to hike, cycle, and do just about anything outdoors; he and his wife, the Rev. Jo Nygard Owens, live in Shaker Heights with their two children.

The Rev. Canon Adrienne Koch

Canon for Mission and Transformation

The Rev. Adrienne Koch joined the Trinity staff in the fall of 2019 where she oversees adult formation, outreach, and campus ministry. Recently a published author, she contributed to the 2020 Church Publishing book Belovedness: Finding God (and Self) on Campus.

Originally from Cleveland, she was formerly the Young Adult Missioner and Campus Minister for the Raleigh Area in the Episcopal Diocese of NC and Adjunct Faculty at Duke Divinity School. Her previous work was as a chaplain and educator at the Durham VA Medical Center, and as the Administrative Assistant to the Dean and Communications Specialist at Duke University Chapel.

She received her BA in Liberal Arts from Malone College in 2004, with concentrations in Theology, Psychology, and Communications, and her M.Div. from Duke University in 2011 with a certificate of studies in Gender, Theology, and Ministry. She completed her Anglican coursework at Sewanee and is trained in the Narrative Enneagram. Adrienne has been working with and teaching the Enneagram in academic and church settings since 2012 and was certified as a spiritual director in 2021.

The Rt. Rev. Anne B. Jolly

Bishop of Ohio

Jeff Spiess

Senior Warden

Kim DeNero Ackroyd

Junior Warden

Paul Herrgesell

Treasurer
Leader: Children & Youth

Paul has been a member of Trinity since 2006. He enjoys working at the Urban Farm, and serves on the Property Committee; he has also been a Sunday School teacher. He can usually be found at the 9:00 service, but enjoys attending all of the Sunday services and Wednesday Choral Evensong. Paul is self-employed as a cryogenic consultant and has an engineering degree from the University of Hartford and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University. Paul is married to Beth Cooper and together they are avid supporters of Music & Art at Trinity Cathedral. They live in Cleveland Heights and have 2 grown daughters, Katie and Janet.

Marie Curry

Vestry: Peace, Justice & Mercy

Mark Biddlestone

Elizabeth Billings

Vestry: Worship, Art & Music

Beth joined Trinity with her husband, Steven, and daughter, Maeve, in September 2007 after moving to Shaker Heights from Indianapolis. She has been a member of the Cathedral Choir, Knitting Pearls and a lector since she joined. As a choir member, she regularly attends the 11:15 service on Sunday, the weekly Choral Evensong service on Wednesdays, and monthly Solemn Sung Eucharist. In her past life, Beth was a genetic counselor, working in the area of prenatal diagnosis. In 2001, she chose to leave that field and since then has worked part-time at yarn shops, teaching knitting and selling yarn. In February 2019, Beth realized a lifelong dream and, with her friend and partner, she opened Around the Table Yarns shop in Shaker Heights. Beth is a lifelong Episcopalian and completed an adult catechism program as well as EFM, before moving to Ohio. Beth and her husband served jointly as Stewardship co-chairs in their last parish; she also taught Godly Play and was a co-leader of their congregation’s first Rite 13 program. Beth is a quietly spiritual person but as she has grown older and wiser, she has come to know that it is through all of our direct contributions and participation that the church will thrive, and be a continuing source of community, strength and leadership.

Martin Hermes

Vestry: Children & Youth

Diane Hexter

Vestry: Diocesan & National Ministry

It has been a gift to be a member of Trinity for 23 years. This is the first time I have served on the vestry and I am looking forward to these next 3 years. The beautiful music at 11:15 service holds me captive every week. I serve also as a Eucharist Minister, Lector, co-chair for the Flower Guild, and have been a Convention Delegate several times. In the past 10 years I have served the church on several Diocesan Committees. I was on Commission on Ministry for 4-5 years, on Diocesan Council for 4 years, on the Diocesan Nominating Committee for 2 years, and presently serving on a committee to develop Lay Discernment. One of my most rewarding experiences is to Mentor EfM classes for the past 8 years. Professionally, I am an Interior Designer for 15 years, a Realtor for 21 years and received National Recognition for 10 years. I am married to my husband Michael for 21 years and have shared in our Real Estate business together. I have 2 natural children and 2 stepchildren. There are 10 grandchildren in the family. Thank you for your trust in me.

Audry Hudak

Vestry: Invite, Welcome, Connect

Toni Ponzo

Vestry

Cynthia Ries

Vestry: Adult Faith Formation

Cynthia Ries joined Trinity in November 2016 and has been involved with the Stewardship and Adult Faith Formation mission teams. She is a Veriditas-certified labyrinth facilitator and SoulCollage® facilitator and leads workshops on both these spiritual practices at Trinity. Professionally, Cynthia works in the nonprofit community, where she has been in executive and board leadership roles, and has served as a consultant to many. She holds a BA from Lake Erie College and an MPA from New York University. She has worked in the arts and culture sector here in Cleveland and in New York City, and currently is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at New York University. Cynthia lives in the North Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland.

Marilyn Valencia

Vestry: Congregational Life

Doreen Hughes

Executive Assistant to the Dean

Doreen Hughes joined the Trinity staff in 2013. As an OSBA-certified paralegal, she worked in the legal department at Management Recruiters International, Inc. for 15 years. After her position with MRI moved to Philadelphia she did not know where she would be employed next but always said, “Wherever God puts me, that’s where I will be.”

Dan Hout-Reilly

Controller

Ginger Bitikofer

Associate for Membership & Congregational Life

Ginger joined the Trinity staff in 2005. She graduated from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and previously worked for The May Company in human resources and customer service. She’s been a member of the Cathedral since the mid-1980s and has sung in the choir, served on the Vestry and led various small groups.

Contact Ginger to get connected with small groups and other ministries, learn about becoming a member, or plan a baptism, wedding or funeral.

Eric Travis

Director of Children’s and Youth Ministries

Eric is an enthusiastic, faithful, and deeply experienced youth and children’s minister who has served multiple dioceses and congregations. As a congregational youth and young adult minister, he has served churches in Springfield, MO, the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, IL, and most recently Greenville, SC. His diocesan work includes serving as the Canon for Youth Ministry in the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York, and twelve years as the Missioner for Youth and Young Audits in the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan.

Eric has a passion for youth and children’s ministry and an extensive toolbox for carrying out this work. He has played every role you can imagine, from teaching Sunday school for 3-5th graders to training youth ministry volunteers from across the 72-church diocese of Michigan. He has worked for the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ youth in local, diocesan, and national gatherings, he has created innovative youth confirmation programs and he is a leader in developing the nationwide Safe Church Guidelines that empower us to care for all who are involved in this life-giving ministry.

Cheryl Williams

Director of Development and Community Programming

Cheryl brings decades of experience in stewardship, philanthropy, community engagement and service to her work at Trinity Cathedral.

After serving in a variety of administrative capacities for the Diocese of Ohio, in 2000 Cheryl was appointed Campaign Manager for the Diocese’s $10 million Legacy Campaign to support the building and creation of Trinity Commons – the consolidated campus housing both Trinity Cathedral and the Diocesan headquarters/office building.

She served as Director of Stewardship and Development for the Diocese of Ohio, launching and managing the Office of Stewardship and Development and supporting resources and training to strengthen stewardship in local congregations. In her work as Director of the Episcopal Community Services Foundation, she facilitated philanthropic support and provided oversight for the grants management process, ensuring the disbursement of grants to organizations providing essential services to people in need across northern Ohio.Her professional experience includes roles as Development Manager for One-Community, Coordinator of Corporate and Foundation Relations and Director of Corporate Partnerships at Akron Children’s Hospital.After serving as Director of Philanthropy and Stewardship for the National Office of the United Church of Christ, Cheryl was appointed to the position of Chief Strategy Officer, providing administrative oversight on behalf of the CEO/General Minister, facilitating strategic planning with oversight for philanthropy, communications/marketing. and the UCC’s Center for Analytics, Research and Development. Cheryl received her BSM from Indiana Wesleyan University, and a MPA degree from the University of Akron, and is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE).

Cheryl has a deep love for the church and – in everything — believes strongly in valuing the gifts of the present, while holding space for the adjacent possible. She is passionate about resourcing the work of the church towards engaging God’s beloved community. In her free time, she loves spoiling her grandchildren, getting lost in a good book, nature walks, yoga, music, and jigsaw puzzles.

Shiloh Roby

Director of Music

Emily Butler

Program Manager, Music and Art at Trinity Cathedral

JoEllen West

Organ Scholar and Music Librarian

Brett Boardwine

Communications Manager

Sam Hubish

Livestream Producer

Sam has been a member of Trinity since 2000. He is a 1979 graduate of Cooper School of Art where he studied painting and printmaking. Upon leaving Cooper he taught Printmaking at Interlochen Center for the Arts Summer Arts Camp. He is a cabinet maker trained in set and exhibit design. Sam is the owner of the website development company aSimpleMachine.com.,Ltd. aSimpleMachine.com provides Trinity with web development, maintenance, audio recording, photography, and other technical needs. When not building websites Sam hones his art as a certified barbecue judge for the Kansas City Barbecue Society. He also enjoys foraging for mushrooms, looking at the stars, and Geocaching with his son.

Brandon McCreary

Audio Technician

Jon Silvis

Operations Manager

Aretha McCreary

Hospitality Coordinator

Melvina Blair

Hospitality Coordinator

Terence Hunter

Steward