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Vestry Members and Delegates

The Vestry is the elected board of the church. Elections are held in February every year. Throughout the year, the Vestry takes business matters under consideration and hears reports from each area of the church.

Thayer ross
Senior Warden
& Diocesan Delegate

Carolyn Thayer Ross

Carolyn, her husband, Bill Codinha, and their two daughters, Cotton and Alessandra, joined the Church of the Redeemer 25 years ago, when they moved from Beacon Hill to Brookline. Since then, Carolyn has served on the Vestry, the Building and Grounds Committee, chaired the Nominating Committee and co-chaired the Stewardship Committee for three years with Chuck Farber and Dan McCarthy. She is a member of the Altar Guild, where she has served as Head (and sat on the Vestry ex-officio) and as Treasurer. Carolyn sits on the Strategic Ministry Committee, ex officio and is a member of the Fuel Advisory Board. She taught confirmation classes for three years, ran two Redeemer yard sales to raise funds for mission trips, chaperoned a mission trip to Cuba with Redeemer and St. Stephen’s teens and has volunteered at the South End’s Blackstone School Library in a program affiliated with St. Stephen’s. Carolyn graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Boston College Law School. She practiced law as a litigator, then was Senior Vice President, General Counsel of the publicly held Yankee Companies, Inc. She served as President and Chair of the Beacon Hill Civic Association, President of the Beacon Hill Circle for Charity and President of The Chestnut Hill Garden Club. She was a member of the boards of The Boston Ballet and the Massachusetts Society for the Protection of Children, where she served as Chair of the Greater Boston Region. She was an Associate Trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, an Overseer of Boston College Law School, a Trustee of The Masters School and of The Chestnut Hill School. She was a Governor of the Chilton Club. Carolyn has been a longtime member of the board of MSPCA-Angell, where she is now an Honorary Trustee. She recently served on their CEO Search Committee and continues as a member of its Human Resources/Compensation Committee. She is a Vice Chair of the Conservation and National Affairs and Legislation Committee of the Garden Club of America. Carolyn was been serving as Senior Warden of the Redeemer since 2018.


Junior Warden
& Diocesan Delegate

Dan McCarthy

Dan McCarthy, his wife Stacey, and their two sons, Drew and Colin, joined the Redeemer in 1998 after moving to Chestnut Hill (and now West Newton) from the Back Bay.  At the Redeemer, Dan has been fortunate to serve on the Vestry and as a Teacher of the Sunday School Program. He has Co-Chaired the Stewardship Committee for several years with Carolyn Ross Thayer, and he also Chaired the Nominating Committee twice. He served on the Discernment Panel for the Postulancy of Zach Brooks for the Episcopal priesthood.  

Dan has served as a Christmas Market Co-Auctioneer with Britt Lee and Michael Aylward for several years, raising significant donations for Redeemer Strategic Ministries. Each Tuesday, Dan and Debby Mills also teach Banking and Financial Literacy skills to the students of The Epiphany School in Dorchester, and they have helped most of the students open up Savings Accounts for weekly deposits. Dan graduated from Boston Latin School, Harvard College and received his MBA from the Harvard Business School. He accumulated over 33 years of experience in the Institutional Investment industry with exposure to a wide variety of investment research, trading, and portfolio strategies across multiple asset classes.

After several successful years with multiple roles at Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Leerink Swann, State Street Corp, Eaton Vance, Columbia Mgmt., and Aon Corp, Dan recently retired from Cambridge Associates as a senior leader in their US Endowment and Foundations practice. External Charity roles included 12 years as Chair of the Massachusetts Council on Economic Education (MCEE), an organization dedicated to teaching Financial Literacy to hundreds of Massachusetts teachers and students. He served on the Board of Junior Achievement of Greater Boston. He organized multiple charity fundraisers and golf tournaments for the educational needs of Boston schoolchildren.  

Dan has also organized and chaired at least 20 reunions for his class at Harvard College, Harvard Business School, and Boston Latin School. As a self-taught artist, Dan has designed commissioned artwork for organizations, individuals, and businesses, including the logo for Harpoon Ale. He is thrilled and excited to join the leadership of the Redeemer as Junior Warden. 



Clerk

Michael Aylward

Michael Aylward is a Boston lawyer.  He was born in Hong Kong but grew up in Washington, D.C. during the tumultuous 1960s.  After graduating from Dartmouth, he received his legal education at Boston College where he met and eventually married Deborah Bradford Ritter, thus sealing his destiny as a member of the Church of the Redeemer, where the Ritter family had worshiped for years.  Since joining the parish in 1987, he has served two terms on the Vestry, co-chaired the Rector Search Committee (2012-2014) that hired Father Dangelo and chaired the Outreach Committee (1992-2004) and Building and Grounds Committee (2009-2020).  During COVID, he revived the Church Service League’s Fellowship Committee and organized a series of programs and Zoom lectures to maintain a sense of community during a time of isolation.   Outside of Redeemer, Michael is a devotee of military and U.S. history, loves to cook and has traveled around the world with Debbie.



Treasurer

Stefan Karlsson

Stefan, his wife, Inger and their three children, Ulrika, Torsten, and Britta joined the Redeemer in 2015. Stefan is active in the Parish Choir and Inger frequently volunteers at Sunday School. With a background as a chorister at the St. Thomas Choir School in New York, Stefan was drawn to the Redeemer by its rich musical offering. However, the Karlsson’s history with the church stretches back much farther to 1975 when Inger’s parents were married at the Redeemer. Professionally, Stefan is the Director of Research and a Partner at Aureus Asset Management. Stefan earned his undergraduate degree from Brown University, his MBA from NYU Stern School of Business, and is a CFA charterholder. Stefan currently serves as the Assistant Treasurer at The Church of the Redeemer and as a trustee and Treasurer at The Chestnut Hill School.



Assistant Treasurer

David Walker

David is a Managing Principal and Chief Investment Officer at Moody, Lynn & Lieberson LLC where he also manages investment portfolios for individuals, families, endowments and foundations. David is a Chartered Financial Analyst, and he has over 30 years of experience in the investment management industry having previously worked at State Street Research and Management Company (now BlackRock) in Boston and Equinox Capital Management in New York. David is chair of the Board of Trustees of the Vincent Memorial Hospital Foundation. He has formerly served on the Board of Fellows of Trinity College where he graduated in 1983 with a B.A. in history. David has twice represented the Redeemer as a Diocesan Delegate and he served as a Deanery Representative in 2019. David, his wife, Lisa, and their 2 daughters, Nina and Electra, have been members of the Redeemer since 2002. 



Vestry Member

Sue Dickinson

I started out in Waynesburg, Kentucky, a town of 300.  I grew up in an evangelical church with all the strict rules that my mother totally ignored. After college, my husband, Bill and I moved to Boston, and one Sunday, I found myself in the last row of Trinity Church. Over the next 30 years slowly moved closer to the front.  I took on leadership positions serving as the Head of Community Life (6 years), the Altar Guild and the Prayer Chain (12 years each).  I served on the Profile Committee, as co-leader of the Inquirer’s Class (15 years) and, during Covid, was appointed as the Ministry Liaison to the Planning Committee. The eventual move to Newton, the return of a dear friend, and volunteering on Tuesdays at FUEL led me to leave Trinity for life at the Redeemer.   This time I didn’t start in the last row but the one behind the Szals and quickly found myself drawn into church life.  I loved that Redeemer tithed, had such strong outreach, and preached the Gospel.  People have welcomed me into the church’s work as a Lay Eucharistic Minister, usher, lector, and Thursday reader for the Daily Office.  I am now part of the leadership team for FUEL and love it.  The journey To Redeemer has taken a while but it’s where I’m meant to be.


Vestry Member

Sarah Hammond

Sarah and her husband Aaron married at the Redeemer in 2007 and have been members since moving to Newton in 2010.  She works as an infectious diseases physician at Massachusetts General Hospital where she specializes in the care of cancer and transplant patients with infection.  Originally from Maryland, Sarah moved to the Boston area for her medical training in 2002 where she met Aaron.  Together Sarah and Aaron have four daughters, Eliza (10), Annie (9), Lydia (7) and Naomi (1.5), who keep them very busy!




Vestry Member

Julia Clay

Julia Clay is a Managing Director at Cambridge Associates in Boston. In her role, she serves as Chief Investment Officer for endowments, foundations, and high net worth families. She partners holistically with clients to further their missions and objectives through the management of discretionary and advisory investment portfolios with a focus on strategic and tactical asset allocation, manager selection and risk management. Julia is a graduate of Wellesley College and lives in Chestnut Hill with her husband, Brian, and their two children, Thomas (age 6.5) and Caroline (age 5). Julia also serves on the Investment Committee for the Church of the Redeemer.


Vestry Member

Jen Ewing

Jen Ewing has been attending the Church of the Redeemer since 2014, when she and her husband, Alex, moved to Chestnut Hill. .  She and Alex are parents to Eloise (age 10) and Jack (age 8).   Jen enjoys teaching Godly Play and otherwise finding ways to volunteer at the Church.  As her “day job”, Jen is a partner at Ropes & Gray where she is an estate planning attorney and serves as trustee and fiduciary for her clients.



Vestry Member

Elliot Davis

Elliot and her family joined the Church of the Redeemer 21 years ago, when she and her family moved to MA from New York City.  At the Redeemer, Elliot has served as Co-Chair of Stewardship from 2007-09 and 2022, as a Lay Eucharistic Minister and Lector, often alongside her husband, John Paolella, and sons, William and James as past acolytes and servers.  During COVID, she was grateful to be part of the Spiritual Formation Group led by Graeme and Debbie Mills.  By profession, she was the John Moors Cabot Chair, Art of the Americas, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for 18 years, and the Director and CEO of the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida before returning to Boston in the summer of 2020.  Elliot is currently a 2022 fellow in the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard, working on aggregating best practices for art museums to meet mission goals for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility while continuing to serve as an important resource for their communities. In addition to spending time with family and friends, Elliot enjoys reading, squash, yoga, and travel.




Vestry Member

Ryan Sylvia

Ryan Sylvia lives locally in Newton Center with his wife (Louisa), two kids Luke (age 11) and Hadley (age 9), as well as their dog Axl.  Ryan has been coming to the Redeemer for over 8 years, was married to Louisa by Dorsey McConnell and the children were baptized with Mike Dangelo.  Ryan is passionate about his faith practices at the Redeemer, having dived into men's retreats, various Spiritual Transformation groups and regular Sunday worship.  He currently serves as Co-Chair for the Building & Grounds Committee, a group he has supported for many years now.  Ryan served also participated as a Diocesan Delegate Alternate, and has volunteered time in the past at the Christmas Market, St. Stephens and Common Cathedral.  Professionally Ryan is CEO for a technology consulting firm (Envisage, Inc.) in Marlborough and in his downtime enjoys exercise, sports, and time with family and friends.



Vestry Member

Christa Hawkins

Christa and her husband Jeff have been active members of the Redeemer since 2003, when they moved to Chestnut Hill.  A teacher of Sunday school for many years, Christa enjoyed being part of the program with her four children, Elaina 20, Elise 18, Brooks 16 and Scarlett  12.  Christa has also served on the Church School Committee.  Christa and Jeff’s children have grown up participating in many aspects of Redeemer life, including Sunday school, youth group and confirmation; serving as acolytes and volunteering as youth assistants.  Recently completing her training, Christa now volunteers for Planned Parenthood’s counseling and referral hotline.  Prior to having children, Christa worked as a journalist and in media relations in the public and private sectors.



Vestry Member

Tim Allen

By training, Tim was an IT professional working in the manufacturing and financial services sectors for 20+ years.  He left corporate America as a senior executive to start his own business as a boutique shop fixing Mercedes-Benz and BMW automobiles.  After 10 years and achieving his personal goals for his business, Tim retired from the working world to pursue more personal and philanthropic activities.  He has since served on the Board of Trustees of Pine Manor College for 6 years.

Tim and his wife Sarah have been parishioners of the Church of the Redeemer since 1986.  Sarah was the Redeemer’s Church School Director for 15 years and both Tim and Sarah have been Lay Eucharistic Ministers for 22 years.  While attending formal church services have always been special in the hearts of the Allen family, Tim has experienced firsthand the true impact of the church community through the various inreach/outreach activities.  Tim has played various supporting roles for the Christmas Market and he has also served on the Vestry nominating committee.  It is for these reasons Tim is enthusiastic about this new calling to be on the Vestry of the Redeemer.


Vestry Member

Stephen Cummings

Stephen and his wife Virginia have been Church of the Redeemer members for more than thirty years. Their sons, Chris and Tom, both attended preschool and Sunday school at the Redeemer. The boys attended confirmation classes and were confirmed at the Redeemer. Gina has been a member of the Altar Guild for more than twenty years. As Head of the Altar Guild she also served as Ex-Officio Member of The Vestry. Stephen officiates the daily prayer about three times a week.  “Worship at the Redeemer is critically important in my life.  I enjoy learning and music here immensely.”

Stephen is a Wisconsin native, but he has strong roots in Newton and Brookline. He has lived in Brookline forty-five years.  Both The Brookline TAB and The Newton TAB are among the fifteen community newspapers he founded, published and eventually sold to The Community Newspaper Company, a Fidelity Capital venture.  Both he and Gina have been active in managing The State House News Service, a news content provider with offices in Wellesley and in The State House, Boston, for more than twenty-five years. An entrepreneur, Stephen also founded News Service of Florida, and Travelers Marketing LLC, which currently operates highway safety programs for Highway Departments and Toll Highway Authorities in twenty-two states. Stephen enjoys playing golf, reading and rooting for The Red Sox at Fenway Park.



Vestry Member

Jake Gardam

Jake, his wife Lily, and daughter Anastasia live in Brighton and have been coming to Church of the Redeemer for 3 years after being introduced to the church by Rev. Megan Holding prior to their marriage at the Old North Church. Jake and his family feel exceedingly fortunate to have found Redeemer and have made many supportive connections and close friends during their time as parishioners. Lily and Anastasia were baptized at Redeemer and continue to be a part of church life. Jake attended Berklee College of Music and graduated in 2020 with a degree in Drum Set Performance and a minor in Music Production and Engineering. He continues to work as a musician, audio engineer, and educator in and around New England. In his spare time Jake enjoys hiking, weightlifting, bushcraft, reading history and detective stories, and watching old movies. 


Vestry member

Paul Szal

Paul and his wife Chris have been attending Church of the Redeemer regularly for the past five years, after being introduced to the parish fifteen years ago by their daughter who lived nearby.  Having attended four grandchild baptisms and numerous services at The Redeemer, they decided this would be their church after Paul’s retirement. 

Paul had been active at the Episcopal Church in Bangor, serving on the vestry and a rector search committee.  He very much enjoyed the choral musical training his children received there.  At The Redeemer, he has been seen flipping pancakes, wrestling with Christmas trees and packing FUEL bags.

Paul received an undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins, an M.D. degree from Stanford, did a medical internship at Dartmouth, and completed his residency at Harvard’s Joint Center for Radiation Therapy.  He then practiced radiation oncology in Bangor, Maine, for thirty-five years before retiring with Chris to Concord to be near children and grandchildren.  Paul and Chris have two daughters, a son, and seven grandchildren.  They are happy to call Redeemer their church home.


Vestry Member

Debby Mills

Debby, together with her husband Graeme, have been members of the parish for almost 20 years, joining Church of the Redeemer when their three children (Ben, Zach, and Sam) were toddlers. After serving as a longtime member of the Mission & Outreach (M&O) committee, Debby is currently Co-Chair of the Strategic Ministries Committee (SMC) and is a co-leader of the Redeemer’s Race & Beloved Community discussion group. She also serves as a Lay Eucharist Minister (LEM), is on the Altar Guild, participates in the Church Service League (CSL) and Women’s and Sunday morning Bible studies. She has also co-led the Redeemer’s Christmas Market and accompanied teens on mission trips to New Orleans and Uganda. Debby was a commercial banker for almost 20 years in Boston and Sydney, Australia, before working with several non-profits and at Apple. In addition, she has served as PTO President and a board member at two of her children’s schools.

Diocesan Delegate Alternate

Steve Mead

Steve has been an engaged member of the parish since 1985.  Tish and Steve's four children were confirmed at the Redeemer and now range 32 to 43 years old, and they have five grandchildren.   Steve currently serves as Liaison to the Strategic Ministries Committee for Beacon of Hope College and Pilgrim Africa.  Former Sunday School teacher, member of Vestry, Treasurer and Chair of the Investment Committee, Steve served as Senior Warden from 2004 to 2012.  Beyond his support of the Redeemer's SMC partners, Steve spends time on behalf of, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston, the Pioneer Institute (founded by Redeemer's Pete Peters), Squash Busters, Middlesex School, and two Episcopal foundations, the Sears Funds and the Boston Episcopal Charitable Society.  In 2021 after a 35 year career, Steve retired from Anchor Capital Advisors, a Boston based investment advisor founded in 1983.




 Diocesan Delegate Alternate

Nina Moriarty

Nina Moriarty has been a member of the parish of the Church of the Redeemer since moving to Chestnut Hill from Cambridge in 1977.  She has served and chaired the Sunday School Committee and the Church Service League and co-chaired the Christmas Market.  She has taught several Sunday school classes including the Confirmation class and continues to volunteer as a teacher for the Apostles class.   A member of the Altar guild since 1993, she has been its treasurer. She served on the vestry several times and served as its clerk , as member of 2 rector search committees and as a junior warden. She has been a Diocesan delegate and Deanery representative.

By profession, she taught Art History.  Her research lies in the field of later medieval manuscript illumination and the relationship between image and text.  Her volunteer activities included being a governor of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and a visitor to the Department of Prints and Drawings at the Museum of Fine Arts.  She has been a trustee of the College of the Atlantic, The Boston Theological Institute, the National Cathedral Association of the Washington National Cathedral, Concord Academy and the Park School. 

Nina is married to Marshall Moriarty, a retired partner of the law firm Ropes and Gray.   Their greatest pleasure is time spent with their children and grandchildren.   In addition, Nina enjoys gardening, reading and cooking.



Ex-Officio, Altar Guild Head

Kate Kimball

An Episcopalian for her entire adult life, Kate has attended Redeemer since 2015. During that time, she has been a regular at the 8:00 a.m. service and Adult Education, been active on the Altar Guild, occasionally volunteered for Habitat for Humanity work days, and written the Q&A for the weekly Sunday leaflet. In the past, she has served as a LEM, reader, and vestry member. After a long career in private school leadership, Kate shifted to a less demanding position as the Executive Assistant to the Chief of General Medicine at Beth Israel. In her now more abundant free time, she enjoys tennis, biking, running, spending time with friends & family and better understanding how to embrace and promote faith, hope, and love in all circumstances.


Church of the Redeemer logo

379 Hammond Street
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
PHONE:  617-566-7679
FAX:  617-566-6678
OFFICE: 8:30-4:00 pm M-F | SUMMER:  9:00-3:00 pm M-Th
office@redeemerchestnuthill.org

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