The Reverend Peter Cook serves as Executive Director of the New York State Council of Churches which represents 7,000 congregations across the state of New York. Ordained in the United Church of Christ, Reverend Cook received his BA from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon and an MA in Liturgical Theology and an MDiv. from Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA. Prior to serving the Council, he served as Senior Minister at First Congregational Church in Burlington, Vermont and The Plymouth Church in Framingham, Massachusetts and Pastor of St. John's United Church of Christ in Waukegan, Illinois. Throughout his ministry, Peter has been a strong advocate for the development of affordable housing, leading to the Council’s Who is My Neighbor Community Development Initiative to help faith institutions use their property to better serve their community.

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Rashida Tyler serves as the Deputy Executive Director of the New York State Council of Churches and as the Project Manager for the Interfaith Affordable Housing Collaborative. She is a passionate advocate for social and economic justice, especially for women in low-income and disenfranchised communities. Rashida is the former Associate Executive Director of Community Outreach and Program Development for the YMCA of Kingston and Ulster County. Previously she served as Director of Research and Operational Programming for the Ulster County Attorney’s Office.

Rashida works with many community organizations and advocacy groups to help work toward meaningful change and community uplift. Rashida is the Co-Founder of the Real Kingston Tenants Union and Founder of the Ulster County Coalition for Housing Justice to empower tenants and advocate for housing justice in the City of Kingston and Ulster County. The organization continues to not only advocate for housing justice but directly assist tenants by holding legal workshops, a housing resource fair, housing forums and assisting tenants in locating housing, and applying for housing assistance. Rashida is the Founder of Black Women At Work, a group that seeks to provide mentorship and networking opportunities to African American women in the Mid-Hudson Valley. She also serves as a board member of Ulster County’s Industrial Development Agency. She is President of the AME Zion Church of Kingston’s Lay Council and the Pastor’s Steward.

Rashida earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and History from Marist College, an M.A. in Africana Studies from SUNY at Albany and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy. She is a 2016 Women in Government and Civil Society Fellow, a 2017 graduate of the Women’s Campaign School at Yale, a 2018 graduate of the New Leaders Council Fellowship, and a 2022 Hudson Valley Top Forty Under 40 Mover & Shaker Honoree.

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Jim is the first point of contact for Protestant and Orthodox persons who wish to apply to become a chaplain for a NYS agency (usually DOCCS, but also OMH and DCFS). Jim explains the requirements and the process and offers suggestions for those who do not currently meet the standards. He monitors the submission of forms online and passes candidates who have met the requirements to a Certification Committee made up of current and retired chaplains. Jim then notifies the relevant state agency of certified candidates and monitors their progress through the state agency interview process. Jim is also the lead staff person in organizing the annual Chaplains Conference, working with the officers of the NYS Chaplains Association.

Heather Smith is an active United Methodist laywoman. Serving as the Peace with Justice Coordinator for the Upper NY Conference of The United Methodist Church since 2014, she has had the opportunity to train in advocacy work with the General Board of Church and Society in Washington, DC.As a member the Upper NY Conference Social Holiness Team has helped the Council secure grants and increased funding from that Conference. Heather joined the Executive Committee of the NYSCOC in 2023.

Always a justice-seeker, Heather is passionate about full inclusion and protection of the LGBTQ+ community, protections for immigrants and refugees, sensible gun laws, and child abuse prevention. Heather has helped with the planning of the Bethlehem Pride Festival, at FUMC Delmar she serves on the Hope More, Fear Less Task Force to End Gun Violence and the Reconciling Ministries Team, and supports many other actions with her prayers and presence.

Heather is the wife and daughter of pastors and mother to future clergy; she has spent her life navigating the politics of the church. She was born and raised in northern NY and has lived in the Capital Region for nearly 30 years. She and her husband have three adult children and are currently living in Delmar, NY.

Ginger Rento has been doing the bookkeeping for New York State Council of Churches since 2017 and has over 25 years of experience. Ginger’s client base includes several non-profits and ecumenical agencies.

Gary Van Kennen serves as President of the NYSCOC Executive Committee and is a member of Emmanuel Congregational United Church of Christ in Massena, New York. He is active in a number of local and international organizations, including New York State Kairos Prison Ministry and the Poor People's Campaign.  Gary also serves with several groups that work on religious freedom and human rights issues.

The Rev. E. Alan Dailey serves as Vice-President of the NYSCOC Executive Committee and represents the New York Conference United Church of Christ on this committee. Alan currently serves as an Intentional Interim Pastor, most recently at John Knox Presbyterian Church in Greece, NY. His interests include diversity and racial justice work and workshop facilitation. He also serves on the Board and as Treasurer of the Greater Rochester Council of Churches Faith in Action Network, and as the Ecumenical/Interfaith Coordinator for the Genesee Valley Association of the UCC. In these roles Alan has been instrumental in their anti-racism and diversity initiatives. He is an alumnus of Michigan State University and Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. He lives in Rochester, with his wife Sue. They have five adult children and nine grandchildren.

The Rev. Dr. William Wilkinson is a Presbyterian Church pastor representing the Presbytery of the Genesee Valley on the NYSCOC Executive Committee. He is Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Medina, NY. William’s passion for ecumenical ministry envisioned by the perspectives of the social gospel and liberation theology has led him to involvement with Presbyterian Peace Fellowship as well as the Greater Rochester Community of Churches/Faith in Action Network, the Rochester Area Communities Transforming Society, and the United Christian Leadership Ministries of Western New York.

Frederick Jackson serves as Treasurer of the NYSCOC Executive Committee. He is a member of the Finance Committee and the Social Justice Commission. Fred serves his local Episcopal church making use of his financial experience and has experience in Lay Church Management and Legislative advocacy. The “Who is my Neighbor?” program of the NYSCOC is of special interest to him in both the Capital Region and Manhattan.

The Reverend Bill Gottschalk-Fielding is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, currently serving as Assistant to the Bishop for the Upper New York Conference. Prior to his position as a judicatory staff member, Bill served as senior pastor of three congregations in the Finger Lakes region of New York. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University, a Master of Divinity from The Theological School of Drew University, and a graduate certificate in non-profit management from the University of Connecticut.

The Rt. Rev. Mary D. Glasspool has served as Bishop Assistant for the Episcopal Diocese of New York since 2016. In 40 years of ordained ministry, Bishop Glasspool has always had a passion for ecumenical and interfaith work. Officially she represents the Rt. Rev. Andrew ML Dietsche, the Rt. Rev. Allen K. Shin, and the entire Diocese of New York which covers Staten Island, Manhattan, the Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan, Orange, and Rockland Counties, as the Diocese engages with the New York State Council of Churches.

The Rev. Dr. Gideon Jebamani is an Episcopal priest serving as an at-large member of the NYSCOC Executive Committee. He is a Protestant Chaplain serving at Green Haven Correctional Facility. His role as an executive committee member includes his work in prison ministry, a vital aspect of the work of NYSCOC, coordinating and perpetuating ecumenical relationships locally and globally especially with India, and advocating for everyone’s human dignity and human rights beyond boundaries, especially the marginalized Dalit untouchable across the Globe.

Robert Kazmayer, "Sunfire," is one of two representatives to the NYSCOC Executive Committee from the New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and serves as chair of the Commission on Faith Formation. When he first joined a local Quaker meeting, he became a member of their Ministry and Counsel committee and discovered that the committee's function was to help everyone in the meeting to minister, both to each other and to the world. He has since served his home meeting and New York Yearly Meeting in many capacities. He was part of the Parliament of the World's Religions, one of hundreds of presenters, offering a session on the Quaker practice of "Worship Sharing," where participants contemplate important questions together. Sunfire regards his Quaker spiritual journey as a great adventure and is glad to include his role with NYSCOC as part of that adventure.

The Rev. Jim Ketcham is a retired American Baptist pastor, representing the American Baptist Churches of New York State on the Executive Committee.  He serves on the Social Justice and Development committees. Jim and his wife live in Troy, NY.

The Rev. Wolfgang Laudert serves as an at large member of the New York State Council of Churches Executive Committee on the Ecumenical Committee. He is pastor at Christ Lutheran Church, Staten Island.  He also serves as Dean of the Staten Island Conference of the Metro New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  He also chairs the ecumenical committee of the Staten Island Council of Churches.

Minister Chibueze Okorie is an ordained, Commissioned Lay Pastor in the NYC Presbytery and represents them on our Executive Committee. He joined the Church of Gethsemane in 1991 in response to its Outreach Ministry and volunteered with them for several years.  He experienced a call to Church leadership and attended the New York Theological Seminary and also completed two Clinical Pastoral Education Programs there. He was hired as the Minister of Evangelism and Director of Project Connect, the Church’s prison and re-entry program. He has received many citations and awards for his work in the field of Criminal Justice.  Chibueze is also a resource to clergy and lay, throughout the NYC Presbytery who seek his help for people who are incarcerated and their families. He is also a member of the Committee on Preparation for Lay Ministry and a Presbytery delegate for the United Nations Committee for Social Development.

The Rev. John Paarlberg is a retired pastor in the Reformed Church in America (RCA), having most recently served as the senior minister of the First Church in Albany.  Prior to that he was the RCA Minister for Social Witness and Worship.  He is a member of the Social Justice Commission of the NY State Council of Churches.

The Rev. Grover T. Reddie is an Episcopal priest, an at-large member of our Executive Committee, and a Protestant Chaplain with the NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision at Coxsackie Correctional Facility.

The Reverend Gary T. Smith is the director the Center for Racial Justice, the Racial Justice Consultant for the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ, and Pastor of Malden Road UCC in Mattydale, NY. In addition to his denominational work, Rev. Gary was the director of MICAH, a federation of the then PICO National Network (now Faith in Action). In his tenure there, the organization successfully achieved systemic change in both Cortland and Broome counties on health care, food access, affordable senior housing, and protecting the environment against the dangers of hydro fracking. Rev. Gary served as a staff spiritual director at the Spiritual Renewal Center in Syracuse for 25 years and maintains a private spiritual direction practice today. He has also co-led two task forces that developed two “Culturally Responsive Ministry” six-hour learning modules now required by UCC clergy in multiple Conferences throughout the United States. The first module centers on Race and the second focuses on Gender and Sexuality. Rev. Gary holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the State University of New York at Albany, and a Master of Divinity from St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry in Rochester, NY. Lastly, he is a huge proponent of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s admonition to people of faith: “The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool.”

Jillian Smith is one of two representatives to NYSCOC Executive Committee from New York Yearly Meeting. She grew up Quaker at Saratoga Friends Monthly Meeting and spent a chapter of her life living and worshipping at Brooklyn Monthly Meeting while she currently is attending Old Chatham Monthly Meeting. She finds walking in forests or swimming in oceans, lakes, rivers, and ponds a vital source of spiritual comfort. Her ever-ongoing spiritual growth took place at Quaker conference centers such as Powell House and Pendle Hill as well as among friends in the Friends World Committee for Consultation. She’s inspired by the Center for the Study of White American Culture and its efforts to decenter whiteness and build antiracist multiracial community. She completed her Roots of Justice antiracism analysis training program with members of NYYM in 2022. She was changed by her experience with Alternatives to Violence Project AVP. Jillian regards her Quaker spiritual journey as a great adventure and is glad to include her role with NYSCOC as part of that adventure.

The Rev. Tanya Spencer is an American Baptist Pastor from Buffalo New York and serves as the representative of the American Baptist Churches of Rochester/Genesee on the Executive Committee of the NYS Council of Churches. She has a passion for Christ and helping people.

Alex Tindal Wiesendanger is a long-time organizer, advocate and trainer and the author of Seeds of Justice: Organizing Your Church to Transform the World (Orbis Press, 2020). He received a Master’s degree in Social Justice and Community Development from Loyola University, Chicago. His experience includes service with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, living in a Catholic Worker community, serving as Director of Organizing for the Community Renewal Society, the National Organizing Director for Jobs to Move America, Campaign Manager for the Responsible Budget Coalition, the National Lead Organizer for the American Federation of Musicians and Associate Director of Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killing. He currently serves as the Campaign Coordinator for SEIU 32BJ. He lives with his family in New York City and is an active member of St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church.

Rev. Dr. Erwin Lee Trollinger, Jr. is a licensed and ordained through the Union Temple Inspirational Baptist Church and the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Association, Queens, New York. He attended Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, majoring in Social Work and Theology. He earned his Master’s Degree in Sacred Theology at the Christ Theological Seminary. In 2011 Rev. Dr. Trollinger became the Sixth Pastor of the Calvary Missionary Baptist Church of White Plains and serves as the Sr. Pastor.

In 2012 Rev. Dr. Trollinger became the President of the Ministers’ Fellowship Council of White Plains and Vicinity. Currently, he serves as the Chaplin at Epic Rehabilitation and Health Care Center. In 2018 Rev. Dr. Trollinger was appointed by the Board of Directors to become the International President and Patron for the Agape Christian Ministers College, Kumasi, Ghana. In 2022 Rev. Dr. Trollinger received two honorary Doctorate Degrees from the Anointed by God Ministries Alliance and Seminary. He received a Doctor of Theology Degree and a Doctor of Divinity Degree. In 2022 Rev. Dr. Trollinger was consecrated to the Bishopry to preside over the Agape Christian Ministers College, Kumasi, Ghana.

Rev. Trollinger previously served as Chaplain at the Westchester County -Norwood Jackson Correctional Facility, Sing-Sing Correctional Facility, and Rikers Island Correctional Facility. Rev. Dr. Trollinger has shared the gospel in foreign lands such as the Republic of Jamaica, West Indies, the City of London, England, Kampala Uganda, West Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies, Republic of Ghana and Republic of Liberia, West Africa.

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