Courtesy Photo
Chelsea Smith
Chelsea Smith has been hired as assistant for governance and administration and will begin in her new position on the diocesan staff on Jan. 7.
She succeeds Laura Simons, who has just begun as executive assistant to Bishop Alan M. Gates after having been the administrator of Diocesan Convention and Council for five and a half years.
In her new role as assistant for governance and administration, Chelsea Smith will provide administrative support to the canon to the ordinary and manage the work of diocesan governing bodies, including Diocesan Convention, Diocesan Council and the Standing Committee, and their various committees.
Smith comes to her new position from Grand Rapids, Mich., where she has been the office manager at Eastminster Presbyterian Church and the accounting assistant for the Dominican Sisters-Grand Rapids. She has also been working at Plainsong Farm, an Episcopal farm ministry. She previously served at City Year Boston through Americorps. While in the Boston area, she was involved at St. Mary's Church in Dorchester and participated in Leadership Development Initiative training.
She holds an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts degree in community activism and development from Ball State University, and was a community engagement intern for Culture is Not Optional, in Three Rivers, Mich., where she planned and executed community events.
“I’m delighted Chelsea Smith will be joining us in early January," Canon to the Ordinary Bill Parnell said. "She brings a variety of experiences in working with churches and church-related organizations, both within the Episcopal Church and ecumenically, a genuine commitment to community engagement, as well as administrative skills. I’m confident she will serve our governance bodies well.”