Staff

  • Donald V. Romanik

    Donald V. Romanik

    President
    (212) 870‑2871
    he/him/his

    Donald has been President of ECF since 2005.Since taking the helm at ECF, Donald has stabilized the financial and administrative infrastructure of the organization and developed and nurtured new programs that help Episcopal communities of faith engage in visioning and planning, develop leadership and raise financial resources for ministry.

    He has cultivated new partnerships and collaborations throughout the Church and beyond, including a multi-phase grant awarded by the Lilly Endowment Inc. to address the economic challenges facing pastoral leaders. He possesses strong Spanish language skills and has expanded ECF’s program and resources for bilingual and Spanish-speaking congregations. Donald is a strong advocate of the ministry of all the baptized, and frequently writes and speaks on topics relating to leadership and resource development for Episcopal organizations. He has worked to develop new models of lay+clergy partnerships and effective leadership teams to empower future leaders for a changing Church. Donald has served as Chairperson of the Parish Committee of Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford, Connecticut (Senior Warden), and as Chairperson of the Spanish Language Ministries Committee for the Diocese of Connecticut. He was formerly Vice President of Legal and Government Affairs for The Connecticut Institute for the Blind/Oak Hill, a charitable organization based in Hartford and also served as an attorney in both government and private practice. Donald has a strong background in labor and employment law, advocacy, government relations and non-profit law and administration. He has been active in a variety of tax-exempt civic, charitable and religious organizations and was a former member and President of the Hartford Board of Education.

  • Juliette Acker

    Juliette Acker

    Program Director for Business Development
    Endowment Management
    800-697-2858
    she/her/hers

    Juliette Acker is Program Director for Business Development in the Episcopal Church Foundation’s Endowment Management program. Prior to joining ECF, she worked with business owners on business development and marketing strategy as a small business coach and consultant. She has also worked in higher education as an academic advisor at New Mexico State University and as a program manager for a master’s program in Financial Engineering at New York University. Juliette is a graduate of Wellesley College, and she earned her master’s in Comparative International Relations from American University in Washington, DC. She lives in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

  • Kate Adams

    Kate Adams

    Senior Advisor
    (212) 870‑2839
    she/her/hers

    Kate, Senior Consultant, has been with ECF since 2008, supports the President, Board and Staff on all aspects of ECF’s strategy development and implementation and ensures that ECF’s emerging and developing program initiatives are aligned with ECF’s overall strategy and programs. In addition, she is the Project Director for ECF's Lilly Endowment Initiative "From Economic Challenges to Transformational Opportunities."

    Prior to ECF, she was Vice President of the Church Pension Group’s Strategy & Service Development group, designing new services across all business units, and was a Vice President of the Commonfund, offering investment management to nonprofit institutions. She has over 40 years of experience in financial and resource development for diverse nonprofit institutions, and has an M.B.A. in finance and an M.S.W. from Fordham University. A life-long Episcopalian she attends St. James Church in Manhattan.

  • Joshua Anderson

    Joshua Anderson

    Associate Program Director
    Endowment Management
    (212) 870‑2841
    he/him/his

    Josh Anderson is Associate Program Director in ECF’s Endowment Management area. He works with congregations, dioceses, and other Episcopal organizations on all issues of endowment management with a focus on endowment giving – developing and reinvigorating planned giving programs and connecting endowment giving to a comprehensive vision of stewardship. Before joining ECF in 2015, Josh worked in local non-profit organizations in Lafayette, IN, and New York City, operating out of school time programs for youth. Josh studied Elementary Education at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana. He is based in the Tampa Bay area where his wife serves as an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Southwest Florida.

  • Haley Bankey

    Haley Bankey

    Director for Partnerships & Program Innovation
    (210) 842‑7741
    she/her/hers

    Haley is the Director for Partnerships & Program Innovation at the Episcopal Church Foundation and also serves as the Executive Director for Gathering of Leaders. Prior to working with Gathering of Leaders, Haley served as the Director of Operations and Management for her home parish of St. George Church and School in San Antonio, TX. She also ran her own faith-based operations consulting company with a primary focus on project management of multi-year, large scale community projects. She has been a website designer focusing on user experience, and is currently the Digital Product Owner for the Congregational Vitality Assessment Tool at ECF. Haley grew up in the Episcopal church in the middle east and brings an international perspective to her work. Her passion is equipping lay and clergy leaders alike through leadership training and community building to grow God's church into the future.

  • Kjerstin Besser

    Kjerstin Besser

    Associate Program Director
    Adaptive Ministries & Communications
    (212) 870‑2852
    she/her/hers

    Kjerstin is Associate Program Director for Adaptive Ministries and Communications at the Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF).

    Her work focuses on the Fellowship Partners Program, the production of Vestry Papers, Vital Practices and ECF's educational events and resources.

    Prior to working for ECF, Kjerstin was the Information & Referral Specialist at the National Down Syndrome Society. She earned a BA in International Relations from Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, IL.

  • Charis Bhagianathan

    Charis Bhagianathan

    Director of Communications
    Editor, Vital Practices
    212-870‑2843
    she/her/hers

    Charis serves as Director of Communications and Editor of ECF Vital Practices at the Episcopal Church Foundation. Before moving to New York, Charis worked at Council for World Mission in Singapore as Communications Manager and at Dorling Kindersley Publishers in New Delhi as Senior Editor.

    At ECF, she is focused on strategic internal and external communications, as well as the editorial responsibilities of ECFVP . While Charis has always enjoyed working in marketing and communications, her heart lies in social/new media and writing.

  • Mark Blacklow

    Mark Blacklow

    Program Assistant
    Receptionist
    800-697‑2858
    he/him/his

    Serving as Receptionist and Program Assistant at the Episcopal Church Foundation since early 2020, Mark comes from a diverse non-profit background including community organizing, electoral campaigns as well as arts education. Notable previous positions include Operations Director for the MIX International Film festival and Executive Director of Washington Heights Art & Comics.

  • Craig Bossi

    Craig Bossi

    Chief Operating Officer (COO)
    Vice President of Finance
    (212) 870‑2845
    he/him/his

    Craig serves as Vice President of Finance and Chief Operating Officer for ECF. Prior to joining ECF Craig served as comptroller at The General Theological Seminary.

    Previously he spent over 10 years on Wall Street as a managing director in corporate finance, specializing in technology-related mergers & acquisitions. Earlier Craig served as a director of financial and business planning for a satellite communications company and a computer hardware company. Craig received his B.A. from Haverford College and his MBA from Yale University. Craig resides in New York City.

  • Christine Eagan

    Christine Eagan

    Program Associate
    Stewardship Resources and Operations
    (212) 870‑2850
    she/her/hers

    Christine Eagan provides administrative support to ECF’s endowment management program as well as assisting with stewardship resources and operations. Prior to joining ECF in 2020, Christine was a quality system auditor, consulting with Hudson River Healthcare. She holds a BS in Accounting from Widener University. Christine is a long-time member of Christ Episcopal Church in Tarrytown, NY, serving in various roles including financial secretary and co-director of Christian education.

  • Nancy Grizzaffi

    Nancy Grizzaffi

    Executive Assistant
    (212) 870‑2871
    she/her/hers

    Nancy Grizzaffi has served as Executive Assistant to the President since 1993. Her primary responsibilities include meeting and events coordination and the President’s calendar and travel. She also supports the work of ECF’s Standing Committees and assists with general correspondence, including gift acknowledgments. Prior to joining ECF, Nancy worked as a registrar for a proprietary school. She holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Lehman College, Bronx, NY.

  • Cathy Hornberger

    Cathy Hornberger

    Assistant Director of Institutional Advancement
    (212) 870‑2856
    she/her/hers

    Cathy currently serves both Communications and Development as the Assistant Director of Institutional Advancement since 2023. She previously served as Communications Associate at ECF. She originally joined ECF’s Development Team in April 2018 as a Development Associate before moving into a broader role.

    Cathy works on communication projects, Vital Practices and other creative and administrative aspects of the Communications area. She previously worked for The Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, Hudson Guild, and New Visions for Public Schools. Cathy has a BA from Columbia University and an executive MPA from the Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College.

  • Yvonne Jones Lembo

    Yvonne Jones Lembo

    Director of Development
    917-428-4431
    she/her/hers

    Yvonne serves as Director of Development at ECF. For more than 20 years, Yvonne’s expertise has helped families, congregations and faith-based organizations harvest more than $50 million for their mission, stewardship and legacy goals.

    Yvonne regards her work as an expression of God’s ministry call for her life. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Harvard University, the Master of Divinity with honors from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), and Certified Estate and Trust Specialist coursework with the Institute of Business and Finance.

    Yvonne comes to ECF from 14 years of service with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) as Philanthropic Advisor with LTSP and Regional Gift Planner with the ELCA Foundation.

  • Sandra Montes, EdD.

    Sandra Montes, EdD.

    Multicultural Resources
    Consultant
    (281) 889‑8531
    she/her/hers

    Sandra is the Spanish Language Resource Consultant at ECF. She was born in Perú, grew up in Guatemala and settled in Texas as soon as she could. Her passions are God, family (especially her son), music, education, liturgy, social and racial justice and writing. She earned her doctorate in education in 2016, her book Becoming REAL and Thriving in ministry came out in 2020 and is Dean of Chapel at Union Theological Seminary.

    Sandra es la consultora de recursos en español en ECF. Nació en Perú, creció en Guatemala y se estableció en Texas tan pronto como pudo. Sus pasiones son Dios, la familia (especialmente su hijo), la música, la educación, la liturgia, la justicia racial y social y la escritura. Obtuvo su doctorado en educación en 2016, su libro bilingüe Becoming REAL and Thriving in Ministry salió en 2020 y es Decana de la Adoración en el Seminario Teológico Union.

  • Jim Murphy

    Jim Murphy

    Director
    Stewardship Resources and Operations
    (212) 870‑2844
    he/him/his

    Jim is Managing Program Director for Stewardship Resources and Operations at the Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF).

    He oversees ECF’s financial resources programs: planned giving, donor solutions, including ECF’s Donor-advised Fund program, and ECF’s comprehensive giving resource, ECF360. He works with congregations, dioceses, and other Episcopal organizations to enhance and develop their programs and resources. Jim holds a Certificate in Fundraising from New York University's School of Continuing and Professional Studies, MA in Christian Spirituality from General Theological Seminary, and BS from NYU's Stern School of Business. Jim is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and is a Certified Fund Raising Executive.

  • Ferdinand Musngi

    Ferdinand Musngi

    Assistant Controller
    (212) 870‑2853
    he/him/his

    Ferdinand has been with ECF since March, 2010. He is responsible for processing payroll and maintains employee records and benefits. He is also part of the day to day finance operations. Prior to ECF, Ferdinand was the accountant for the Episcopal Church Building Fund for 22 years.

  • Demi Prentiss

    Demi Prentiss

    Program Director
    Research and Development
    (210) 262‑1479
    she/her/hers

    Demi Prentiss is ECF’s Program Director for Research and Development with broad responsibility across ECF for program development and communication. A credentialed coach, she also offers strategic support relating to finance and leadership to congregations facing challenge or change. Demi brings to her work a deep understanding of Episcopal organizations, having worked at the national and diocesan staff level and as a ministry developer in congregations ranging from family to resource size. She holds degrees from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary and Harvard University. The developmental editor of ECF’s Finance Resource Guide, she is the author of Making Money Holy (Church Publishing) and Radical Sending: Go to Love and Serve (with Fletcher Lowe). She lives in Lafayette, CO.

  • Anne Richardson

    Anne Richardson

    Senior Program Director
    Endowment Management
    212-870-2849
    she/her/hers

    Anne Richardson recently joined the Episcopal Church Foundation as Senior Program Director for Endowment Management. She combines a dozen years of experience in the investment industry and a history of success in the stewardship of church finances to further the long-term investment goals of churches, dioceses, schools, and other Episcopal organizations. Prior to joining ECF, Anne was on the staff of her parish, Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia, as Director of Development. Anne has also served as Chief Operating Officer for Calvert Research and Management, a socially responsible asset manager, and as Managing Director and COO of Global Investment Research at Cambridge Associates, an institutional investment advisor. Anne holds degrees from Bowling Green State University and the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and calls the metro Washington, DC, area home.

  • Brad Roberts

    Brad Roberts

    Assistant Program Director
    Endowment Management
    (212) 870‑2857
    he/him/his

    Brad Roberts oversees account administration and program operations for ECF’s Endowment Management program. He also helps congregations, dioceses, and other Episcopal organizations plan and oversee their endowment and investment funds. As a CPA, Brad has held a variety of roles at financial services firms and brings significant industry experience to his work at ECF. Brad has also held various church leadership positions including Senior Warden and Treasurer. He is based near Atlanta GA where is wife is an Episcopal priest.

  • Carsten Sierck

    Carsten Sierck

    Director, Endowment Management
    Program Team Leader
    (347) 803‑9389
    she/her/hers

    Carsten Sierck is the Director of Endowment Management at the Episcopal Church Foundation, overseeing strategic, programmatic, and administrative matters with a commitment to connecting investments to mission. Carsten advises churches, dioceses, schools, and other Episcopal organizations on how to structure, manage, use, and grow their endowments and other invested funds. She also consults with lay and clergy leaders considering socially responsible investing at their churches. Previously, Carsten held positions at financial planning and wealth management firms in Cleveland, Ohio. Earlier in her career, she practiced law in New York City and Washington, DC. Carsten is a graduate of Columbia University and the University of Virginia Law School. A lifelong Episcopalian, she attended the National Cathedral School in Washington, DC, for fourteen years. Carsten is based in New York City.

  • Jacob Sierra

    Jacob Sierra

    Program Director
    Adaptive Ministries
    800-697-2858
    he/him

    Jacob hails from Chicago, where he worked as a Research Consultant at a market research consultancy startup for several years. In September 2022, Jacob moved to New York City to dedicate a year to living in community and supporting the outreach work at Church of the Heavenly Rest in Manhattan through the Episcopal Service Corps. His work focused on key areas: prison reentry, food insecurity, education access, mental health, housing, and emergency response. He also organized formation for a small parish in the South Bronx; creating and leading liturgy for bilingual prayer services and a children's formation program to facilitate church growth and community engagement.

    Now, Jacob looks forward to moving into NYC permanently, exploring the city, making new friends, and enjoying his hobbies (which mainly include thrifting, making small mosaics, and dabbling into sewing)!

  • Aline Sun

    Aline Sun

    Program Director
    Endowment Management
    (800) 697‑2858
    she/her/hers

    Aline Sun is Program Director for Endowment Management, focusing on investment decision making. She works with Episcopal organizations to understand, advise, and implement investment solutions with a goal of growing endowment and investment funds. Before joining ECF, Aline was an Investment Strategist at Allianz Global Investors, an asset management firm, and a Quantitative Equity Analyst in Citigroup’s research division. Aline studied statistics at Columbia University and math at the State University of New York at Albany.

  • Elizabeth Tobier

    Elizabeth Tobier

    Staff Accountant
    (212) 870‑2848
    she/her/hers

    Elizabeth Tobier works within ECF’s finance team as staff accountant. She has experience working as an office manager and bookkeeper for both small businesses and not-for-profit organizations. She holds a B.S. in accounting from SUNY Empire State College and is currently enrolled at the Canadian College of Homeopathic Medicine.