Pastor, speaker, advocate, singer/songwriter.

Julian was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, and is a graduate of Morehouse College (major: Sociology/Child Development) and the University of Chicago Divinity School (M.Div).

As a national speaker and community advocate, Julian DeShazier (dee-shah-zee-ay) has appeared on BBC, FOX, NPR and Dr. Maya Angelou’s “Oprah & Friends” radio program. He is also an Emmy Award-winning musician who goes by the name “J.Kwest” (jay-quest), and was featured in the video “Strange Fruit” – a commemoration of the Billie Holiday song and a meditation on racial violence.

Pastor Julian also serves as Director of Experiential Education and affiliate faculty at McCormick Theological Seminary. He served from 2016-2023 as the inaugural chair of the Community Advisory Council for University of Chicago Medicine, and is a current board member of the Southside Healthy Community Organization, working to expand healthcare equity across Chicago. He is a Leadership Greater Chicago fellow (since 2020); was named by Crain’s Chicago Business as a “40 Under 40” leader; and his articles appear regularly in The Christian Century. In 2021, Julian was inducted into the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel Board of Preachers. His latest musical project is called Lovkwest, available on all streaming platforms.

Folklore and Innovation Leader

Megan Hillier-Geisler (she/they) is a Ph.D. candidate at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy (Indiana University, Indianapolis) specializing in folklore, non-profit innovation, and public administration. She has served as Graduate and Professional Student Government (GPSG) president and vice president, an IU representative for the Graduate Student Action Network (GSAN), the Government Relations Chair for IU’s All University Student Association (AUSA), and was a 2024 dissertation fellow of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA). She prizes her time in service to Waycross Camp and Conference Center as a Board Member (5 years), including the chance to create “Bops with the Bishop,” an event to highlight the authentic interests of Indianapolis’s own Bishop Baskerville-Burrows. Megan’s research and activism rely on the idea that we learn to be kind to one another through our folklore, which greatly influences our public policies on marginalized forms of civil society. Megan’s pure joys in life come from her wife Alyssa, having (too many) pets, women’s sports, and finding “good ghost” stories.

Presiding Bishop, The Episcopal Church

The Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe was elected presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church in June 2024 and took office on Nov. 1 for a nine-year term. In this role, he serves as the church’s chief pastor and CEO. Known for his expertise in organizational learning and adaptive change, Rowe is committed to strengthening support for local ministry and mission.  

He was ordained bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania in 2007 after serving as rector of St. John’s in Franklin, Pennsylvania, for seven years. From 2014 to 2018, he served as bishop provisional of the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem, and from 2019 to 2024, he led a partnership between the Episcopal Dioceses of Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York. 

Rowe holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Grove City College, a Master of Divinity degree from Virginia Theological Seminary, and a doctorate in organizational learning and leadership from Gannon University. He has served as a leader of many civic and churchwide organizations and governance bodies, and as parliamentarian for the House of Bishops.