Ashley Graham-Wilcox Named ECF Fellow
2017-2018 Episcopal Church Foundation fellows (photo credit: Episcopal Church Foundation)
We are excited to share that, last week, Episcopal Church Foundation announced that Episcopal Camps & Conference Centers Director of Communications and Development, Ashley Graham-Wilcox, will be one of their 2017-2018 Fellows. An ECF fellowship "supports ministry leaders who have a passion for forming the next generation of leaders in the Episcopal Church," and is an opportunity to "demonstrate a Church that is actively engaged with the world." Ashley and ECCC's commitment to camp and retreat ministry are an ideal fit.
We know that Episcopal retreat sites and programs serve incredibly diverse audiences through summer camp, retreats, conferences, outdoor education, and teambuilding programs. We also know that this diversity -- socio-economically, racially, and identity-wise -- is largely not represented on staffs, particularly in senior leadership.
In line with ECCC's strategic plan, adopted in 2016, which challenges us to to look very intentionally at radical hospitality and at diversity, Ashley's project aims to:
Train, support, and encourage centers to offer programs that embrace economic, racial, and identity diversity;
Expand resources for supporting diversity in hiring, training, and long-term staffing.
This will mean research, tools, best practices, and training resources for each and every one of our centers, camps, and programs. The complete project outline, as well as Ashley's personal statement that the committee considered are available here.
This is an exciting time for ECCC to be a part of the conversation about what leadership looks like in the Episcopal Church!
