[Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs press release] Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has named the Rev. Joan Grimm Fraser of the Diocese of Long Island to serve as the provincial delegate to represent The Episcopal Church at the 59th Session of the 2015 United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) meeting, March 9–20, 2015.

The Presiding Bishop has also named the churchwide delegates to represent The Episcopal Church at the event.  The UNCSW delegation is: Helen Achol Abyei, Diocese of Colorado; Nellie Adkins, Diocese of Virginia; (Lesley) Grace Aheron, Diocese of Virginia; Delores Alleyne, Diocese of Connecticut; Digna de la Cruz, Diocese of Dominican Republic; Jayce Hafner, Episcopal Church Domestic Policy Analyst; Julia Ayala Harris, Diocese of Oklahoma; Pragedes Coromoto Jimenez de Salazar, Diocese of Venezuela; Heidi Kim, Episcopal Church Missioner for Racial Reconciliation; Lelanda Lee, Diocese of Colorado; the Rev. Gawain de Leeuw, Diocese of New York; the Rev. Vaike Marika Madisson Lopez de Molina, Diocese of Honduras; Lynnaia Main, Episcopal Church Global Relations Officer; Hollee Martinez, Diocese of Texas; the Rev. Glenda McQueen, Episcopal Church Partnership Officer for Latin America & the Caribbean; Erin Morey-Busch, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Consuelo Sanchez Navarro, Diocese of Honduras; Barbara Schafer of Nevada; the Rev. Stacy Walker-Frontjes, Diocese of Chicago.

The provincial delegate and the churchwide delegates will be able to attend the official UNCSW proceedings at the UN and will represent The Episcopal Church/Anglican Communion in their advocacy at the UN, including joint advocacy with the coalition Ecumenical Women.

The 2015 UNCSW theme is a review of progress made in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Program for Action, 20 years after its adoption at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995.  See more here.

“The expertise, leadership qualities and diversity of the delegates chosen by our Presiding Bishop will insure that The Episcopal Church will be well-represented at the UNCSW meeting in March,” commented Lynnaia Main, Episcopal Church Global Relations Officer.  “We look forward to focusing as a team on the issues that will be presented to us as we review the progress made of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.”

For more information contact Lynnaia Main, Episcopal Church Global Relations Officer, lmain@episcopalchurch.org.