Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice is poised to hire first director, grow network

[Episcopal News Service] The Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice, one of The Episcopal Church’s most anticipated racial healing initiatives in recent years, is beginning to take shape as it names new board members and prepares to hire its first staff director.

Episcopal leaders have spent the past four years envisioning, creating and activating the coalition, under a mandate adopted in 2022 by the 80th General Convention. The coalition, incorporated in New York as an independent nonprofit in 2024, is intended as a network of support for congregations, dioceses and other Episcopal institutions in their efforts to address the church’s historic and ongoing complicity in white supremacy and racist systems and the lingering effects of colonialism.

Laying the foundation for those efforts has taken time, though the coalition’s board expects 2026 to be a pivotal and productive year.

“Having had our first annual meeting in November 2025 with new members of the Steering Group, and being on the cusp of having a full-time staff director coming on board, I believe the coalition will transition into a more active missional mode,” the Rev. John Kitagawa of the Diocese of Arizona, the board’s chair, said in an email statement to Episcopal News Service.

Some of the Episcopal Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice Steering Group members gather for a retreat in 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Photo: Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice

Welcoming new board members was a significant step forward, because it marked the first time the roster was updated by board elections. The inaugural board had been appointed by The Episcopal Church’s two presiding officers. Going forward, the coalition’s bylaws specify that the board will recruit its own new members, though the presiding bishop and House of Deputies president each will still appoint one member.

The bylaws also require the board to be at least 17 members and at least 70% people of color. The recent elections and appointments were detailed in a coalition news release.

The ongoing funding of the coalition is based on 10% of the annual budgetary dividend, or draw, from The Episcopal Church’s unrestricted trust funds. Under that plan, the coalition is due to receive $2.3 million in 2025-27. The church previously approved $300,000 for the collation to cover start-up costs in 2023 and 2024, including the hiring of a part-time interim administrative assistant.

A portion of future funding will cover the salary of the staff director. The position was advertised with an annual range of $110,000-150,000. The board began taking applications in September 2025 and finished interviewing finalists in December. A decision on the position could come as soon as this month.

“The call of the staff director caps the hard work of standing up a new not-for-profit organization and will help us to focus energies and resources for the lifelong struggle to dismantle white supremacy and racism while building towards the Beloved Community,” Kitagawa said.

The job description, posted to the coalition’s website, said the person will “help to refine and clarify the coalition’s purpose” and “lead the Steering Group in discerning, strategizing and organizing how best to fulfill the Coalition’s purpose,” among other responsibilities.

Bishop Ian Douglas, the coalition board’s vice chair, told ENS that the search process was “rigorous and extensive,” and nearly 40 people applied for the job. The board was impressed by the quality of the candidates.

The staff director will be a sort of “working colleague” along with the board, which will remain active in nurturing the coalition’s growth. The board plans to hire “someone who is a builder, who has an entrepreneurial spirit and can help us imagine and take the next and necessary steps to build the coalition,” said Douglas, the retired bishop of Connecticut.

The Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice’s founding resolution was based on a series of recommendations made by a committee formed in 2021 by then-Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, the House of Deputies president at the time. Curry’s and Jennings’ intention was to press the church to make long-term and lasting commitments to its ongoing racial healing framework.

By establishing a voluntary coalition of dioceses, parishes, church institutions and individuals, Episcopal leaders hope to improve the church’s uneven track record of prioritizing racial reconciliation and healing, at the denominational level and across its more than 100 dioceses.

– David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.