Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey is the Resident Bishop of the Louisiana Area in the South Central Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church.

In connection with her Episcopal assignment, she serves as the President of the Council of Bishops, having served as the Secretary of the Council of Bishops 2014-2018.  She also serves on the Boards of Trustees for Centenary College, Dillard University, and Southern Methodist University, and The Perkins School of Theology Executive Board.  Bishop Harvey is the Vice-Chair of the Commission on United Methodist Communications for The United Methodist Church is a board member of the United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana and President of the Louisiana Interchurch Conference. 

After graduating from the University of Texas in Austin in 1980, Bishop Harvey spent 12 years in the corporate world as a regional director of marketing for the Rouse Company, a shopping center developer with properties throughout the United States. She focused on properties in Texas, Colorado, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Harvey went on to serve as associate pastor for The Foundry United Methodist Church in Houston from 1992-1996 and as executive pastor for Memorial Drive UMC in Houston from 1996-2008. She then moved to the position of Director of Missional Excellence for the Texas Annual Conference, serving from February of 2008-May 1, 2010.  Just prior to her election as a United Methodist bishop during the 2012 South Central Jurisdictional Conference, Harvey served as Deputy General Secretary for United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).

She is a graduate of Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, where she earned a Master of Divinity.

She and her husband, Dean Alan Harvey, were married in 1981. Dean is a financial advisor and owns his own firm. Their daughter, Elizabeth Grace Harvey Reames is married to Tyler Reames and they make their home in Dallas.

Caitlin Congdon is the Chief Officer of Human Resources and Professional Development at the General Council on Finance and Administration. In this role, she is responsible for managing the Human Resources functions that support GCFA and the general agencies of The United Methodist Church, such as compensation, benefits, policy development, employee relations, and professional development. Caitlin also works within the United Methodist connection to assist annual conferences in recruiting, organizational assessments, and compensation management.

Caitlin has her Master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. She has over over 13 years' experience in progressive Human Resources, and Training and Development. She has been with GCFA for almost two years and in that time has significantly grown the Shared Services Human Resources offerings.

When she is not at work she enjoys spending time with her husband, three children, two dogs and two pigs. She is a lifelong member of The United Methodist Church and currently attends McKendree United Methodist Church in downtown Nashville.

Paul W. Demastus is a Shareholder in the Audit & Advisory practice of LBMC, PC. He joined LBMC in 2003.

Paul focuses on two client service areas at LBMC: risk-based audit services, including internal audit services, Sarbanes-Oxley readiness assistance; and system and organization control (SOC) audits. Paul also applies his years of experience on financial statement audits and other services for financial related companies, including insurance companies, investment companies, and other financial services companies. Paul’s dual focus provides for a well-rounded view of his clients and their operations

Paul has over 25 years of experience working with public and private companies of various sizes and complexities in providing attest and risk-based audit services.

Paul received his Bachelor of Science with concentration in Accounting and Master of Business Administration at the University of North Alabama. He earned his Master of Science in Human Environmental Sciences at the University of Alabama.

Rev. Gary W. Graves, Secretary of the General Conference, is a clergy member of the Kentucky Annual Conference and lives in Lexington with his wife, Jennifer, and their dog, Mollie.  Gary leads the team which is responsible for the administrative work of the General Conference.  This includes orientations, correspondence, administrative and legislative committee functions, attendance, credentialing, record-keeping, and a variety of other things.  Prior to his election as Secretary, Gary served on the Secretarial Staff during seven General Conferences, six of those in the role of Petitions Secretary.  He is also a former Secretary of the Kentucky Annual Conference.

Jeremy Howell is the pastor of Moncks Corner UMC, which is located about 35 miles north of Charleston.  He is a graduate of Duke Divinity School and has served in South Carolina for more than 20 years.  He is happily married with three children who are grown and one lively eight year old adopted last year.

Jeremy began serving on South Carolina’s Annual Conference Commission on Equitable Compensation as vice-chair in 2008 and became the chair in 2012.  In 2009 he was elected to the executive committee of the National Association of Commissions on Equitable Compensation (NACEC) and served as secretary to that group from 2016 to the present.  He has led several trainings at GCFA events, as well as those sponsored by the NACEC.  He helped draft and present legislation at General Conference 2012 and GC 2016 regarding Equitable Comp matters.

Gregg Ickes serves as Principal and President of Real Estate Services at Foundry Commercial. With twenty years of real estate experience, Mr. Ickes has leadership responsibility for the company’s brokerage division as well as market offices throughout the Foundry platform.

Dana Joki is the Director of Episcopal Services at the General Council on Finance and Administration in Nashville, TN.  Prior to her 13 years at GCFA, Dana served for 6 years in the US Army.  She lives in Lebanon, TN with her husband and 2 children.

Rick King serves as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of GCFA.  He holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration (BBA) and Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Middle Tennessee State University.  Rick’s work experience includes being a Controller, VP of Finance, and CFO in the for-profit corporate setting.  He joined GCFA in 2014.  He is originally from East Tennessee.

A. Moses Rathan Kumar is the General Secretary and Treasurer for the General Council on Finance and Administration. With over 32 years of experience, he was elected the General Secretary of GCFA in August, 2008.

Prior to accepting this role, Moses Kumar served for eight years as the Treasurer and Executive Director of Administrative Ministries for the Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference. Prior to this service, Kumar worked at Palmer Theological Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania culminating in four years of service as the Vice President for Finance and Operations.

As general secretary of GCFA, Moses Kumar serves as the chief executive of the agency. Kumar possesses, and has exemplified, innovative vision for ministry in the services provided by GCFA in increasing its responsibilities to the people of The United Methodist Church. 

Kumar holds a Master of Business Administration from Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Commerce from Madras Christian College in India. He is married to Rev. Felicia Kumar and they have two adult daughters, three grandsons, and one granddaughter.

Leticia Mayberry Wright has served in the Legal Services Department of the General Council on Finance and Administration for 7 years.  She currently serves as Deputy General Counsel.  Leticia handles legal matters ranging from intellectual property to insurance issues.  She serves as GCFA’s representative on the Immigration Task Force and the Sexual Ethics Task Force.

Leticia received a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and a minor in Leadership and Public Service from the University of Missouri – Columbia, graduating magna cum laude from the Honors College.  Later, Leticia went on to receive her J.D. from the Indiana University Law School - Bloomington.  She and her husband attend Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, where he serves as Pastor to Young People. They have two daughters.

Matt Messier leads the Religious and Educational Practice Group of the company, which has assisted over 2,500 religious, educational, and not-for-profit groups in the disposition or acquisition of real estate in over 30 states. Matt is one of the original 12 partners who began Foundry Commercial back in 2007 when the firm he had worked with for over 15 years (Trammell Crow Company) was purchased.  Matt is often asked to speak at conferences such as Denominational Investment and Loan Administrators, Conference for Catholic Facility Management, and the National Association of Church and Institutional Financing Organization. He is also the author of numerous articles in peer magazines and periodicals.

Matt has assisted a number of denominations, extensions funds, lenders and schools with the analysis, management and brokerage of their real estate. He implemented a national marketing program and single point of contact system for one of the largest extension funds in the country to assist in the asset and property management and sale of organization-owned properties, Matt continues to manage this account and has for over 15 years.

Additionally, Matt has assisted the Arch-Diocese of St. Louis with a market analysis and disposition of 13 churches and parishes within the North Deanery of St. Louis. He consistently achieves prices significantly higher than the client had anticipated.

One of the greatest joys of Matt’s life was working side by side with his late father who taught him everything he knows about real estate. Matt’s dad told him to treat every property as if it was owned by his mother. To this day, Matt and his team at Foundry uphold these values.

Bryan Mills has been a lawyer in the Legal Services Department of the General Council on Finance and Administration since January 2009. In August 2020, Bryan was elected by GCFA’s Board of Directors to serve as its General Counsel. He received a B.S. in Management from Clemson University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. He lives in the Nashville area with his wife and two sons.

Leslie Ohrin serves as the Manager for Data Services and IT Projects at GCFA.  She holds a Bachelor’s in Computer Information Systems from Tri-State University. Leslie has worked as a developer and business analyst throughout her career. Leslie joined the GCFA Staff in 2018. She currently resides in Hermitage, TN with her husband and has two children. She is originally from Temperance, Michigan. 

Bill Thresher is a retired Corporate Accountant with 45 years experience in the manufacturing and utility business sectors. He is the past President of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Board of Trustees.   

Bill received his B.S. in Accounting from Syracuse University and his M.B.A. from the University of New Haven.   

Bill is a member of Thorndale United Methodist Church in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. Bill’s wife, Joy Bagwell, is a retired United Methodist Minister. They have three children and four grandchildren.