Staff

The Covenant Network of Presbyterians is lead by a team of amazing, talented staff that are working for a church that is simultaneously faithful, just, and whole.

Staff

Brian Ellison

Brian Ellison

Executive Director

Brian Ellison has served as Executive Director of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians since 2012, preaching, teaching and providing overall strategic leadership in implementing the organization’s mission. Brian is available for working with congregations, councils and groups of interested Presbyterians about inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people, fostering and navigating difficult conversations, organizing and advocating for transformation, and on the Covenant Network and its mission. Contact the office for more information.

Previously, Brian served as pastor of Parkville Presbyterian Church (near Kansas City, Missouri) for 13 years. He currently serves the General Assembly as member and clerk of its Permanent Judicial Commission; he previously was a director of the Board of Pensions, a member of the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly, and moderator of both the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment and the Stated Clerk Review/Nomination Committee. He is Stated Clerk of both the Synod of Mid-America and Heartland Presbytery. His writing on matters of faith and theology have appeared in numerous church and independent publications. A graduate of Harvard University and Princeton Theological Seminary, Brian also is host/contributor at NPR affiliate KCUR-FM. He and his partner, Troy Lillebo, live in Kansas City.
Carla Rowlett

Carla Rowlett

Office Coordinator

Carla Rowlett joined the Covenant Network of Presbyterians as Office Coordinator in June 2014. She is a graduate of the Presbyterian School of Christian Education (now Union Presbyterian Seminary) in Richmond, Virginia, and a longtime youth director and Christian educator in Presbyterian churches. She handles office operations, event management, donations and bookkeeping and many other needs, and will often be the voice on the line when you call. She and her husband, Delvin, live in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

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Amy Cerniglia

Amy Cerniglia

Digital Media Communications Specialist

In 2021, Amy joined the Covenant Network of Presbyterians to manage digital media and communications. A Master of Divinity student at The University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, she received the Barbara Watson Smith Presbyterian Bible Content Award and the Alberta Swanson Prize Essay Award. Currently, she is under care of Peace River Presbytery as an Inquirer for ordination. At Peace Presbyterian Church in Bradenton, FL, Amy serves as Director of Music in addition to overseeing the church’s website, social media, and audio/visual needs. Before pursuing her Master of Divinity, she received a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Organ Performance from Mississippi College. Her writing has been published in The Presbyterian Outlook, The American Organist, and The Hymn Society’s collection celebrating LGBTQIA+ Christians, Songs for the Holy Other. Her wife, Leslie, is a social worker and recent graduate of Fordham University. 

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