Ms. Connie L. Lindsey Elected Chair and Rev. Erica Y. Liu Elected Vice Chair
06-06-2019
At its annual meeting May 3, 2019, the McCormick Theological Seminary Board of Trustees elected Ms. Connie Lindsey of Chicago, Illinois as Chair. Ms. Lindsey is Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Diversity and Inclusion at the Northern Trust. She succeeds Mr. Peter J. Cochrane of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Board also elected Rev. Erica Y. Liu, co-pastor of Pres House in Madison, Wisconsin, as Vice Chair.
President David Crawford says, “We are delighted and grateful that Connie and Erica have agreed to take on these leadership roles. Connie has inspired a generation of leaders through her work with the Girl Scouts of the USA, Covenant United Church of Christ, and many local and national organizations. Erica has faithfully served on McCormick’s board for the last eight years. She has been a thoughtful advocate for student needs and a national thought leader on engaging young adults in service and ministry. We are truly blessed.”
Outgoing Board Chair Pete Cochrane adds, “We’re so pleased that Connie and Erica have accepted the call to lead. They are gifted leaders, well prepared to guide the Board and support the leadership team in this time of unprecedented change in theological and higher education. McCormick is fully embracing the opportunities that these changes are bringing while honoring its heritage - developing exciting new programming and curricula, new business models, and new ways of being a seminary.”
Ms. Lindsey becomes the fourth woman to chair McCormick’s board, and the first African-American to do so. Ms. Lindsey says, “I am honored to serve as McCormick’s board chair. McCormick has an extraordinary history and is an important institution for so many communities throughout this city, across the country, and around the world. It is a blessing to have this opportunity to serve the McCormick community and the wider ecumenical church.”
Rev. Liu becomes the first Taiwanese-American to serve as vice chair. Rev. Liu notes, “It has been a wonderful journey to serve as a trustee at McCormick over the last eight years. We have taken on challenges that are not exclusive to theological education; issues of equity, race, gender, sexuality and are transforming what it means to be a seminary deeply committed to social justice. I look forward to working with Connie, David, and the McCormick community in the year ahead.”
About Ms. Connie L. Lindsey
Ms. Lindsey is the former National Board President of Girl Scouts of the USA. She joined the Girl Scouts board in 2005 and was elected National Board President, the highest-ranking volunteer of this 2.5 million-member organization, in 2008 for a three-year term. She was re-elected to the role of National Board President at the 2011 convention for another three-year term. In this role she provided guidance in three vital areas—policy, fundraising, and leadership. She was an integral part of the Girl Scout transformation, committed to building and sustaining membership growth and ensuring girls receive a premier leadership development experience.
Ms. Lindsey received her BA in Finance at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, has completed the Harvard Business School Executive Education Corporate Social Responsibility program, and is also a licensed Qualified Administrator of The Intercultural Development Inventory®.
Ms. Lindsey has served on the Board at McCormick since 2016. In addition, she serves on several civic and charitable boards including Leadership Greater Chicago (Board President and Fellow since 2001); Obama Foundation Inclusion Council (Co-Chair); YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago; Global Reporting Initiative (GRI); and Executives' Club of Chicago.
About Rev. Erica Y. Liu
Rev. Erica Liu has served as Co-Pastor of Pres House, a Presbyterian campus ministry at the University of Wisconsin-‐Madison since 2004. She was called alongside her spouse, Rev. Mark Elsdon, to rebirth the historic campus ministry and develop a new, sustainable ministry model that today includes a unique housing experience for 250 students. They are widely credited for having saved and revitalized Pres House and its campus ministries which includes innovative, intentional residential communities for university students. She is also part of the leadership team launching GatherX, a new ministry to young professionals in downtown Madison.
Rev. Liu has a BA in Mass Communications from the University of California, Berkeley, a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, and she is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, USA. She is a leader in young adult ministry and teaches regularly at national conferences. She has also served the United Way of Dane County on its Community Engagement and Capacity Building Team and the University Religious Leaders of UW-‐Madison through which she has led campus-‐wide initiatives on Race and Faith. She has served on the Board of Trustees at McCormick Theological Seminary since 2011 and she is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, USA.
