2025 Vestry & Delegate Candidates

Janet Hall

I have had the privilege of serving on St. John's Vestry for the past three years—the first year as a Vestry member and the last two as Junior Warden—and I am honored to stand for Senior Warden. I value the role of the Church in supporting parishioners though life’s upheavals and in our spiritual development. For me, the Church provides the grounding in faith that inspires us to treat each other, our families, and our broader community in the spirit of Christ.

I have found Vestry service at St. John’s to be tremendously rewarding. Over the past three years, each of the Vestries I have served on has grappled conscientiously with the business and governance issues of St. John’s. As we’ve deliberated, mused, and debated, the atmosphere has remained collegial, hopeful, respectful, and creative. The thread that runs through all these Vestries is a profound dedication to the Church, making it a remarkable opportunity for service at St. John’s. I also serve on the Altar Guild and I assist our Spiritual Practices Ministry in offering our Wednesday evening Compline services at different times of the year.

Outside of St. John’s I serve on the Maryland Tech Council as a mentor in their Venture Mentoring Services program that supports CEO’s of early stage tech and life sciences companies. My career took me from ten years as an intelligence analyst, including a three-year posting in Munich, Germany, to the private sector and a series of software companies, including both large firms and start-up organizations. I am currently working on a book that stems from my experience as a product manager at AOL in the late 1990s and 2000s.

Becky Neal

I have been a member of Saint John’s from the first Sunday evening “Come as You Are” service I attended over 15 years ago. There used to be a stand-up board on the sidewalk out front of the church that said: “Come as You Are.” There was something so simple and generous about that invitation that dismissed all arguments: there was no excuse NOT to show up. I took that invitation to heart.

It is hard to convey in words how invested I am in St. John’s. I can point to several ways that I have been involved over these past years, but do not think it is the full measure: I rang with the bell choir for many years, including attending the bell choir convention in Ocean City for several years (Yes! There is a bell choir convention); served on the Vestry; traveled to the Holy Land with the first pilgrimage; served on the Vision Team; participated in the women’s ministry retreats; and most recently attended Sarah’s Monday evening bible study, which became my touchpoint of authentic connection and conversation at St. John’s.

St. John’s is my spiritual home and community. Through small groups, personal friendships, communal worship, and the talented leadership at St. John’s over the years, I have found healing and acceptance. After the visioning process, I have been so proud of the many ways that St. John’s has cared for and attended to our local and broader communities, and I continue to look for and find ways that it can nourish my faith and grounding amidst the vicissitudes of daily life.

On a personal note: I was born in D.C. (not usual even in D.C.!) and call this place home. I am passionate about justice, transparency, and accountable leadership. My day job as an attorney has been prosecuting unethical attorneys, and before that, representing indigent criminal defendants. My daily joy is walking on the C&O canal and taking pictures of the great beauty and abundance of still-wild nature so close to home. If chosen, serving as Junior Warden of St. John’s would be another great joy.

Emma Stevenson Cowan

My husband, our two children, and I began attending St. John’s in March 2023, and we were immediately drawn to the church’s welcoming community and deep commitment to faith in action. I have a long history with St. John’s, having attended as a child in the early 1990s. My brother was baptized here in 1993, and after many years away, I am grateful to return and reconnect with this awesome community. Before joining St. John’s, my family and I were members of the Bethesda Friends Meeting for six years, where I served on the childcare and safety committees.

As an artist and educator, I have spent over 13 years teaching students of all ages, from early education through high school. I now run Deco Arts Camps & Classes, offering afterschool, weekend, and summer camp art programs at Glen Echo Park. Teaching has always been a way for me to connect with my calling to serve, and I get great joy out of my work with children. Building confidence and courage is very important to me—something I believe my own children are gaining at St. John’s, through Godly Play and other community building.

Since returning, I have been grateful to volunteer on the Welcome Team and as a Sunday School teacher for the middle school Rite 13 group. These roles have deepened my appreciation for the importance of community and the need to create a welcoming, supportive space where people can grow in their faith.

If elected to the vestry, I would be honored to support and strengthen our church’s mission by focusing on three key areas: continuing to support our amazing childcare and education programs, working to engage and retain young families, and strengthening volunteer recruitment. I believe these are essential to ensuring St. John’s continues to be a welcoming, vibrant, and thriving faith community.

Frances Kittrell

My husband, Norman, and I moved to Chevy Chase a little over two years ago. We quickly found St. John’s and made it our church home. In our former church, Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, Texas, I served two terms on the Vestry and one term on the Cathedral Endowment Board. I was the founding board president of The Beacon, a homeless day center begun by the church. I was a member of the Cathedral Choir for 40 years. I have also served on the boards of other non-profits. I have a BA degree in Biology and worked in breast cancer research for my entire work life. In my spare time, I enjoy my two amazing granddaughters, cooking, hiking, and travel. I am honored to be considered for election to the St. John’s Vestry.

Dan Ryan

My wife Laura and I joined St. John's in 2021, when we moved back to the DC-area after five years in Chicago and eight years in Seattle.  Our children, Desmond (12) and Kit (8) were baptized at St. John's and attend church school on Sunday mornings.  I was baptized Catholic, but left the church as a young adult.  I found my way home to the Episcopal Church with my wife Laura in Seattle, and my faith serves a foundation for my spiritual, mental, and physical health today.  I will forever cherish watching my kids run around St. John’s, discussing their thoughts on the day’s sermon around the dinner table on Sunday evenings, and watching them apply these lessons in their daily lives. 

After ten years at Amazon, I joined the startup Sprocket Sports in 2023 as Chief Product Officer.  Sprocket Sports is a technology company focused on delivering solutions for youth sports clubs across the United States. I am passionate about youth sports—as a former athlete and coach—and believe in the role youth sports can play in helping children develop into successful young adults. I have a JD/MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a degree in economics from Princeton University. 

I have enjoyed serving on the vestry for the past two years and am honored to stand for another term. I believe the St. John’s community—including the clergy, ministries and parishioners—offers consistency and spiritual inspiration to shepherd our parish through these trying times. If elected to another term, I will focus on maintaining the health of St. John’s financials, personnel, and Children, Youth and Families program.  Prior to the vestry, Dan led the transportation team for the Afghan family sponsored by St. John’s in 2023, and served on the Ukrainian support group at St. John’s.

My wife Mary and I joined St. John’s in 2021 during COVID-19. After 20 years as active members at another Episcopal Church in the area, we were looking for a vibrant community in our faith journey that has included Catholic, Lutheran, Unitarian, and multi-denominational international churches. We have been richly rewarded at St. John’s and have become active members. I was invited to be a candidate for the Vestry, which is an honor and an opportunity to serve and contribute even more to St. John’s.

A faith community means more to me than a Sunday service. St. John’s is a place for building strength, courage, and faith in a complex world. My parents were both persecuted during World War II in Europe because of their Jewish origins. My mother’s family converted to the Episcopal Church when they immigrated from Berlin to the U.S. in 1938. My father grew up with a Jewish mother in a Catholic family in Vienna under Nazi occupation and emigrated in 1947 when Europe’s future looked dismal after the war.

I was born in Santiago, Chile, and grew up in Arlington in a large Catholic family. After graduating from Georgetown University’s Business School, I joined the Peace Corps and worked with adults with disabilities as a small business advisor in Costa Rica. That experience changed my life, opening the world of international development, cultures, languages, and peoples. Mary and I met as graduate students studying International Relations at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, where I completed a PhD.  We have three wonderful grown sons.

My professional background includes 40 years as a business executive, leader, advisor, and volunteer in international economic development. We lived for 15 years in Bangkok, Hanoi, Jerusalem, Pretoria, and Zagreb where I managed large USAID-funded economic development programs. We were active in multi-cultural, multi-denominational churches, communities, and international schools. My leadership experience includes serving on four international school boards as Chair and in Director roles. I recently concluded five years as a Board member of the Corporate Council on Africa which represents U.S. investors in Africa. I currently serve on the Advisory Board of the Business for Impact Program at Georgetown University’s Business School and Advisory Board of C2FO, a financial technology company that provides working capital financing for small and medium companies worldwide. I am also a Senior Associate of the Program on Prosperity and Development at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a senior advisor for various international development organizations.

Becoming active at St. John’s has greatly enriched our lives.  My wife Mary works with the Women’s Ministry and serves as a Stephen Minister.  I have participated in the men’s retreats, teach the Forward Class of 11th and 12th grade students, and serve as the co-chair of the Vestry’s Leadership Development Committee.  Serving on the Vestry offers the opportunity for me to deepen my service and share my experience in leadership, strategy, faith, and building peace and prosperity in complex human communities with a group of wonderful people with diverse talents who work as a team to serve the St. John’s community.