Jim Naughton
Jim Naughton is the former canon for communications and advancement for the Episcopal Diocese of Washington and the founder of the Web site Episcopal Café.
Under his leadership the diocese has won numerous awards for its publications and Web site, and donations to the annual Bishop's Appeal have increased by more than 30 percent in each of the last three years.
Jim is frequently quoted in media reports and helps shape the public’s opinion of the Church through the Café, which receives more than 5,000 visits per day. He examined the financial aspects of recent controversies in the Episcopal Church in his article: “Following the Money: Donors and Activists on the Anglican Right.”
A veteran journalist, Jim has worked for The New York Times, The New York Daily News, and The Washington Post. His free-lance writing has appeared in publications and Web sites as disparate as Beliefnet, Slate, ESPN the Magazine and the Guardian. He has written three books, including a novel for young adults and a profile of a Catholic parish at odds with the Vatican.
Jim holds a B. A. in Journalism and American Studies, and an M. A. in American history from Syracuse University.
Rebecca Wilson
Since 2000, Rebecca Wilson has been an independent consultant working on strategic communications and grantseeking with nonprofit and public sector organizations. She has sixteen years of experience in nonprofit and corporate work and specializes in projects that serve progressive communities of faith and children. In the Episcopal Church, she has served as communications consultant at Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland since 2003 and as the communications consultant for the Chicago Consultation since 2008. She has also consulted with the Council for Health and Human Service Ministries of the United Church of Christ (CHHSM) since 2003.
Rebecca has worked on the leadership teams for several successful non-partisan ballot issue campaigns, including measures that support urban public schools; alcohol, drug and mental health treatment; public libraries and a zoo. Prior to her consulting work, she was marketing director for the Akron-Summit County (Ohio) Public Library, where she oversaw both the public information and political campaigns for a successful $80 million capital improvement bond issue and a subsequent successful operating renewal. She has also worked in communications for a consumer product manufacturer and taught business and technical writing at the university level and English literature and composition to middle school students.
Rebecca holds a B.A. in English from Duke University and an M.A. in English from Kent State University.