Church Council Staff

Joey Lopez | Co-Executive Director, Organizing
Pronouns: he, him, his
Email Joey | 206-525-1214

Joey Lopez (he, him) is a Southern transplant to the Seattle area. Joey has a passion and purpose for building collective power and channeling that power towards collective liberation. Joey believes that alone we are incredibly powerful people, and when we organize that power, our wildest dreams become reality. Joey lives into his purpose as a facilitator, trainer, and community organizer at The Church Council of Greater Seattle. As a trainer, facilitator, and organizer, Joey strives to embody the values he has learned throughout his life and the intersections of his experiences. Joey’s upbringing in a rural southern community, constantly hearing “sit down and stay awhile,” nurtured his value of deep, authentic relationships. His kinship with LGBTQ elders reminds him of the importance of persistence and bringing others along the journey toward liberation. And, the generations of resilience modeled by his Puerto Rican ancestors inspire him to sustain the work in new ways.

In his moments of play and rest, you can find Joey spending time in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle with his partner, Dustin, and dog, Baldwin, reading queer fiction and/or science-fiction, and spending quality time with family and friends.

Tara Miller  |  Co-Executive Director, Operations
Pronouns: they, them, theirs
Email Tara | 206-204-3588

Tara Miller grew up in the Southern US, most recently in Virginia, and has been in Seattle since 2012. They’ve been thrilled to collaborate with many familiar faces in faith communities and community organizations spanning their work at Mary’s Place, Faith Action Network, and the Church Council. Tara graduated from the College of William and Mary and completed a Masters in Transforming Spirituality at the now-closed School of Theology and Ministry at Seattle University. Tara interned at the Church Council through Seattle U in 2016-2017 and has been at the Church Council full-time since early 2022.

Tara’s deepest places of learning and praxis come from their personal struggle growing up with nationalistic Bible Belt Christianity, the encouragement of youth ministers who asked systemic questions about injustice, families surviving poverty in Appalachia and Seattle who lived out what community should be, working at a grocery store and attending community college where they learned a lot more about life through the people living it than through their insulated four-year institution, Black and Indigenous protest leaders in Seattle who taught them how to use their body and resources, coming into their queerness and genderqueerness, and by connecting with people of faith and conscience who keep fighting for systemic change. Tara’s default is pessimism, but they find joy in adventuring across the state, doing photoshoots with their friends, thrifting for wild costumes, watching and performing in drag shows, and sneaking cuddles from their standoffish husky-child Kodi.

Marina Ortiz | Organizadora Comunitaria, El Grupo de Solidaridad
Pronouns: she, her, ella | Read Marina’s full biography here.
Email Marina | 206-204-3851

Marina Ortiz, abogada graduada en El Salvador, de nacionalidad salvadoreña, activista por los derechos humanos; cuenta con una maestría en psicología forense y criminología. Cuenta con experiencia en procesos de litigación y acompañamiento a casos de graves violaciones a los derechos humanos ocurridos en El Salvador, ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos con sede en Washington DC.

E.N. West | Lead Organizer & Co-Founder, Faith Land Initiative
Pronouns: they, them, theirs / he, him, his
Email E | 206-525-1218

E.N. West, affectionately known as “E”, proudly hails from the DC metropolitan area, by way of Alexandria, Virginia. They graduated from William & Mary with dual degrees in American Studies and Government. E is the Co-Founder and Lead Organizer of the Faith Land Initiative at The Church Council of Greater Seattle.  

E deeply believes “we are uninhibited when we know our power” and is committed to co-creating a world where everyone intimately knows how powerful they are and directs that power toward collective liberation. 

In his moments of play and rest, he enjoys staying embodied through boxing, calisthenics, hiking and biking. He also loves watching psychological thrillers and horror movies, reading social justice literature, and being a “man-about-town” in whatever zip code he’s in.

Joey and Tara’s photos by Max Shaw Photos.

Church Council Board of Directors

Rev. Jenn Hagedorn | Vice President
Pronouns: she, her, hers

Pastor Jenn (she, her) was born in the Pacific Northwest and grew up among the evergreen trees and mountains of the Northern Cascades. Her early experiences of church were in the justice-seeking, progressive church community of Northshore United Church of Christ. While she felt the call to ministry early in life, Jenn took a more circuitous route. She received her bachelor’s degree in Human Services and Rehabilitation from Western Washington University and her master’s degree in public health from the University of Washington before attending Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She currently serves as pastor at Spirit of Peace United Church of Christ in Issaquah, WA. Jenn has worked as an anti-racist trainer, community organizer, chaplain in hospital and skilled nursing setting, social justice liaison, and associate for stewardship and congregational life. She first got to know the Church Council of Greater Seattle as a Justice Leadership Program Intern working on economic justice and workers rights. Jenn is thrilled to return to CCGS to support their unfolding mission and is grateful to be a part of their faith-based, community-organizing approach to the important justice issues of our day.

Vince Larkin | President
Pronouns: he, him, his
An active member and current moderator at All Pilgrims Christian Church (DOC/UCC), with connections to Metropolitain Community Church, Vince’s faith journey had its beginnings in the LDS tradition. Previous board work includes All Pilgrims and MultiFaith Works, where he served as president through the merger with Rosehedge, remaining on the combined agency’s board through its sunsetting. Professionally, Vince is the General Manager at Acacia Memorial Park and Funeral Home, a Dignity Memorial Provider. His calling in life centers around helping people through transitions which come with death and loss, and finding unique ways to celebrate the significance of lives well lived. Ecumenical work done by the Church Council is so important today as our society finds itself more and more divided. Regardless of individual tradition, the reality of our faith is that we are all one in God’s presence. Whether by focusing on homelessness, living wage, or other issues of social justice, we are stronger when we work together.

Steve Pomeroy | Treasurer
Pronouns: he, him, his
Steve is local to Spokane, did much of his growing up in Arizona and spent several years in Wisconsin before settling in the Puget Sound area in 1978.  He graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s degree in education and received a masters degree in business administration from the University of Puget Sound. After eleven years of teaching junior high school for Milwaukee (WI) Public Schools, Steve moved to the Seattle area and worked more than 30 years as the business manager for a consulting engineering firm. He served as a self-sustaining pastor of the Renton Community of Christ congregation for more than 16 years and has held a number of jurisdictional leadership positions for the church. Steve has served on the finance committee of the Church Council since 2009 and previously served on the board of directors 2014-2020. He and his wife Mary Ann have been married more than 40 years and reside in Bellevue.

Pastor Megan Ramer, Secretary
Pronouns: she, her, hers
Megan Ramer has served as Lead Pastor of Seattle Mennonite Church since September 2015, after a decade of pastoral ministry on the west side of Chicago. She loves worship and preaching, accompanying folks through significant life transitions, and building collaborative, liberating connections within the city and across the wider Mennonite church. Some of her favorite restorative activities are reading and hiking, including her weekly practice of #fridaysabbathhikes. Megan can often be found at the theatre where her actor husband, Jon Stutzman, performs, and she loves going on adventures both large and small.