Diocesan Team Team | The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin

DIOCESAN TEAM

The Rev. Canon Anna Carmichael, PhD.

Canon to the Ordinary

Canon Anna is from a small farming community in North Carolina, and later lived in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia with her parents and sister. Anna graduated from Barton College, North Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts in English and has a Master of Science in Community and College Counseling from Longwood College in Virginia.

After graduation Anna moved to San Marcos, Texas and worked at what is now Texas State University (previously Southwest Texas State University) in the Student Affairs Division working with first generation college students and freshmen.

After a few years in Texas, she accepted a position at Virginia Tech, again in Student Affairs and Housing, working with college students in special programs.

It was during her time at Virginia Tech that she was encouraged to consider the priesthood. However, Anna moved to Costa Mesa, California to attend Vanguard University and got a Master’s in Theological Studies. At Vanguard, with the mentorship of The Rev. Dr. Barbara Stewart, then Rector of St. John’s in Costa Mesa, of Bp. Neff Powell (Southwestern Virginia) and Bp. Jon Bruno (Los Angeles), she was able to begin discernment to the priesthood. Anna was accepted to seminary at Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, and was warmly received by Bishop Jon Bruno into the Diocese of Los Angeles. There she completed her Candidacy for Ordination, and was ordained transitional deacon, and then priest.

Anna’s first call out of seminary was to St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church and School in San Juan Capistrano, California. There she served as an Associate Priest and taught classes in the high school in the areas of Old Testament, Philosophy and Ethics, and Mythology. She also served her last year at St. Margaret’s as Chair of the Religion and Philosophy department.

In 2010, Anna was called to serve as Rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Hood River, Oregon. At St. Mark’s, she served on Diocesan Council and Standing Committee, and the Futures Committee. Anna was Chair of the Hood River Warming Shelter (now Hood River Shelter Services) and the coordinator for the Emergency Voucher Program.

In the spring of 2011, Anna began working on her PhD in the Religion and Philosophy, with a specialization in Women’s Spirituality through California Institute of Integral Studies. She graduated in May 2018 and her dissertation, Modeled After Mary: A Feminist Collaborative Inquiry Exploring Mary as a Heuristic Concept for Women in the Episcopal Church was published as a book in July of the same year.

She has an amazing cat, Ted, who is her “fur baby”. Her partner, Matt, lives in Seattle and works as a musician and glass artist.

BISHOP DAVID RICE

The Rev. Nelson Serrano Poveda

Latino Hispanic Missioner

English translation below.

Nelson es de Chia, una pequeña ciudad cerca de Bogotá, la ciudad capital de Colombia. Nació en medio de una familia tradicional colombiana, donde sintió el llamado de Dios para ser sacerdote cuando tenía 6 años.

En 2003, terminó la escuela secundaria y comenzó a estudiar Filosofía y Teología en el Seminario de San José en Bogotá, durante 6 años. En 2011, visitó la Catedral Episcopal de San Pablo en Bogotá y se enamoró de la Iglesia Episcopal, y consideró nuevamente un llamado al sacerdocio. Progresivamente, se fue involucrando en la dinámica de la Iglesia Episcopal, y después de tres años de proceso de discernimiento, fue ordenado diácono de transición. En 2012, comenzó a estudiar Psicología, terminando la licenciatura en 2018 enfocado en Psicología Clínica y Social - Comunitaria. En enero de 2019, terminó una Maestría en Artes en Religión de la Trinity School for Ministry en Ambridge, PA.

Desde su ordenación como diácono, sirvió en la Iglesia Episcopal de San Pedro, la Iglesia Episcopal del Salvador Divino y la Catedral Episcopal de San Pablo, en Bogotá, Colombia, siendo líder de ministerios juveniles; capacitador y tallerista con niños y sus familias, en condiciones particulares de vulnerabilidad; apoyó la formación de nuevos clérigos y ministerios laicos como un maestro y siendo miembro del equipo de coordinación en el Centro de Estudios Teológicos ubicado en Bogotá; y también desarrolló un boletín dominical para todas las parroquias en Colombia, llamado DOMINGO, en colaboración con otros ministros. En 2016, fue invitado a ser miembro del comité de capacitación de ABCD, haciendo la traducción al español de los documentos principales, y desde este momento está apoyando algunas actividades de los Ministerios Latinos / Hispanos de la Iglesia Episcopal Nacional.

En 2019, Nelson se unió al grupo de trabajo de la Diócesis Episcopal de San Joaquín para la inmigración, formando parte de The Pilgrimage of Hope. Actualmente está sirviendo en el Comité de la Cámara de Diputados sobre el Estado de la Iglesia. Nelson es realmente un apasionado del evangelismo, la justicia social, la educación, las redes sociales. Es realmente amable y siempre está disponible para hablar cuando la gente lo necesita.

Fue ordenado a la Sagrada Orden del Sacerdocio el 18 de julio de 2020 en la Catedral Episcopal de St. James.

Translated to English:

Nelson is from Chia, a small city close to Bogotá, the Capitol City of Colombia. He was born in a middle of a Colombian traditional family, where he felt God’s Call to be a Priest when he was 6 years old.

In 2003, he finished high school and began to study Philosophy and Theology in San Jose’s Seminary in Bogota for six years. In 2011, he visited Saint Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in Bogota, fell in love with The Episcopal Church, and considered again a call to the priesthood. Over time, he became increasingly involved in the Episcopal Church, and after three years of discernement process, he was ordained as transitional deacon. In 2012, he began to study Psychology, finishing his bachelor´s degree on 2018 focusing on Clinical and Social - Communitarian psychology. In January of 2019, he finished a Master of Arts in Religion from Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, PA.

Since his ordination as a deacon, he has served in Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church, The Divine Savior’s Episcopal Church and Saint Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, in Bogotá, Colombia, being a leader of youth ministries; training and leading workshops with children and their families, in particular conditions of vulnerability; supporting new clergy formation and lay ministries, serving as an instructor and being a member of the coordination team in The Theological Center of Studies located in Bogotá; and he also developed a Sunday Bulletin for all the parishes in Colombia, named DOMINGO, in partnership with other ministers. In 2016, he was invited to be a member of ABCD (Asset Based Community Development) training committee, translating materials into Spanish, and is currently supporting activities of Latino/Hispanic Ministries of The Episcopal Church, such as Nuevo Amanacer, and is serving The House Of Deputies Committee On The State Of The Church.

In 2019, Nelson joined the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin Task Force for Immigration (SJRAISE), serving as communication and social media liaison for The Pilgrimage of Hope. Nelson is really passionate about evangelism, social justice, education, social media. He is really friendly and is always available to talk when people need it.

He was ordained to the Sacred Order of Priesthood on July 18th 2020 at St. James Episcopal Cathedral.

Ms. Nichole Pardo

Diocesan Administrator

Executive Assistant to the Bishop

Nichole joined the Diocese of San Joaquin in February of 2021 as the assistant to the Treasurer, and then became the Administrator and Executive Assistant on November 1, 2021.

Nichole was born and raised in Deshler, Nebraska, where the population is approximately 800 people. Following her high school graduation, she entered the U.S. Marine Corp as a motor transport diesel mechanic. Nichole served in the Marines from 1992-1996.

Following her service to our country, Nichole moved to Fresno in 1996. In 2021, she graduated Fresno Pacific University with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a focus in Accounting.

Nichole is married to Roman, and between them they have 3 kids, 2 grandkids, and 1 dog, Tommy Bones, who is partially deaf and partially blind.