Vestry

Dot Yeager, Senior Warden

In addition to having served as Saint Mark’s Treasurer from 2005 to 2016, Dot also helps with ushering, altar guild, Sacred Conversations, and Contemplative Prayer, and loves the chaos of the Blessing of the Animals and serenity of a labyrinth. After growing up in the Roman Catholic church, Dot and spouse Dave were received into and married in the Episcopal Church in 1989 (Church of the Redeemer in Pittsburgh, PA). Upon relocating to Columbus, from Charleston, West Virginia, they, with son Tom, joined Saint Mark’s in 2003. Dot’s mother, Dorothy, also became a member in 2013, when she relocated from Florida. In her professional role as the Chief Business Officer for the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Dot is very blessed to have the opportunity to help make a       difference.

Mark Drew, Junior Warden

Mark, his wife Joanne, and children (Fred and Matilda) have been members of Saint Mark’s since moving to Columbus in 2008. Mark is an Assistant Professor and Director of Graduate Education in the Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Mark and Joanne first met during high school in their hometown of Bremerton, Washington, where they were married in 1989. Mark’s education and research led them to Baltimore where he earned his PhD at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine followed by post-doctoral studies in Saint Louis, where they discovered and became members of the Episcopal Church. Mark has previously served as a Stewardship Committee member, enjoyed singing in the choir, and is active in the Mark’s Men, a social and service group at Saint Mark’s. Music, movies, cooking (especially barbeque), and photography are his favorite ways to spend any extra time he can find.

 Henry M., Youth Warden

Marilyn Karl, Member Connection

Our family joined St. Mark’s in 1994, not long after moving to Upper Arlington from Clintonville, where we had attended Indian Springs Church of Christ, the church in which I had been raised. Bill and I and our four school-aged children found St. Mark’s to be a welcoming, inclusive, active congregation with a variety of opportunities for all of us to participate in worship, service, and fellowship.

Over the years, I have been involved primarily in the ministries of formation and outreach. I have taught Sunday school, children’s chapel, and VBS, and continue to volunteer in the nursery. Outreach is my primary focus at this time, helping with meals at St. John’s, volunteering with NNEMAP and CATCH Court when I can, and organizing lunches for the Habitat volunteers. I am a member of Altar Guild. Bill and I serve   together on the 3^rd Sunday coffee hour team and also enjoy being part of Supper Club.

In my professional life, I have taught Special Education for over 30 years, with some time off to be a stay-at-home mom and to teach preschool. I retired from Columbus City Schools briefly a few years ago, but returned as a part time intervention specialist at Colerain Elementary School, where I continue to enjoy seeing children learn and grow.

I am grateful for the opportunity to serve on St. Mark’s vestry and pray that as a church we may help one another grow spiritually and truly represent Christ in our world.

Irina Reed, Formation

Irina and her husband, George, joined Saint Mark’s in 2007. They relocated from Akron, Ohio where they attended Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church and were married in 2004. Their son Alex was born in 2010 and is currently in his second year in the Canterbury Choir. Irina works at BMW Financial Services in Hilliard in an IQS Team Leader role. Irina volunteers in the nursery and is a Christmas Pageant Director. She is looking forward to serving in Children’s Formation ministry as a Vestry member.

Jay Iams, Member Connection

Jay and his wife Pat are longtime, active members of Saint Mark’s. They have five children and 12    grandchildren and have been members of the Upper Arlington and Saint Mark’s communities since 1980. Jay is an Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, where his clinical and research interest is prevention of premature births. He created a prenatal clinic devoted to care for pregnant women at risk of premature birth at Ohio State in 1982, and is currently the Obstetrical Lead for the Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative, a statewide voluntary group whose goal is to assure optimal perinatal care for every pregnant woman  and her baby in Ohio.

Rachel Dwyer-Markwardt

Rachel has been attending Saint Mark’s with her husband, David, and their children Henry and Anna since 2012. She is a supporter of the music program and Anna sings in the Canterbury Choir. Henry also sang in the Canterbury Choir before high school, and now serves as an acolyte. Rachel is Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of Graduate Studies in Sociology at The Ohio State University where she teaches and researches the causes and consequences of economic inequality. Last year she was awarded the OSU Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching. She and David and their family live in Worthington.

David Boop, Outreach

My extensive background includes work experience in the non-profit, regional government, and higher education sectors of the economy. The majority of my vocational experience has been spent in collegiate career development. Over two decades in higher education, I improved the effectiveness of three different college career centers. The culmination of my formal educational journey led me to earn a doctorate in Higher Education from the University of Georgia.

I have successfully coached college students and alumni of all ages to reach career fulfillment. My success in working with clients stems from my desire to develop an understanding of the unique talents each person possesses. I feel a great sense of joy when I know I have guided a client to career realization.

My background in the Strengths Development/Positive Psychology movement began over twenty years ago. I was one of the first 200 people worldwide to complete the process to become a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach in 2014. My coaching practice includes services as a keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, and individual coaching. My practice includes work with individuals and teams. Recently, I taught a graduate-level Positive Psychology course at a university in Ohio.

In an era where life-long learning is essential for career success, I continually invest time and energy to upgrade my knowledge to benefit my clients. In addition to being a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, I am certified as an International Protean Career Coach and a Dependable Strengths Articulation Process Facilitator. In my spare time, I enjoy running, swimming, church activities, and  playing vintage baseball.

Pam Thurston, Outreach

Pam’s family joined Saint Mark’s when they first moved to Columbus in 1985.  At that time son Timothy was a preschooler, and David was not yet a twinkle in his dad’s eye.  Pam joined Saint Mark’s Choir right away, and both boys joined the Canterbury Choir when they became old enough to read the hymnal.  The family were involved in various activities at Saint Mark’s over the years, from stewardship campaigns to campus clean-ups to the Triduum prayer vigil.  Of course much has changed in these 30+ years.  Pam’s “boys” are grown, married and far away, and Pam finally left her law firm job as “oldest living associate” to join the young advocates at Ohio Justice & Policy Center, a non-profit law-firm striving for evidence-based criminal justice reforms.  One thing has not changed, however:  Pam tells anyone who will listen that St. Mark’s was and still is her family’s “village.”  Her perspective is voiced in Psalm 122, as interpreted by Isaac Watts, via Alice Parker, via the Melodious Accord Musicians on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVpg8XQfrwE.

Jay Wilcox, Stewardship

Jay and his wife, Barbara, joined Saint Mark’s in 2013 and find it to be a vibrant and welcoming church community with a top-flight music program.  Jay was received into the Episcopal church in 2003 at Saint Paul’s of Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He grew up in NE Ohio, earning an undergraduate degree from Miami University in Oxford, and an MBA from Kent State. Following his 2011 retirement from the aerospace /defense industry, Jay and Barbara moved from Leesburg, Virginia to Westerville, where they enjoy having family nearby – all three of their children and six grandchildren live in Clintonville and Grandview Heights. Jay serves as a Saint Mark’s usher, works with the treasurer on financial record-keeping, and looks forward to service on the vestry.

Judith Grant, Parish Life

Judith Grant has been a member of St. Mark’s since 2017. Raised Roman Catholic, Judith converted to the Episcopal faith in 2000 at St. Hugh’s of Lincoln Church in Idyllwild, CA, where she sang in the choir. She moved to Athens Ohio in 2003 to be a political science professor at Ohio University. There she was a member of the Church of the Good Shepherd where she served on vestry and sang in the choir. At St. Mark’s, Judith has organized a weekend prayer retreat (2019 and 2020), participated in adult formation. When her work travel to Athens permits, she participates in Sisters in Faith and  Sacred Conversations. She was a delegate to the Diocesan Convention in 2019. Having a special interest in Christian meditation, prayer and the Franciscan tradition, she especially loves the blessing of the animals and the Taizé service, and visited the Taizé community in France in 2019.

Bill Mayr, Communications 

Bill Mayr is retired from the Columbus Dispatch, where he served in varied reporting and editing positions. He has served as finance chair and president of the parish council in a Catholic congregation. He and his wife, Barbara, have lived in Columbus since 1986; they have two adult children

Anice Ellis, Search Committee Liaison

Anice and her husband Michael (an Episcopal Priest retired from the diocese of Maryland)  joined St Mark’s in 1997.  Anice has  served on several vestries and is a former Sr. Warden. She is active on the Outreach committee,  Supper Group and Sacred Conversations group. She is a lay reader and is eager to assist St Mark’s to grow in love, service and fellowship in Christ.

Barb Hyre, Clerk

Phil Glandon, Treasurer