Sally Vonner
Sally Vonner joined United Women in Faith, National Staff in 2010 as Assistant General Secretary of Membership and Leadership Development. In 2018, Ms Vonner was elevated to the role of Transformation Officer, coordinating the organization’s visioning and strategic development to positively impact the lives of women, children, and youth.
Ms. Vonner serves on the boards of The Wesley campus ministry at her alma mater Texas A&M Commerce and is vice president of the New York Justice For Our Neighbors. She is a longtime member of Black Methodists for Church Renewal at the conference, jurisdiction, and national levels. She is also part of a women’s leadership cohort with J.P. Morgan Chase’s Community Development division, since 2021.
Ms. Vonner is a graduate of Southern Methodist University - Perkins School of Theology with a Master of Divinity. and Women’s Studies Certification and Texas A&M Commerce with a B.S. in Biology.
When asked about Sally, you will hear sentiments of her being a bold visionary, kind, understanding, and willing to meet people where they are in this journey of life.
Mission will always be near and dear to Ms. Vonner and is a primary focus to continue and expand the mission and reach of United Women in Faith as we put our love and faith in action to change the world. men, children, and youth.
She is Inspirational
She is Influential
She is Impactful
She is Sally Vonner, General Secretary/CEO of United Women in Faith
Sally Vonner joined United Women in Faith, National Staff in 2010 as Assistant General Secretary of Membership and Leadership Development. In 2018, Ms Vonner was elevated to the role of Transformation Officer, coordinating the organization’s visioning and strategic development to positively impact the lives of women, children, and youth.
Ms. Vonner serves on the boards of The Wesley campus ministry at her alma mater Texas A&M Commerce and is vice president of the New York Justice For Our Neighbors. She is a longtime member of Black Methodists for Church Renewal at the conference, jurisdiction, and national levels. She is also part of a women’s leadership cohort with J.P. Morgan Chase’s Community Development division, since 2021.
Ms. Vonner is a graduate of Southern Methodist University - Perkins School of Theology with a Master of Divinity. and Women’s Studies Certification and Texas A&M Commerce with a B.S. in Biology.
When asked about Sally, you will hear sentiments of her being a bold visionary, kind, understanding, and willing to meet people where they are in this journey of life.
Mission will always be near and dear to Ms. Vonner and is a primary focus to continue and expand the mission and reach of United Women in Faith as we put our love and faith in action to change the world. men, children, and youth.
She is Inspirational
She is Influential
She is Impactful
She is Sally Vonner, General Secretary/CEO of United Women in Faith
‘Ainise ‘Isama’u
Greetings and Malo e Lelei! Kuou tuku ha Fakamalo mo fakafeta’l kihe ‘Otua Mafimafe kihe tauhi ‘ofa kuo ne fai ma’mku mo kitutolu hono kotoa. My name is ‘Ainise ‘Isama’u and what an honor it is to be with you all! I thank God for the opportunity and blessing!
My United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women) story began with a conversation with Brenda Tuita, who was the California-Pacific Conference United Methodist Women Limitless Young Women Coordinator, regarding an event for UMW. The conversation led to talking about Limitless. That’s when I attended my first conversation with the West District Limitless team. As we know, Limitless is a UMW Life Mentoring Program for Young Women. To be brutally honest, I admit I was a skeptic at first because growing up, UMW wasn’t exactly my “cup of tea.” I thought it to be a group of seasoned women who gathered and talked about things from 1869, had long drawn-out meetings and spent time in a circle just sewing their life away. Little did I know that attending a conversation with Limitless would lead me to be a United Methodist Women member for the rest of my life. Today, I am a mother of an 8-year-old girl, a wife, a friend, a mentor… a leader. Since that conversation life hasn’t been the same. Almost everywhere I go I meet someone with a United Methodist Women connection. I always feel welcomed and like I have a place at the table.
I have served on the district level and also on the conference level. I still remember how nervous I was to send out my first newsletter to all United Methodist Women of the California-Pacific Conference. My nervousness was automatically put to peace because I never felt alone. As the former Communications Coordinator for Cal-Pac Conference UMW, the lessons I learned in this role taught me so much about being organized, working with women of all ages and making sure information is sent out in proper time. Trust me, there were many learning curves, but the California-Pacific Conference UMW Team were amazing teachers from day one. It’s not really that they taught me, but they embraced me and showed me the way while allowing me to have my own voice. These women have stepped into my life to continue showing me. This group of very special women … bold, courageous, daring and loving women opened their hearts and mentored me.
Greetings and Malo e Lelei! Kuou tuku ha Fakamalo mo fakafeta’l kihe ‘Otua Mafimafe kihe tauhi ‘ofa kuo ne fai ma’mku mo kitutolu hono kotoa. My name is ‘Ainise ‘Isama’u and what an honor it is to be with you all! I thank God for the opportunity and blessing!
My United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women) story began with a conversation with Brenda Tuita, who was the California-Pacific Conference United Methodist Women Limitless Young Women Coordinator, regarding an event for UMW. The conversation led to talking about Limitless. That’s when I attended my first conversation with the West District Limitless team. As we know, Limitless is a UMW Life Mentoring Program for Young Women. To be brutally honest, I admit I was a skeptic at first because growing up, UMW wasn’t exactly my “cup of tea.” I thought it to be a group of seasoned women who gathered and talked about things from 1869, had long drawn-out meetings and spent time in a circle just sewing their life away. Little did I know that attending a conversation with Limitless would lead me to be a United Methodist Women member for the rest of my life. Today, I am a mother of an 8-year-old girl, a wife, a friend, a mentor… a leader. Since that conversation life hasn’t been the same. Almost everywhere I go I meet someone with a United Methodist Women connection. I always feel welcomed and like I have a place at the table.
I have served on the district level and also on the conference level. I still remember how nervous I was to send out my first newsletter to all United Methodist Women of the California-Pacific Conference. My nervousness was automatically put to peace because I never felt alone. As the former Communications Coordinator for Cal-Pac Conference UMW, the lessons I learned in this role taught me so much about being organized, working with women of all ages and making sure information is sent out in proper time. Trust me, there were many learning curves, but the California-Pacific Conference UMW Team were amazing teachers from day one. It’s not really that they taught me, but they embraced me and showed me the way while allowing me to have my own voice. These women have stepped into my life to continue showing me. This group of very special women … bold, courageous, daring and loving women opened their hearts and mentored me.
Andrea Reily Rocha Soares
Andrea Reily Rocha Soares was commissioned in October 2015 and serves as a Regional Mission ary for leadership development with women in Latin America. Regional Missionaries are selected and supported by United Women in Faith women and placed in collaboration with the church’s General Board of Global Ministries.
The Regional Missionary program was launched in 2000 to support leadership and organizational development of ministries among women, children, and youth in broad areas. Andrea serves as the main connection to the national office of United Women in Faith on empowerment and gender issues throughout Latin America.
Andrea is a native of Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. Prior to entering mission service, she was assistant pastor of the Central Methodist Church in Birigui, Brazil, and after November 2015, an elder in the Methodist Church in Brazil. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in religion and Spanish Cultural Studies from Emory & Henry College in Virginia, a bachelor’s degree in theology from the Methodist University of São Paulo, and a Master of Divinity degree in mission studies from Boston University School of Theology. Andrea has worked as an English teacher and an interim pastor in Ribeirão Preto.
Born into a home with a Brazilian Catholic father and an American Protestant mother, Andrea was surrounded by Christian love, baptized as an infant, and became a member of the Methodist Church in Brazil at age 14. Her faith journey, she states, has been one of discovery of “who God is and who I am. It has been a voyage of learning to love, hope, and have faith—a journey of living out the extraordinary, of encountering the divine.”
Andrea’s journey included living in Brazil, Chile, Northern Ireland, England, and the United States. She is a citizen of both Brazil and the U.S. Her personal and spiritual search led to her discovery of mission. In college, she developed an interest in religious studies and in teaching. “After four years in college, my sense of inner call to mission service continued to be confirmed on a regular basis,” she recalls.
Andrea says a “little spark of God’s grace” led her to seminary. In those years, she worked with im migrant church communities and did internships with faith-based social organizations in London. For many years she prepared for mission service, taking in all the experiences she could in various settings and contexts, constantly searching for experiences to get her ready for new paths and doors to God’s reign.
Andrea resides in her home country of Brazil with husband Heber Sanches Soares and young daughter.
Andrea Reily Rocha Soares was commissioned in October 2015 and serves as a Regional Mission ary for leadership development with women in Latin America. Regional Missionaries are selected and supported by United Women in Faith women and placed in collaboration with the church’s General Board of Global Ministries.
The Regional Missionary program was launched in 2000 to support leadership and organizational development of ministries among women, children, and youth in broad areas. Andrea serves as the main connection to the national office of United Women in Faith on empowerment and gender issues throughout Latin America.
Andrea is a native of Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. Prior to entering mission service, she was assistant pastor of the Central Methodist Church in Birigui, Brazil, and after November 2015, an elder in the Methodist Church in Brazil. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in religion and Spanish Cultural Studies from Emory & Henry College in Virginia, a bachelor’s degree in theology from the Methodist University of São Paulo, and a Master of Divinity degree in mission studies from Boston University School of Theology. Andrea has worked as an English teacher and an interim pastor in Ribeirão Preto.
Born into a home with a Brazilian Catholic father and an American Protestant mother, Andrea was surrounded by Christian love, baptized as an infant, and became a member of the Methodist Church in Brazil at age 14. Her faith journey, she states, has been one of discovery of “who God is and who I am. It has been a voyage of learning to love, hope, and have faith—a journey of living out the extraordinary, of encountering the divine.”
Andrea’s journey included living in Brazil, Chile, Northern Ireland, England, and the United States. She is a citizen of both Brazil and the U.S. Her personal and spiritual search led to her discovery of mission. In college, she developed an interest in religious studies and in teaching. “After four years in college, my sense of inner call to mission service continued to be confirmed on a regular basis,” she recalls.
Andrea says a “little spark of God’s grace” led her to seminary. In those years, she worked with im migrant church communities and did internships with faith-based social organizations in London. For many years she prepared for mission service, taking in all the experiences she could in various settings and contexts, constantly searching for experiences to get her ready for new paths and doors to God’s reign.
Andrea resides in her home country of Brazil with husband Heber Sanches Soares and young daughter.
Cecilia Malm
Cecilia Malm is Director of Development at United Women in Faith. As a career fundraising professional, Cecilia has integrated her faith values into her work with non- profit organizations. She has previously held positions that include Associate Director of Development with The Episcopal Church, Director of Foundation and Corporate Giving with a New York City-based non-profit serving the homebound elderly, Senior Grants Associate with Habitat for Humanity, and Associate Director of Development at New York University. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Church Club of New York and will complete a degree in Ascetical Theology at General Theological Seminary this spring.
Cecilia Malm is Director of Development at United Women in Faith. As a career fundraising professional, Cecilia has integrated her faith values into her work with non- profit organizations. She has previously held positions that include Associate Director of Development with The Episcopal Church, Director of Foundation and Corporate Giving with a New York City-based non-profit serving the homebound elderly, Senior Grants Associate with Habitat for Humanity, and Associate Director of Development at New York University. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Church Club of New York and will complete a degree in Ascetical Theology at General Theological Seminary this spring.