Rev. Dennis Coy
Dennis Coy currently serves as senior pastor of Congregational United Church of Christ in Canton, Ohio – and has served this congregation since early 2014. Mr. Coy serves as Chief Risk Officer for financial institutions. Mr. Coy has served as a member of the United Church of Christ Board of Directors. Mr. Coy is a career investigator and investigations manager in both the public and private sectors with over 20 years of experience as a specialist in the area of White Collar Crimes and financial crimes, in general. Mr. Coy has served as an executive overseeing risk, compliance, and investigations in the banking, financial services, and financial technology (FinTech) sectors. Mr. Coy is also active in his community and has served in various roles with regional and state-wide nonprofit organizations. He has as a B.A. in Legal Studies from Dominican University and attended the University of London for divinity and theological studies.
Rev. (John) Tyler Connoley
John Tyler Connoley is the Conference Minister of the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ. They have spent most of their adult life serving in the church, first as a lay leader and then as an ordained minister. They grew up in Zambia, where their parents were missionaries in the Wesleyan Church. They came to the United Church of Christ in 2004 and have served in the conference setting of the United Church of Christ since 2014. Rev. Connoley loves connecting people and helping them find their calling, and has years of experience in group and individual discernment processes. Rev. Connoley has been a prophetic voice, advocating for full LGBTQ+ religious inclusion since 1992. A biblical theologian and storyteller, Rev. Connoley has a Master of Arts in Religion and a Master of Divinity, both from Earlham School of Religion. Their undergraduate degree is in Business and Economics from Indiana Wesleyan University. In addition to their ministry activities, Rev. Connoley is a small business owner with their husband.
Rev. Lorraine Ceniceros
Lorraine Ceniceros currently serves as the Conference Minister of the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference, United Church of Christ. Rev. Ceniceros previously served as the Associate Conference Minister for the Southwest Association and the western half of the Southeast Association for the Wisconsin Conference. She has significant ecclesiastical experience, having served for five years on the Central Association Committee on Ministry. Rev. Cenicersos also served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Southern California Nevada Conference. Rev. Ceniceros has a Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and a Master of Divinity from Claremont School of Theology. She has experience as a local pastor, a pediatric chaplain and most recently, has served as manager of Spiritual Care for Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica. Prior to her entry into ordained ministry, she held several managerial positions.
United Church of Christ
About
For over 400 years, the United Church of Christ has been the church of firsts, weaving God’s message of hope and extravagant welcome with action for justice and peace. We are a church where Jesus the healer meets Jesus, the revolutionary, and we grow a just and peaceful world together.
Maria C. Coyne, President & CEO
Maria C. Coyne serves as the President and CEO of the UCC Cornerstone Fund. Maria is a financial services executive with over 30 years of experience in commercial and retail banking. Nationally recognized as an engaging leader, Maria is featured in several books and publications including How Women Lead by Dr. Sharon Hadary, and Off the Sidelines by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. She has also worked with several “fintech” companies providing strategic consulting, and as a senior consultant at the telos institute. While at KeyCorp from 2001 to 2015 she served as an Executive Vice President and a member of KeyCorp’s Executive Council. She was the founder of the Key4 Women program and also held leadership positions in Retail/Consumer Banking, Business Banking, Strategic Planning, and Client Experience. She was named twice (in 2013 and 2014) as one of American Banker’s “25 Most Powerful Women in Banking”, and twice as one of the “Women to Watch” (2011 and 2012). Prior to Key, she spent three years at the Greater Cleveland Growth Association and over 10 years at Bank One Cleveland, serving in various management capacities before becoming Director of Marketing. She is a prominent thought leader on small business and women’s leadership and has been featured frequently in media including the Wall Street Journal, CNN, NPR, Bloomberg News, and BusinessWeek. Maria has considerable experience serving on non-profit boards including the Cleveland Catholic Diocese finance council, the Ursuline Sisters finance council, Beaumont school, the MacDonald Women’s Health Council of University Hospitals, the Sovereign Order of St. John, and she was an inaugural member of the United Way Women’s Leadership Council.
Maria is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance. She also completed the Key Executive Experience at the Case Weatherhead School of Management. Maria is a proud Clevelander, where she and her husband raised their two adult children. She is an avid rower and enjoys travel and learning about new cultures.
Ms. Elizabeth Walker, Esq., Chair
Elizabeth Walker has been engaged in the legal profession for over 35 years. Currently, she is a serving in an Of Counsel capacity to Chartwell Law, LLP in their offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ms. Walker retired from Zurich America Insurance Company in 2018 where she specialized in the field of employment law, educating, training, counseling and defending insured employers. Ms. Walker is a graduate of Rutgers College, New Brunswick, New Jersey, where she earned a B.A. in Economics. She attended Colgate Rochester/Bexley Hall/Crozier Theological Seminary studying applied ethics before earning her Juris Doctor Degree from Temple University School of Law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is admitted to the bars of the State of New Jersey and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Ms. Walker is an active member of Old First Reformed United Church of Christ where she serves as Chair of the Outreach Leadership Team. Ms. Walker serves as Moderator Emeritus of the Philadelphia Association of the United Church of Christ and on the Investment & Endowment Committee of the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ. Ms. Walker is a member of the Board of Directors of the United Church of Christ and Chairs the Audit Committee of that Board. Ms. Walker also serves as that Board’s representative on the Investment Committee of United Church Funds. Also, in the national setting of the United Church of Christ, Ms. Walker is serving on the Taskforce developing a Manual on the Local Church and on the Racial Equity Advisory Taskforce. Ms. Walker has served on the Cornerstone Fund Board of Directors from 2012-2017 and from 2019 to present. Ms. Walker has served as Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Cornerstone Fund since 2020.