Bridge Pastor
Rev. David Harris
David has been honorably retired since June 2016. His lastposition was as Acting Head of Staff Harundale PresbyterianChurch June-August 2017. Before that he was interim pastorat First & Franklin Presbyterian Church for 2 ½ years. He isa 1971 graduate of Louisville Seminary and ordained thatsame year. He has served in a variety of capacities in thePresbyterian Church:
Minister for Racial Justice & Multicultural Engagement | Music Director
Minister Lea Gilmore (she/her/hers)
Minister Lea has a long history of social justice activism and music performance. Named by Essence Magazine as one of “25 Women Shaping the World,” Lea is a past winner of the Blues Foundation’s “Keeping the Blues Alive” award (the “Grammys of the Blues”) for her historical work on women’s contributions to that music. Lea is the recipient of the 2016 Golden Formstone Award from Baltimore’s Creative Alliance for her efforts with community arts and commitment to social justice. She…
Music Director
Marie Herrington (she/her/hers)
Marie Herrington is a contemporary voice specialist who composes and performs music that fixates on the capabilities of the human voice, and how far it can go beyond the norm. Grounded in vocal pedagogy, she aims to build and grow voices she works with through her knowledge of the limitations of the human voice and how we can expand upon that as musicians. International award winning composer, Marie has composed music for a multitude of choirs including but not exclusive…
Preschool Director
Elizabeth Connor
Elizabeth (Betz) Connor has spent many years working with children and helping them build a strong foundation in learning, creativity, and music. She has over 20 years of experience directing and teaching preschool curriculum and elementary music, providing students with engaging, age-appropriate learning experience. She also has 30 years of continuous experience providing private piano instruction to beginning and intermediate students. Through this work, she has had the privilege of helping children and students build confidence, develop their musical abilities,…
Church Administrator
Andy Wilson (he/him/his)
Andy has been a member of Govans since 2010 and on the staff since 2018. He works behind the scenes, handling administrative tasks like coordinating our online worship services, preparing our email communications, editing our monthly newsletter, and whatever else might come up. He loves Govans for its commitment to social justice and its acceptance of different points of view. In his free time, he enjoys playing music, cooking, and being outdoors and spending time with his wife and two…
Administrative Assistant
Hanna Ward
Hanna Ward graduated from The Peabody Institute with her Masters in Music in Voice Performance with a concentration in Pedagogy in 2026. She graduated from Anderson University with a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance and Pedagogy, with a minor in Theatre in 2023. While at Peabody, she was the assistant stage manager for multiple productions, including Street Scene and An Evening of Italian Opera and the production assistant for Maryland Opera and worked on many productions, including Carmen, The Merry Widow, and Madama Butterfly. While…
Bookkeeper
Rufus Ingram (he/him)
Rufus Ingram, CPA, MBA, joined our staff in November 2022. His primary responsibilities are to manage the financial activities of the Church and support the finance committee in carrying out their mission. Rufus is also the owner and operator of a CPA firm and the president of a non-profit organization. Hisbackground is a great fit to our organization. Rufus was born and has lived his entire life in Baltimore. In his free time he enjoys swimming, bicycling and nurturing his…
Rental Manager
Myra Brosius (she/her/hers)
Myra Brosius, our part-time rental manager since 2020, is also a member of Govans and joined around the year 2000. In her position, she meets with people interested in renting our facilities for a range of activities from baby showers to weddings and drafts agreements to make sure everything goes smoothly. Myra enjoys getting to know potential tenants, welcoming them to our campus and sharing with them a little about Govans. She loves Govans for the warm community of people, its…
Sexton
Sylvia Usher (she/her/hers)
Soprano Section Leader
Jocelyn Taylor (she/her/hers)
Jocelyn leads the soprano section of Govans choir during worship and rehearsals. The Govans choir sings during the joint 10:00 am service (first Sunday of the month) and during the 11:00 am service (every other Sunday).
Alto Section Leader
Nerissa Paglinauan (she/her/hers)
Nerissa Paglinauan (pronounced ne-REE-sa pag-lee-NOW-an) holds Bachelor’s degrees in music and child development from Tufts University where she received the Outstanding Achievement Award in the Department of Music. She has sung with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society since 2005, and previously was a member of the Cathedral Choral Society in Washington, DC for five years. Nerissa is trained in both piano and voice, and has been a church musician since the mid-’90s, beginning in high school as a cantor for…
Camera/Video Operator
Nicholas Mills (he/his/him)
Nick serves as Govans’ Camera/Video Operator. In this role, he helps with the weekly broadcast of worship on Facebook Live and Zoom, provides technical support for Govans members and friends, and offers a warm welcome to online worshipers.