Leadership Team
The national Leadership Team is your elected volunteer national board. We work in partnership with our affiliated chapters, staff and colleagues across the ABC-USA family to achieve our common mission of "ministers serving ministers." The Team bears fiduciary responsibility for the Ministers Council.
Click Here to See the Outgoing Leadership Team
(Serving until December 31, 2024)
PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR | Valerie Andrews
Office Hours
Tuesdays, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Thursdays, 2:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Reach Valerie at her office at ministerscouncil@abc-usa.org.
PRESIDENT | Rebecca Driscoll
The Rev. Rebecca Driscoll, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Attleboro,
Massachusetts (July 2021–present), TABCOM Minister for Creation Care (April
2021–2023). She is a member of the National Ministers Council and the Conference
of Baptist Ministers in Massachusetts (2019–present. She served as intern for AB
Women in Ministry on the MC Leadership Team (2019-2021) and as Discernmentarian
for the MC Leadership Team (2021-present).
VICE PRESIDENT | Naomi Mitchell
The Rev. Dr. Naomi Mitchell is a dedicated minister
committed to fostering wholeness, wellness, and well-being. Her
expansive counseling expertise encompasses a diverse array of
areas, including pastoral care, bereavement, marriage, eating
disorders, self-esteem, social adjustment, job loss, depression,
trauma-informed care, and anxiety. Her degrees include: M.Div.
and M.A. in Pastoral Care and Counseling from Garrett Evangelical Theological
Seminary and a D.Min. in Homiletics from the Association of Chicago Theological
Schools. Dr. Mitchell was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of
Preachers at Morehouse College in 2022. She serves as co-pastor at Morgan
Park Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois, with her husband The Rev. Dr. Joel R. Mitchell.
Together, they lead an international counseling and education ministry called The
Marriage Investors. Naomi serves as President of the Ministers Council of ABC-Metro
Chicago.
TREASURER | Shane Kinnison
The Rev. Dr. Shane Kinnison is currently serving as pastor of Grace Baptist Church in
Kansas City, MO; a congregation affiliated with ABC of The Great Rivers Region
and American Baptist Churches--USA. He has been a member of Ministers Council
since 2011, serving as President of the Ministers Council of Oregon and terms on
the National Ministers Council including Member at Large for what was previously
the Board of Governors, as well as Secretary and Treasurer of what is now the Leadership Team.
SECRETARY | Julio Gonzalez-Paniagua
The Rev. Dr. Julio González-Paniagua is by vocation an educator and musician, and by
Lord’s calling, Pastor of the First Spanish Baptist Church of Central Islip, in
Long Island, New York. As a musician, composer, arranger, conductor and Liturgy
and music workshop leader, he fully participates within the American Baptists in
the United States, Puerto Rico, and Latin America. Pastor González has earned a
B.A. in Music, a Master in Education, both from the University of Puerto Rico, a
Master in Divinity from the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico, and a Doctor of
Ministry from Drew University, New Jersey.
CHAPTER SUPPORT | Dianthia Yvonne Gilmore
Called into ministry at the tender age of fourteen, Rev. Dianthia
Gilmore finds “immeasurable joy” in sharing God’s prophetic
word, love, mercy, and compassion with others. She holds a
Master of Divinity in Biblical Studies (Old Testament) and a
Doctor of Ministry in Formational Counseling, both from Ashland
Theological Seminary. Gilmore also earned a master’s in
psychology (John Carroll University). She serves as Associate Pastor (Antioch Baptist
Church), Christian counselor, spiritual director, writer, speaker, retired math teacher,
academic coach, workshop and conference presenter, mother, grandmother, and
wife to Dr. Thomas Gilmore, who is the president of the Cleveland Ministers Council.
She is working on her first book - Intimacy with God - born of a passion for self care and burnout prevention. Her meditation ”Sabbath Resting” was published in Leaves of Wisdom: A Book of Daily Meditations and Encouragement (Dr. Danette Anthony Reed, International President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.)
MEMBERSHIP/CHAPTER DEVELOPMENT | Rick Mixon
The Rev. Dr. Randle (Rick) Mixon is an ordained American Baptist minister with over
50 years of experience in pastoral ministry, church leadership, and social
justice advocacy. He began serving as Interim Pastor of First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor, MI
in October 2024. He served as the Pastor of First Baptist Church
of Palo Alto, California from 2006-2020, and as Interim Minister
for four congregations in four states over his career. He is a long
time member of Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, Oakland, CA, the church that
ordained him in 1996 as the first openly LGBTQIA+ Baptist to be ordained. He serves as
Affiliate Professor of Pastoral Care at Berkeley School of Theology (Berkeley, CA) and
emeritus board member of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists. His
education includes: Ph.D., Religion and Personality, Graduate Theological Union,
Berkeley, CA; M.Div., The American Baptist Seminary of the West, Berkeley, CA; M.S.,
Marriage and Family Therapy, California State University-East Bay, Hayward, CA; B.A.,
English, Columbia College of Columbia University, New York.
COORDINATOR OF TIM/EIM GRANTS | Linda Bergeon
Linda was ordained in 2006 and has served as an Intentional Interim with Transition
Ministries USA since then. As of 2024 she has served 14 churches in 6 states.
Linda has been a member of the Ministers Council of American Baptist Churches of
Central Pacific Coast for the past ten years. She currently resides in Medford, OR.
