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Council Executive Director Honored with Asbury Award

July 20, 2017 by Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

Jennifer Copeland, the Council’s Executive Director, has been honored with the 2017 Francis Asbury Award by the NC Conference of the United Methodist Church.

The award, named for one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America, is based on his admonition to Methodists to erect a school near every church to “…give the key of knowledge to your children, and those of the poor in the vicinity of your small towns and villages.”

Previously, Jennifer served as the Executive Director and Campus Minister for the Wesley Fellowship at Duke University from 1999 -2015, where she also taught undergraduate and divinity school classes.  Over the course of her 16 years at Wesley, Jennifer graduated 17 students into seminary, young missioners, or full-time work in the church; 10 of them are now ordained. She also supervised more than 25 Duke Div interns; nine of them are or have been collegiate ministers.

Jennifer was a board member for the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry from 2008-2016. During her tenure, she served on the Executive Committee and the Audit and Review Committee, was chair of the Committee on Loans and Scholarships, and was a task force member for distribution of $7.5 million in Young Clergy Initiative funds.

While chairing the Committee on Loans and Scholarship, she authored and ushered to approval the resolution allowing students designated as “Dreamers” to apply for and receive funds from the Office of Loans and Scholarships through the same portal as US citizens.

Among her other awards are the Allen Burry Award from the United Methodist Campus Ministry Association and Campus Minister of the Year from the National Campus Ministry Association.

Filed Under: Blog, Homepage Featured Tagged With: Council News

About Aleta Payne, Former Deputy Executive Director

Aleta Payne first joined the Council staff in the spring of 2001 as the Communications Associate. She continues to oversee that work along with development, represents the Council in several partnership efforts, and serves in other administrative roles, as well. Aleta is a graduate of the University of Virginia with a degree in government and foreign affairs and spent much of her early career as a journalist. She has three young adult sons who continue to come home to Cary for dinner, or at least groceries, and two young adult terrier-mix dogs who keep the nest from feeling too empty.

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