Contact Us
Women of the ELCA Churchwide Office and Staff
Our main phone number is 800-638-3522, ext. 2730
Our general email address is
Women.elca@elca.org.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Central Time
Mailing address:
Women of the ELCA
8765 W. Higgins Road
Chicago, IL 60631-4101
Administrative support for the unit is provided by Vanessa Davis.
Call Vanessa when you have a general, quick question.
800-638-3522, ext. 2730
Women.Elca@elca.org Congregational unit support and individual partnerships. Need some help with your unit? Have a question about starting a unit? Or maybe you have questions about individual partnerships. Eva Yeo, director for membership, supports the 7,000+ congregational, intercongregational, and special units of our organization and our individual partners (the new way to participate in our organization). Eva also relates to congregations that currently do not have a unit of Women of the ELCA.
Direct your membership questions to Eva.
Eva Yeo
800-638-3522, ext. 2450
Eva.Yeo@elca.orgLutheran Woman Today magazine. Kate Elliott is the editor and Terri Lackey is the managing editor. They share responsibility for planning, editing, and managing the magazine and its Web site,
www.lutheranwomantoday.org. Kate and Terri are also responsible for the two Bible studies that are delivered in the magazine (the nine-month study and the summer study) and can connect the Bible study authors with event planners for Bible study introduction events.
For subscription-related matters and to order the Bible study Leader Guide, Companion Bible, and bookmarks, please call our distribution partner, Augsburg Fortress, at 1-800–328–4648, or visit
www.augsburgfortress.org.
Turn to Kate or Terri with questions about the magazine's content and Bible study.
Kate Elliott
800-638-3522, ext. 2766
Terri Lackey
800-638-3522, ext. 2732
lwt@elca.orgInterchange, Bold Connections, and www.womenoftheelca.org. Deborah Bogaert is the editor of our monthly leadership newsletter,
Interchange; editor of our monthly email newsletter,
Bold Connections; and content manager and editor of our Web site. Deb oversees the editing and production of Women of the ELCA program resources and other materials, and is also the organization’s primary liaison with synodical newsletter editors, ELCA Communication Services, and Augsburg Fortress, Publishers.
Contact Deb with questions related to our newsletters, Web site, and social media.
Deborah Bogaert
800-638-3522, ext. 2729
Deb.Bogaert@elca.orgCafé and outreach to young women. Our monthly on-line publication for young women is edited and designed by Elizabeth McBride. Find it at
www.boldcafe.org. Beth also connects with young women across the church, especially on college and seminary campuses, and plays a lead role in Women of the ELCA’s presence at the ELCA Youth Gathering and events involving young adults.
Contact Beth with questions about
Café and outreach to young women.
Elizabeth McBride
800-638-3522, ext. 2745
Elizabeth.McBride@elca.orgDiscipleship. Valora Starr assists all participants in their desire to be a disciple of Jesus. Valora develops and coordinates resources, events, and conversations that involve discerning God’s call, understanding God’s gifts, and responding to God’s presence in our lives. Valora has written several resources and offers workshops and retreats on discipleship. Included in this work is Women of the ELCA’s global education network and administering the scholarships program of Women of the ELCA, which offers annual scholarships for post-secondary education and graduate studies.
Contact Valora with questions about the scholarships program and being called to discipleship in Jesus Christ.
Valora Starr
800-638-3522, ext. 2741
Valora.Starr@elca.orgJustice. Inez Torres Davis assists all participants in promoting healing and wholeness in our church, society, and world. Inez coordinates the Women of the ELCA grants program, which makes annual grants to groups and agencies that provide support and services to women and children, and develops resources, events, and conversations related to racism, cross-cultural understanding, commercial sexual exploitation, and the care of creation. Inez has written several resources and offers workshops and retreats on these topics. She also supports Today’s Dream, Tomorrow’s Reality, our network of anti-racism educators and advocates.
Contact Inez with questions about the grants program and bringing healing and wholeness to the church, society, and world.
Inez Torres Davis
800-638-3522, ext. 2428
InezTorres.Davis@elca.org
Stewardship and development. Emily Hansen assists all participants as together we nourish and use the gifts and resources given to us by our generous God. Emily develops and coordinates resources, events, and conversations that involve the use of our time, talents, and money. Emily has written several resources and offers workshops and retreats on these topics.
Contact Emily with questions about stewardship and planned giving.
Emily Hansen
800-638-3522, ext. 2736
Emily.Hansen@elca.orgTriennial convention and gathering coordination, meeting planning. Gabriela Contreras negotiates contracts with hotels, food services and other vendors, and assists in planning meeting logistics for events such as executive board meetings and the conference of presidents. For triennial conventions and gatherings, she works with the staff and the executive board to coordinate each event’s overall design and development, implementation, and evaluation. She is involved in speaker management, participant services and registration, on-site management, volunteer networks, etc.
Contact Gaby with your triennial gathering questions.
Gabriela Contreras
800-638-3522, ext. 2747
Gabriela.Contreras@elca.org Associate executive director. Deborah Powell is the primary liaison to synodical presidents and treasurers. She also assists the executive director with the administration of the organization, including budget and spending oversight, strategic planning, staff leadership, and office management.
Contact Deborah with questions about the finances and administration of the organization and with any questions you might otherwise direct to the executive director.
Deborah Powell
800-638-3522, ext. 2739
Deborah.Powell@elca.org Assistant to the executive director. Ann Hightower assists the executive director in planning, coordinating, and implementing all aspects of her work. She coordinates the executive director’s schedule, correspondence, and travel. Ann also works closely with the associate executive director.
Contact Ann with questions regarding the executive director or any administrative matter.
Ann Hightower
800-638-3522, ext. 2746
Ann.Hightower@elca.org Executive director. Linda Post Bushkofsky, executive director of Women of the ELCA, is responsible for the overall management and direction of the churchwide staff and seeing that the policies and plans of the organization are met. She works closely with each staff member, ensuring that our many ministries are integrated and that they complement and support one another. She communicates regularly with participants, synodical officers and boards, ecumenical partners, and other offices and expressions of the ELCA, answering questions, hearing concerns, and working together. She has been a participant in Women of the ELCA since its beginning.
You are always welcome to contact Linda on any Women of the ELCA matter.
Linda Post Bushkofsky
800-638-3522, ext. 2740
Linda.Bushkofsky@elca.org