Regional Deans

The Very Rev. Bruce O'Neill

Alameda Regional Dean

Deborah White - Headshot

The Very Rev. Dr. Deborah White

Contra Costa Regional Dean

The Very Rev. Chip Larrimore

Marin Regional Dean

The Very Rev. Rebecca Goldberg

Peninsula Regional Dean

The Very Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge

San Francisco Regional Dean

The Very Rev. Jeff Dodge

Southern Alameda Regional Dean

Q&A about regional deans:

Why do we have regional deans?

Read the original Standing Committee report explaining how and why the regional dean positions were created and outlining the logistics around their role within the broader diocesan governance structure.

When should I contact my regional dean?

Clergy and lay leaders are invited to contact their regional dean whenever they have a question that they do not know the answer to and:

    1. Do not know who to contact at the diocesan level to get a response, and/or
    2. Would prefer a confidential consult prior to bringing it to the diocesan level, and/or
    3. Would like to initiate a collaborative effort beyond their deanery.
What are the regional dean's responsibilities?

Regional deans have three primary areas of responsibility:

    1. Communications: The Deans serve as a liaison between congregational and diocesan leadership
    2. Regional (deanery) leadership support: The deans will assist in providing consistency in regional (deanery) leadership and enhance deaneries’ ability for collaboration among geographically proximate congregations (as requested).
    3. Clergy wellness and clergy family support.

Each dean will serve 8-10 hours a month for a term of approximately three years.

    Does this change how deaneries function?

    Deaneries will continue to function autonomously, electing officers to manage policies and projects. Regional deans will not have ex-officio status in the governance of the deaneries. As members of the deanery, they will have the same rights and privileges as other members but no additional powers.