Lay Leadership
Vestry
JODY JONES TURNER, Senior Warden
The Turners moved coast-to-coast from Seattle to Boston to live closer to family. Jody’s mom, Peggy Dillon, is the oldest of 14 children and grew up on Downer Avenue in Hingham. Jody is a Business Development Executive and leads Economic Development activities as the Senior Program Director for the Internet for All initiative at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. She has her Masters in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School and Bachelors from the University of Notre Dame. The Turners have two children, Jack (17) and Dillon (15), and a Bernese Mountain Dog named Molly. When not watching kids’ football games or regattas, Jody loves to run and practice yoga. She is a huge college football fan (Go Irish!) and a Chicago sports fan by marriage. The whole family will cheer for the Red Sox (as long as they aren’t playing the Cubs). The Turners were active members at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Issaquah, WA, where Jody served on the Vestry and as Senior Warden. Jody finds Church work deeply meaningful and is honored to serve as Senior Warden. The whole family is grateful for friends, faith, and community they have found at St. John’s.
PERRIE O’TIERNEY-GINN, Junior Warden
Perrie, along with her husband Matthew and daughter Daphne (10), joined St. John’s in March 2018, after moving to Braintree from Ohio. Right from her first Sunday, Perrie felt warmly welcomed and knew St. John’s was “home.” Perrie has served in many roles at St. John’s, most notably as a Sunday School teacher (2018–present) and a member of the Sunday School Leadership Team (since 2021). She also serves on the Altar Guild, and ushers when time allows. She has served on vestry since 2022.
Perrie is the Executive Director of the Mother Infant Research Institute at Tufts Medical Center, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Tufts University School of Medicine. A Perinatal Biologist, Perrie’s lab studies how maternal exposures in pregnancy such as stress, diet, and metabolism impact the growth and long-term health of offspring. Ask her anything about the placenta! When not in her lab or at St. John’s Perrie enjoys reading, drinking coffee, nature walks, and watching Fantasy/Sci-Fi flicks.
RICHARD “SKIP” HULL, Treasurer
Skip has lived in Hingham for 22 years with his wife, Linda, their three children, Justin, Owen and Mia, and their dogs Mojo and Ziggy. The Hulls have been members of St. John’s since 2007. Skip is a Project Manager for US Environmental Protection Agency. He enjoys time with family, outdoor adventures and walking Mojo and Ziggy.
JENNIFER BLAKE, Clerk
Jenn and her husband Barry have been attending St. John’s since 2006. Their two children, Sam and Ruby, were baptized and confirmed at St John’s. Both Barry and Jenn enjoyed teaching Sunday school and their family has been a part on many outreach opportunities including Laundry Love and ASP. She is starting her third year as Clerk on the Vestry and appreciates the amazing community of people at St. John’s. She loves her dog Sadie too!
To February 2025
KENZIE BLACKWELL, Vestry
The Blackwells have been attending St. John’s since their move to Hingham in 2018. She and her husband, Brandon, have two children. Kenzie currently chairs the Outreach Ministry, and founded and serves as the Director of our “Free.” ministry. She also actively prays for parish needs as part of the PPN Ministry. Previously she served on a Discernment Committee and as Holiday Boutique Auction and Ticketing Coordinator. During the pandemic she helped St. John’s be part of a town-wide PPE response and, in consultation with the North Pole, brought Santa to Hingham so he could bring Christmas joy to children all around town in a Jeep. Prior to having children, Kenzie and Brandon served as Graduate Resident Tutors at MIT while she was simultaneously employed as the Program Coordinator and School Counselor for North Cambridge Catholic High School (now Cristo Rey Boston High School). Originally from the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee she has always had a heart for ministry and community service.
MIKE HOLTSCHLAG, Vestry
Mike and his wife Nancy moved to Hingham in 2001. They found St. John’s in 2006 while church “shopping” (Mike grew up Roman Catholic) and immediately knew they had come to the right place!They are grateful to the St. John’s community for providing a loving spiritual home for them and their four children: Anna 22, Jake 20, Paige 18, and Ben 15. Mike has served in many ministries over the years, including the Nominating Committee, a prior appointment to the Vestry, co-lead for the Charting Our Course strategy effort (2014), church school, and the new (unofficial) Labyrinth ministry. Mike currently serves as one of the leaders of the Men’s Group and helps to mobilize the fine men of our parish for social gatherings and to support various and sundry church activities.
Mike studied at Harvard (undergrad) and Wharton (MBA) and has worked in various capacities at Fidelity Investments for the last 17 years. He is currently a Senior Vice President in Fidelity’s retail investing business. When not at work or church, Mike and Nancy enjoy spending time with their children and their two dogs, preferably on or near the water.
JUDIE SHAPIRO, Vestry
Judie grew up in Needham, with her parents and two younger brothers and two sisters. She was raised in the Presbyterian Church. After graduating from Needham High, Judie completed nurse’s training at New England Baptist Hospital, worked in the area as a nurse, and then entered the US Air Force and was stationed in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. While there she met a tall handsome physician, Bill. They married while in the service and then moved to Rutherfordton, N.C., in the foothills of the Blue Mountains. They raised three children, Liz (now living in Maine), Sara (in Berea, Ky.), and Bill (in Davis, Ca.). She has four grandchildren. After her husband passed away, Judie decided it was time to come “home” to Boston (Hingham).
ELISE FICKES, Vestry (youth member)
Elise has lived in Hingham for 11 years, and has been attending St. John’s for about the same amount of time. She is the daughter of Kaja and Dan Fickes and sister to Kristi Fickes. She has attended Sunday school and now participates in the current high school youth group. She works on the stream team, volunteers in the Sunday school, and works on the haunted house. She plays volleyball and softball with the added experience of playing for Dirt Dawgs Softball Club in Canton. She loves all of the opportunities and friendships that the St. John’s community has provided her with and is so grateful.
SARA DICKISON TAYLOR, Transition Officer
Sara and her husband Jim moved to Hingham in 2001 and have been parishioners of St. John’s since 2012. Sara was raised as a Congregationalist but found a wonderful home at St. John’s and was confirmed in 2018. She has been an active member of the church, serving on the Vestry, Rector Search Committee, and the Youth Ministry Leadership Team. She also participated in Sacred Ground and spent a week in West Virginia as part of the church’s Appalachia Service Project (ASP) group. A former President of the Plymouth River School PTO and a former Hingham Education Foundation board member, Sara has loved being a part of her community. She is also the past Co-Chair of the Pediatric Patient Family Advisory Council at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and a long-term member and advocate. Professionally, Sara is the Founder/President of Celebrate Life by Design, LLC, serving as an Executive and Leadership Coach to business executives and entrepreneurs. Sara and Jim are now soaking in being new “empty nesters” to two college-aged children. Emily and Sam were also involved in the church and look forward to returning to St. John’s during school breaks. Sara attended Colby College in Waterville, ME, and loves reading, cooking, writing, traveling, and taking long walks with Winnie, their forever young golden retriever!
To February 2026
JENNIFER GAYSMITH, Vestry
Jenn and her husband Neil Smith are thrilled to have found a spiritual home at St. John’s. Living in Hingham since 2004, Jenn immediately felt welcomed when she first attended services at St. John’s. Jenn has enjoyed being a participant in Sacred Ground, volunteering at many St. John’s community events and ministries, and serving as a member of the Vestry. She is an active volunteer in the Hingham community, serving in the past as an elected member of the Hingham Planning Board, Chairing the Hingham Accessory Dwelling Unit Study Committee, serving on the Community Preservation Committee, running school PTOs, serving as an Assistant Town Moderator for the 2022 Hingham Town Meeting, and serving as a Fresh Air Fund ‘Mom’ for many years.
Jenn and Neil have three teenage children: Elinor, Audrey, and Henry, and one lovable labradoodle, Fletcher. Jenn is a real estate attorney at Anderson & Kreiger LLP and studied at Georgetown University and Boston College Law School.
KIM RÖELL, Vestry
Kim is a cradle Episcopalian, even attending an Episcopal boarding school. She has been a parishioner at St. John’s for over 30 years. In the past, Kim served several terms on the Vestry. She raised two children at St. John’s and developed many lasting friendships with other parents while participating in youth group activities. She still works with youth as a Confirmation mentor. Over the years she has served on the Newcomer’s Committee, Nominating Committee, and was a delegate to convention for several decades. Kim enjoys being part of the Flower Ministry—arranging flowers for the altar and delivering them to parishioners. She is blessed to have her married children and two grandchildren, and parents close by. Kim works as a middle school science teacher in Dorchester. Off-work hours are spent gardening, playing tennis, kayaking, reading, and cooking. She is looking forward to being part of the leadership team at St. John’s to ensure others have a community that brings them joy and solace.
To February 2027
SEAN BURNS, Vestry
Sean was born and raised in Hingham, and had his first exposure to the warm and welcoming environment at St. John’s as a toddler in the preschool program in the early 1980s. He moved back to Hingham in 2010 with his wife Megan and their children, Laura (6th grader) and Patrick (4th grader). They joined as parishioners in 2017, having made the transition from the Roman Catholic church after being introduced to St. John’s by the Leforts, and loving the vitality and strong sense of community. Since then, Sean has helped out in various capacities, including on the Stream Team, with the Not-So-Spooky Haunted House, Summerfest, and other church events, and has made great friends through each.
At work, Sean is a practicing endocrinologist who also leads a research group at a biotech in Cambridge focused on therapeutic gene editing. In his spare time, he enjoys pickleball, mountain biking, skiing, running, cooking, and travel. Sean is incredibly grateful to the community of St. John’s for helping him to renew his spirituality, and he is honored to have the opportunity to help lead the church into its next chapter of enlightenment, service, and growth.
ERACH DESAI, Vestry
Erach has been a parishioner at St. Paul’s since 2000, when his family joined St. John’s from St. Paul’s, with his ex-wife Marybeth, and their children Jacqueline (1993-2011), Jonathan (24), and Grace (19). While he has not previously served in any formal capacity at St. John’s, he enjoys the comradery of the coffee hour, and has volunteered to help with the Holiday Boutique and more recently with the Not-So-Spooky Haunted House. Erach currently resides in Weymouth, after raising their children through Hingham schools.
Erach was raised in Karachi, Pakistan, born into a Zoroastrian family that was spiritual and active in their community. Curiously, he attended St. Patrick’s High School (a Catholic school) for 12-13 years under the British O-Level and A-Level system, including garnering an ‘A’ in Bible Knowledge for his O-Level exams. He studied electrical engineering at MIT (’84), worked as a semiconductor design engineer for four years, and for some reason returned to get his MBA-equivalent at MIT’s Sloan School of Management (’90). Prior to becoming a senior consultant at Forrester Research, Erach worked as an independent consultant focused on market analysis and business strategy for technology companies. He has more than twenty years of market analysis, investment research, and high-tech industry experience—having worked as an investment analyst at various investment banks, in product marketing for enterprise software companies, and a design engineer for semiconductor companies. Other than biking, yoga, and desiring to learn ballroom dancing and picking up golf, Erach is at heart (and by training) an engineer and a geek!
ROBIN KIRK, Vestry
Robin has been a member of St. John’s since 2021. He enjoys being a lector and is looking forward to helping in other ways.
Raised an Anglican in England, he rediscovered his faith and was confirmed as an Episcopalian in Washington, D.C. in 1999. After having traveled the world for a few decades, Robin has made Hingham his home, with his wife, Lisa, one dog and two cats, and occasionally one (or more) of their five grown children and stepchildren. Robin finds St. John’s to be a place of peace and reflection, and hopes the community can help him grow as a human being.