Lay Leadership
Vestry
PERRIE O’TIERNEY-GINN, Senior Warden
Perrie, along with her husband Matthew and daughter Daphne (11), 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 Woman, Mother + Baby 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.
NANCY MacDONALD, Junior Warden
Together with her husband and former vestry member Mike, Nancy has lived in Hingham for the past 25 years. Their initial introduction to St. John’s was through the Hingham Nursery School, which all three of their children attended when it was located in the basement of the Church. They have been active members since 2005 and were drawn to, and still enjoy, the incredible energy and fellowship found here. Nancy has helped out in various capacities including in the Sunday School, the Boutique, the Not-So-Spooky Haunted House, Helping Hands, and others. In 2018 all five MacDonalds were confirmed Episcopalian in a beautiful service presided over by Bishop Gayle Harris at the Cathedral in Boston. Outside of Church, Nancy works in the technology sector and has served on various Town boards and committees. In her spare time, you will find her running, gardening, reading, cooking, or planning her next trip. Nancy is honored to serve a community that has given her so much over the past 20 years.
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.
AL BERNATIVICIUS, Clerk
Al and his wife, Julia Booth, moved to Hingham in 2001 and have been attending St. John’s since 2012. Al and Julia both grew up Catholic and when searching for an alternative found St. John’s to be a very welcoming community. Al and Julia have two children, John (20) and Nora (18). They also had three dogs (Weimaraners) over time as part of the family, Fritz, Freud, and Rose. Al works in institutional financial services. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family and being outdoors in the woods, mountains and on the water.
JENNIFER GAYSMITH, Ministry of Space captain
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.
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 (7th grader) and Patrick (5th 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 (25), and Grace (20). 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.
To February 2028
GEOFF EMERSON, Vestry
In 2016, when Geoff was looking for a new community of faith and fellowship, he found St. John’s. The parish was very welcoming.
Over the years he has helped with several church activities, especially the Not-So-Spooky Haunted House.
Geoff graduated from Hingham High School, Harvard University, and Boston University School of Medicine. He is affiliated with South Shore Hospital, and his medical specialty is ophthalmology. He has two children and three grandchildren.
Geoff is glad to be a member of the St. John’s community.
MICHAEL PIZZIFERRI, Vestry
Michael and his husband Coleman joined St. John’s shortly after buying their first home in Weymouth in 2022. They felt warmly welcomed by St. John’s and the people here have helped the couple (and their dog, Serena!) establish a community on the South Shore. Michael was received as an Episcopalian at Trinity Church in 2022 after his Christian faith was reignited as an adult. At St. John’s, Michael serves as Co-Lead of the Church's Creation Care Ministry. This follows his leadership of Trinity’s Creation Care Ministry and service in the Diocese’s environmental efforts. Michael is the Senior Officer of Economic Affairs at the Canadian Consulate in Boston, which represents Canada in New England. He is an American-Canadian dual citizen and has spent the first decade of his career advancing US-Canada relations. Michael is a proud child of immigrants and a first-generation college graduate. He looks forward to serving the people of St. John’s as a member of the Vestry.
CARLA HATFIELD, Vestry
Carla and her husband Steve have been active at St. John’s since 1987 and currently primarily attend the 8 a.m. service. Steve had grown up in the church (St. John’s) and following their marriage and move to Hingham, they returned to St. John’s. Their children, Jesse and James, were baptized and confirmed here at St John’s, attended Sunday school and youth group and Jesse took part in various mission trips.
Since joining the church, Carla has helped in the Nursery School, served on the Nominating Committee, served as Recorder of Funds for multiple years, and currently has been leading the Altar Flower Outreach Ministry for over 10 years.
Carla grew up in Massachusetts and received a BA from Dartmouth College. She worked in the insurance and benefits fields in NYC and Boston before deciding to retire early and spend more time with her children. Now Carla enjoys spending time with her 3 grandchildren who all live locally. Carla and her family are also very involved with St. Aidan’s Chapel in South Dartmouth during the summer months.
To February 2029
CHRIS ACCETTELLA, Vestry
Chris and his wife, Laura, joined St. John’s in 2011, drawn by the warmth and engagement of the parish. They were delighted to find a welcoming church that would give their children a strong foundation of faith. Over the past fifteen years, Chris has been continually inspired by the commitment of those who have served before him and by the friendships formed within the parish.
Since 2016, Chris has served on the Finance Committee, where annual budget conversations with ministry leaders have given him a comprehensive understanding of the parish’s priorities and the breadth of its ministries. Beyond church life, he has spent the last decade coaching youth sports, a role that has brought him great joy.
Professionally, Chris has worked as an investor and trader for nearly thirty years. He and Laura’s children were both confirmed at St. John’s, a milestone that further deepened their family’s connection to the parish. Chris has a deep respect for the mission of St. John’s and is honored to serve on the Vestry.
CHRISSY ROBERTS, Vestry
Chrissy grew up in Connecticut but has called Hingham home for the past 27 years. She and her husband, Jason, joined St. John’s in 2004, and both of their children, Macey and Aaron, were baptized there. Chrissy has volunteered in numerous capacities at St. John’s, including Sunday School Director and Outreach Chair; in the schools as East School PTO President and with the HHS Track & Field and Cross Country Boosters; and in town on the Board of Assessors and the Taxation Aid Committee.
She currently leads the Laundry Love ministry at St. John’s, and works as a bookseller at Buttonwood Books & Toys, where she also leads their monthly book group. Chrissy enjoys reading, hiking, traveling, jigsaw puzzles, adopting too many pets from the Scituate Animal Shelter, and cheering on UConn basketball and the Trinity College Track & Field and Cross Country teams. She considers St. John's her second family and is honored to serve on the Vestry.
NATHANIEL HULME, Vestry
Nathaniel, his wife Carlie, and their three children, Addie, Niall, and Tessa, joined St. John’s in 2021 after moving to Hingham during the height of COVID. At St. John's, they've found a wonderful community. Nathaniel has devoted significant attention to the Holiday Boutique, serving as co-chair in 2025 and agreeing to chair again in 2026, along with serving as a Lector and volunteering in other capacities. The Hulme family has been very involved in the church’s youth program, with all the children regularly attending Sunday School and participating in youth worship opportunities (choir, the pageant, and readings) and with Carlie volunteering her time in the Sunday School program. Nathaniel is an attorney, previously practicing both at a firm and in-house, primarily focusing on commercial litigation, but since the Spring of 2023 has filled his time as a stay-at-home parent. Nathaniel is excited about the opportunity to further serve the St. John’s community as a member of the vestry.
MARTIN SEGGEV, Vestry Member Youth
Martin is a sophomore at Hingham High School and has been a member of St. John’s since 2019. He has participated in the Youth Ministry Leadership Team, the Creation Care Ministry, Pollinator Garden, Youth Group, Sunday School, Choristers, and he has been an acolyte. He is a three-season athlete on the Hingham High Crew Team. In his spare time, he loves to go boating, cook, watch movies, and spend time with friends and family. He also loves to ski in the winter and to sail in the summer. He is excited to further serve his community by bringing his ideas and perspective to the St. John’s Vestry.