PAstor-to-Pastor Team

Meet the Team

In 2019, Jane became P2P Team Coordinator following a rich 30 year history of leadership by the Rev Drs Joe Sandifer and Phil Nobles. Presbyterian background includes ordination as a ruling elder at Columbia Presbyterian Church and serving on COM as the Acting Coordinator and Facilitator with the First Call Pastor program for several years. Currently, she is a member of North Avenue Presbyterian Church.

Jane, a Kentuckian, coach, consultant and Intercultural Intelligence Facilitator, comes to P2P with leadership experience in government, education, Delta Air Lines, as well as ten years at First Presbyterian Churches in Norfolk, Va and Douglasville, Ga in Spiritual Formation and Pastoral Care. Her education includes Hanover College, the University of Louisville - Masters in Counseling, a certificate in Spiritual Formation - Columbia Seminary, and post graduate hours in Global Leadership - Fuller Seminary. She became a Commissioned Ruling Elder for the P2P team in 2020.

Janes greatest joys are her two children, who along with their spouses, give the gift of five fabulous grandchildren and one very lively grand dog.

Brian grew up in NC and attended the University of NC at Chapel Hill, majoring in history and religion before attending Union-PSCE for his MDiv. He first served as Associate Pastor for Youth & Young Adults in Denver, CO, then as Minister for CE & Youth in Salisbury, NC. Nearly 5 years ago, he accepted his current call to Associate Pastor for Youth & Mission at Johns Creek Presbyterian Church.

Brian is a founding member of the Johns Creek Interfaith Clergy Alliance, serves as troop chaplain for BSA Troop 2000, is a volunteer chaplain for the Johns Creek Fire Department, and serves on the PGA CPM & its alternative exams subcommittee.

He is passionate about faith, social justice, camps and conferences, languages, movies, music, photography, technology, the enneagram, camping and hiking, 3D printing, many geeky fandoms, and his wife and three boys.

Joan S. Gray was ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (US) in 1978.  Since then she has served in fourteen ministry settings, most frequently as interim pastor. Her educational degrees are from Presbyterian College, Columbia Theological Seminary, General Theological Seminary (Episcopal) in New York City (Master of Sacred Theology in Spiritual Direction), and Wesley Theological Seminary (Doctor of Ministry) in Washington, DC.  She is the co-author of Presbyterian Polity for Church Leaders, and the author of Spiritual Leadership for Church Officers and Sailboat Church, all published by Westminster/John Knox Press.  She served as Moderator of the 217th General Assembly of the PC(USA). Joan grew up in South Carolina, as did her husband Bill Gray, a Presbyterian ruling elder. The Grays live in Atlanta.

Julie Johnson has been a member of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta since 1988. She served as an associate pastor, Director of Spirituality Programs at Columbia Seminary, and throughout the presbytery and country as a trained spiritual director, retreat leader and congregational consultant. In 2017, Julie completed Inter-Cultural Intelligence Coaching.  Currently Julie is on the staff of the Samaritan Counseling Center at First Presbyterian Church in Atlanta working as a spiritual director. Julie also served on the Pastor 2 Pastors team 2017-2010 and currently serves as the spiritual director providing support and resources for the P2P team.

Jerry Leath is a native of Alamance County North Carolina.  He moved to Atlanta in 2002 from Lansdale, PA to support his wife Barbara who relocated here in 1998 to become a caregiver for her mother.  They are parents of two sons, their oldest lives in Atlanta and the youngest resides in Dallas, TX.  He entered the military after graduating from college and began his working career in 1970 with Bristol Laboratories Division of Bristol Myers-Squibb in Syracuse, NY.  While living in Syracuse he joined and participated in several community organizations including Child and Family Services the oldest adoption agency in upstate New York and Regional Learning Service an adult learning project supported by the New York State Department of Education.

 In 1977, Jerry and his family relocated from Syracuse to Lansdale, PA where he was employed by Hoechst-Roussel Pharmaceuticals in Bridgewater, New Jersey. The family joined Gwynedd Square Presbyterian Church in Lansdale where he was ordained an Elder and participated in many of the ministries and activities.  He chaired the Pastor’s Nominating Committee, served on the Stewardship committee and was a commissioner to the Synod Of The Trinity.  Jerry joined Church Of The Master in 2002 where his wife is a charter member after moving to Atlanta.  He has served on the session, trustee board, finance committee as treasurer and many of the other committees and ministries since becoming a member.  His work at the presbytery level includes chairing the Nominating Committee, serving on Personnel and Operations Committees.  He is now retired and spending his spare time doing “church work”.

Nicole Lock was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in French from Davidson College (go Wildcats!) Upon graduation, Nicole served in youth ministry for eight years in North Carolina and Virginia before discerning Christ’s call to ordained ministry. After earning her Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, she returned to Atlanta in 2009 when she was called as Associate Pastor for Discipleship at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Snellville, where she ministered for five years. Since then, Nicole has served as interim pastor for various congregations in our Presbytery and in Cherokee Presbytery. In 2017 Nicole received her Doctor in Ministry degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. As part of her doctoral track “Transforming Congregations,” Nicole worked with several congregations in their worship ministry, titling her thesis project: “Why Is This Hour Different From All Other Hours? The Mission of Worship.” An active member of our Presbytery, Nicole has served on the Committee for Preparation for Ministry, the Examinations Commission, and the Executive Presbyter Nominating Committee. Outside of ministry – or rather, an extension of her community ministry – Nicole serves as a volunteer Run Lead with Atlanta Track Club and is currently training for the New York City Marathon. She, her husband James, and their two fun-loving cats live in Midtown.

Catherine Lukens is a native of Atlanta. She currently serves as a Registry Chaplain at Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital and Associate Chaplain at Canterbury Court. Catherine has also served as a chaplain at Northside Hospital, Winship Cancer Institute, and Emory Orthopedic and Spine Hospital. These positions have led to a great passion for meeting people where they are and bringing comfort in the form of presence and beyond. Catherine attended Vanderbilt Divinity School for her Master of Divinity and was ordained in the PCUSA in 2017. She is a wife to Davis and “dog-mom” to Tito.

Sam Pope is a native of Atlanta and grew up in North Avenue Presbyterian Church. After graduating from Davidson College and Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, his ministries took him across the South. Following his official retirement, he served five churches as an interim before moving to Atlanta in 2016 to be near his daughter and her family. Sam and his wife, Cora Jane, are involved in Trinity Presbyterian Church of Atlanta. Throughout his ministry, his presbytery focus has been on the care and support of ministers, i.e. committees such as Committee on Ministry, Care and Development of Church Professionals, Preparation for Ministry, Cluster Support, and Retreats for Church Professionals.

John is our Emeritus P2P member, a native Atlantan and was educated in DeKalb County Schools. He has served as a church organist since 1953 and was a student of C.W. Dieckmann at Agnes Scott College. John is a graduate of the University of Georgia (BFA, 1960) and a former student of Hugh Hodgson. He also attended the Royal Flemish Conservatory in Antwerp, Belgium and studied with Belgian virtuoso Flor Peeters. In 1964 and 1985 respectively, John received his Master of Divinity degree and Doctor of Ministry from Columbia Theological Seminary. John is a winner of the AGO playing competition in the Southeast in 1959. He also served as organist and director of music for the Reuniting General Assembly to form the PCUSA in 1983 in Atlanta. John is retired from 44 ½ years of service as a Presbyterian minister and 19 years as Pastor of Buford Presbyterian Church in Buford, GA. John is married to the former Margaret Head of Athens; they have two children and five grandchildren. John joins us each year to share his musical gifts at our Retiree Christmas Celebration.

Rev. Dr. Soon Steven Son is a native of South Korea with deep Presbyterian roots with infant baptizing by an American missionary, studied in Mission schools from middle to college established by Presbyterian Church, US and worked a teacher in the same middle and high schools.

He received his M. Div. and Dr. Min. from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA and was ordained a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church USA. He served churches in Birmingham, AL; Roswell, GA; Huntsville, AL; and retried from Covenant Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, AL at the end of 2015 after 33 years of service as a Presbyterian minister and DCE. He has worshiped in Hanbit Presbyterian Church, Johns Creek, GA and is serving as President of Korean Alumni of Columbia Theological Seminary.

George Tatro is a Decatur native who graduated from Columbia Theological Seminary in 2010 and served Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church through a decade of transformation. He is a graduate of Florida State University's School of Social Work and Columbia Theological Seminary. George and his wife share their home near Emory with a Bishon Frise, Poodle, and a hound.

George is passionate about building relationships - belly laughs, tears, prayer, and everything else that connects us to each other and God. His hobbies include: fishing, practicing with his ukulele, judo, kendo, and rugby.

Scott Tucker is a native of Atlanta who earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Wake Forest University before earning his Master of Divinity from Columbia Theological Seminary. He was ordained as the House Chaplain for a small Assisted Living facility in Sandy Springs and has served in a variety of roles within various non-profit organizations in Atlanta, often while teaching Middle School religion courses at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School concurrently. Scott currently serves as the Associate Pastor for Grand Adults at Peachtree Presbyterian Church. Scott and his wife, Lauren, are High School sweethearts who have a daughter, Clare; a son, Whit; and an energetic dog, Butch. In his free time, he enjoys trying to master new recipes in the kitchen and on the grill, spending time with his family, watching the Braves and Falcons, and reading bad science fiction.

The Rev. Dr. Jill Ulrici is an Atlanta native who graduated from the Medical College of Georgia in Physical Therapy. She received her Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School in 1983 and since then has served as a pastor in PCUSA congregations in New York City; Cleveland, Ohio; and the Atlanta area. She recently retired from Covenant Presbyterian Church in Atlanta after serving there as Associate Pastor for 17 years. Her special interests are in women’s spirituality and in interfaith relationships. Dr. Ulrici was president of FAMA (Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta) for several years and received her Doctorate of Ministry from Columbia Theological Seminary in 2008 with a focus on “Interfaith Dialogue.” Since her retirement in 2017, she and her husband, a retired Lutheran minister, have been traveling quite a bit. Dr. Ulrici also continues to work part-time as a Physical Therapist at Emory University Hospital.

Mary Beth is a native of Atlanta and grew up at Northside Methodist Church. She earned her undergraduate and master of education degrees from Vanderbilt University. Upon graduation, she worked as a student minister at Peachtree Presbyterian Church. After her time at Peachtree, she was the Lower School Chaplain at the Lovett School. While at Lovett she felt the call to ordination and left her role at Lovett to attend Columbia Theological Seminary. She graduated with her Master of Divinity and was ordained in 2022. She currently works as the Director of Pastoral Care at Canterbury Court. She and her husband Ryan attend Kairos Chruch along with their three boys. 

The Reverend Sylvia Wilson is an honorably retired member of Greater Atlanta Presbytery with a passion for mission and ministry. She’s served as a volunteer at all levels of the denomination and had the honor of serving as a first time Commissioner to the 222nd General Assembly in Portland, OR.

Rev. Wilson views her ministerial career as “a series of intentional and unintentional interims”. In that capacity, she’s served congregations and colleges, established the Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) Program in Kenya and revived the PC(USA) Office of Collegiate Ministry in Louisville. For the past few years, she’s been the Contract Call Pastor at Hillside Presbyterian Church in Decatur, GA.

Sylvia earned her M.Div. from Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary at the ITC in Atlanta. She’s also engaged in post graduate studies through McCormick Seminary and St. Paul School of Theology.

The proud mother, grandmother and great-grand loves travel, TV and going to movies on the big screen.