VESTRY OF THE CHURCH
MICHAEL SPENCER
Senior Warden
I've been a member of Emmanuel since moving to Mercer Island in 2001. I have a partner, Shari Brennecke, and two children Max and William who were confirmed and baptized at Emmanuel. I sang with the Emmanuel Choir 2002-2008, served on the Vestry 2018-2021 and as Senior Warden for the last two years of that term. Since 2021 I have led the Online Ministry, providing video streaming for many of Emmanuel's services and events.
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I was raised in the Anglican church of St Andrew, Chew Magna, UK where my parents still live and are long-serving wardens. My career as a management consultant with Booz & Co moved me from London to New York in 1990 and I subsequently became a US citizen. I co-founded The Arnold Group - a small consultancy serving technology companies, which was sold to KPMG in 2023 and where I now work as a Partner in the Advisory business.
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Shari and I enjoy outdoor activities, including hiking, skiing, trail running, orienteering and travel. I play the piano and have sung with the Kirkland Choral Society and Lyric Arts Ensemble. I am an energetic, if not terribly skillful, squash player. I am a skillful, but not very energetic Sudoku-solver.
JANET BELL
Vestry Member
As Janet Bell considered the opportunity to be a part of the Vestry, she considered many of the priorities of our Emmanuel church and the work that will be needed to continue serving the needs of our congregation and community. She looks forward to being proactive on the major issues to support the strength of the church, develop new ideas and to encourage our current parish to be involved, active and open to future development and needed growth to our congregation. She has been a long time Emmanuel parishioner, starting in 1st grade, and married at Emmanuel. Her 2 children David and Ginny Steinbach were active in the parish through high school. She moved throughout her professional career (Alaska, San Francisco and Chicago) but always have come back to Emmanuel. Currently back here as a Realtor with Windermere on Mercer Island. For her, EmmanuelI is a place of peace and prayer and grace that touches her life. She lives in Issaquah now, but continues to work, serve and pray at Emmanuel. She feels strongly that ALL of us are able to provide value to our church. We are blessed to have this opportunity to work together to build our parish and community.
JON FEDELE
Vestry Member & Clerk
Jon Fedele met his wife Kaylee at St. Paul's in Bellingham, where both were in undergrad. There he served on the Vestry beginning in 2015, and later served as Clerk of the Vestry. Jon and Kaylee began to attend Emmanuel in late 2021 after moving south. The two were married by Rev. Elizabeth in April 2022 and each became involved in Emmanuel's ministries-- Jon in choir and Kaylee in Godly Play and ushering. Jon works as a substitute teacher. He knows the value and spiritual enrichment found in Emmanuel's worship and community, and he looks forward to finding ways to share that with others to help the church continue to grow, thrive, and help others.
SANDY MALOOF
Vestry Member
Sandy Maloof, an Island native, has been active at Emmanuel since her confirmation in 1980, this will be her second vestry term. Over the past 44 years, her Emmanuel activities have been varied and include Fellowship, Newcomers, Soup Group, Memorials Team, Ushering, stewardship, and co-chair of the fundraising committee for Emmanuel’s now completed Rectory. In 2024, she successfully completed the two-year program of the College of Congregational Development and plans to bring those skills to her work with the vestry. She and Emmett are members of the Bishop’s Society and the Emmanuel Legacy Society.
LESLIE MOORE
Vestry Member
Leslie is a Seattle native who grew up on Mercer Island. She was baptized at St. John the Baptist in West Seattle, confirmed and married at Emmanuel Episcopal on Mercer Island. She and her husband Rick Bogar raised their now twenty something aged sons at Emmanuel. Leslie has served on many committees including the Outreach, Hospitality, Property, Intercessor, Youth Ministries, Flowers and one previous term on Vestry. She is Ph.D. Analytical Chemist by training. Her work included coastal estuary monitoring with NOAA, microfluidic instrument development at the University of Washington and Genomic profiling at Merck Pharmaceutical. She and her husband are newly retired, and they enjoy gardening and most outdoor sports.
CARLOS OBANDO
Vestry Member
Carlos joined Emmanuel in 2017 and was received into the Episcopal Church by Bishop Rickel in 2018 at St. Mark's. He has two children, Nicholas, a graduate of Georgetown Law School, and Christian, a graduate of San Diego State University. Both are Mercer Island High School alumni. Professionally, he is founder and managing member of Mercer Island Capital Management, LLC, and Mercer Island Telecom, LLC. He is the Founder and CEO of 345pi.com, an Educational Technology company developing Blockchain Tools for Collaborative Calculus.
MARCIA PALK
Vestry Member
Marcia Palk (Eason) was born in Honolulu, HI, but she grew up on Mercer Island and went to Mercer Island High School. Her mom, Betsy Eason, lives on Mercer Island and her two siblings still live in Washington. Marcia attended the University of Puget Sound where she met her husband, Andrew, and they were married at Emmanuel 34 years ago. They have 3 kids, with one still in college, attending aviation school. Marcia’s professional career includes working for the Boeing Company for 20+ years as a Benefits Coordinator, as an employee and a contractor. After her contract expired, she changed professions and became a teacher. She went back to college to earn a teaching degree and currently works at two preschools on Mercer Island. You may see her during the week, teaching at Emmanuel Day School. Marcia has been involved at Emmanuel serving in Altar Guild, Outreach, Youth Group, Godly Play and as a Wedding Coordinator. Her interests are exploring the Northwest with family and friends, cooking, gardening, and enjoying life.
JEFF ZANTEK
Vestry Member
Jeff Zantek grew up in northwest Washington, and moved to Bellevue in 2021 after serving in the US Coast Guard from the Columbia River to the Equator, New York Harbor to the Great Lakes. Through it all, he’s found a sense of home and community in Anglican identity and the deep heritage of Episcopal churches across the country. Soon after returning to the Seattle area, he discovered our rector’s social media presence and sought out a spiritual home in this amazing community. He serves as a Lector, Intercessor, and Lay Eucharistic Minister, and is active in the Outreach ministry and is part of Emmanuel's cohort in the College for Congregational Development. He is a full-time student at Bellevue College, with a social science focus.