The Reverend Dr. Cathy S. Gilliard
Senior Pastor
Academically, she holds an earned Doctorate of Ministry from the United Theological Seminary and received her Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School (Duke University), where she currently serves on the advisory board at Duke Chapel and has previously served on the Divinity School’s National Alumni Council. Rev. Gilliard also holds a Master of Education in Counseling Psychology from Rutgers University and a Bachelor’s of Arts degree from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University.
Committed to the mission of the United Methodist Church, Rev. Gilliard chairs the District Committee on Ministry for the Metropolitan District and serves on the Council on Finance & Administration for the New York Annual Conference. She has previously served on the Board of Directors at the Methodist Home for Nursing & Rehabilitation.
Before joining the PAUMC community, Rev. Gilliard served eight years on the pastoral staff of Christ Church United Methodist (NYC), and White Rock Baptist Church (Durham, NC). She was also the Director of Alumni Global Outreach at the Fuqua Business School at Duke University.
Rev. Gilliard is supported in ministry by her two loving sons, nine grandchildren and her daughter in-laws.
Isaiah Fish
Ministry Associate
Isaiah Fish has served at Park Avenue United Methodist Church since 2015. Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, he received his Bachelor’s degree in Social Justice from Trevecca Nazarene University in 2014. Isaiah moved to New York after graduation to attend Union Theological Seminary, where he received his Master of Divinity in 2017.
Tania Jones
Director of Music
Tania Jones has over a decade of experience as a NYC singer, songwriter, pianist and arranger/producer and has traveled all over the world as a performing musician. Originally from Warren County, North Carolina, Tania received her Bachelor of Arts in Professional Music with a concentration in Jazz Composition from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from North Carolina State University.
Liz Sweeney
Director of Programs for Children & Families
Liz Sweeney began her service as the Director of Children and Family Programming for Park Avenue Methodist Church in the Fall of 2012. She is a proud native New Yorker, born and raised in the Bronx. Liz received her BFA in Theater Performance from Marymount Manhattan College and a Masters in Applied Theater from CUNY School of Professional Studies.
Maureen Donohue
Paul Soobryan
Lefty Rodriguez
Custodian