Vance Blackfox (all)
Director, Indigenous Ministries & Tribal Relations - ELCA

Session: An Indigenous Orientation

Vance Blackfox, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, serves the churchwide organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) as the Director of Indigenous Ministries and Tribal Relations. An alumnus of Texas Lutheran University (TLU) and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC), Vance has previously served the ELCA in multiple capacities, from being elected and serving as National President of the Lutheran Youth Organization during his TLU days, to later working as a diversity and cultural education professional for the Women of the ELCA, Augsburg Fortress Publishers, California Lutheran University, ELCA Youth Gathering, and LSTC’s Youth in Mission. In addition to serving numerous ELCA and ecumenical teams and committees throughout the years, he is at present the Indigenous Theologian and Coordinating Team Member for the ELCA’s Theological Round Table, as well as creator and producer of the Vine Deloria Jr. Theological Symposium hosted at LSTC.

Vance is also the founder and director of Other+Wise, a multi-site cultural education and cultural immersion program for youth and student groups from across the country, and also previously served as the Director of Communications at the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, as the Director of Communications for Native Americans in Philanthropy, and has held executive director positions at the Haskell Foundation, which supports Haskell Indian Nations University, and the Oaks Indian Mission. Vance teaches about many things Indigenous as founder and primary of Blackfox Institute, he has served as the Guest Curator of the Indian Museum at the University of Texas at San Antonio Institute of Texan Cultures, and presently serves as the Indigenous Theologian for the Faith-Based Initiative for the City of San Antonio, where he currently resides.

Judith E.B. Roberts (she/her)
Senior Director, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion - ELCA

Session: Race, Power, and Privilege

Judith serves as Sr. Director for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) within the ELCA churchwide office.  The Sr. Director for DEI is responsible for articulating and championing a comprehensive approach and vision for diversity, equity, inclusion within the ELCA. 

Judith is the former ELCA, Director for Racial Justice and co-convener for the National Council of Churches (NCC), Joint Action and Advocacy working group and a task force member of the NCC’s Truth and Racial Justice Task Force.

Judith is an alum of Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts and a graduate of the University of Mississippi. She was raised in the Lutheran faith and worships at Grace Lutheran in Evanston, IL.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, visiting museums, cooking and travel adventures.

Tess Tait (she/her)
Development Assistant, Congregational Generosity - ELCA

Session: Communicating Your Global Experience

Tess is the Development Assistant for the Congregational Stewardship and Generosity team, where she has served for a little over a year. She works in coordination with the Service & Justice and Christian Community and Leadership home areas to implement fundraising strategies for ELCA churchwide ministries, especially in support of global mission personnel. She establishes, tends, and nurtures relationships with congregations that sponsor ELCA global mission personnel, including long term missionaries and Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) volunteers.

Prior to working for the churchwide organization, Tess was an office administrator for an ELCA congregation in Ventura, California and an Administrative Assistant for a Lutheran Outdoor Ministry, Lutheran Retreats Camps and Conferences in Southern California. A first generation Lutheran and college student, she graduated from California Lutheran University with a B.A. in Theology & Christian Leadership. Since starting her new position, she has moved from Ventura County in Southern California and now resides in Oakland in Northern California. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading and attending live music shows.