The Very Rev. Judith A. Sullivan, President
The Very Rev. Judith Sullivan returned to the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral in 2010, following her election as the fourth dean. She has led a $120 million real estate project, including the development of a community center, childcare center, 18-story apartment building, and a 3-story office building which formerly housed the Offices of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. The project has resulted in the revitalization of the Cathedral campus, the stabilization of the historic Cathedral building, and the renewal of the Cathedral’s ministries in Philadelphia. Among the new ministry initiatives established during her tenure are Cathedral Table Ministries, which prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, provided 30,000 pounds of food and regular hot meals to the hungry each month, along with legal, medical, and employment counseling, all provided in the Cathedral nave.
Dean Sullivan is a graduate of Wellesley College and was awarded the M.Div. from the General Theological Seminary. She completed two years of her theological studies at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia where she received the Winters Scholarship Award and the Maul Award for academic merit and promise for ministry.
Prior to ordination, she left a successful career in corporate marketing and communications to direct non-profit organizations which promoted private support of public education and access to higher education for youth with limited opportunities. The Sponsor-A-Scholar Program, which she replicated in 16 cities throughout the U.S., was recognized by President Clinton with a Point of Light Award. Her experiences working with these youth and their families were instrumental in discerning her call to ordained ministry. She also worked on several political campaigns, including serving on the campaign staff for U.S. Senate candidate Lynn H. Yeakel.
In the Diocese of Pennsylvania, she is a member of the Council of Deans and served as the Co-Chair of the Loving Presence Commission and as a principal author of a strategic plan for dismantling racism with the Diocese. She is a former Chair of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission and member of the Diocesan Transition Task Force. She has also been an Adjunct Faculty member at the Lutheran Seminary, leading groups of Episcopal and Lutheran seminarians in pastoral formation. She has served on the faculty of the Episcopal Preaching Foundation’s Preaching Excellence Program for students in seminaries throughout the U.S.
Dean Sullivan served for four years as the Chair of the board of directors for the Interfaith Philadelphia and is the current Chair of the board of directors of Episcopal Legal Aid. She is also Vice-President of the board of directors for Episcopal Community Services, a non-profit agency focused on ending intergenerational poverty in the region, and a trustee of the United Lutheran Seminary.
Sunday at 8:30am, 10:40am & 6pm
