The Galilee Board is a volunteer body of people from across the Diocese of Nevada who are committed to helping Galilee thrive. Bringing together varied perspectives and talents, they offer guidance and support to the unfolding of Galilee’s mission in service of the Church and the world. Our Board members love Galilee – ask them why! Friends of Galilee can also help shape the Board by running or voting at the Diocesan Convention. See below for Board member bios and photos.
| The Rt. Rev. Elizabeth Bonforte Gardner, Bishop | Chair |
| Phil Ritger, St. Peter’s, Carson City | President |
| Dennis Cocking, St. John’s, Glenbrook | Vice President |
| The Rev. Sarah Dunn, St. Patrick’s, Incline Village | Secretary |
| Amanda Hilton, St. Bartholomew’s, Ely | Treasurer |
| Shane Gammon, Christ Church, Las Vegas | Trustee |
| Robyn Powers, St. John’s, Glenbrook and Trinity Cathedral, Reno | Trustee |
| Kristen Makhathini, Epiphany Episcopal Church, Henderson | Trustee |
| The Rev. Rose Mary Joe-Kinale, St. Paul’s, Virginia City | Trustee |
| The Rev. Ken Rackley, Coventry Cross, Minden | Trustee |
| Rafael Pereira Alvarez, Todos Santos, All Saints, Las Vegas | Trustee |
Robyn Powers was born and raised in Reno, Nevada. She had a varied career which included human resources management, project management, quality improvement and fund development in both corporate and non-profit sectors. She retired in 2013 after working for 15 years as director of development for the University of Nevada’s School of the Arts and College of Liberal Arts. In 2015, she enjoyed serving as Interim Executive Director of the Truckee Meadows Community College Foundation. She is currently also serving on advisory boards for the John and Geraldine Lilley Museum of Art and the Honors College at the University of Nevada, Reno. She is a member of both St. John’s in the Wilderness and Trinity Cathedral.
Dennis Cocking represents St. John’s in the Wilderness on the Board of Trustees. He and his wife, Kathy, have been members of the parish since 1985. Their three grown children attended camp and Kathy served as camp nurse. Dennis is retired and lives in Gardnerville, NV after a career as the Manager of Public and Legislative Affairs for the South Tahoe Public Utility District. Dennis is currently Board Vice-President and serves on the Facilities and Personnel committees.
Amanda Hilton is the General Manager of the Robinson Mine, Nevada’s largest copper mine located near Ely, and is a fourth-generation Nevada native who grew up in Reno and Ely, graduating from White Pine High School. She was recently appointed as the first Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Nevada Mining Association. She has a B.S. degree in Accounting from the University of Utah, an MBA from the University of Wisconsin and is a Certified Public Accountant. Amanda grew up attending Camp Galilee and is now a regular attendee of Family Camp and her family considers Camp Galilee one of their “sacred places.” Amanda, her husband, Bruce, and their two children attend St. Bartholomew’s in Ely where she is the Senior Warden. Their family loves to enjoy all of the outdoor recreational activities in eastern Nevada.
Shane Gammon is a member of Christ Church, Las Vegas. Shane also serves as a lay member of the Commission on Ordination and Licensing (COOL) for the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada. He is a web developer for the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law.
Shane is passionate about hiking, backpacking, and connecting with nature. He loves the Lake Tahoe area and is very supportive of Camp Galilee’s mission and its role of introducing children to God’s creation. Shane is honored to serve as a Galilee Board member.
Sarah Dunn is the rector at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Incline Village. Sarah already greatly enjoys all of the activities lake life has to offer, from skiing to hiking to kayaking. She has a strong background in youth ministry from formally serving parishes in Western Massachusetts, and is looking forward to putting such skills to use at Camp Galilee. Sarah also received her call to the ordained ministry at a diocesan summer camp in Alabama, so knows full well how transformative the camp experience can be. Her education includes degrees from Mount Holyoke College and Yale Divinity School.
Kristen Makhathini I am originally from Seattle. My husband Mannie and I have lived in Henderson, NV with our Daughter, Zia (20) and Son, Zavian (17) since 2004. We are members of Epiphany and have served our parish in many ways over the past 16 years, including teaching church school and directing the Christmas Pageant, Chair of our Annual Wine Tasting and Food Pairing fundraiser, 7 consecutive years on Vestry, and Chair of the Search Committee. I am currently involved with the fundraising committee, a host of our weekly “Supper, Song & Praise” service, Chair of our “Committee on Gratitude” and Chair of our annual Stewardship Campaign for 2022. My family and I have attended Family Camp at Galilee several times over the years. We have made wonderful memories and we feel a special connection to Galilee and the friends we have met there. Mannie and I are both Realtors with ERA Brokers Consolidated, he focuses on commercial real estate and I handle the residential side of our business. We are also very involved with our respective business networking referral groups, Business Network International (BNI) whose motto is “Givers Gain.” I love traveling and exploring new places, and I also enjoy reading, watching great shows on all my favorite streaming services, taking yoga classes, walking our dog Dasher, and spending quality time with my friends and family.
Ken Rackley A native Nevadan, I was born in Reno in 1970, baptized and confirmed at St. Stephen’s. I attended Grace St. Francis in Lovelock when I was a child. My family has been and continues to be very involved in the Diocese of Nevada. While I am a Deacon serving at Coventry Cross in Minden, I also work with parishes around the state with a focus on youth engagement. I assist our Diocese in scheduling and preparing our High School youth to attend the national Episcopal Youth Event every three years. I received a Master of Science in Education specializing in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) in 2018. I currently teach second grade in a low socio-economic school in Reno. I worked with the Diocese of Utah’s Camp Tuttle in my early twenties. Serving as Director of Jr High and youth ministry. After returning to Reno, I worked as part time Youth Director at St Paul’s Sparks, where I was deeply involved in Happening and TEC. I organized retreat weekends for youth seeking a deeper relationship with God. I also met and married my wife while at St Paul’s. We are guardians of our great-niece(13) and great-nephew(10). We love spending our leisure time attending our great nephew’s soccer matches. We enjoy Pizza Fridays, Taco Tuesdays and spending time in our backyard around the fire pit.
Rose Mary Joe-Kinale I feel a deep commitment to all the projects that I am involved with. I now have more experience and am a dedicated woman to all the committee causes. I am deeply committed to follow the 5 Marks of Mission, and feel a strong bond to the present Galilee Board. As a Native American woman, a mother and a grand-mother I believe that it is women who carry a major responsibility in their individual lives of their families and church. We are responsible for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, home, and church participation. As a Priest, it is my duty to be involved and spread God’s message to all I meet and not be judgmental or prejudicial, and serve our Creator with love. I would like to continue my involvement with all the groups I am involved with.
Phil Ritger is a member of St Peter’s Episcopal Church in Carson City. Philip and his wife, Christine, have been members of St Peter’s since 2006 when they moved to northern Nevada. Prior to that they were members of St Wilfrid’s Episcopal Church in Huntington Beach. Their two grown daughters, Clara and Amelia, both attended Camp Galilee and later served as summer camp counselors. Philip has a B.A. degree in Chemistry from Lawrence University, Appleton, WI and a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. Philip spent much of his professional career in the medical device industry in southern California. He is currently the Director of Public Works for Douglas County, Nevada. Philip was a member of the Vestry at both St Wilfrid’s and St Peter’s and served as Senior Warden for both parishes. Philip grew up in northern Wisconsin with fond memories of spending most weekends at the family cottage on Lake Nokomis. Camp Galilee provides a similar opportunity for the youth of our Diocese to experience “lake” culture and the great outdoors.
The Rev. Rafael Pereira Alvarez is the Priest in Charge at Todos los Santos/All Saints Episcopal, Las Vegas. He is from Caracas, Venezuela and is married to Angela. They have two children, Fabiana and Angel, and two grandchildren, Liam and Adrianna. Rafael has been living in Las Vegas since 2000 and has owned and operated a parcel business in the Las Vegas area since 2002 with over 28 delivery routes throughout the city. In 2012 Rafael started his formation in the Episcopal church and four years later was ordained as Transitional Deacon to the Priesthood and was ordained a priest six months later. He is the only Latino priest ordained in the Diocese of Nevada. He is also serving as the on-call Chaplain at the Sunrise hospital, a Board member of the Southern Nevada Health Department, among other Community Organizations that he is active in.