Staff and Officers

Meet the Presbytery Staff and Officers
Rev. Deanie Strength

Stated Clerk / Director of Administration
Email Deanie

Deanie has been active in Savannah Presbytery since becoming a member in 1999 when she was called to St. Simons Presbyterian Church and was ordained to serve as its Associate Pastor.  She has served the presbytery as Moderator and as Chair of the Presbytery Council, the Stewardship & Finance Committee, the Nominating Committee, and the Christian Education Committee.  She has been an active member of the presbytery’s Transition Team and MK Pentecost Ecology Fund Committee as well.  Deanie was employed by Skidaway Community Church (Presbyterian) as a Parish Associate and enjoys being a volunteer musician in the chancel and bell choirs of First Presbyterian Church, Savannah.  She is a graduate of the University of Alabama and Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.  She lives in Savannah with her family where she has also been an active supporter of the fine and performing arts at Savannah Country Day School and within the community.

Rev. Andy Meeker

Associate Stated Clerk
Email Andy

After serving on and chairing various Committees, Teams and Taskforces in his 18 years as a member of Savannah Presbytery, Rev. Andy Meeker, pastor of Wilmington Island Presbyterian Church, is preparing to take on his next challenge – becoming the Associate Stated Clerk of the Presbytery, beginning December 1st.  Andy, and his colleague, Rev. Deanie Strength who will serve as the Director of Administration and Associate Stated Clerk, are taking over from Doug Craven, who has served faithfully for the past six months.

Before coming to Savannah in 2004, Andy served churches in Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio.  He also worked as the Director of Alumni/ae Relations and the Annual Fund at his alma mater, Louisville Seminary.  He has been married to Jeri Lyn for 31 years, and they have two adult children, Abby and Alex.

Marty Susie

Director of Mission and Program Advancement
Email Marty

Marty Susie is from Pittsburgh, PA and is a life-long Presbyterian. Her first career was in the Culinary Arts field for about 30 years beginning as a cook in Pittsburgh and ending as a multi-unit restaurant manager here in Savannah, GA. As God would have it, her second career has been in Christian Education as part-time Director of Christian Education at Wilmington Island Presbyterian Church for the past fifteen years and recently added as the Program Coordinator of the Savannah Presbytery. Marty is also a graduate, Class of 2012, of the Savannah Presbytery School of the Laity. Marty is married to Jack and they share three children and all are members of Wilmington Island Presbyterian Church.

Rev. Rick Douylliez

Director of Pastoral and Ecclesial Care
Email Rick

Rick graduated from Columbia Seminary and has served First Presbyterian Church, St Marys as pastor and head of staff since 1995.

In the St Marys community, Rick is actively involved with various organizations including serving as vice-chair of the Department of Children and Family Services Advisory Board. He is a strong advocate for Stephen Ministry and its one-on-one caregiving and seeks to employ the listening skills he has learned in this new pastoral ecclesial role.
In the past 26 years he has served the presbytery widely and has a strong connection with its sister congregations. His vision for Savannah Presbytery as we embrace a new leadership model is to enhance the connectional nature of our PCUSA faith tradition.
Ann Henderson

Treasurer
Email Ann

Ann Henderson is a member and elder at FPC Statesboro. She has been an active member of the Mission Committee and currently serves as cochair of the Administration Committee. Ann is a cofounder and active board member of Rebecca’s Cafe, a local soup kitchen in Statesboro that just celebrated their 11 year anniversary. Ann is a Lecturer for the School of Accountancy in the Parker College of Business at Georgia Southern University and a CPA. Ann and her husband Allen are the parents of four young adult children.

Christelle Giovannini

Accountant
Email Christelle

Christelle was born in France but grew up in North Carolina. She is a graduate of Meredith College in Raleigh, NC where she earned her degree in Accounting. She has done accounting work full-time and part-time for businesses large and small, including nonprofit organizations including Wilmington Island Presbyterian Church. Christelle is married to Brian and together they are raising three children in Savannah.

Jaclyn Beeler

Communications Coordinator
Email Jaclyn

Jaclyn Beeler is a native of Smyrna, Tennessee. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a Bachelor of Science in Christian Leadership and Ministry from Williamson College. Jaclyn is a lifelong Presbyterian, she grew up attending First Presbyterian Church of Smyrna in Middle Tennessee. She was the Director of Youth Ministries there for three years after graduating from WC. Jaclyn currently resides in Knoxville, Tennessee. Upon her arrival to Knoxville she began working at New Providence Presbyterian Church in Maryville, TN where she was the Children’s Ministries Coordinator for three years. Currently Jaclyn serves as the Communications Coordinator for UKirk, the Presbyterian Campus Ministry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and as the Communications Coordinator for the Savannah Presbytery. She and her wife, Katherine, are members of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, TN where Jaclyn also serves as a ruling elder.

Cathy Douylliez

MK Pentecost Ecology Fund Coordinator
Email Cathy

Cathy Douylliez has been a member of First Presbyterian Church in St. Marys since 1995. She was ordained as an Elder in her home church of Green Cove Springs, FL in 1986. While in Saint Marys, she has served in Presbyterian Women, Stephen Ministry, Christian Education, and the Music Ministry. She enjoys sewing, quilting and riding bikes. Cathy recently retired from teaching and has been looking for something to do in her spare time. She is excited about serving as the Coordinator for the M. K. Pentecost Ecology Fund.

Marlo Harris

Hybrid Meeting Coordinator
Email Marlo

Marlo coordinates the live streaming technology for presbytery events.  He is a member of Washington Street Presbyterian Church.  In his home community of Dublin, he is an instructor with Southeastern Technical College and works in customer service for Dudley Funeral Home including the production of memorial service videos and obituaries and maintenance of the  company’s computer systems. He is the vice-chair of the Dublin-Laurens Landbank.

Al Mullice

Council Chair
Email Al

Alfred L. Mullice, a Liberty County native, grew up in the Freedom Grove community. At an early age, he was baptized at the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church in his community. In the early 1960’s, the Presbyterian churches consolidated and the members of Ebenezer became members of the Midway First Presbyterian Church. Al served faithfully at Midway until the early 1980’s when he moved to Savannah and affiliated with Butler Memorial Presbyterian Church. Al serves as an elder at Butler and has also been their clerk of session. He has been on Presbytery committees and the Transition Team since it was established in 2019. He is a graduate of Savannah State University with a degree in Business Administration. He is retired from the U.S. Army after twenty-seven years of service. He is also a licensed funeral director. Al resides in Midway with his wife, Pauli, and has four adult children and two grandchildren

Rev. Pete Ullmann

Moderator
Email Pete

Rev. Pete Ullmann began his ministry at the Jesup Presbyterian Church in December 2013. He is a native of Tampa, Florida where he earned his undergraduate degree at the University of South Florida. Following college, Pastor Pete moved to Richmond, Virginia where he earned graduate degrees in Divinity and Christian Education from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia and the Presbyterian School of Christian Education. Since his ordination in August 1997, Pastor Pete has served churches in Middle Tennessee and North Georgia prior to moving to Jesup. He and his wife Dawn are enjoying living in Wayne County along with their twelve-year-old son Nate.

Marti Stein

Moderator-Elect
Email Marti

Marti Stein is a native of Kansas City, Missouri. She holds B.S. in Industrial Relations and an MBA from Rockhurst University and is also an Executive Fellow at Rockhurst. Marti has been married to Doug for 27 years and they have taken turns following each other’s corporate careers. When Doug transferred to Savannah, Marti retired from manufacturing management and started a new career in real estate. More than fifteen years ago, she formed Realty South where she is the broker and managing partner. She has two daughters, one living in St. Louis and the other in Kansas City, and a son, Scott Atchinson of Savannah. She also has three grandchildren, one works as a U.S. Senate staffer, another is a college student and the third, is a high school Junior.

After arriving in Savannah, Marti and Doug joined Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church and were later founding members of Christ Presbyterian Church in Pooler. After its closure, the family has joined First Savannah Presbyterian Church.

Ordained an elder in the Presbyterian church in the 1980s, Marti has served in a variety of areas of the church’s life including mission, finance and Presbyterian Women. She has been a church treasurer and serves the wider church on Savannah Presbytery’s Finance Committee and the Steering Committee for Presbyterian Women. At First, she is a recently elected member of the Session and is on the Congregational Care Committee, the Finance Committee and the annual Stewardship Campaign Committee and a regular at Wednesday night dinners.

Marti is a student of the Bible and lists several favorite books of the Bible, as for a beloved Bible passage, she mentions Romans 8:38-39, that nothing can separate people from God’s love in Jesus Christ. Another is Jeremiah 29:11, the assurance of God’s good plans giving us “a future and a hope.” 

Savannah Presbytery Council

Savannah Presbytery Council Chair: Al Mullice
Presbytery Moderator: Pete Ullman
Presbytery Moderator-Elect:  Marti Stein
Committee on Ministry Chair: Jon Hauerwas
Committee on Preparation for Ministry Chair: Stephen Robertson
Education and Training Ministry Team Chair: Cathy Belles
Mission Committee Chair: Jimmy Griffin
Nominating Committee Chair: Omar Douglass
Personnel Committee Chair: Doty Dunn
Stewardship & Finance Committee Chair: Doug Craven
At Large: Ken Bailey, Margaret Brooks, Leslie McCracken, Ricky Porter
Presbyterian Women Moderator: Barbara Riddle, ex officio

Teams and Task Forces of the Presbytery Council:

Racial Justice Ministry Team Chair: Mary Simpson

Discernment Task Force Pooler Area: Jimmy Griffin

 

Other Entities

Permanent Judicial Commission Chair: Laurel McKeith

Committee on Representation Chair: Odet Douglass

M.K. Pentecost Ecology Fund Committee Chair: Catherine McCrary

Savannah Presbytery Representatives to the Synod of South Atlantic

Ruling Elder Commissioner: Margaret Brooks

Teaching Elder Commissioner: Jamil el-Shair

Presbytery Commissioners to 226th General Assembly of the PC(USA)

Ruling Elder Commissioner: Odet Douglass, Brunswick Second

Teaching Elder Commissioner: Rev. Deanie Strength, Stated Clerk