2025 Global General Conference Core Team

Kirk Blandford (He/Him/His)  serves as a member of MCC’s Senior Leadership Team and serves as the Team Lead for Operational Development.  He joined his first MCC church in 2016 (MCC Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, USA) and has served on staff since December 2022.  He enjoys working with his colleagues in the areas of Finance, Communications, Fundraising, and Information Technology.  Kirk received his Bachelor’s of Business Administration from the College of William and Mary and a Masters in Health Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.  Kirk’s career has centered primarily in the not-for-profit world, working for over 25 years in senior financial leadership positions within hospitals and health systems, and he recently served as a Chief Financial Officer for a museum.  Kirk enjoys living in St. Paul, Minnesota (USA) with his husband Rev. Kenny Callaghan (Senior Pastor, All God’s Children MCC, Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA) and their two dogs (Bentley and Bailey), and he also enjoys volunteering at All God’s Children MCC in the kitchen and as a member of the Technology Team that broadcasts online Sunday worship.   

Gisselle Blay (She/Her/Hers) is an active member of Trinity MCC in Gainesville, FL, where she serves as the Children’s Ministry Coordinator (Thrive), Social Ministry Coordinator, and contributes to the Tech team. Gisselle has been involved with Metropolitan Community Churches since her time at Joy MCC from 1999 to 2003. After relocating to Jacksonville in 2007, she took on various roles at FirstCoast MCC, including Multi-Media Team Leader, Volunteer Ministry Coordinator, Social Ministry Coordinator, Board Member, and participant in the Pastoral Search Committee. In 2020, she played a key role in efforts to establish North Florida MCC, serving as a Board Member and Lay Delegate before the congregation closed due to the impact of COVID-19. Since February 2022, Gisselle has been serving as a Florida Network Co-leader, collaborating with her co-leader, Rev Vickie Miller, to support and advance the mission of the Network. Professionally, she has worked in training and development and is currently employed in accounting. In her personal life, Gisselle enjoys spending time with her granddaughters and exploring the magic of Disney World.

Rev. Elder Cecilia Eggleston (She/Her/Hers) was elected as Moderator of the Metropolitan Community Churches by the General Conference in July 2019. Cecilia is responsible for leading MCC globally. She is CEO and Chief of Staff, leading and guiding our staff team, Chair of the Governing Board and is a member of the Council of Elders. She is the spokesperson for MCC and is responsible for advancing the vision and mission of MCC worldwide. She is humbled to be serving as Moderator at this time when we are learning so many ways of being church and is excited to see how we can use that learning to create a truly global General Conference.

Rev. Elder Héctor Gutiérrez (He/Him/His) was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and is the youngest of a family of eight. Much of his ministry was focused on formation, responding to his great passion for teaching and education. His graduate studies were at the Pontifical University of Mexico, where he earned his Pontifical Master Degree in dogmatic theology with a specialization in Christology. Since May 2003 Rev. Elder Héctor Gutiérrez has been the Head of Development for Latin America. In 2005 he was admitted as a clergyman. In 2012 was appointed as an MCC Elder. He is the leader of MCC Community Development Team, member of the Senior Leadership Team, and support for the MCC Judiciary Process. Rev. Héctor Gutiérrez lives in Guadalajara, México, with his husband Juan Ramos.

Chad Hobbs (He/Him/His) is the IT Director of the IT PMO (Project Management Office) at Centene Technologies. In this role he is responsible for a team of 8-10 Technical Program & Project Managers and overseeing that they manage their multiple projects through all cycles of the Project Lifecyle and ensuring they are completed on time and within budget. He lives in sunny Tampa, Florida, USA with his husband of almost 18 years Samuel Asencio, and their 2 fur babies (cats) Bailey and Kailey. He has been a member of MCC Tampa since 2007 and attending since 2006. He has served in a variety of roles, including 5 years as the Treasurer on the Board of Directors, a member of the Pastoral Search Committee; and served as the part time Bookkeeper from mid 2015 to mid 2017. Chad was also elected to be a Lay Delegate in September of 2016 and served in that role through September 2019, and was an active member of the inaugural Pastoral Relations Committee at MCC Tampa from 2017-2019. At the denominational level, Chad’s work includes him being a member of the Assessments Commission that was responsible for restructuring the assessments structure for UFMCC. The Assessments Commission’s proposal was approved by a vote of the body and took affect in January 2019. In addition, he served on the Programming Team and the 50th Anniversary Gala Planning Team for General Conference 2019 in Orlando, FL; and assisted with all AV needs at GC. Chad was elected to the UFMCC Governing Board at General Conference in Orlando and was then appointed by the Governing Board to serve as the Treasurer for UFMCC. He was reelected for a second term at General Conference 2022.

Barry Hundley (He/Him/His) has been a member of MCC for over 30 years. He is currently a Co-facilitator for MCC’s Laity Empowered for Active Discipleship program. He has co-chaired the planning of a PAD conference, Regional Conference for Region 2 and the first MCC Brazil Conference. During his time with MCC he was Project Manager for the Church Revitalization Initiative, on the Geographic Review Board, the Structure Review Team and the Board of Ordained Ministry. He was a Lay Delegate for over 20 years. He was awarded the first Trailblazer Award from the MCC PAD conference, the 2014 Moderator’s Award and the Region 2 Regional Leader Award.

Mallory Martinez (She/Her/Hers) joined MCC staff as the Fundraising Co-Ordinator in May 2024. She is working on gaining Sponsorship Opportunities for the 2025 General Conference as well as working with current donors and future donors of MCC. Mallory is a wife and mother to three children and currently resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her previous work experience includes Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as part of the Development team. During her free time, she enjoys doing things with her family, crafting, and enjoying a good cup of coffee.

Kim Rabon-Noyce (She/Her/Hers) serves MCC as the General Conference Administrative Assistant.  Kim has been involved in MCC since the mid 2000’s and is a member of SunCoast MCC in Venice, Florida where she assists with the media team.  Kim has a bachelors of Science in Biology and a Masters in Educational Leadership. In 2019, she retired after 32 years in education. During her career she was a science teacher, district curriculum specialist, assistant principal and high school principal. She was a certified trainer for various curriculum companies. She worked for 3 years serving her local church, SunCoast MCC, as the office administrator. Kim is married to her wife, Tammy, and their family includes 2 adult children, their spouses and 3 grandchildren who Kim and Tammy adore spoiling.

Rev. Elder Maxwell Reay (He/Him/His) has been a member of MCC for 35 years.  He was the founding co-pastor of Living Springs MCC, Bath and was licensed as Clergy in 1993. He also served as a volunteer with MCC North London and MCC Edinburgh. He served as an Elder in MCC from 2021 to 2024 and during this time supported the planning of the General Conference. Since 1993 Maxwell has attended 9 General Conferences.  Maxwell has worked as Healthcare Chaplain since 2007. He currently works at Marie Curie Hospice in Edinburgh. He co-ordinates “Our Tribe” which is the LGBTQI+ ministry at Augustine United Church, Edinburgh. This joint ministry with The United Reformed Church and MCC was established in 2010. Maxwell has served on the MCC Trans and Gender Non-conforming Advisory Council, the Moderator’s Theologies Team of MCC and also served as the Vocational Coordinator for MCC in Europe.

Léo Rossetti (He/Him/His) has a PhD in Social History from the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro and a Master’s degree in History Teaching from the same institution. He is a historian and public school teacher in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He currently serves on the MCC Governing Board and Governance Committee. He is General Secretary of ICM of Brasil and Associate Pastor at ICM Rio, his local church, where he has been a member since 2007. Léo is married to Rev. Luiz Gustavo Silva and they are both parents to Safira, a strangely adorable temperamental cat and Graphitte, her younger brother, an equally affectionate and messy teenage kitten.