At our upcoming Annual General Meeting on Sunday, January 26, we will welcome four new Vestry members and a new Vestry Clerk. We are so grateful that Keisha Blake Harp, Rachel Scotch, Andrew Smyth, and Anna Zhao have accepted the call to serve as the Trinity Vestry Class of 2028. Susan Alsamarai is becoming our new Vestry Clerk. Click the button below to learn more about our new Vestry members!
Keisha Blake Harp is honored to join the vestry at Trinity Church. With a professional background in nonprofit leadership and business development. A passionate advocate for service and community, Keisha also volunteers with organizations such as The New Haven Chapter of the Links Inc, and the Junior League of Greater New Haven.
Keisha earned degrees in International Relations and Spanish from Tufts University, a M.Phil in Latin American Studies from Cambridge University, and Law from the University of London. Outside of her work, she enjoys traveling, exploring diverse cultures, and supporting efforts that foster inclusion and growth. Keisha is excited to bring her faith, experience, and commitment to her role on the vestry. Keisha is blessed to share her life with her husband, Wendell Matthew Harp, and their son, Wendell Blake Harp. Their family’s journey of faith is deeply connected to Trinity Church, where Keisha and Wendell exchanged their vows and where their son, Wendell was baptized.
Rachel Scotch is a Right to Counsel housing attorney at New Haven Legal Assistance Association (NHLAA). The Right to Counsel Program was created during COVID for certain tenants living in residential properties. Tenants who are income-eligible may be able to have a free lawyer represent them if they are facing eviction or loss of their housing subsidy. Her role involves constant communication with clients and landlord’s attorneys, as well as filing motions and reviewing cases on a daily basis, and representing her clients at court hearings.
A New Haven county native, she received an associate’s degree from South Central Community College (currently known as Gateway). Her educational journey then took her to Southern CT State University, Paier College Art School, and eventually to Yale for her Bachelors degree, followed by a law degree from Northeastern University in Boston. While in Boston, she became a public defender and worked for the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) for 12 years. She and her spouse Josh met in Boston, and when they started looking to buy a house, she encouraged a move back to New Haven. They recently relocated from there to Hamden.
Outside of work, Rachel enjoys daily hikes with their rescue dog, kayaking with her husband, and is an avid amateur baker. She also loves following the Red Sox and Bruins (be sure to ask her about the decade she spent working at Fenway Park!) She and Josh are frequent volunteers with Chapel on the Green at Trinity.
Andrew Smyth has been a parishioner at Trinity on the Green since 2007. He served on the Vestry at Trinity from 2017-2020 and is involved in Trinity’s Pastoral Care Committee, Healing Prayer Ministry, Altar Guild, and Clean the Green initiative. He is currently Co-Head Usher, with David Assis and Karen Isaacs.Andrew also serves on the Episcopal Church at Yale Board of Governors and is chair of the Governance Committee and Secretary for the Board.
At home in New Haven, Andrew enjoys life in Westville with his wife, Jeanne, and two dogs, Arthur and Belphoebe. He is an active runner and participates in environmental initiatives in the area. At work, Andrew is Professor of English at Southern Connecticut State University, where he helps to prepare future secondary English teachers and does research in cultural animal studies, Early Modern English literature, and education.
Anna Zhao grew up in Liuzhou, also known as “Dragon City,” in Southern China, and came to New Haven in 2014 as an international student. She earned two master’s degrees at the University of New Haven, including an MBA with honors in finance. She was introduced to Trinity by her Godmother, Barbara Jarry, and felt an immediate connection. Anna was baptized during the Easter Vigil in 2015. Later that year, she met her husband, Bo Sandine, at a Trinity sermon drama directed by Bo's father, Bob Sandine. The two were married at Trinity in 2021.
Now in her third year at Commonfund, an asset management firm specializing in outsourced CIO (OCIO) services for nonprofit organizations, Anna thrives in her role supporting institutional clients. She also serves as a member of Trinity’s Investment Committee and sings in the Parish choir. Anna has a passion for integrating personal development and spiritual guidance into financial decisions. She embraces solitude and finds fulfillment in reflecting on her life journey, practicing meditation, conducting research, and refining her investment strategies.
In her free time, Anna enjoys traveling with her husband Bo, trying new restaurants, cooking traditional Chinese meals, and reconnecting with close friends. She is an avid tea drinker, a cat lover (though she does not own one!), and a beginner tennis player. Anna also loves learning about Middle Eastern cultures and languages and hopes to visit the region someday.
Anna is committed to bringing her financial expertise, strategic thinking, and dedication to Trinity’s mission. Her experience in nonprofit asset management and service on the Investment Committee equips her to support thoughtful stewardship.
We have been immensely grateful for Lisa Omark’s service as our Vestry clerk. She has fulfilled two terms as Vestry clerk, three year each, and our by-laws require us to call for a new clerk. Lisa has been a steady guide and diligent keeper of the Vestry records, also during the challenging years of Covid when all our meetings switched to Zoom. We could not have done it without you, Lisa! Thank you so much.
At this upcoming Annual General Meeting we are honored to welcome Susan Alsamarai who is standing for election to become our new Vestry Clerk.
