The rgbm development team

Ana Reza

Bridge Chaplain, Episcopal Diocese of the rio grande

Ana L. Reza is a first-generation Mexican-American. She was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, where she currently resides. Ana is a community activist on La Frontera working with issues of fair housing, education, saving our history, the militarization of our border, and immigrant rights. In her role for the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande as their Bridge Chaplain, Ana is the main contact for the DRG’s Rio Grande Borderland Ministries (RGBM). She works in collaboration with RGBM’s partners in Juárez, Mexico to support two shelters led by Padre Hector Trejo Cano, and is currently leading the process of opening the diocesan Center for Borderland Ministries in El Paso, Texas, which will serve as a hospitality space and shelter for asylum seekers here in the United States. Ana is driven by her awareness of the need to welcome refugees with dignity by calling people to support two shelters in Juarez and one locally. She collaborates locally and nationally with congregations, dioceses, and organizations to work to bring God’s love and dignity to our borders and beyond.

areza@dioceserg.org

505.881.0636 ext. 117

The Rev. Michael Wallens

Vicar, st. paul’s marfa|Big Bend Sector Leader, Rio grande borderland ministries

Originally from Chicago, Mike was raised in the Jewish tradition. He took a detour along the way and has been an Episcopal priest since 1978. He has served in seven Episcopal schools in four states, the most recent being Canterbury Episcopal School in DeSoto, Texas, and St. Phillips School and Community Center in South Dallas. Currently, Mike is the Vicar of the Episcopal Church in Marfa, Texas, serves four other churches in the Big Bend region of Far West Texas, and is also the Big Bend sector leader for Rio Grande Borderland Ministries. Mike helps coordinate responses to the humanitarian crisis along the southern border of the United States, maintaining open communication with the Border Patrol in the Big Bend Sector and supporting RGBM’s partnership with Boquillas Beyond Mexico Mission, Inc. Mike met his wife Susan in college at Sewanee: The University of the South, and they have been married for over 40 years. They have two grown sons who currently live in Austin, Texas and a very sweet dog.

michaelwallens@gmail.com

214.862.7292

The rev. Canon Lee Curtis

Canon to the ordinary, episcopal diocese of the Rio grande

A Native of Florida’s Space Coast, The Rev. Canon Lee Curtis currently serves as Canon to the Ordinary in the Diocese of the Rio Grande – the largest geographic Diocese in the continental U.S., encompassing all of New Mexico and Texas west of the Pecos River. As Canon, Lee works in the areas of congregational vitality, transition, communication, and Borderland Ministry. As a priest, he has built his ministry strengthening multilingual and multicultural communities in the service of the hands-on work of the Gospel. He lives in El Paso, Texas, with his wife, Hannah, two sons, and two very good dogs.

lcurtis@dioceserg.org

505.881.0636 ext. 139