Ruth Faith Santana-Grace, Executive Presbyter

The Rev. Ruth Faith Santana-Grace (she/her/hers) is Co-Moderator of the 225 th General
Assembly, the highest non-staff elected office in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), representing
over 1 million members. Ruth serves together with the Rev. Shavon Starling-Louis under the
theme “Unbounded We Thrive.”

Ruth began serving as Executive Presbyter of the Presbytery of Philadelphia in February of
2014, making her the first woman and person of color to be installed in their more-than-300-
year history.

The Presbytery of Philadelphia is the first and oldest presbytery in the nation of the
Presbyterian Church, USA. It now serves some 117 communities of faith with about 29,000
members representing the rich diversity found in the four counties of the greater Philadelphia
area. The City of Philadelphia and the surrounding area is rich with our nation’s history – while
embodying the contemporary challenges of urban reality.

Since joining Philadelphia, Ruth has been committed to reinvesting resources back into the local
congregation– using proceeds from church closures or tragedies to replant, reinvest or
revitalize transformative possibilities in communities faithfully leaning into this moment in
time. Soon after arriving, Ruth launched the Ministry and Leadership Incubator – the umbrella-
equipping arm of the presbytery focused on strengthening congregational leaders and their
ministries. She brings a deep conviction that God is creatively at work in our midst.
Ruth’s life experience demonstrates the presence of the Lord leading her to develop gifts and
skills to offer to the Body of Christ. Prior to pursuing ordained ministry as Minister of Word and
Sacrament, Ruth received a Masters in Public Administration and used her gifts as a “bridge
builder" for more than 15 years – serving in Washington, DC and Rome, Italy. During this season
of her life, she brought together council members, mayors, governors, and other state and
municipal leaders together with their counterparts in Europe to discuss issues of mutual
concern such as education, employment, and economic development.

After graduating from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1994, she served as Associate Pastor
for Adult Discipleship at First Presbyterian Church, Bethlehem, PA., where she connected the
teachings of Jesus to the challenges and realities of daily life. In 2005, her call to ministry would
pivot as she embarked on a new kind of bridge-building, serving as Executive Presbyter of San
Gabriel Presbytery in Southern California. She had the privilege of walking alongside 44
churches officially worshiping in eleven languages in the eastern-most region of Los Angeles
County. The daughter of Puerto Rican parents who came to the mainland from Puerto Rico,
Ruth has been described as linguistically tri-lingual (speaking English, Spanish and Italian) and
theologically bi-lingual, embodying a commitment to bringing people together of different
cultures and theological perspectives. She served the larger church on two national boards:
Princeton Theological Seminary and The Presbyterian Foundation.

At Princeton, Ruth was the first woman of color to serve as vice-chair of the board and has
chaired the Committee on Student Life having previously served on the Academic Affairs and

Audit Committees. She has used her knowledge and relationships at Princeton to help serve
congregations of the Presbytery of Philadelphia. She is the 2023 recipient of Princeton
Theological Seminary’s Distinguished Alumnus Award and elected Trustee Emeritus of the
seminary.
A lover of writing, Ruth is the author of Spirit Soundings - regular reflections sent out to the
presbytery. She was one of the featured women in Princeton’s published book -Faith of our
Mothers, Living Still: Princeton Seminary Women Redefining Ministry. She has also authored
articles for commentaries and is an invited preacher and speaker to conferences and retreats.
When Ruth is not working, she can be found swimming in her pool or walking the beach – a
spiritual discipline that has sustained her for more than a decade.

She is married to the Rev. Dr. Edward Santana-Grace and they are parents to two sons - Dakota
(who works for an international management consulting firm) and David (who works in the
fitness industry in Italy. They are grandparents to Mia (12) and Sophia (8) who live in Virginia
with their mom Lani; and Talia (1) who lives in Italy with her parents David and Benedetta.


To contact Ruth Faith Santana-Grace, Executive Presbyter please use the form below.