Staff

Interim Senior Pastor

Kate@mvpchurch.org

Rev. Kate Colussy-Estes was born and raised in Atlanta. She attended Eckerd College and received her M. Div from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Kate didn’t go directly from college to seminary, instead spent several years working in government and social justice in Atlanta for elected officials, and with an anti-violence grant to the Metro Atlanta area.

For nearly her first two decades in ministry she served as a college chaplain on campuses in Texas (Schreiner University), North Carolina (Elon University) and Georgia (Agnes Scott College). After leaving college chaplaincy she moved into transitional ministry and served as Associate Pastor for Mission and Engagement at Central Presbyterian Church on Atlanta’s Capitol Hill, as Associate Pastor at Covenant Presbyterian in Buckhead, and as Transitional Pastor at Carrollton Presbyterian Church. Kate has been actively involved in the life and work of Greater Atlanta Presbytery serving on and chairing the Committee on Preparation for Ministry and serving on the Committee on Ministry.

Kate likes walks and hikes with the family dog, Mellie, and paying closer attention to the change of seasons this year. She and her husband, Justin, have two young adults, Nora and Price and they enjoy watching movies and playing board games.

Associate Pastor for Faith Formation

isaac@mvpchurch.org

Isaac grew up in Athens, Georgia and is a life-long Presbyterian whose home-church is First Presbyterian Church of Athens. He began his call at Mount Vernon in August 2020 with the desire to share holy space with others. Isaac is the staff resource for the Children, Youth, Young Adult, and Senior Adult ministry teams, which typically looks like working with congregants to plan on and off campus programming. Isaac spends the middle portion of a workday in the office and uses the early mornings and later afternoons for improving his Spanish, practicing guitar, journaling, reading, and praying. Isaac takes Friday as a Sabbath day.

Isaac graduated seminary from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in 2019 and holds an undergraduate degree from Centre College. Isaac is married to Christina, an ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church. They enjoy rock climbing and camping in their free time.

Associate Pastor of Spiritual Care

shari@mvpchurch.org

Shari is originally from Michigan and serves as the Associate Pastor of Spiritual Care at Mount Vernon. She enjoys participating in ministry at Mount Vernon, including worship services, writing liturgy, preaching, and teaching. She also enjoys working with the senior adults and the congregational care teams, as well as visiting homebound members.

Ministry is a second career for Shari, whose first career was in Computer Software Engineering. In 2024, she graduated from Columbia Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree. She was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament with the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta in June 2025. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Western Michigan University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Georgia State University. Shari lives in Alpharetta and enjoys spending time with her husband, Richard, and their Chihuahua, Daisy. She enjoys hiking, cooking, reading, and playing guitar.

Financial Administrator

yvonne@mvpchurch.org

Yvonne White was born in Hollandale, MS. She graduated from Mississippi Delta College and later moved to Atlanta, GA for better career opportunities. Yvonne and her husband, Walter, were high school sweethearts and have 2 sons: DeVonta’ and Dalvin. She has worked with children for over 20 years serving as a Team Mom for her boys school and summer traveling sports teams. In her leisure time she enjoys watching her boys play basketball, attending church, traveling and spending time with friends and family.

Administrative Assistant

debbie@mvpchurch.org

Debbie was born in St. Louis, MO and moved several times from the Midwest to New England growing up. Eventually she ended up in Ohio where she graduated from Bowling Green State University. She moved to Atlanta in 1983 and has two grown children; one of whom is a pastor in the United Methodist Church. Prior to MVPC, Debbie worked for many years in the corporate world and served as office administrator in several churches. She has been at MVPC for five years and enjoys getting to know the members and being involved in the process of creating many of the weekly/monthly publications. Debbie loves the outdoors, dog sitting for her granddogs, and her favorite hobby is baking/cooking- which the rest of the staff benefits from greatly!

Director of Operations

steve@mvpchurch.org

Steve was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, attended Michigan State University, and graduated with a B.A. in Advertising. Steve has worked in 6 different industries during his career in companies ranging from Fortune 500 to startups in fields spanning Business Development to Operations. His wife, Shelly, and two sons, Ethan and Aidan, have been members of MVPC since 2000. Both boys attend Mount Vernon Presbyterian School. He served on the Executive Committee for the Board of Trustees at MVPS for 8 years and has been Clerk of Session for MVPC for the last 4 years. He is an avid Spartan and college sports fan, loves traveling with his family, and doing outdoor activities. His favorite things are playing tennis, giving back to the community, and running his vizslas.

Director of Music

A life-long church musician, both as a singer and accompanist, Jill has led choirs of all ages. Her deep love for sacred music is reflected in her many compositions for choir, duets, ensembles, and solo instruments. She is a music educator with over 30 years of classroom and private studio experience, and currently teaches piano and voice in her Sandy Springs home studio.

Her favorite things to do include practicing the fantastic Mount Vernon organ, planning the music part of worship on Tuesdays with Barrett, Isaac, Shari, and Debbie, and recruiting people to do special things to enhance the music ministry.

Jill has been married to Bill Hudson for 35 years, and they have two grown sons. She is a graduate of Georgia State University, with additional certificates from The Royal Conservatory of Music and The American Guild of Organists.