This summer we will elect two candidates to fill the two open spots for the Trustee Member Board. To help you make a decision as to which candidate(s) to support, a list of nominees with a short biography for each appears below. In addition, please join us for our Special Member Meeting on Sunday, June 29 at 8pm ET/6pm MT in the Awakening Together Sanctuary, where each candidate will be given an opportunity to address the membership.
Jill Grace
Fran Hamilton
Yolanda Mapes
Ballots are mailed to members on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Voting closes at 5pm ET/ 3pm MT on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. You will be given the opportunity to vote for two of the three candidates.
Jill Grace’s Bio: Jill Grace has been a member of Awakening Together since 2022. The sudden loss of her child in 2003 led her through a dark night of the soul, stirring within her a deep questioning of the nature of reality. Over the years she has explored various spiritual paths and world religions in search of Truth. A Course in Miracles remained in her library for over 20 years, continuously drawing her back to its pages. Seeking greater clarity, she joined an ACIM group, which ultimately led her to Awakening Together. From the moment she discovered Regina Dawn Akers’ teachings and Awakening Together, she knew she had found her spiritual home.
Since then, Jill has fully embraced the Awakening Together community by attending retreats, workshops, sanctuary programs and co-facilitating a sanctuary program. She is currently engaged in Gentle Healing 3 and recently began Minister Preparation Program classes. In addition, she is a devoted wife and mother, as well as a dedicated social worker in the field of children’s mental health. Jill is deeply grateful for the Awakening Together community and has been blessed by the support and sense of belonging it has brought to her life.
Rev. Fran Hamilton’s Bio: Rev. Fran Hamilton is honored and willing to be nominated to serve on the Member Board of Trustees. She is very grateful for the resources offered by Awakening Together. They have been so helpful, consistently pointing to Truth over many years. A long-time student of Eckankar, Fran has worked as a student, caregiver, environmental consultant, archaeologist and teacher, earning degrees in anthropology and archaeology along the way. A lover of poetry and paradox, she enjoys writing and editing. Fran trusts that this is arising because her skills might be of use, since service to all life is the Way of it.
Rev. Yolanda Mapes’ Bio: Licensed Minister, Rev. Yolanda Mapes was born as Roger Anthony Mapes in 1956 in Muscle Shoals Alabama. She is now and has always been an artist in the disciplines of painting/ drawing/ performance art and music (singer-songwriter). She has been interested in spirituality from a very young age. Her first experience of “knowing God’ occurred when she was a toddler just learning to walk. As she has traveled through her life, she has gravitated towards being very involved in many different spiritual communities. She says that Awakening Together is the first church/spiritual community where she has ever felt completely welcomed, nurtured, and loved for exactly who she is and the expression she chooses to present.
Yolanda was elected to the Member Board of Trustees in July 2022.