The Very Rev. Judy Sullivan is the retired Dean of the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral. During her thirteen-year tenure, she led a $120 million real estate development of the Cathedral campus to generate funds for ministry to the community and for the stabilization of the historic Cathedral building. The project has become a model for the revitalization of faith-based communities across the country. It has supported new ministry initiatives, including Cathedral Table Ministries, which provided 30,000 pounds of food and regular hot meals to the hungry each month, as well as legal, medical, and employment counseling. She is especially proud that, under her leadership, the Cathedral provided the first home for Interfaith Philadelphia and that as the location for many interfaith services and initiatives, it has served as a house of prayer for all people. 

In the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, she served as a principal author of the Loving Presence strategic plan for dismantling racism with the Diocese. She is a former Chair of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission and member of the Diocesan Transition Task Force. She has also been an Adjunct Faculty member at the United Lutheran Seminary, leading groups of Episcopal and Lutheran seminarians in pastoral formation. She has served on the faculty of the Episcopal Preaching Foundation's Preaching Excellence Program for students in Episcopal seminaries throughout the U.S.

Dean Sullivan served for four years as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Interfaith Philadelphia. During her tenure, she oversaw Interfaith Philadelphia’s unifying public response to anti-Muslim ads on public transit, and facilitated strong interfaith partnerships, including a collaboration with Mural Arts for the creation of a Dare to Understand mural in South Philadelphia. 

Dean Sullivan is the recent past Chair of the Board of Directors of Episcopal Legal Aid, is the Vice-President of the Board of Directors for Episcopal Community Services, a non-profit agency focused on ending intergenerational poverty in the region, and is a Trustee of the United Lutheran Seminary.

Dean Sullivan is a graduate of Wellesley College and was awarded the M.Div. from the General Theological Seminary. Prior to ordination, she left a successful career in corporate marketing and communications to direct non-profit organizations promoting private support for public education and access to higher education for youth with limited opportunities. The Sponsor-A-Scholar Program, which she replicated in 16 cities throughout the U.S., was recognized by President Clinton with a Point of Light Award. Her experiences working with these youth and their families were instrumental in discerning her call to ordained ministry. She also worked on several political campaigns, including serving on the campaign staff of U.S. Senate candidate Lynn H. Yeakel.

About the Dare to Understand Award