Synod of the Southwest
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Our Staff
Ruling Elder Conrad M. Rocha
Synod Executive/Stated Clerk
Conrad was confirmed, like the four generations that preceded him, at Second Presbyterian Church, Albuquerque, NM, as a member of the Presbyterian Church on May 31, 1964. He is currently a member of La Mesa Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque, NM. Conrad recently became an inactive member of the State Bar of New Mexico after 36 years as a licensed New Mexico attorney. He received his Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Political Science and Economics (Magna Cum Laude) and his Juris Doctor Degree from the University of New Mexico (UNM). Prior to entering UNM he served 10 years in the U.S. Navy and is a Vietnam Veteran. He was ordained as an Elder in the Presbyterian Church on January 2, 1994. Conrad was appointed as interim Stated Clerk and Executive of the Synod of the Southwest in 2010 and was elected to the called and installed position of Synod Stated Clerk and Executive Elder in 2011.
Ruling Elder Mary Lynn Walters
Synod Treasurer
Mary Lynn was born and raised in Naperville, Illinois and moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1969. She and her second husband, Lee, have six children, 20 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. A Presbyterian since 1962, she is active on all four levels of the church sitting on the council/session of each in 2005. Her hobbies include music, reading and bridge. She had her own business, a party goods store, for thirty-five years before her 2001 retirement.
Mary Lynn serves as a member of the Synod of Southwest Council. She is an elected member of the General Assembly Council and a member of Memorial Presbyterian Church where she serves as treasurer, stewardship chair, is a member of the choir and mission/outreach team. In Grand Canyon Presbytery, she is a council member due to her membership on GAC.
Ruling Elder Sharon Yates
Associate Stated Clerk/Executive Assistant
Sharon Yates has lived many places during her life including Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico, Ghana, Germany, England, and various cities in Texas and New Mexico. She has a bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from Austin College and a master’s degree in counseling from West Texas A&M. She is married to Frank, and they have four sons and two grandchildren. Sharon started working for the Synod of the Southwest in 2019 after 13 years with the Presbytery of Santa Fe. She has also been a paper delivery person, a researcher for a blind attorney, a grant writer, an evaluator, a Director of Counseling at Blinn College, the Coordinator of Commuter Services and Multicultural Services, as well as a career counselor