Board Member
Rev René A. Perez Avalos
Rev René A. Perez Avalos resides in Springfield, Massachusetts, and is currently serving as the lead pastor of the Trinity United Methodist Church in Springfield, Massachusetts. Perez graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a B.A. in liberal arts with a concentration in Psychology; and a Masters of Divinity Degree from Drew Theological School in Madison, New Jersey. He served as Director of Latino Ministries and Director of Congregational Development in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference from 2000 to 2008. Before then, Perez served with his wife, Wanda, as co-pastors of a multicultural congregation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1993 to 2000. From 2008 to 2011, Perez also served as the Senior Pastor of the Lititz United Methodist Church in Lititz, Pennsylvania. He has been a delegate to the United Methodist Church’s Northeast Jurisdiction and the General Conference in 2004, 2008, and 2016, and is currently serving in the United Methodist Northeast Jurisdictional Committee on Appeals as secretary. From 2011 through 2019, he was the district superintendent of the Central Massachusetts District of the New England Conference, and also served as Dean of Cabinet from 2016 to 2019. Perez’s term of office as an elected director of The Fund will expire in 2024.