Rev. Karen Yee is the
2023-24 Alum of the Year
Rev. Karen Yee is Senior Pastor at New Life Christian Fellowship, Castro Valley and is the English-speaking pastor at the Iu-Mienh Friendship Baptist Church in Richmond. She graduated in 1997 from Berkeley School of Theology with her Master’s of Divinity. Among her many accomplishments, she is on the Executive Board of Directors for the American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS), and a liaison to the Office of the General Secretary. She served as a Trustee for Rainbow Acres, a community for developmentally challenged adults and as the Treasurer of the Executive Council of the Ministers Council of the Greater Bay Area. She was part of the Convener of the Missionary Partnership Team for Ingrid Roldan-Roman, an AB missionary serving in Panama. For 15 years, Rev. Yee was the Associate Pastor at the First Baptist Church of Alameda, an American Baptist church, serving a multi-ethnic, intergenerational congregation of Christ followers, and also served as an active lay leader at the First Chinese Baptist Church of San Francisco.
Since 1981, alums of the Berkeley School of Theology have been selected for their excellence in ministry and support of the Seminary to receive the Distinguished Alum of the Year Award (formerly the Alumnus/a of the Year Award). Previous award winners include:
2022 Celinda Miranda
2020 Kenneth Van Bik
2019 Diane Hooge
2018 Michael-Ray Mathews
2017 Kathryn Choy-Wong
2013 Florence Li
2005 Jan and Myron Chartier
2003 William Cline
2002 Sharon Rose Joy Ruiz-Duremdes
2001 David W. Roberts
2000 Marvin Friesen
1999 Gillette O. James
1998 Emil J. Authelet
1997 James E. Conklin
1996 William Edward Calbert
1995 Everett W. Curry, Jr.
1994 William Sutterlin
1993 Marilyn Marston
1992 James Chuck
1991 Emory Campbell
1990 James H. Stewart
1989 Glenn “Jerry” Gano
1988 John E. Skoglund
1987 John Townsend
1986 Violet Rudd
1985 David Van Bik
1984 John “Bud” Carroll
1983 Linnea A. Nelson
1982 J Palmer Watson
1981 A Stanley MacNair
Nominations for the 2023 award will be hosted until Friday, September 15, 2023. Anyone is welcome to submit a nomination! This could be a congregant, colleague, faculty, fellow volunteer, or another alum. Simply fill out the nomination form below, and within 24 business hours, you will receive a confirmation email from the BST Alumni office. Thank you for your time and submission!