Rev. Elizabeth Estes serves as Senior Minister of Word and Sacrament at Old Dutch Church in Kingston, NY. She is also the clergy spokesperson for Ulster Immigrant Defense Network, a non-profit organization whose 200 volunteers care for more than 800 immigrant families in Ulster County, NY. 

Liz grew up Roman Catholic in New Jersey suburbs where her family devoted themselves to a Vatican-II church with a strong community but which offered girls no path to ministry. Her B.A. in the history of mathematics and philosophy from St. John’s College in Annapolis led to her first position teaching in its undergraduate program while completing an M.A. in philosophy from The Catholic University of America. 

Liz became a business writer, a public relations manager, and a strategy consultant for corporate and non-profit clients. Her need for help with a family crisis drew her to the local Reformed church in her town of Highland Park, NJ. which welcomed Liz and her family with open arms. Liz joined the leadership team just as a congregation of undocumented Indonesians faced detention and deportation, providing a crash-course in the complications of the U.S. immigration landscape. 

Following the lead of the intrepid Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale, Liz joined teams who advocated for undocumented people, provided support for immigrants and refugees, and discerned a call to ministry. During a lull in the action, Liz returned to school and received her M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary in NYC. 

Liz lives with her beloved husband and three children in Kingston, NY.