The Mennonite Church USA Executive Board has appointed Iris de León-Hartshorn as interim executive director, effective Jan. 1. She is the first woman to hold this role. Since 2018, de León-Hartshorn has served as associate executive director for operations and director of human resources.

She succeeds Glen Guyton, who will conclude his role as executive director on Dec. 31 to begin the new year as president and chief operating officer of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Executive Board announced Guyton’s departure on Oct. 20.

The Executive Board voted unanimously to appoint de León-Hartshorn as interim executive director for up to 18 months at a special meeting on Oct. 29 and made the announcement Nov. 2.

“Iris has spent her adult life working for the church in various roles. She is a gifted administrator and visionary leader,” said MC USA moderator Marty Lehman. “Since she is already on staff, Iris will bring continuity to our current reimaging process. The Executive Board is grateful for her availability and willingness to serve in this role at this time.”

The Executive Board will appoint a search committee in early 2027 to begin a search for a permanent executive director.

As interim executive director, de León-Hartshorn will conduct the administrative affairs of the Executive Board, serve as an officer and supervise its employees.

“I am excited to serve the church in this capacity,” she said. “The groundwork has been laid by Glen Guyton to move us forward in embracing who we are as Mennonite Church USA. I look forward to strengthening our mission and identity as Anabaptist for a world that needs to hear God’s word of shalom.”

De León-Hartshorn has dedicated herself to antiracism, intercultural competency and restorative justice within the Anabaptist movement, spending decades in executive roles advancing racial and gender justice.

Within MC USA, she served as director of intercultural ministries from 2007 to 2009, conference minister for Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference from 2009 to 2011, and director of transformative peacemaking on the Executive Board staff from 2011 to 2018.

Beyond MC USA, her leadership in the broader Anabaptist community has included serving as director of Mennonite Central Committee Peace and Justice Ministries and on the executive committee of Mennonite World Conference.

Carrying her passion for justice and reconciliation onto the world stage, she participated in the World Christian Indigenous Gathering in Australia in 1999 and has traveled extensively, engaging churches on issues of social justice and intercultural understanding. In 2001, she was a panelist for the World Council of Churches delegation at the UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa.

She co-authored Set Free: A Journey Toward Solidarity Against Racism and has contributed to many publications.

At its 2023 Hope for the Future conference, MC USA honored her for her lifetime of dedication to promoting antiracism, intercultural competency and racial justice.

A graduate of Eastern Mennonite University, she holds a master’s degree in conflict transformation from EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.

Ordained in 1994 by Western District and South Central conferences, she is a member of Portland Mennonite Church in Oregon and also often worships at Zion Mennonite Church in Hubbard, Ore.

She and her husband, Leo Hartshorn, have been married for 53 years and have three grown children and two grandsons.