Bill’s 32-year career as a Christian Educator coincides with his 1979 PSCE graduation; however church leadership and work started years earlier, as a Sunday School teacher, deacon and elder at Shallowford Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, GA, where Bill was a single young adult just out of college. Employment with the Presbyterian Institute of Music Ministries and the Institute for Church Renewal focused on other facets of church life, as well.

Bill’s service as a Certified Christian Educator in 3 churches has been extremely varied. At St. Paul church, Greensboro, NC, he was Youth Director, Assistant to the Minister (preaching every 6 weeks and visiting hospitals), and directed the Adult Choir. In Sarasota, FL, he was at First Presbyterian, where he and wife Bekah shared a position for most of their 7 years. He was a generalist, but also did preaching, and he started a youth choir. The sudden departure of a staff member presented him the challenge of directing the weekday preschool for a year, which became the opportunity for hiring a wonderful new director and re-orienting the academic pre-kindergarten to a developmental preschool.

Nashville, TN’s First Presbyterian Church afforded Bill the opportunity to focus on adult education, and for 22 years he shepherded a large Sunday School program and a booming Wednesday night electives program for adults. After the retirement of a colleague, he also took on the Older Adult Ministry leadership, frequently driving the church bus on day and overnight trips with the senior crowd.

Bill was the first educator to be elected Moderator of Middle Tennessee Presbytery, and was a Commissioner to the 1998 PCUSA General Assembly in Charlotte. He has done extensive work with the alumni organizations of PSCE, Union-PSCE, and Union Presbyterian Seminary, currently serving on the UPS Bicentennial Committee.

Bill and Bekah have led folk dancing for years, taught puppetry making, directed conferences at Montreat, taught hymnody, led summer camps, and many other adventures in church life. A PSCE publication once ran an article on them as “dual DCEs”. Their son Paul is an active duty officer in the United States Air Force.

Douglas J. Tracy is a Teaching Elder and Certified Christian Educator in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

In the early years of his ministry, Douglas Tracy discovered what he calls his "avocation with my vocation" - a love for Christian education that has shaped 40 years of ministry within the Church. This avocation led him into service as an associate pastor for education in three congregations, into service as associate for education and leadership in Chicago Presbytery, and to eight years of service on the faculty of Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit, from which he retired as Associate Professor of Christian Education in 2010. He has taught as adjunct faculty at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, and McCormick Theological Seminary, where he is currently continuing his service as an adjunct.

His love for Christian education shaped his engagement in continuing education. As he notes, "I completed my M. Div. with a woefully limited understanding of Christian education, so I set about to fix that." He attended numerous workshops and focused on Christian education in his graduate education: a D. Min. project that looked at confirmation, a M. Ed. in research, and Ed. D. in religion and education from Columbia University Teachers College. He also sought and received his certification as a Christian educator from the PCUSA.

Along the way, Doug Tracy discovered APCE. He joined APCE in 1979 and has been a member ever since. He served in several offices on the governing cabinet of the Great Lakes region (GLAPCE) and on the governing cabinet of the Eastern region. GLAPCE recognized him with their regional award, the GLAPCE LAMP award, in 2002. He served on the APCE cabinet twice, from 1984-1988 and from 1999-2003. He served as President of APCE in 2001-2002..

Douglas Tracy served the Presbyterian Church (USA) on the Educator Certification Council from 1990-1996, but continued to read Certification exams until 2008.

He is married to Saundra Tracy, retired President of Alma College. They have two children and three grandchildren. The Tracys live in Bloomington, IN.