The Rev. Dr. Nancy D. Searby began serving as St. Francis’s Deacon in May of 2025 Born in Tucson, Arizona, Deacon Nancy has lived throughout the United States and on the island of Guam. She moved from northern California to Falls Church in 2007 for her job at NASA. Nancy earned her B.S. and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from the University of Colorado, her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University, and is a graduate of the St. Phoebe School for Deacons in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.

Nancy retired in May 2025 after 36 years of service at NASA where she built Shuttle and International Space Station spaceflight hardware, researched the effects of mechanical loading changes like spaceflight on bone health, performed Agency level studies and analyses, and led efforts to build the skills of all people, including environmental justice-impacted and Indigenous communities, to use NASA Earth Science satellite data, tools, and models for better environmental decisions both in the USA and in more than 40 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Nancy was baptized as an adult in Ben Lomond, CA, and served in many roles at St. Anne’s in Fremont, CA, including competing Education for Ministry (EfM), leading youth group, serving on vestry, participating in United Religions Initiative activities, and leading labyrinth walks. She made St. Dunstan’s McLean her church home in Virginia, and continued to serve on vestry through a successful capital campaign, mentored EfM, and served as healing minister and liaison to the school there. She also served on the Diocesan Creation Care Task Force. She was raised for ordination by St. Dunstan’s, and was ordained in August 2023.

Nancy served first as an intern then as an ordained deacon at St. Anne’s Reston, and participated in voter registration, community engagement, and food pantry ministry, while continuing to serve on the Diocesan Creation Care Task Force. She joined the Global Episcopal Mission Network Board and the Diocese of Virginia Global Mission Advocate team.

The Episcopal Bishop of Virginia, the Rt. Rev. E. Mark Stevenson, has placed Nancy with St. Francis as a bridge between the church and the world and to deepen our ways of living into our Baptismal Covenant in the local community as well as in global mission. Nancy supports the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and our appointed Global Mission Advocate by encouraging and sharing about the power of global mission. She serves as Vice President of the Global Episcopal Mission Network board and as the Diocese of Virginia Ministry Partner with Episcopal Relief & Development.

Nancy and her husband Mike live in Falls Church with their dog Alice. Three grown children are Kathryn (married to Gabe), and twins Nathan and Christopher (in college). When home, the family enjoys hikes, traveling, and eating, and in addition, Nancy enjoys puzzles, reading, running, and anything in nature.