Biographical Information

Cynthia (Cindy) Bolbach

A Presbyterian elder, Cynthia (Cindy) Bolbach is executive vice president and corporate secretary of BNA, Inc., the oldest company in the United States owned entirely by its more than 1600 employees. She is a member of First Presbyterian Church in Arlington, Va.

Cindy was born and raised in Lancaster County, Pa., where she was baptized and confirmed as a Lutheran. Predestined at an early age to be part of the Reformed tradition, she had a hamster named Luther and a guinea pig named Calvin.

She is a graduate of Wittenberg University (Ohio) and Georgetown University Law Center. She became a member of the Washington, D.C. bar the same year she graduated from Georgetown.

Cindy became a Presbyterian when she joined New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in D.C., where she was ordained as a deacon and elder and served as clerk of session. After moving to Arlington, Va., in the mid-1980s, Cindy transferred her membership to First Presbyterian Church, where she was also elected as clerk of session.

Cindy became a foster parent to teenager Jimmy in the 1980s. In addition, her life is enriched by the lives of her two nephews – a priest in the D.C. area and a journalist in New York City.

Cindy writes, “When I was first ordained an elder, I suspect I was like many new elders. I didn’t fully appreciate one astonishing aspect of Presbyterian life: I, as a ruling elder, have equal leadership in the ministry and mission of the congregation with the congregation’s pastors.”

Cindy’s sister is also a Presbyterian elder in Washington, D.C.

Cindy most recently served as co-moderator of the Form of Government Task Force (2006-2010).