Meet Our Chaplains

Rebecca Highfield

The Rev. Rebecca L. Highfield serves as the Director of Pastoral Care at Mary Washington Healthcare. She is a Certified Educator with the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) and a board-certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC). Prior to joining Mary Washington in early 2019, Rebecca was a congregational pastor and then a chaplain and educator at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Rebecca received her Bachelor of Science in Radio-Television-Film from the University of Texas and her Master of Divinity from Philips Theological Seminary. She earned her Master of Science in Patient Counseling and Master of Science in Patient Counseling-Supervisory Education from Virginia Commonwealth University. She was ordained by and maintains endorsement with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Rebecca places a high premium on relationality and professional development. She enjoys working alongside students as they strive to meet their goals for personal and pastoral formation through technical skill development and deeper awareness of self.

Elizabeth Dowdy

The Rev. Elizabeth H. Rickert Dowdy serves as the Clinical Pastoral Education Certified Educator Candidate Chaplain at Mary Washington Healthcare. Elizabeth is currently in the Certified Educator Program through the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE). Prior to beginning her CPE Residency at MWHC in 2015, Elizabeth served as a congregational pastor, conference planner for the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, and chaplain at CJW Johnston-Willis Hospital and Beth Sholom Lifecare Community, both in Richmond, Virginia.

Elizabeth is a graduate of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond and earned her Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She was ordained by the congregations she pastored and maintains endorsement through the Alliance of Baptists.

Elizabeth values a trauma-informed approach to spiritual care in a healthcare setting and the experiential model of education that CPE provides. She works to create relationships with patients, students, and colleagues that foster well-being, learning, and growth. She enjoys providing spiritual care and education in a diverse setting, being engaged with the community where she lives and works, and helping her students achieve their learning and professional goals.

Beth Riddick

The Rev. Beth Riddick serves as a staff chaplain with Mary Washington Healthcare. She is a board-certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC). Prior to joining Mary Washington in 2009, Beth served in local churches in North Carolina.

Beth received her Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies with a Birth-Kindergarten teaching license from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her Master of Divinity from Campbell University Divinity School in Buies Creek, NC. She was ordained by Main Street Baptist Church in Kernersville, NC in 2003 and maintains her chaplaincy endorsement from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

Beth serves as chaplain throughout MWHC including staff chaplain at Stafford Hospital and at Snowden at Fredericksburg. Beth values her on-going relationships with staff and the community as she seeks to help each person find wholeness and connections with the divine during times of illness and crisis.