Our Team

Lisa supports the Senior Pastor’s Office as the Administrative Coordinator. She first attended UPC when she was at Roosevelt High School and later joined the church as an adult in 1994. About that same time, Lisa met her husband, Peter, at a UPC adults ministry function. Lisa and Peter rescue senior dogs and have found great joy with old dogs. They currently have a young dog, Sadie, who brings a lot of energy into their household!

Sue is a familiar face to those serving the Deacon ministry. She’s been a friendly smile to many over the past (almost 20) years. Sue is a gracious shepherd to those grieving the loss of a loved one, she’s delivered countless meals to homebound congregants and is ready to serve. Sue is married to Bryan.

Imani was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya. She graduated from West Nairobi School and moved to Seattle with her family in September 2018. Imani attended Shoreline Community College, graduating in June 2021. She will continue further studies part-time and online at Western Washington University starting September 2022. Her deep desire is that her faith in Christ can continue to deepen, that her love for others can continue to stretch wide, and that she can continue to add value to the Family and Children’s Ministry in every way possible. As the Children’s Coordinator and Family Ministries Admin, she oversees the administrative systems for the Family Ministries as she communicates with her team and the operational team at UPC. Imani oversees Sunday school programming, milestones, camps, youth retreats, and special events and coordinates with interns and volunteers weekly. She hopes that all families feel safe, loved, and welcomed. Her hobbies include cooking, baking, playing guitar, adventuring, and experimenting with photography.

Jill grew up in southern California, got a Master’s in Education for School Counseling at Azusa Pacific University, worked at a large Christian summer camp, Forest Home, for many summers, then worked with kids and teens at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach. Jill moved to Seattle and started working at UPC in January 2019. She recently finished a Master’s in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. Jill loves exploring new places, eating good food, meeting up with friends for walks or hikes, visiting California, binging shows, and dreaming of trip planning again.

As the Director of Family Ministries, her job is to lead, manage, and advocate for UPC’s ministry to kids and youth from birth to 12th grade and their families.

Anna  (pronounced Ah-na) learned about this role through the UPC young adult group. As the Youth Coordinator, she organizes volunteer teams to serve middle and high school students, plans programming and retreats/events, meets with youth for coffee or to attend their games, and works closely with Jill. Anna is outgoing and friendly, organized, has a vibrant faith, has experience leading and managing volunteer teams, has experience leading worship, and is excited about this new role!

Jack produces and edits video content for UPC and acts as camera operator and video switcher for Sunday services and other livestreamed events. In his spare time he enjoys making horror movies.

Angela is originally from Ellensburg in central Washington, the land of rodeos and hay bales. The excitement of Seattle drew her in, and she’s been here since 1997. She has worked full-time in childcare and as a Medical Assistant. In more recent years she has felt called into ministry. It’s her desire and delight to serve the body of Christ by seeing believers encouraged, equipped, and discipled. As the Palmer House Manager, she can put to use all those desires. With the mission of Palmer House being “Radical Hospitality and Genuine Curiosity,” it felt like the perfect fit. She would love to serve you a cup of coffee or tea and if you haven’t been over at Palmer House, give you a tour!

A Bellingham resident and Washington native, Wade is a graduate of Western Washington University, with degrees in Piano and French. He furthered his studies in piano, vocal accompaniment and opera coaching in Salzburg and Graz, Austria. Wade began his post graduate organ studies at Pacific Lutheran University, where he was one of four organists chosen nationally to perform in the international symposium, The Organ in the New Millennium. He holds a Master of Music in Organ Performance and Literature from the University of Notre Dame, and Germany’s highest degree in Organ Performance from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Rostock, Germany. Wade is a multi-faceted performer, pianist, organist, and accompanist who has performed extensively in the Pacific Northwest and throughout Europe. He has been a church musician since the age of 13, and leading people in worship is one of his greatest joys in life.

Arden is originally from Honolulu, Hawaii, and graduated from Seattle Pacific University, where she majored in Exercise Science and played on the women’s soccer team. For the past seven years, Arden has served in various roles on the Fellowship of Christian Athletes staff team, most recently as the Seattle Collegiate Director. She is passionate about equipping college student leaders, discipleship, and good food! Arden and her Husband Chris live in Kirkland with their dog Koda and enjoy going on walks.

David B. Gardner, DMA, has a heart for leading God’s people in worship, and he has served churches in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, and Kansas. He has conducted church, community, and college choirs for more than three decades, and has been delighted to serve as the Director of Worship and Arts at UPC since 2014. He holds degrees from Seattle Pacific University, Western Seminary, and The University of Arizona. David is blessed to be husband to Cheryl, father to Carol, Katie, Annelise, and Sarah, and grandfather to Emma and Theo.

Sara grew up at and around University Presbyterian Church as a child, teenager and college student. After a short stint as an 8th grade history teacher, Sara eventually found her way back to the UPC community to serve in Communications. She is passionate about all things creative and loves working on the UPC social media pages, helping other ministries in the church with communications needs and taking pictures on Sundays. When she’s not working Sara loves adventuring with her husband and their Golden Retriever Henry, fly fishing in the mountains, and spending time on her husband’s family farm in Eastern Washington.

As Director of Facilities, Esmaeil has the responsibility—along with the Facilities team—to take care of the church building, our eight auxiliary properties, parking lots, and all the equipment that makes them function as our church home. Esmaeil is no stranger to large properties in city settings, having spent 10 years as Operations Manager for First Presbyterian Church of Seattle, and facilities management for Lake City Presbyterian and Capitol Hill Presbyterian. In his free time, you can find spending time with his wife and three sons or hiking up big peaks.

Born in South Korea and raised in America, Nawon is a passionate worshiper with a heart to serve congregational singing, to lift up praise, glory, and honor for the Living Almighty God. Nawon is a jazz musician with a Bachelor’s Degree in Film Scoring from Berklee College of Music. He loves to spend fun and quality time with his wife Sooja and two daughters, Hana and Yuna. Although the Pacific Northwest is brand new for the long New England surviving Jang family, they are excited to be a part of this beautiful place.

Vivienne served as a volunteer, working with Ministry with Internationals, before joining the UPC staff in 2008–2011 as Director for Global Friends and the International Friendship House. Just this past November, she returned to Seattle with her husband and two adorable children, Isabella and Isaiah. It has always been in their plans to move back to Seattle and be a part of Global Friends again. She and her family are very excited to be back “home,” working with close friends to do this exciting work with internationals! She has also agreed to take on the administrative responsibilities for Language Institute.

Minh has decades of experience and wisdom, and is always happy to use both to lend a hand. You’ll find him hard at work making sure the church is in top shape, and he’s always willing to help. Plus, he and his wife are wonderful cooks. The UPC staff always find peace in the knowledge that Minh Luu is only ever one phone call away.

Parker joined UPC as a Facilities Steward in fall of 2021. He has largely served in hospitality during his time at UPC, including brewing coffee for Sunday service, setting up events, and helping people with their questions and needs. He is a student at the University of Washington. He loves being around friends, whether outside, around town or simply together at home.

Jason serves UPC as Director of Media Services, leading the Media team through in-person event production, livestream and radio broadcasts, content creation and distribution, and audiovisual system design, installation, and maintenance. Since taking this role in 2017, Jason and the Media team have successfully updated the sanctuary sound system, remodeled the Geneva event space, and ushered in a sophisticated live broadcasting system, among many other smaller projects. Jason is a musician and enjoys working closely with UPC’s music team to help create an excellent worship experience. After a long day’s work, he loves to partake in delicious craft beers, and on weekends he enjoys writing about himself in the third person.

Mark grew up in Utica, Michigan. He attended college at Eastern Michigan University and received a BBA in Accounting. He went on to earn an MBA from the University of Phoenix and is a Certified Management Accountant. Mark has worked for publicly traded companies over the last 20 years and held positions as CFO and COO. He loves exploring new places, cooking, hiking, running and spending time with his wife, kids and grandkids.
As the Director of Finance Mark is responsible for Finance and Accounting at UPC and manages IT.

Taylor has been involved in ministry from an early age. Although originally from Seattle, she has spent time in Arizona and California where she obtained her Bachelor’s in Psychology and Sport and Exercise Studies while working for a local church plant as their Volunteer Coordinator. Taylor now attends Seminary at Seattle Pacific University and is enjoying the journey towards a Master’s in Theology, concentrating in Christian Ministry and Leadership. When not studying or spending time with family, you can find Taylor trying new coffee shops, listening to music with friends, or running many miles around Seattle.

In the role of Ministry Coordinator for Discipleship Taylor is responsible for championing leaders, organizing Connect Groups, and facilitating a greater sense of community and fellowship at UPC.

Kristine is originally from Seattle and has lived in three other countries (Ukraine, Canada, and Scotland) and three other states (Michigan, Wisconsin, and Oregon). She’s studied English, theology, and education and has mostly worked in the education sector, both as an ESOL instructor and in administrative support roles. She enjoys working with internationals and helping them gain the English skills they need. Kristine’s hobbies include reading, walking, travelling, and dabbling in Hungarian. She lives in Shoreline with her husband, their two teenage children, and a cavapoo named Charlie.

Anne is a Seattle-area native, attended UW, and has been a part of UPC for many years. She spent most of her adulthood working in corporate marketing and communications before joining the staff at UPC. Anne enjoys strong black coffee, reading classic children’s literature, dog-walking, sunrise and sunset views, baking (cookies are her love language), city hikes, and talking to kids about Jesus.

Tania Rzhondkovsky was born and raised in Seattle, WA. Tania is trilingual — she is fluent in English, Spanish, and Russian, and is currently learning Ukrainian. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Cultural Anthropology from Seattle Pacific University, and a Master of Science in Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Denver. She has been Christian from childhood, and she loves how she is able to combine her love for God, uniting people, and nonprofit organizations by working at UPC. She learned about UPC’s vibrant and kind community by attending Sunday services with her mom. Tania has worked at multiple different nonprofit organizations, including teaching language classes at OneWorld Now! and teaching children interpersonal skills at Kids Co. In her free time, she enjoys camping, going to beaches, and parks. She also loves to draw, paint, dance, practice photography skills, and spend time with her fiancé, and their two cats — Mink and Mishka.

Oliver has been around the UPC universe for 10+ years now. He got his start as an Audio Visual Technician and has evolved into the Associate Director of Media Services, which he’s perfect for since he brings a wealth of AV knowledge, an abundance of creativity, and a vast amount of problem-solving abilities. When he’s not remedying UPC’s AV woes, you can find him attending concerts, comedy, dining out/drinking tasty beverages, or winning an Emmy with his side-hustle concert series called Sessions In Place.

Lora has her degree in Business Information Systems and throughout her career has worked to support many small businesses and organizations. Her specialty is Data Analysis. She is involved with Women’s’ Ministries and serves in childcare at her home church in Monroe. Her and her husband, Ted have two adult sons, a daughter-in-law and two active grandsons. During Covid, they adopted a chocolate Australian cattle dog pup and named her Mocha. They enjoy spending time outdoors, hiking and boating to explore remote destinations in the PNW.

Debbie is an Eastern Washington native and a Coug! After working for Weyerhaeuser Company as a Project Manager in the Information Systems Division, she was called into teaching and received a Masters in Teaching from Seattle University. She taught middle school math and science at Forest Ridge School in Bellevue. Debbie met and married her husband, Crary Symons, at UPC and they have raised their 3 children in the UPC community. Debbie’s previous volunteer experience in Children’s Ministry came in handy when she began working in the department in 2013. She partners with staff, volunteers and families sharing the Good News of Jesus to UPC’s youngest members. In her free time, Debbie enjoys traveling with Crary to cheer their kids on in basketball, softball, and any other endeavors they take on. She loves to spend time with friends, play tennis, garden, and tutor kids in math.

YoYo was born in China and Came to Seattle in 2013 to study at the University of Washington. She received her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting and Finance and her master’s degree in Professional Accounting Audit at UW. YoYo worked in public accounting before she came to UPC. In her spare time YoYo enjoys cooking, baking and hanging out with friends.

Barb encourages us to join God’s mission of reconciling our neighbors to Jesus, through neighborhood engagement and building relationships. Barb has a heart for those who live on the margins—people who are physically, emotionally, or spiritually hungry. She is amazed that the same Spirit of God who was in Jesus dwells in us to bring Good News to the poor, heal the sick, give sight to the blind, and free the oppressed (Luke 4:18–19). Barb is always ready to participate in God’s work by going on a neighborhood prayer walk, serving food to the hungry, or going wherever the Spirit leads. She is open to new ways UPC can serve its neighbors, so let her know where the Spirit may be leading you. Barb has a Ph.D. in Physiology and M.Div from Fuller, and likes talking about science and faith, eating ice cream, swimming, and cheering for the Green Bay Packers.

Paul is responsible for the support and administration of UPC’s computing and network infrastructure as well as the computer needs of the UPC staff. This includes managing the network, servers, internet connectivity, phone system, and much more. When not at UPC he enjoys being outdoors, preferably in the sunshine!

Polly is a third-generation Seattleite and a graduate of the University of Washington with a MA in International Studies in Comparative Religion and is currently in the UW Museology MA program. Polly is passionate about building communities that are on mission and developing young adult leaders. She has spent her career working with young adults, previously as campus staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Polly oversees UPC’s International Friendship House (international students) and Jack’s House (young professionals).