Aaron Alverez

Facilities Assistant

aarona@ventanaschool.org

About Aaron
Since working here I've become more proficient with tools and able to extend that skill to tinkering time, furthering kids understanding of working safely with tools.
I help setup all events to make for an easier time for everyone involved. Also fix any issues in the classrooms or around campus, so teachers and children can enjoy a clean and safe environment.

Fun Fact about Aaron: I've been collecting spiders in and around the campus.

When I was 5, I was pretty sure I would be am Arachnologist when I grew up.

If we had an office talent show, I'd wow everyone with my ability to catch any animal talent.

The Rev. Cal Payne-Taylor

Curate

cal@ccla.us

About Rev. Cal
Cal is a lifelong Episcopalian from New England who moved to the Bay Area in 2015 to pursue a graduate degree in medieval European history at UC Berkeley. After relocating to California, Cal quickly became involved in lay ministry at All Souls Episcopal Parish in Berkeley, and began actively discerning towards the priesthood with that community in 2016. In 2017-2018, Cal completed a year of national service with AmeriCorps as the Interfaith Relations Coordinator at Habitat for Humanity, Greater San Francisco. He began seminary in 2021 at Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, where he also served as the campus gardener and koi pond fish whisperer. Cal’s ministry centers on creation care and the collective liberation of the human family, and he is passionate about building community through gardening and restoring native species. His spirituality has been shaped by his study of medieval mysticism, theological writings, and poetry. Cal’s pastoral ministry is also deeply informed by an internship in 2023 as a hospital chaplain in a Level I Trauma Center in Lexington, KY, where he offered care in the midst of crisis.

I am a Curate at CCLA, meaning that I am a newly ordained priest who is being mentored by the Rector while also practicing the full spectrum of ministry as a parish priest. This includes offering pastoral care, preaching and teaching, celebrating the sacraments, deepening interfaith partnerships, and supporting the life of the parish and Ventana School in all the ways I can.

Fun Fact about Rev. Cal: I’m really into kayaking on the Bay, yoga and social dancing of all kinds, and baking sourdough bread (not at the same time).

When I was five, I was pretty sure I would be a priest when I grew up. As a child, I often played "Holy Communion" with my toys.

If we had an office talent show, I'd wow everyone with my karaoke skills by singing “Let it Go” from the movie Frozen.

Jessica Pauley

Finance Coordinator

finance@ventanaschool.org

About Jessica
After graduating with a BA in Theatrical Production she spent four years living in Texas and the greater Sacramento area working in the production of live theatre. She also has a background in accounting services from college and has dabbled in HR consulting before moving to Sunnyvale when COVID-19 closed her office. Now with 3 1/2 years of finance training and experience under her belt she helps spot places to improve our systems, create budgets, and run reports.
At CCLA Jessica supports the church and the school by managing the day to day financial expenses and donations. She assist in our month end processes including credit card reconciliations, simple church, and Ventana's tuition management system.

Fun Fact about Jessica: I have snorkeled with Galapagos Sea Turtles.

When I was 5, I was pretty sure I would be Wonder Woman when I grew up.

If we had an office talent show, I'd wow everyone with my Organizing and running the lights and sound for all the acts! talent.

Sara Tang, CMA

Director of Finance

sarat@ventanaschool.org

About Sara
Sara oversees the financial and operational health of the parish and school by preparing and monitoring budgets, advising leadership, and maintaining a comprehensive picture of the financial health of the institution as a whole. Sara brings extensive non-profit experience having held controller and other finance management roles in the past.

Deanne Phillips

Director of Operations & HR

office@ccla.us

About Deanne
Deanne came to Christ Church after a spending more than 25 years in corporate communications working with a wide range of technology companies. During the years that her son played club soccer, she served on the Board of Directors for Sunnyvale Alliance Soccer Club and was instrumental in establishing online registration and Department of Justice background checks for the Cal North California Youth Soccer Association. Currently Deanne serves on the board of Sky's The Limit Fund, a non-profit organization that provides grants for youth in crisis to participate in Wilderness Therapy Programs and Transitional Support Services. She is a Bay Area native, passionate local sports fan and lives in Sunnyvale.

Fun Fact about Deanne:

When I was 5, I was pretty sure I would be _______ when I grew up.

If we had an office talent show, I'd wow everyone with my _______ talent.

Jenny Bishop

Children & Family Minister

jennyb@ventanaschool.org

About Jenny
Jenny has been a member of Christ Church since she was baptized in 1975. Over the years she has been active in plays, choir, vestry, youth group, search committees, nativity scenes, and Sunday school. Taught high school art and art history for 10 years. Then she had her oldest and took time off and saw they started a preschool at church. She began teaching our first twos class at Ventana and has been here ever since as a parent, teacher, school board member, or on vestry. She has her National Board teaching certificate and was able study the Reggio Emilia philosophy in Italy. Jenny is a mom with three teenagers who loves to garden, hike, and draw outside. They have a dog and two cats, in addition to families of wild birds that Joe trained to migrate to our backyard each year with the plants he chose to attract them.
At CCLA Jenny has done a little bit of almost everything except preach. She has taught in each of the classrooms except for one! She taught preschool from 2006-2020, was a founder of our elementary school and first two's teacher. Jenny loves the Reggio Emilia philosophy because of its emphasis on using art to communicate, tell stories and learn. She has striven to create for her children and our community a school that is full of ideas that she wished for as a child. Jenny is so proud of the work we have done here in growing a successful, innovative and unique environment that utilizes the spaces she loved as a child and turned them into something people of all ages can enjoy everyday not just on Sundays.

Fun Fact about Jenny: I love costume parties and have a whole closet dedicated to costumes for the kids and I.

When I was 5, I was pretty sure I would be an Art Teacher when I grew up. Quote from my mom "Jenny has an art project going on in every room. She loves everything about art except cleaning up."

If we had an office talent show, I'd wow everyone with my telling jokes in bad costumes talent.

Alice Kochunov, MD

Minister for Adult Formation

About Alice
Alice studied Chemistry at Franklin & Marshall College and obtained an MD from the University of Pennsylvania. During medical school, she began her meditation journey with Dr. Michael Baime, director of The Penn Program for Mindfulness, and has followed dual Buddhist and Christian contemplative paths. Alice has spent her professional career in healthcare IT and data and currently serves as CMO at a healthcare data startup. She has been fortunate to travel extensively for work and personal growth, and she cannot count how many places she has fallen in love with. Alice found CCLA while living in Los Altos in 2018 and decided to move back east near her family right before the pandemic. During the pandemic pause, she obtained certifications as a Mindfulness Meditation Teacher through The Greater Good Science Center and as an End-of-Life Doula with the University of Vermont. She currently resides just south of Houston, TX, with her husband and twin teenagers.

At CCLA, her role has unfolded from where she has noticed deep need (not only in her life but in those around her) and from the practices in which she has found comfort, strength, and beauty: to reaffirm the sacred in daily life, to foster contemplative practices for connection and healing, and to explore the joy and grief in life's transitions. Alice helps lead the weekly Meditation Group and preaches several times per year. She supports the spiritual formation of adult members of our parish and our larger community through quiet meditation days, mini-retreats, and other educational/prayerful opportunities.

Fun Fact about Alice: I love to create and be in nature! In my free time, you might find me writing, dabbling in various art media (from pen and ink to photography), or meditating by our pond.

When I was 5, I was pretty sure I would be an Actor or a Doctor (depending on the day) when I grew up.

If we had an office talent show, I'd wow everyone with my Dancing talent.

Eric Tuan

Music Director

eric@ccla.us

About Eric
A third-generation Bay Area resident, Eric grew up singing in choirs, playing the piano, and composing in the East Bay. Attending Stanford to study choral conducting and music history brought him to the Peninsula in 2008, where he has resided ever since. He has been the Director of Music at Christ Church since 2012, with a brief hiatus to attend graduate school in England at the University of Cambridge.
In addition to his work at Christ Church Los Altos, Eric serves as the Artistic Director of the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir, a youth choral program serving over 300 singers ages 5-18 in Oakland and the broader East Bay. He is also the founding Artistic Director of Convivium, the 24-voice chamber choir committed to adventurous programming that serves as Artists-in-Residence at Christ Church. Eric is an active composer and has been widely commissioned by leading choral organizations including Seattle Pro Musica, Peninsula Women's Chorus, Volti, and San Francisco Choral Artists.

Music is a major part of worship at CCLA. Eric conducts the Parish Choir, which rehearses on Wednesday nights and sings for the 10:15 AM service and Sundays; plays the organ and piano for all parish worship services; leads Convivium, the chamber choir that serves as our artists-in-residence; and coordinates musicians to share their gifts with our community.

Fun Fact about Eric: I love hiking and backpacking in the varied and beautiful wilderness areas of California.

When I was 5, I was pretty sure I would be a Train Driver when I grew up.

If we had an office talent show, I'd wow everyone with my Middle English poetry recitation talent.

The Rev. Sheldon Hutchison, Ph.D.

Assisting Priest

About Rev. Sheldon
After graduating from the University of Illinois in 1971 Sheldon became what's known as a "spook" at the NSA (with both a technical and linguistic background (He speaks Russian) he enjoyed his work) before deciding to go back and get a Ph.D. in Physical Electronics. (He didn't ultimately enjoy the thought of being a civil servant forever.) Then in 1980 moved to California and worked in the laser industry. Eileen and Sheldon were married in 1997 and live in Sunnyvale. In 2000, he finally gave himself permission to pause that career in order to pursue another vocation, and entered CDSP in Berkeley that year. He was ordained--oddly enough on his birthday--in 2004 and have served in a variety of parishes (including the county jail system as one of their professional chaplains), as well as returning to the laser world, from which he "sort of" retired in 2021.

At CCLA, Sheldon is an Assisting Priest, pretty much as he has been for other parishes over the years. As such, he does everything a priest does, and as many parishioners will attest, that's a rather long list.

Fun Fact about Rev. Sheldon: Okay, so I'm both a Scientist/Engineer and Priest. I was also that kid in Sunday School who persistently asked too many questions. That's a key to who I am: for me, science and religion aren't compatible with one another, yet I feel comfortable with both vocations because I treat them both the same. I keep asking questions and take very little at face value. That has been the basis of my technology as well as my theology. The strength of my convictions in both worlds rests on these ideas.

When I was 15, I wanted to be a Priest, but my Dad said I'd "grow out of it."

If we had an office talent show... Actually, just let me applaud those who have'em.

The Rev. Julie Nelson

Assisting Priest

julie@ccla.us

About Rev. Julie
Julie was born Roman Catholic and survived 12 years of Catholic school. As an adult, God tricked her into becoming an Episcopalian, where she realized that these people would ordain her. She eventually left a fabulous career as a technical writer at Sun Microsystems to attend seminary at The General Theological Seminary in Manhattan and was ordained to the priesthood in 2009. She spent two years as an associate rector in Maryland before returning to the Bay Area. She currently works as an employee communications manager at Synopsys and serves in various ministries in the Diocese of El Camino Real. She lives in Mountain View with her two adult children and the family cat.

At CCLA, Julie assists at worship services, preaching at least monthly. She has a great deal of fun leading family ministry activities at Wednesday night dinners and on retreat. And then she does all sorts of other things as the opportunity arises: designing programs and events, brainstorming adult formation activities, facilitating classes and conversations, providing pastoral care, etc.

Fun Fact about Rev. Julie: I love country western dancing and will take any opportunity I get to line dance and two-step. And I’m pretty good at it, too!

When I was 5, I was pretty sure I would be a Teacher when I grew up.

If we had an office talent show, I'd wow everyone with my Tap Dancing talent.

The Rev. Claire Dietrich Ranna

Rector and Chaplain

claire@ccla.us

About Rev. Claire
Originally from Ohio, Claire is an avid reader, runner, and dark chocolate lover. She wakes up super early most mornings to meditate and pray by candlelight and enjoys goofing off with her two young kids. Claire studied abroad in Ghana, Togo, and Turkey, speaks French and conversational Arabic, and can read Latin and Biblical Hebrew. In her off time, she enjoys yoga, a wide array of podcasts, exploring local farmer's markets, and cooking with her family. Claire grew up with a Jewish step-father and her husband, who is originally from Pakistan, identifies as Muslim. They have two young children.

Rev. Claire earned her B.A. from Duke University and her Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School. Before pursuing theological education, she co-wrote and co-produced the award-winning documentary film Miss Representation. She is a Certified Trauma Professional, a guest contributor to onbeing.org and Young Clergy Women International, and co-host of the Vital+Thriving Congregations podcast. Rev. Claire also serves as Chaplain to Ventana School.

Fun Fact about Rev. Claire: I was an All-American swimmer and lacrosse player in High School.

When I was 5, I was pretty sure I would be an Astronaut when I grew up. (My grandfather worked for NASA so this seemed entirely reasonable.)

If we had an office talent show, I'd wow everyone with my Whistling talent.