board of trustees
(Co-Chair) Heidi McLean was born and raised in Salt Lake City. After receiving a B.A. in Art History from Vassar College, she moved to New York for five years to start a career in retail. She has most recently worked as Director of Merchandising at The Disney Store. Heidi has been an active member of St. James’ Church for many years: she was Interim Parish Administrator for four months in 2002, she chaired the Rectory Renaissance auction in 2005 that raised over $30,000, she served on the stained glass window committee, and currently manages the altar flower donations. She and her husband, Steve, have two sons: Charley who has a masters degree from New York University, and Tom who attended Boston University.
(Co-Chair) Dr. Marilyn Wells earned a doctorate in psychology from Pepperdine University where she specialized in the area of domestic violence and child abuse. She has worked as the Executive Director at Grace Center in Pasadena, for which she developed a clinical program to serve woman and children affected by family violence. She currently works as a consultant and fundraiser for various organizations. Marilyn is a Board Member for the Rape Treatment Center in Santa Monica as well as Five Acres in Pasadena. She has volunteered at Children’s Institute International and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Marilyn and her husband, John, have one child currently enrolled in St. James’ and one child who is a 2010 St. James’ alumna: Jack, in Fourth Grade, and Madison.
(Secretary) Kevin Yoder is Managing Director of MarketCast, a leading consultancy servicing the entertainment industry. A native of Southern California, he earned his Bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from the University Of Notre Dame, his JD from the USC Law Center, and his Master Of Fine Arts from the USC School Of Cinema. He is a member of the California Bar. He and his husband are members of St. James’ parish, and have two children enrolled in St James’: Matthew, a Third Grader, and Lark, in First Grade.
(Treasurer) Robert Ronus was born in London and moved to Los Angeles in 1983 with his Australian wife, Ann. He has worked for the Capital Group Companies, a leading global investment management firm, managing global equity portfolios for clients around the world for most of his career. He has held various management positions, including non-executive Chairman of Capital Group. He now works for Capital on a part-time basis, which gives him time for other activities. He is on the board of Camino Nuevo Charter Academy, The Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, and the Los Angeles Opera. He is a parishioner at St. James’.
Brenda Bass-Roper is a pediatrician working in the Hancock Park area. She is a parishioner and former Vestry member of St. James’ Church. She chaired the Search Committee for the current Head of St. James’ Episcopal School. She has two children who graduated from St. James’: Morgan in the Class of 2000 and Grant in the Class of 2004.
Corie Brown is a journalist and writer about fine wine and food. She is also co-founder and general manager of Zester Daily, a web publication featuring food and wine news and information from a nation-wide network of journalists, cookbook authors and critics. She is also currently working on a book on climate change and wine. She served a key role in the St. James’ Episcopal School capital campaign which resulted in our new buildings and playground in 2001. She also participated in a previous search committee for a new Head of School for St. James’. Corie is a former St. James’ parent and a parishioner of St. James’ Church.
John Daum is an attorney and partner at O’Melveny & Myers. He and his wife Mary have been parishioners at St. James’ Church for many years and have a daughter, Margaret, who is an alumna of St. James’ Episcopal School.
Liza deVilla Ameen is the communications officer at the Annenberg Foundation. Her professional background includes corporate communications and marketing for Universal Music Group, the American Film Institute, Natural History Museum of LA, Hard Rock Cafe International and the Washington Post. Originally from Washington, D.C., she attended the University of Maryland. After living in New York, she moved to Los Angeles, got married, had a son and further fills her cozy home with three dogs. Her son Vito attends St. James and her family are members of the St. James church.
Ingrid Finley-Scott
Karl Hoaglund is a new member of the school board this year. He has been a member of St. James Church since 2006, after seeing the clergy’s enthusiastic support for those participating in the immigrant rights marches that year and after hearing the fantastic music being made in church each week. He has been active in the church’s visitor/new member programs, its gay/lesbian ministry, men’s group, and is currently on the vestry. He has a B.A. in history/English from the University of Wisconsin and a law degree from Marquette University. He has worked as a software developer/consultant for twenty years, currently as a contractor to American Honda Finance Corporation in Torrance.
Dr. JungEun Kim began her piano studies at the age of five in Seoul, Korea. She earned a Bachelor degree from San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Master and Doctoral degrees from U.S.C. JungEun has performed as both a soloist and chamber musician in numerous concerts in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Korea, including a solo performance with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra to celebrate the 1988 Olympics. JungEun is also an educator, currently teaching at Santa Monica College. Many of her students have won admission to renowned music schools such as U.S.C., Julliard, Indiana University, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. JungEun and her husband, DongWan Chong, have two children – Harold, a 2010 St. James’ graduate, and Jonathan, a St. James’ 4th grader. JungEun currently serves as a P.S.F. co-chair at St. James’.
The Rev. Paul J. Kowalewski is the Rector of St. James’ Church. Prior to moving to Los Angeles in 2005, he was educated and served the church in New York State. He was ordained in the Roman Catholic Church, leaving after several years to pursue a doctorate in Communication. He was appointed to the inter-religious chaplaincy at Syracuse University and served there until he was received as a priest in the Episcopal Church in 1990. During the next twelve years, he served two parishes as Rector until he was appointed by the Bishop of Central New York to the position of Diocesan Canon for Formation and Leadership. In this position, he worked to re-energize and re-imagine the church for the 21st century. His ministry and leadership at St. James’ builds upon his experience and draws from his passion to transform the church for a new age.
Jeff Lane is a real estate and software developer who has worked at several large organizations in southern California. He and his wife, Sheila, have two children currently enrolled in St. James’ and one child who is a 2009 St. James’ alumna: Tommy in Sixth Grade, Jessica in Fifth Grade, and Samantha.
David Lee is currently working at Oakwood School as the Director of Admission for the Secondary School and Director of Financial Aid for grades K-12. He has worked in admission offices at various educational institutions for 15 years, including Harvard-Westlake most recently. Before returning to his hometown, he worked at boarding schools in Michigan (Cranbrook Schools) and Pennsylvania (George School), and at Georgetown University. David holds a Bachelor degree from Brown University and Master of Education from Harvard University.
David and his wife, Lisa, have been parishioners of St. James’ since 2006. They were married by Father Koh, and their daughter, Rebecca, was baptized in 2008.
Cathy Robbins Cathy Robbins holds degrees from Harvard College (magna cum laude in history of art and architecture) and Columbia University Law School. She practiced law at Hale and Dorr in Boston before retiring to raise her daughters full time. She now spends her days working on music and art projects in her home studio in Hollywood. An avid musician, Cathy and her husband, Ken, have been parishioners at St. James’ Church since 2006.
Gia Paladino-Wise, a parishioner of St. James’ Church since 1997, is a writer, attorney and small business owner. She graduated cum laude from UCLA Department of Classics, and UCLA Law School. She is a mother of five children (three St. James school alumni and one acolyte). She served as the St. James’ Cub Scout Leader for 4 years and currently serves on the Board of Directors of SIRA Technologies as well as non-profit organizations, Assistance League of Southern California and FOCUS Children’s Hospital.
