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 just completed his senior year at Boston University.

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 Third Grade, and Madison.

Lynn McCarthy, a parishioner, is serving her sixth year as the Associate Director of Alumnae Relations for Marlborough School.  She has extensive experience in commercial and corporate real estate.  She was director of real estate for Warner Brothers and managed disposition, leasing, and sales for First Interstate Bank, Wells Fargo, and CB Richard Ellis.  Lynn has a daughter, Veronica, who graduated from Marlborough and UCLA.  Lynn and her husband, Ted, live in the Hancock Park area with their two gorgeous golden retrievers.  Lynn attended USC and is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design.

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.

Julian Bull is Head of School at Campbell Hall.  A graduate of Albuquerque Academy, he earned his Bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, his Master’s in Philosophy from Boston College, and his Master’s in Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary.  The Reverend Bull is an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church.  He has served as Head of Trinity School in New Orleans and as the Assistant Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Dean of Students, Chair of the Diversity Committee, and Director of the Senior Humanities Program at Albuquerque Academy.  He has served on the Boards of the National Association of Episcopal Schools, the Independent School Association of the Southwest, the Louisiana Children’s Museum, the Commission on Schools of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, and on the Studio City Neighborhood Council.

John Daum is an attorney and partner at Omelveny & 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.

Erik Grady, a California native, was an actor and arts administrator for several years before attending law school.  He has produced and worked on the international distribution of TV shows and movies including When Sally Met Harry, Terminator, and The Last Emperor.  For the past eleven years he has been a special education teacher with the Torrance Unified School District.  He works for a non-public school on the grounds of a lock-down, residential, psychiatric hospital for patients of high school age.  Erik is a parishioner of St. James’ Church.

Elizabeth G. Harris has been a parishioner of St. James’ since 1999.  She serves on the Vestry of St. James’ Church, is an usher, and is one of the five “captains” of the Soup Kitchen volunteers.  Before moving to Los Angeles in 1997, Elizabeth was a secondary school teacher at St. Thomas’ Episcopal School in Houston, Texas.  She is the mother of three, who benefited greatly from their Christian school education.  She currently serves as a docent at the Gamble House in Pasadena, where she leads tours and trains junior docents.  Elizabeth is married to Robert S. Harris, former Dean of the School of Architecture and present Director of Landscape Architecture at USC.

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 Fifth Grade, Jessica in Fourth Grade, and Samantha.

Paul C. Lee received his degree in medicine in 1992 from Univ. of Calif, San Diego.  He has practiced Ophthalmology for the past ten years in Los Angeles.  His interest is in health care and education.  He has participated in local health fairs, served on the Communications Committee of the Wilshire/Munger YMCA, and was part of the Educational Policy Committee at St. James'. He and his wife, Candice, have been married for twenty years and have two children. Bryanna is a 2009 St. James' alumna and Brennan is in Sixth Grade.

Joy McManus is a Sales Executive with ADP.  She and her husband Jeff have been parishioners at St. James’ since 1999, and Joy has served on the Vestry.  Their daughter, Kylie Ann, is a 2009 St. James’ alumna. Joy has co-chaired the Mitzvah committee since Kylie’s Kindergarten year and served as PSF co-chair in the 2007-2008 academic year.

Gia Paladino-Wise is an attorney and entrepreneur.  She is a parishioner at St. James’ Church and runs the Boy Scouts group.  She and her husband Michael have five children, three of whom are currently at St. James’ Episcopal School: Malcolm (a 2010 alumna), Quentin in Sixth Grade, and Maggie at the Preschool.

Kevin Yoder