Terasa Cooley, Interim Minister

You can reach Rev. Terasa by calling 626-449-3470 ext. 416.

The Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley has been a UU minister since 1989. A lifelong Unitarian Universalist, she has served our movement as a parish minister as well as a denominational executive. 

The churches she has served are First Universalist Unitarian Church of Detroit, First Unitarian Church of Chicago, Unitarian Universalist Church of Bridgeport, CT, the Unitarian Meeting House in Hartford, CT, and, most recently, as the Interim Senior Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, VA. 

As a staff person at the Unitarian Universalist Association, she was a District Executive supporting the congregations in the greater Boston area, the Director of Congregational Life overseeing all of the field staff across the country, and then Vice President for Program and Strategy, responsible for all program departments and key strategic initiatives. 

She has greatly enjoyed the return to parish ministry and she is especially dedicated to helping congregations through interim times. These are particularly precious times in the life of a congregation, as they contain the opportunity to engage more deeply with the identity and mission of the congregation beyond the personage of the minister. 

 Rev. Terasa lives in Sunland with her two dogs, two cats, and lots of pet food!

Email Rev. Terasa.

Christina Shu, Affiliated Community Minister

Reverend Christina Shu serves Neighborhood Church as an Affiliated Community Minister. As a community minister she works full-time as the Lead Interfaith Chaplain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. There she provides spiritual care to patients, their loved ones, and staff. She specializes in working with the palliative care team, and in providing care to people of diverse spiritual paths.

Rev. Shu received a Masters in Divinity from Harvard Divinity School, and a B.A. in Religious Studies from Stanford University. She was raised Unitarian Universalist at Summit UU Fellowship in East San Diego County and was ordained in April 2014 by Neighborhood Church.

Email Christina.

Edward Martinez, Facility Manager

Dr. Zanaida Robles, Music Director

Edward Martinez comes to us with more than 15 years of experience in the field of facilities and building maintenance. As an entrepreneur for the past 20 years, he understands the hard work and passion that it takes to grow an organization and make it successful . He is a father of four, he enjoys camping, hiking, canyoneering, fishing and sports. During his free time, he volunteers for a search and rescue team in our local mountains.

You can reach Edward by email.

 Zanaida is an in-demand vocalist who has provided music and vocals for films, festivals, and the performances of musicians like Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, and the Rolling Stones. She is a fierce advocate for diversity and inclusion in music education and performance. Born, raised, and educated in Southern California, she holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the USC Thornton School of Music and a Master of Music degree from CSU Northridge. In addition to her work at Neighborhood Church, Zanaida is the choral director at Harvard-Westlake Upper School. 

At Neighborhood, Zanaida leads the chorus and the congregation in hymns each week. “I love working at Neighborhood church because I work with the best church staff on the planet,” Zanaida says. “And I get to play handbells.”

When Zanaida isn’t playing handbells or directing the choir at Neighborhood, you can find her bouncing on her mini trampoline, assembling jigsaw puzzles, or enjoying a corndog with a chilled glass of Riesling.

You can reach Zanaida by email or using extension 414.

Elizabeth Richer Campo, Operations Manager

Elizabeth has extensive nonprofit management experience including nearly 15 years with The Pasadena Humane Society and SPCA where she was Senior Vice President. Most recently, she was the Director of Operations for The Gabriella Foundation.  She brings a proven track record of success in business management, fiscal oversight, fundraising, and operational planning, in addition to her BA in Religious Studies from CSUN.

You can reach Elizabeth by email or by calling 626-449-3470 ext. 411.

Matt Vasko, Director of Religious Education

Matt Vasko is a longtime Unitarian Universalist with experience in curriculum design and implementation, teaching children and adults, volunteer coordination, and managing large staff teams. He has worked as a performer, writer, director, teacher, sales and customer service manager, and nonprofit executive. Matt is a certified 7th through 12th Grade Our Whole Lives (OWL) Facilitator and is working to attain Credentialed Religious Educator status with the Liberal Religious Educator’s Association (LREDA). In his free time, Matt enjoys hiking, writing children’s books, and spending time with his family.

You can reach Matt by email or by using extension 419.

Ginger Furey, Membership and Communications Manager

Ginger Furey is a lifelong Unitarian Universalist. Having grown up in Connecticut and lived in Massachusetts, she enjoys the beautiful California sunshine! She is a graduate from the University of Connecticut with a bachelor's degree in Human Development and Family Studies. Her professional experiences include work in the nonprofit sector as a Family Advocate, Community Educator, and Teacher Assistant. She has worked to support child abuse victims, survivors of sexual violence, and students with disabilities. 

If you are new to Neighborhood Church, exploring Unitarian Universalism, or want to be more involved in our community, Ginger is your person! In addition to member engagement, she is also the face behind our social media accounts and weekly newsletter communications. 

When she is not working Ginger can be found volunteering at animal rescue organizations, singing musical theater, and drinking iced coffee at a local cafe. She loves getting to know our members and friends, and welcomes a phone call or email anytime!

You can reach Ginger by email or extension 421.

Anna Cremarosa, Facilities and Special Events Coordinator

If something’s happening on our busy church campus…you can bet Anna’s involved! She juggles weddings, memorials, classes, parties, workshops, meetings, concerts, custodian schedules and handles unusual situations such as rescuing raccoons from the church dumpster or helping brides write new vows because they left the original copy at home. As you can imagine, Anna’s degree in Psychology is in daily use. She’s been on staff since 2007 and has worked in event planning for more than 15 years. When not at work, Anna enjoys spending time with her daughters Olivia (11) and Makena (5), being crafty, ax-throwing, fostering kittens, traveling and coaching volleyball.

You can reach Anna by email or at extension 413.

Stanley Brooks, Custodian

Stanley Brooks was born in San Diego. He has several siblings that he has yet to meet. He enjoyed his childhood and spent his time in school as a teacher’s aide. He graduated high school with honors and decided to continue his lifelong education in a variety of trades. He values integrity and positivity over wealth and he is happy to work in a place where those qualities are prioritized.

Adrian Bañuelos, Bass Section Leader

Adrian Bañuelos has been the Bass Section Leader at Neighborhood Church since September 2018 and has enjoyed every minute of it. He is a first-generation Angelino who simply loves to create and perform. He studied both music and animation in college and obtained a Bachelor of Music degree from Cal State Northridge in 2016. Since then he has worked with the nonprofit organization, EduCare, offering after school music and animation classes at Walnut Park Middle School. He is currently in the process of transferring to Locke High School where he will aid the music staff in building a choir and tutoring music students. His end goal is to make a career out of creating and telling compelling stories through music and art.

Michael Fausto, Tenor Section Leader

Michael is an accomplished tenor whose career in music has led him into the realm of recitals, concerts, and other musical events. Operatic highlights include Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus and Frederick in Pirates of Penzance. Accomplished in sacred works, he has been a featured tenor soloist in numerous masterworks including Bach’s Magnificat, Honegger’s King David, and Pachelbel’s Christ Lag In Todesbanden. Michael earned his Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from CSU Fullerton and his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of La Verne. He co-founded Project Clara Musica, a chamber music group that offers free concerts in the San Gabriel Valley area. Michael is also an avid YouTuber and enjoys collaboration as a composer and performer of multiple genres.

Wells Leng, Collaborative Keyboardist

Wells Leng is a performer and composer whose skills include piano, taiko, cello, and countless other instruments. 

Having graduated from USC with two bachelor’s degrees- one in Composition and another in Piano Performance- Wells went on to earn his MFA in CalArts’ Performer-Composer program.

When he’s not performing on Sundays at Neighborhood, Wells makes up half of LA-based duo stickytack and a quarter of Quartet Friends. He is also an active member of the LA taiko community and is thrilled to bring his own musical style and compositions to Neighborhood Church.

Amy Waters, Soprano Section Leader

Amy sings with a number of choirs in the LA area, including Areté Vocal Ensemble and the Contemporary Choral Collective of Los Angeles (C3LA). While most of her current work is in choral music, Amy also has a particular love for twentieth-century art song. After earning her B.A. in Music and French Studies from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Amy worked professionally as a vocalist and conductor before relocating to Los Angeles in 2017. When she is not singing, Amy spends her time hiking in the San Gabriel mountains and working as an Emergency Medical Technician 911 responder. Amy is so grateful to the Neighborhood Chorus for its dedication and passion for bringing inspiring and uplifting music into the Neighborhood community.

F. Thomas Simpson, Bell Choir Director

F. Thomas Simpson is an award-winning teacher and composer, having appeared as a handbell expert on such programs as "Anderson Cooper," "Martha Stewart," and NBC’s "Today.” He has served in various churches and schools across the country, working with all ages as a handbell choir director and a general music specialist. Thomas is the executive director of the Pasadena Arts Foundation, a nonprofit music organization dedicated to providing support for Youth Bands of Los Angeles and the Crown City Ringers. His compositions are published by Hope Publishing Company, Shawnee Press, The American Baptist Sunday School Board, and the Trilson Music Publishing Company. Thomas earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in voice with a minor in piano and organ studies from Westminster Choir College.