Jesse Lee Church Staff

Preaching and Methodism are in Gene’s family, going back to his great-grandfather. His love of storytelling is foundational to his commitment to community formation, and he believes that loving God, self, and neighbor springs from our willingness to invest in loving relationships. As a husband and father of two children, Gene preaches in a relatable and practical style. He likes airplanes, old cars, and long books. Pastor Gene can be reached at gene@jesseleechurch.com.

Rev. Maria Pia Seirup served as Children’s Ministry Director at Jesse Lee Church for 16 years and later served as Associate Pastor. She graduated from Yale Divinity School in 2015 and was ordained as a United Methodist Deacon in 2021 before returning to Jesse Lee in 2025.

Maria Pia is the founder and Executive Director of PeaceWork, Inc., a ministry that combines her passion for artisan work, contemplative prayer, and creating welcoming spaces where people can explore their faith. Her artisan work includes designing and creating unique clergy vestments, and church paraments, as well as quilting, sewing, and knitting items as compassionate, useful gifts to those in need.

Alongside her husband Peter, Maria Pia volunteers with the UMC national organization NOMADS (Nomads On a Mission Active in Divine Service), traveling to areas recovering from natural disasters or to churches in need of upgrades and repairs. She has three adult children, one granddaughter, one dog, Muffin, and one puppet, Esther.

As Music Director at Jesse Lee Church, Daniel Juárez provides leadership, vision, and coordination for the church’s music ministry. Working closely with Pastor Gene, he helps design worship services that are spiritually enriching and musically cohesive. He directs and leads music for Sunday services, guiding the choir, handbell ensemble, and contemporary worship team. Deeply committed to helping people draw closer to God and one another through music, Daniel brings both passion and experience to his role.

Daniel holds a BA from Bethel University and a Master of Music from the Yale School of Music. An acclaimed operatic tenor, he has earned praise for his portrayals of some of opera’s most demanding roles. Daniel lives in New Haven with his wife, Cybil and their two sons.

José has been a loyal member of Jesse Lee Church since 1999, and serves the church as a committed Sexton. He is a native of El Salvador, where he graduated from the National University of El Salvador with an accounting degree. José is married to Ena, his sweetheart, with whom he has a son, Oscar, who is a Chef and works in New York City.

José has a special interest in chair caning, a craft he enjoys in his free time. He is passionate about international football (soccer), both watching and playing the sport. His greatest passion is gardening: working in a garden brings José joy and satisfaction, and he feels that, this way, he collaborates with Mother Nature and adds beauty to his surroundings.

He has faithfully worked at Jesse Lee for 25 years (since December 1999), and feels that God put this job in his path so he could serve Him. José has worked as a Sexton, but he is really a Handyman, carrying out many manual and maintenance tasks. José is the person who does everything he can to ensure that the church functions as it should. In addition to being physical, he also involves serving those in need, whether they are church members, church staff or school staff. He is always willing to assist with whatever they need or ask of him. José is known in the church community for his jovial character, his jokes, his constant cheerfulness, his warm personality and also his commitment.

Jessica has served as the office manager at Jesse Lee Church since 2022, and is a PAUMCS certified church administrator. She earned her BS in Music Education at WCSU, and continues to be an active performing musician. Jessica is a lifelong member of the Bethel United Methodist Church, where she serves as the music director. She resides in the village of Ridgefield, and her hobbies are many and varied, including gardening, cooking, bird watching, crochet, power-lifting, and spending time with her beautiful niece, Francesca. 

Julie comes to Jesse Lee Church with over 20 years of experience working with non-profit organizations and county and city governments. Her background is in public administration with skills in grant writing and management, fundraising/event planning, budgeting, program implementation, and collaborative work with a variety of boards, coalitions and community forums. She appreciates the chance to work with a talented group of staff and dedicated church members to support Jesse Lee’s efforts in reaching out to educate, build relationships and steward others to successfully sustain the church’s mission. She is grateful for the opportunity to give back to the community through her work at the church.

Caroline joined the Jesse Lee staff in 2024. With over 15 years experience in marketing and communications, she enjoys using her background in writing and brand development to help individuals, businesses and nonprofits tell their stories. She has provided communications support to a number of nonprofits including Mothers for Others, the Intestinal Malrotation Foundation, SOAR Together and Career Resources. Caroline is a past president and sustaining member of the Junior League of Stamford-Norwalk. She enjoys reading, cooking and spending time in Maine. Caroline lives in Easton with her husband Robert, three young children, Olivia, Gabriel and Louisa, and their dog Kiki.

Ginny Konopka has served as Jesse Lee Church’s Treasurer since 2005 and has been a Jesse Lee parishioner since 2001. She is a New Jersey native, a Bucknell graduate and was a CPA with Price Waterhouse. She left that post to work for Crum and Forster before she and her husband Mark started their family. When sons David and Ryan (both adults now living and working as engineers in Connecticut) came along, Ginny worked with small clients and did a lot of volunteer work with schools, churches and not-for-profits.

Ginny enjoys helping the staff manage operational tasks so they can do the work they are passionate about. She balances the books and keeps the business-end of Jesse Lee running smoothly. She enjoys being part of the Handbell choir, Sunday school, and the Thursday women’s bible study.  Over the years she has enjoyed volunteering with Vacation Bible School and serving as a Stephen Minister.  She has also traveled to Trinidad, Rhode Island and Massachusetts to help with youth mission trips, and closer to home to help with Spirit Builder ramp building.

When Ginny isn’t busy balancing the Jesse Lee budget and giving the staff the operational (and spiritual) support they need to succeed, she enjoys reading, square dancing, helping at Jericho Partnership’s after school program, taking long walks and spending time with her family.

Kathy is the Executive Director of Jesse Day School, which has seen tremendous growth under her leadership since 2003. She is an educator with a reputation for creative and decisive direction. By implementing a series of stimulating and inspiring enrichment programs, she combines both traditional educational concepts and new leading-edge programming, never losing sight of her goal to encourage and develop strong, independent, imaginative young minds. Her philosophy of fostering a professional and collaborative spirit honors leadership, accountability and ingenuity. It is a successful key component that resonates quality, and is designed to develop important new learning initiatives with the staff and students.

When not at the school, she can be found spending time with her husband John and their two dogs. They have three adult children — Morgan, Madison & McKenzie — who all live in the Northeast. Kathy enjoys nature photography, hiking, fishing and spending time at her lake house in New York. 

Kerry is the Technology Administrator. She has worked for Jesse Lee since October 2012. Kerry loves new gadgets, learning about the world around us, human behavior, and the latest software. In her spare time, Kerry enjoys volunteering, helping and gaining a better understanding of animals and people. Kerry continues to grow and learn. She recently studied Improv, body language, and Python coding skills and has applied this new knowledge to communicate more effectively and work with Jesse Lee Church’s data. She is here to help. Kerry can be reached at kerry@jesseleechurch.com.