Our Staff
You can reach the church office by calling 617-698-6329 and listening to voice prompts for the voice mailbox of the appropriate staff member. General inquiries can be submitted using the Contact Form with a note mentioning the staff member you would like to reach.
Rev. Lisa Ward
Minister
Extension 102
Office Days: Tuesday-Thursday
Rev. Lisa Ward has been our settled minister since August of 2016. Ordained in 1992, Rev. Lisa has served congregations in NYC, White Plains, NY and Harford County, MD. A graduate from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, she has engaged in social justice initiatives throughout her career.
While serving in Milton, she has been a member of the leadership group of Courageous Conversations Toward Racial Justice since its founding in 2016. She has served as a member of the inaugural Equity and Justice For All Advisory Committee for the town of Milton, is an active member of the Milton Interfaith Clergy Association, co-founder of the town-wide Rainbow Youth Alliance and part of the leadership team of the Mass Bay UU Ministers Association.
Companioning faith development is also a passion in her work, especially grief and care-givers counseling, parenting as a spiritual practice and spiritual exploration (through writing, story-telling and meditative practices). Feel free to contact Rev. Lisa at minister@fpmilton.org.
Below is one of her videos in her video blog series on spiritual practices. This one is entitled “Strength in Spirit: When Prayer Might Help”
Susan DeMinico
Church Administrator
Extension 105
Office Days: Monday – Wednesday (remote)
Tuesday & Thursday – (in office)
Email: manager@fpmilton.org
Susan’s career started in the for profit- education world in accounting and strategic management; however, she wanted a career that allowed to use her MBA to create positive social change.
Before coming to First Parish, she worked for organizations working on food access, fair farming, and equitable HR processes.
She has a B.A from Boston University and an MBA from Temple University (Go Owls!). In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, reading too many books at one time, and all the NY Times puzzle games.
She lives in Avon with her husband, 3 kiddos, and a very pampered rescue dog.
Tim Steele
Music Director
Extension 103
No scheduled office days
Email: music@fpmilton.org
Timothy Steele has been music director at First Parish for four years. In addition to his duties as organist and choir director, he is also the producer for Milton Community Concerts at First Parish.
Tim is also an active vocal coach, collaborative pianist, and conductor in the Boston area, and is currently in his twenty-seventh year on the opera faculty at the New England Conservatory.
He has served as conductor/pianist for more than 180 operatic productions with 33 companies, including Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Boston Lyric Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and Opera Maine.
In Boston he has collaborated extensively with Emmanuel Music, the Handel and Haydn Society, the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, and the Boston Symphony.
Tim is a native of Des Moines, Iowa and has received degrees from Drake University and the University of Southern California.
Sherri Moldaver
Administrative Assistant
Extension 101
Office Days: Monday – Thursday 8:30am-1:30pm
Email: office@fpmilton.org
Sherri has been with First Parish since November 2019. She is an alumna from Bay State College.
She is a multi-tasker of many roles here at First Parish providing administrative support and ensuring the smooth functioning of church rentals. She is excited about supporting the church life here at First Parish! Her motto: “Life is lived in the moments of simplicity.”
Kevin Harnden
Sexton
Born and raised in Boston, Kevin moved to Milton years age with his wife Barbara. Kevin and Barbara have 3 adult married children and 4 children all living in the South Shore area, happily within babysitting distance.
Kevin is retired after a successful 40 year career in the advertising marketing business. Barbara and Kevin enjoy traveling, golf, bowling, dining out and spending time with family.
Hunsaker soloists
Michael Alexander Aoun
Michael Alexander Aoun (they/he) is a Lebanese-American bass-baritone whose passion for interdisciplinary and collaborative art inspires their professional work.
An all-or-nothing person, Michael views music as a means of exploring one’s whole self and creating something entirely unique. They feel strongly about their art reflecting their personal values of authenticity and human connection.
Learn more at michaelbassbaritone.com
Grace Allendorf
Flourishing mezzo-soprano Grace Allendorf is known for her “creamy timbre, evenness of color and coloratura agility.” A consummate musician, she is dedicated to performing opera, oratorio, art song, musical theatre, and new music.
Grace made her debut with Opera 51 as a member of the chorus in their production of Faust and she performed the role of Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel with Longwood Opera.
She has shared the stage as a soloist with Milton Community Concerts, American Classics, Concord Community Chorus, Coro Allegro, Andover Choral Society, Metropolitan Wind Symphony, Freisinger Chamber Orchestra, and Spectrum Singers.
Grace holds the position of Associate Director of Community Performances and Partnerships at New England Conservatory, a community service-based program designed to connect students with the community.
Grace currently serves as a section leader and soloist at First Parish in Milton and as a cantor at St. Richard’s Parish in Danvers. She holds a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from Longy School of Music and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music with a minor in Theatre Arts from Brandeis University.
Elaine Daiber
Boston-based soprano, Elaine Daiber, has been heralded for her “spectacular vocalism” (Hudson Housatonic Arts), which has garnered much acclaim on the operatic, concert, and recital stages.
Performance highlights from the 2022 – 2023 season include engagements with The Rome Chamber Music Festival in Italy as a soloist in a recital centered around American song, soprano soloist in Haydn’s Die Schöpfung with the Dartmouth College Handel Society and Glee Club, soloist in Arnold Schoenberg’s String Quartet No.2 with the Newburyport Chamber Music Festival, and in recital with JJ Penna as part of the Music at the Redeemer Concert Series.
A lover of new music, Elaine has spent summers at The Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival where she has appeared in recital with famed pianist Gil Kalish, and also performed works by György Ligeti, Earl Kim, Claude Vivier, and György Kurtág.
Additional highlights from recent seasons include participation in a concert of Bach arias and duets with Emmanuel Music, role debuts as Elle in a production of Poulenc’s La voix humaine and Ilia in Mozart’s Idomeneo in Boston’s Jordan Hall, and recital appearances as the soprano soloist in Bach’s Magnificat with Counterpoint Concerts in Chattanooga, TN, as a featured soloist in the US premiere of Helen Grime’s Bright Travellers in a Boston Symphony Orchestra Prelude, and in a concert of new works by women composers with NYFOS Next.
Other engagements have seen the versatile soprano in a variety of performances with The Tanglewood Music Center, The Bard Music Festival, The New York Festival of Song, The Orchestra Now and the Albany Symphony, among others.
Daon Drisdom
Praised for his rich tone and incredible stage presence, tenor Daon Drisdom’s classical credits include performances in the baritone and tenor repertoires. Portrayal’s ranging from Papageno in Mozart’s The Magic Flute to Fritz in Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz are performances to his success.
He has been a featured soloist with notable names such as John Bucchino and jazz trombonist Wycillfe Gordon, as part of Wycliffe Gordon and Friends for a holiday performance on Georgia Public Broadcasting Radio in 2016.
He can be heard on Funmilayo Ngozi’s Unconstrained album as a background vocalist and as soloist on the track Faith. Drisdom also has made notable contributions with YouTube inspirational group Trey McLaughlin & the Sounds of Zamar.
Currently, he is a J. P. Hunsaker soloist at the First Parish in Milton and serves as the new chorus teacher at the Boston Latin Academy with efforts to build a strong music program at the esteemed school.