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 38 years ago with his wife Barbara. Kevin and Barbara have three adult married children and six grandchildren 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 Now Kevin enjoys time with his family, dining out, bowling and golf.
Hunsaker soloists
Juan Suarez
Baritone Juan Suarez has most recently performed with Opera Del west, NEMPAC opera project and the Boston Festival Orchestra, and has also performed in other engagements with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, Odyssey Opera, and MassOpera.
Notable engagements include performing the role of Count Almaviva in NEMPAC Opera’s production of Le Nozze di Figaro and singing in Boston Modern Opera Project’s Grammy nominated recording of The Lord of Cries, written by composer John Corigliano and librettist Mark Adamo.
Juan holds Music Degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music and Stetson University, and has been a Voice Teaching Artist with South Shore Conservatory for the past two years.
Carina DiGianfilippo
Carina DiGianfilippo is an opera singer based in Boston, MA. She received her B.M from Syracuse University and her M.M. from Manhattan School of Music, where she acted as a teaching assistant for the Movement for Singers classes and as co-choreographer for their Undergraduate Senior Opera Theatre.
She has performed globally, recently returning from Italy, where she performed a series of art song concerts with the Livorno Music Festival. She won her first international competition in Formello, Italy, at the Concorso Internazionale Rolando Nicolosi Competition, and she has sung in China as both a young artist with the iSING! International Young Artist Festival and as a guest artist with the Xi’an Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to her vocal studies, Carina holds a certificate in Effective Grant Proposal Writing from the University of Notre Dame and is currently on the Board of Directors for the Voices Boston Children’s Choir, based out of Brookline, MA.
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.
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.