Judith has served as organist and music director for St. Stephen’s since 2000.  She received a BFA in music from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, a Master of Music in music composition from Michigan State University, East Lansing, and a Certificate in Advanced Studies in Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Judith is a prolific composer of several musical works for choir, orchestra, solo piano, solo voice and children’s voices, both sacred and secular. She has received several commissions and awards for her compositions.

Paloma has been living within Santa Clarita for nearly 12 years and found her passion for working with children at a very young age. She is currently enrolled at College of the Canyons with a major in environmental sciences and is part of the National Honor Society.  She is focused on being able to provide a safe place for infants during service and seeks to cater to the needs of each individual child. 

Vivien Firta joins our family with fifteen years of directorship experience and a total of twenty-three years of service in Early Childhood Education. She has been a teacher for preschool age and elementary aged children, has served on boards of nonprofit organizations focused on helping children in early childhood education and in art. Vivien holds a state of California permit for Program Director for preschool centers, a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies (elementary and early childhood education) from Santa Monica College and Cal State Northridge and a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Woodbury University.  Vivien is a born and raised Californian and enjoys spending time with her eight-year-old son Harrison, who is currently in the second grade. Together they enjoy traveling, musicals, hiking and being with their furry friends, Mimi the dog and Willow the cat. On her role as an early childhood educator, Vivien said, “My mission as a leader is to inspire and guide Early Childhood Educators in creating both indoor and outdoor environments that instill a love of learning in every child they teach- child centered environments rich with opportunity that satisfy curiosity, foster healthy relationships and develop autonomy.”