Staff & Leadership
Jamie White
Senior Pastor
Rev. Jamie White became the 18th Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in the summer of 2022, marking the historic 150th Anniversary of the church as our first female senior minister. Originally from California, Jamie received her undergraduate degree in Pastoral Leadership and Biblical studies from Vanguard University of Southern California. She later received her Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary where she was a distinguished Apollos Scholar and received a number of awards for ministry excellence.
Jamie has served congregations in Pennsylvania, Utah, and Southern California, and brings over 20 years of pastoral ministry experience. Jamie is also a founding board member of Kenya Partners Nakuru, a large non-profit organization that has provided healthcare, education, and community support for those in need in rural Kenya since 2006. Jamie has led numerous medical and educational service trips to Nakuru as part of Kenya Partner’s ongoing effort to break the cycle of poverty and disease. In 2012, Jamie was the recipient of a Pastoral Research Study on the impact of short-term missions and creation of sustainable and ethical partnerships, on behalf of the Lilly Endowment. Service to the local community and larger world are an essential part of ministry for Jamie.
Beyond her joy for ministry, Jamie loves spending time outdoors with her family; camping, hiking, running, and snowboarding. She enjoys refinishing old furniture, listening to live music with friends, hosting dinner parties, and curling up with a good book and a cup of coffee. Jamie and Dave met in Salt Lake while attending the same college ministry and after a whirlwind romance were married near Yosemite in California. Dave, who originally hails from Kansas City, works as a licensed mental health counselor, is a drummer and an avid outdoor enthusiast. Jamie and Dave have three incredible kids. Blake (24 yrs.) runs his own general contracting company and enjoys adventuring with Isabelle, his longtime girlfriend. Chase (20 yrs.) is attending Westminster College, majoring in music education/business, and playing in every garage band that will have him. Mila (10 yrs.) is in 5th grade, loves exploring the outdoors, and being with animals of every kind.
(801) 363-3889 ext. 224
Joe Bagdanov
Pastoral Associate
Joe Bagdanov started as First Presbyterian Church’s new Pastoral Associate in August of 2023. Joe grew up in a small farming town called Nuevo in Southern California and received his undergraduate degree in Biblical Studies from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA and later his Master of Divinity degree from Western Theological Seminary in Holland MI. Joe graduated with honors and received awards in Systematic Theology, Missiology, and Pastoral Excellence.
Over the last decade Joe has had the privilege of serving Christ’s Church through children’s ministry, high school ministry, young adult ministry, Christian education, adult discipleship, and church camp settings. Most recently he taught Church History at Pacifica Christian High School and served as director of a semester abroad trip for undergraduate students from Westmont College in Cairo, Istanbul, and Jerusalem. Joe is passionate about the intersection of Discipleship and Mission, believing that the two cannot be separated and that they strengthen each other; seeking Jesus propels us to care for our neighbors and caring for our neighbors brings us face to face with Jesus.
Joe and his wife Hannah met in 2013 on a semester abroad program to Istanbul and were married in 2017. Hannah is a Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science studying Middle East Politics at the University of Notre Dame. In 2021 they had their first child, Naomi, who is deeply passionate about zoos, puzzles, Dancing Queen by ABBA, and everything to do with the movie Moana. In March of 2024 they are expecting their second child. Besides ministry and academics they love cooking, playing board games with friends, camping, and finding the best coffee shops around town.
(801) 363-3889 ext. 228
Alla Keoppel
Choir Director
Alla Keoppel holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting and a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Utah. In addition to her role at the church, Alla is also a music and choir teacher at Juan Diego Catholic High School and St. John the Baptist Catholic Middle School. She has a diverse educational background, having earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Weber State University and worked at the University of Utah Hospital for several years. In her leisure time, Alla enjoys singing with the Utah Chamber Artists and traveling with her family.
Please contact Alla for information about the Chancel Choir and music programs here at First Presbyterian Church.
Annie Haile
Director, C Street Child Development Center
Hi, I’m Annie Haile. I’m the director of C Street Child Development Center located inside of the First Presbyterian Church. I have been the director since 1999. I have a dual bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education. In January of 2000, we became licensed with Child Care Licensing for the first time. We worked hard towards becoming accredited and in 2006 we became accredited by the National Association of the Education of Young Children. We have successfully maintained our accreditation and licensing. Since I started, we have been constantly analyzing and implementing changes and improvements and incorporating the ideas of staff and families. This has improved our quality over the years and made us one of the best programs in the valley.
I maintain a lot of the systems in First Presbyterian Church as well as the Center. These systems include maintaining the fire system, health codes, HVAC system, telephones, copy machine, etc. I also help with the IT systems in the building and work to maintain all of the computers and the Wi-Fi. These are just a few of the 50+ hats that I juggle on a daily basis around the Center and FPC.
I am married, have 2 children and four cats. In my free time, I enjoy reading, skiing, painting, and scouting. My two children and I go camping every month with the boy scouts, rain, shine, wind, or snow. I love adventures! I also enjoy chaperoning one or two of my children’s summer camps every year.
Check out what is happening at C Street.
(801) 363-3889 ext. 240
Halen Seevinck
Children’s Ministry Director
Halen’s heart is to give children opportunity to learn about the goodness of God, the ways of Jesus and a friendship with the Holy Spirit. She loves a good cheesy Christian music playlist, has a dozen or so books on Kids spirituality and parenting that she’s always rereading, and a Pinterest board of crafts and experiments growing. She grew up in Utah, lived in Provo for 11 years, and more recently moved to Sugarhouse with her husband and two young children. She’s excited to continue growing and learning alongside of the great folks in this community.
(801) 363-3889 ext. 227
Hope Glenn
Office Administrator
Hope Glenn has a degree in English Literature from The University of Texas at Austin with a background in critical writing and editing. When she’s not in the office at First Pres, she spends most of her days reading, figuring out how to get more time to read, and enjoying the breathtaking Utah surroundings with her husband and two kiddos, while reading.
(801) 363-3889 ext. 222
Larry Blackburn
Organist
Larry Blackburn has been the organist at First Presbyterian since August of 2000. He also teaches piano, voice, music theater and is Lighting Director at the American Leadership Academy in Spanish Fork.
Larry has a Bachelors degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and a Masters degree in organ performance from Brigham Young University. He has performed with the Utah Symphony and performed hundreds of noon time recitals on the historic Tabernacle and Conference Center organs on Temple Square, serving as a Guest Tabernacle Organist for over 25 years. Mr. Blackburn has served as a staff accompanist at BYU, accompanying graduate and faculty recitals. He also was an adjunct professor in the Theater and Film department at Utah Valley University.
Larry comes to Utah after serving the Minnesota Bach Society and two Episcopal parishes, one in St. Paul, Minnesota and the other in Santa Barbara, California where he also taught piano at the private Westmont College. Music has taken Larry to perform in Canada, England, Poland, Estonia, and Russia, and he can be seen on the BYU International TV channel.
Mike Kestler
Systems Engineer
Mike studied music composition at California Baptist University and has served in First Presbyterian’s music program since moving to Utah in 2019. During the week, he oversees the church’s technical systems and manages the 150th Anniversary restoration of the church building. Outside First Pres, he loves traveling and performing musical theatre, and he lights up anytime a corgi is nearby.
(801) 363-3889 ext. 251
Nancy Savage
Treasurer
Nancy is our Treasurer and an ex officio member of the Finance Committee. Her office hours are Mondays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Nancy would love to answer any questions you may have about donations and giving.
(801) 363-3889 ext. 226
Nathan Parrish
Youth Director
Nathan provides exciting leadership to all junior and senior high school programs. Originally from West Virginia, Nathan moved to SLC via Arkansas in 2011. While in West Virginia, he obtained a BA in Religious Studies, a BFA in Visual Art, and an MA in Mental Health. He has fifteen years ministry experience and always looks forward to teaching the students of FPCSLC about Jesus. Nathan seeks to provide an environment at First Pres where students can freely discuss all spiritual or biblical questions. He hopes that through their church experiences, students will have a well-rounded faith and be able to clearly talk about their relationship with God with others. On days Nathan is not at the church, he works as a Firefighter/Paramedic with Unified Fire Authority. In his free time, Nathan enjoys woodworking, snowboarding, rock climbing, mountain biking, and playing basketball. However, most of all, he cherishes all of the time he shares with his wife and kids.
(801) 363-3889 ext. 225
Steve Russell
Facilities Manager
Born in Dallas, TX, Steve is a lifelong Cowboys fan. When he’s not keeping our beautiful old building humming, Steve enjoys spending time with his wife, Katy, a concert pianist.
Session Elders
Karen Atwood
Doyle Arnold
Roger Durst Wolf Hoffman Mike Kestler
Karla Miller-Imperiale Kristin Mullen Melissa Piercey
Tav White
Letty Workman
Clerk of Session: Jamie Mascarenas
Deacons
Class of 2024
Bert Dart Teri Fostvedt
Barbara Gingery
Taffy Kosierowski
Carol Lenz
Ralph Sandmann
Class of 2025
Samila Decaria Robby Higgins
Martin Hileman
Heather Knighton
Tanner Lenart
Vic MacIntosh
Class of 2026
Terry Gregory Jessika Jeppson
Doug Leader
Dwight McDowell
Andrew Prior Bev Simpson Andy Wilken
Deacon Executive Board: Dwight McDowell (moderator), Heather Knighton (co-moderator), Tanner Lenart (secretary), Bev Simpson (treasurer)