FIRST PRES STAFF
The First Pres Staff Team
First Pres staff is a dedicated team of servant leaders called to love and serve God through this congregation.
Sharon grew up in Chicago and spent much of her career leading Medicaid programs for states across the country. She stepped away from her professional journey to raise four wonderful children before finding her home at First Pres of River Forest. She loves spending time at her summer place in northwest Indiana with family and friends. This photo captures a moment from her walk along the Camino del Norte—a reminder of the joy in life’s journeys, both near and far.
Maggie was born and raised in Oak Park. After graduating from OPRF High School, she finished college in Oklahoma and then moved to the Fort Lauderdale area. She served a Presbyterian church in various Christian Education roles for 10 years and then moved back to Illinois. She worked in the southwest suburbs of Chicago at a Presbyterian church for 20 years as the Director of Children’s Ministry and began with First Pres in 2019. She enjoys reading, music, walking the forest preserve trails, visiting the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and spending time with family and friends.
Lin Hancock
FACILITY MANAGER
Jane grew up in Michigan but has spent her adult life residing in Wheaton with her husband, David Weck. Jane has served as Director of Music Ministries at First Pres since 1996 where she oversees the choral program, handbell choir, brass ensemble, and worship planning which continues to be one of her greatest joys. Upon graduating from Olivet Nazarene University, she continued her studies at the University of Kansas and went on to receive a doctorate of music from Northwestern University. She is former editor with Hope Publishing Company, where she came on board to edit their hymnal, Worship & Rejoice. She stays busy as an arranger, clinician, organist, pianist, concert artist, and grandmother of two.
Julia joined First Pres in October 2018. She spent the first decades of her career in various corporate communications roles at technology consulting companies. She then spent several years at home with her two boys before joining the First Pres staff. She enjoys spending time with family, vegetarian cooking, and any time on a boat or with horses.
Josh Ring joined First Pres as Associate for Music Ministry in 2023. He has been a professor at Olivet Nazarene University in the School of Music since 2019 and enjoys working with students in the classroom and on the stage. In addition to his many accolades, he has taught music theory, aural skills, organ, composition and piano. He has been featured on the radio program Pipedreams and has performed at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany as well as in the Netherlands, Brazil and across the Midwest. He and his wife Abby welcomed their son, Malachi James, in February 2022. They love spending time with friends, family, and their dog Poppy; playing board games together; and exploring the outdoors.
Kim joined First Pres in November 2003, just before marrying long-time member, Tom, in 2004. She spent more than 15 years in IT project management for large financial corporations before staying at home to raise their daughter. In addition to many volunteer roles over the years, Kim received her masters in Biblical Studies at Moody Theological Seminary in 2020, which allows her to be a great addition to the preaching bench as well. From the beginning of the pandemic, Kim took on
the role of audio-visual production manager and implemented our livestream broadcast before officially joining First Pres staff. She enjoys problem solving and puzzles, studying and teaching the Word of God, vegetarian cooking, and spending time with family and friends.