Susan trained as a Supervisory Education Student/Candidate with the UCSF Department of Spiritual Care Services from 2007-2010, and then returned to the Department in January 2014 as Chaplain Supervisor. Susan subsequently became Manager of the department in 2015, and Director in 2019. She is an ordained and fellowshipped minister with the Unitarian Universalist Association, an ACPE Certified Educator, and a Board Certified Chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains. Susan also served as Chaplain Supervisor with Sutter-Alta Bates Summit Medical Center from 2011-2014 and completed her CPE residency and a fellowship at Sutter-Alta Bates Summit in 2005-2006. Susan holds a B.A. degree from Hampshire College, an M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA, and an M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School.

Beth joined the UCSF Department of Spiritual Care Services in March 2015, as Chaplain Supervisor. Beth became Manager of Spiritual Care Services in 2019. She is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and a certified educator with ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education. Beth holds a B.S. degree in design from Northern Arizona University and a M.Div. degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. Prior to pursuing chaplaincy and becoming a certified chaplain educator, Beth served as a congregational pastor for Presbyterian churches in Indiana and New York. She then completed a CPE residency and certified chaplain educator training at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC. Beth also worked as a Chaplain-in-Residence at Georgetown University in First Year Residence Halls.

Abina is an ACPE Certified Educator, a board-certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains, and an ordained minister with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. She holds a B.A. degree from Bennett College in Greensboro, NC, and an M.Div. degree from Wake Forest University School of Divinity. Before coming to UCSF Abina was the Manager of CPE at University Medical Center New Orleans, where she worked on and successfully received full accreditation for the CPE program. Abina completed her Certified Educator training at UC San Francisco, and three years as a chaplain resident and intern at Wake Forest Baptist Hospital. She is a Mentor within the Association of Professional Chaplains Board Certification process, is an ACPE Advocacy Committee member, and received the New Orleans’ City Business Healthcare Heroes Award.

Brandy is a native of The Bay Area – Northern California. She is an Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She was certified as an ACPE, Inc. Associate Certified Educator at The Johns Hopkins Health System in Baltimore, Maryland. Brandy graduated from the Morehouse School of Religion, the Baptist constituency of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia. She earned dual degrees: The Master of Divinity in Psychology of Religion & Pastoral Care and Counseling and the Master of Arts in Christian Education. Brandy is in the dissertation phase at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia completing the Doctor of Theology (ThD) in Pastoral Counseling.

Naomi serves as the clinical health care chaplain at the Parnassus Heights campus. She was ordained as a Rabbinic Pastor by Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi, and is a board certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains. She received a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School, a Master of Arts degree in Business Management from Antioch University, and completed seminary with ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal. Prior to coming to UCSF Naomi was Director of Spiritual Care and a palliative care specialist with Kaiser Permanente and founded a national non-profit educational organization focused on economic wellbeing for women and girls. Naomi has a particular interest in non-pharmacological interventions for pain and suffering, transdisciplinary palliative care, health care disparities at end of life, and cultural humility and pluralism in medicine.

Natalya is licensed and ordained in the Baptist Church. A native of San Francisco, California, Rev. Johnson holds a B.A. degree from San Francisco State University in collaboration with studies abroad at Queensland University of Technology of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She holds a Masters of Divinity from the Graduate Theological Union: Berkeley School of Theology. Rev. Johnson’s clinical specializations include: Integrative Medicine Education, Bioethics, Palliative Care and Critical Incident Stress Management. Rev. Johnson has provided compassionate pastoral care for several Bay Area churches, hospitals and the San Francisco County Jail. Among many awards and acknowledgments, Rev Johnson has been honored as “Woman of the Year,” with San Francisco’s National Council of Negro Women Inc. and honored as an “Unsung Healer” by the San Francisco Interfaith Council. She is an active member of the Association for Professional Chaplains (APC), the Association of Clinical Pastoral Educators (ACPE) and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a Public Service Sorority.

Jess is a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) and an ordained and professed priest of the Lindisfarne Community, an ecumenical religious community. Prior to coming to UCSF, Jessica was a staff chaplain at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, a staff chaplain at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, and a sex educator at a feminist sex shop. They are a board-certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains.

Julie is a Pediatric Palliative Care Staff Chaplain serving in the Stad Center for Pediatric Pain, Palliative & Integrative Medicine and in Spiritual Care Services at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital-San Francisco. Julie formerly served as the Palliative Care Chaplain at UC Davis Medical Center, covering three services: Adult Inpatient, Pediatrics and Perinatal and Cancer Center Outpatient Supportive Medicine Clinic. She is ordained in the Presbyterian Church USA. She is Board Certified and Palliative Care and Hospice Advanced Certified with the Association of Professional Chaplains.

Jun is a Palliative and Critical Care Staff Chaplain serving UCSF Health’s Mission Bay campus and is ordained as a United Methodist minister belonging to the Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He received his Doctorate of Ministry degree from Union Theological Seminary in the Philippines. He received his M.Div. degree from the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, and also holds a B.A. degree in Christian education from Asbury College in the Philippines and a B.A. degree in divinity from Union Theological Seminary, also in the Philippines. Prior to coming to UCSF, Jun was a congregational pastor in Methodist churches in the Philippines and Iowa for 15 years, followed by over 15 years of service as a staff chaplain at Seton Medical Center in Daly City, CA. He is a board certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains and certified as a grief facilitator by the American Academy of Bereavement.

Jamie is a Staff Chaplain serving UCSF Health’s Parnassus campus and has been a Soto-Zen Buddhist practitioner for many years. He received his M.A. degree in Buddhist Studies and certificates in Buddhist Chaplaincy and Soto-Zen Buddhist Studies from the Institute of Buddhist Studies, a seminary within the Graduate Theological Union, in Berkeley, CA. He also holds a B.A. degree in Cultural Anthropology from UC Berkeley. In addition, Jamie acts as a program manager for the San Francisco Night Ministry, helping coordinate a weekly meditation group in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District. Prior to coming to UCSF, Jamie was a volunteer chaplain at San Francisco General Hospital and a hospice chaplain in San Francisco.

Jeremy is a staff chaplain serving UCSF’s Mount Zion campus. He has been a rabbi in the Jewish Renewal movement since 2016. He has his Master’s in Divinity from Harvard Divinity School, where he was the first rabbi to be ordained on the Harvard campus, and is a graduate of the CPE residency at UCSF. He earned his bachelor’s degree from MIT in mathematics. Prior to joining the career staff at UCSF, Jeremy ran a street ministry in Oakland and San Francisco in collaboration with The Gubbio Project and with First Presbyterian Church of Oakland; he then served as a Staff Chaplain at California Pacific Medical Center and as a Temporary Chaplain and then an On-Call Chaplain at UCSF. Jeremy also presides part-time at Hakehillah Korea, the only liberal Jewish community in South Korea, and at the San Francisco Night Ministry's Jewish programs.

DeAnna serves as the Chaplain / Independent Living Donor Advocate supporting living kidney and liver transplant donors at UCSF. She is an ordained minister with the Evangelical Church Alliance, and she has received the designation of Board Certified Chaplain – Palliative Care and Hospice Advanced Certification (BCC-PCHAC) from the Association of Professional Chaplains. She holds a B.A. degree in Human Biology from Stanford University. After a 30-year career at IBM which included 20 years of leadership / management experience, she retired and enrolled in seminary. She holds a Master of Divinity degree from San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo, California. She completed her CPE Residency at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. Prior to returning to UCSF, she served as a Palliative Care Chaplain at UCSF, Spiritual Care Counselor at Hospice of the East Bay, Chaplain / Spiritual Care Coordinator at Sutter Health Eden Medical Center, and Chaplain / Spiritual Care Coordinator for Kaiser Permanente Hayward Hospice.

Flora Avecilla joined the Department of Spiritual Care Services in September 2014 as Administrative Officer. Prior to coming to Spiritual Care, she worked in UCSF’s Department of Emergency Medicine for eight years. She holds a B.F.A. degree from Cornish College of the Arts. Outside of work, Flora enjoys spending time with her son, traveling out of the country, and anything that has to do with art and design.

Kate Perdigon has worked at UCSF Health since 2008 and with the Department of Spiritual Care Services for most of her tenure. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in administration in 1999 and a Master’s degree in industrial relations at the University of the Philippines in 2004. She worked as an office manager at the College of Engineering at the University of the Philippines for five years, prior to immigrating to the United States in 2005. She has worked as a technical recruiter and eventually became a recruiting manager for a healthcare staffing firm prior to coming to UCSF. In September 2015, Kate was named as a UCSF Health PRIDE Award winner for her commitment to professionalism, respect, integrity, diversity, and excellence in her service.