Children & Youth

Nancy Clark

Nancy Clark has been a member of the parish and Sunday school director for over 40 years. In that role she has created curriculum, designed projects and recruited and guided teachers.

Nancy is a career educator having been a history teacher at Katherine Burke School and at Lick-Wilmerding High School.

She was also the Dean of Students at Lick-WIlmerding and most recently was head of the upper school at San Francisco Day School.

Marla Perkins

Marla is a pianist who brings to St. Mary’s an extensive background in piano performance and music teaching. She fell in love with music as a preschooler singing with her mother at the piano. Piano studies began at age 5 leading to an Assoc. with The Western Board and B. Mus. from Brandon University, Canada. She received her M.M. from Hartt School of Music, Univ. of Hartford, studying under Anne Koscielny and Raymond Hanson, and Prof. Studies Diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under Paul Hersh. Additional training was at the Guildhall School, Internationale Sommer Akademie Mozarteum, Johannesen Int’l Summer School, The Banff Center, and private study with Diana Lawton and Sir Kendall Taylor.

Marla has performed as soloist, piano duo partner, chamber musician, and accompanist for professional instrumentalists and singers, choirs, and ballet classes. She has also enjoyed work in musical theater. Marla has taught piano and music since age 17 to students of all ages in private lessons, theory classes, ensemble coaching, a vibrant nursery school program, and for those with learning differences. While raising her family in San Francisco she worked with young musicians through Villa Sinfonia, ACT, SFCM’s Summer Music West, several private schools, and her own studio.

Her music has been influenced by years of figure skating, love of nature, a keen interest in mind-body-spiritual connection and healing, and Eastern practices. Marla and Barry are grateful to have had the nurturing community of St. Mary’s in raising their two children to adulthood.

Mike Stafford

Mike began volunteering in Youth Ministry at St. Mary’s in 2009, and has been the Director of Youth Ministries since 2012. In that role he leads youth group meetings, youth retreats, and mission trips. He also helps out with children’s homilies, the Christmas Pageant, and a variety of liturgical roles. Mike also has a day job: Mike teaches high school history and international relations at a local private school.

Mike grew up in the Episcopal Church in Alexandria, Virginia. He graduated from Yale with a degree in History, and got his Masters in Education from UNC Chapel Hill. He has attended St. Mary’s with his wife Margaret since 2008, and they have two daughters, who are also all active in the life of the parish.

Lisa Carey

Donna Davidson

As a former Episcopal school librarian, teaching Sunday School is a natural for me. As a child, I used to line up my stuffed animals on the bed and give them the Sunday school lesson. I think I have been teaching first and second grade Sunday school for approximately 15 years.

In 2000 I joined St. Mary’s thanks to Marta Johnson’s hospitality in inviting me to dinner when I attended as a guest. I fell in love with St. Mary’s and have served on the Vestry twice as well as served on other SMV committees. Several parishioners and I and took the four-year study course for lay people called Education for Ministry. From that class 15 years ago, I am still in a Bible study with several of the EFM group.

We miss the children and look forward to the day when we can be together in person learning about how God loves us through Bible stories and hands on activities that Nancy Clark creatively prepares for us.

Nancy Svendsen

Nancy Svendsen has been teaching the 3rd and 4th grade Sunday School classes for six years and loves the special bond she feels with the students. Nancy has a BA in Theater and an MA in elementary education, which both come in very handy trying to make her lessons both interesting and fun!