Meet the Staff
Rev. Jenn Graffius, DMin
Executive Director
- Email: [email protected]
Jenn oversees Vocāre, a 5-Year BA to MA in Pastoral Studies, and ministry-focused mentoring for undergraduates and Vocāre seminarians. She also works with CVM women-in-ministry initiatives, and she is the chaplain to Azusa Pacific Seminary students. Jenn is an ordained minister, an alum of APU (BA ’00), and an adjunct faculty member in the APU School of Theology’s Department of Practical Theology. She has pastoral leadership experience in church ministry and campus ministry, including seminary chaplaincy. Jenn has a Masters of Divinity from Princeton Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from Duke University. Her dissertation is titled “Transformational Mentoring for Ministry.” She is a frequent guest preacher and retreat speaker.
Rev. Freddy Rivas, MDiv
Director of Mentoring and Formation
- Email: [email protected]
Freddy leads in the Vocāre program and serves as a mentor to APU undergraduate students who are discerning a call to vocational ministry. Freddy oversees the internship program of Vocāre which focuses on developing emerging leaders for flourishing in ministry. He holds a BA in Biblical Studies from Azusa Pacific University and a MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary. Freddy has been in pastoral ministry for 18 years. He is an ordained pastor with Evangelical Friends Church Southwest and the lead pastor of a church he planted, Living Hope Church, in Temple City, CA.
Juliana Ford ’15, MDiv ’20
Assistant Director, Vocāre
- Email: [email protected]
Juliana works closely with our Vocāre and Youth Leadership Initiative programs. She initiates recruitment and orchestrates events, and is a mentor to undergraduate and graduate students. In spring 2019, she helped lead a group of 30 students on a 10-day trip to Israel. Juliana is a double alum of APU (BA in Communication Studies ’15, MDiv ’20). She has a passion for mentoring and discipleship and helping others grow into whom God has called them to be, and she feels especially called to pastoral ministry with college students.
Lisa Keesler, MDiv ’22
Department Coordinator - School of Theology
- Email: [email protected]
Lisa Keesler, M.Div. is the Department Coordinator for Azusa Pacific University’s School of Theology and Center for Vocational Ministry. After earning her B.A. in Biblical Studies and Master of Divinity as a first-generation, Vocāre student, Lisa joined CVM as a Pastor-Mentor and now works closely with all Center for Vocational Ministry programs. Lisa serves as a worship leader at her local church — alongside being a pastor, writer, and discipleship mentor. She hopes to embody “loving thy neighbor” in every area of life and is passionate about the church being the hands and feet of Jesus.
Andrew Harootian, MDiv ’18
Pastor-Mentor
- Email: [email protected]
Andrew is a pastor at Bethany Church of Sierra Madre. He’s been pastoring in the local church for 11 years working with teenagers and older. In 2013, Andrew graduated with his Bachelors in Youth Ministry at APU and decided to stick around, graduating from APU with his Masters of Divinity in May 2018. He has a heart for God, people, theology, and discipleship. He finds joy in helping people make their faith their own and grow as authentic followers of Jesus and into the people who God uniquely calls them to be. He enjoys spending time with his wife, Elyssa, and his son, Henri, as well as reading, playing basketball, watching movies & TV shows, as well as all things superheroes.
Annelyse Thomas
Pastor-Mentor
- Email: [email protected]
Annelyse was born and raised in Sydney, Australia. After completing her Bachelors in Philosophy and Government & International Relations, she moved to the U.S. to pursue a Masters of Divinity at Fuller Theological Seminary. Annelyse has spent over 12 years in church ministry. For the last 5 years, Annelyse was the youth pastor at a church in Pasadena, CA. Her favorite part of ministry is helping each individual discover who they are, whose they are, and where they belong. She lives in Pasadena, CA with her husband, Ryan, and her baby boy, Levi. She likes to run, play video games, bake sweet treats and spends way too much time trying to find the best places for good coffee and good food.
Quanesha Moore, MDiv
Pastor-Mentor
- Email: [email protected]
Quanesha “Q” Moore is a NC native who calls SoCal home. She credits God and Google for getting her to APU where she graduated with a BA in Psychology in 2015 and Masters of Divinity in 2018. She currently serves as the children and youth director at Victory Bible Church. In addition to ministry, Q is also a certified transformational coach and believes in being a champion for people in every season of their life.
Brett Blanchard, BA
Graduate Assistant, Pastor-Mentor
- Email: [email protected]
Brett was born and raised in the suburbs of Antelope in Northern California. After obtaining a BA in Youth and Family Ministries with a minor in Biblical Studies from APU he was left with a desire to continue learning about the church and the Christian faith. Now pursuing a Master of Divinity, Brett continues supporting students through fellowship, and ministry, reinforcing that they are not alone in an effort to create community and belonging on and off campus. When not working or studying or serving in the church, Brett dives into his hobbies like video games, making progress on writing a book, spending time with friends, playing bass guitar, going to the ocean, scuba diving, and reading books.
Hannah “Gibs” Gibson, BA
Graduate Intern, Youth Leadership Initiative
- Email: [email protected]
Gibs works under the supervision of Freddy Rivas for the Youth Leadership Initiative. As an undergraduate, she has experience working with various church ministries and student leadership roles. Gibs is also in her second year of pursuing her Master’s in Divinity at Azusa Pacific Seminary where she will graduate in the spring of 2024. Her goals include supporting students in discovering their vocational call through building a deeper relationship with Christ.