Staff
Ms. Brittany
Noah's Ark Preschool Lead Teacher, Ages 2 - 3
Ms. Brittany is the lead teacher in the Little Raccoons Room and has a daughter that attended Noah’s Ark. Ms. Brittany has taught early childhood learners since she was 18 years old and loves working with children. Can you believe her first preschool job was with Mrs. Palazzolo in 2003?! She attended Moraine Valley Community College and Eastern Illinois University. She enjoys a good hockey game (Go Hawks!) and her heart belongs to the Chicago Bears and has been a fan of the Dallas Cowboys since the age of 14.
Karen Christakos
Administrative Assistant
Karen joined the staff at Trinity in 2013 as administrative assistant. She provides support to the Pastors, Trinity Congregation, Noah’s Ark Preschool, and the senior outreach program Pryme Tymers. Karen is grateful for the opportunity to offer assistance and contribute where needed. She and her husband Tim have resided in Tinley Park since 1997. They enjoy world travel, watching PBS programs, and gardening.
Mrs. Clay
Noah's Ark Preschool Teacher Assistant, Ages 3 - 4
Mrs. Clay is excited to join the Pandas Room! Mrs. Clay has enjoyed participating in class events and watching her daughter grow and learn at Noah's Ark. She has been a stay at home mom and previously managed a private healthcare practice (her educational background is in accounting and organizational management). She has a passion for education and the behavioral growth of children. For three years she managed Sunday School classes and programs for infants through kindergarten.
Mrs. Clay is married to her wonderful, comedic husband. They have a daughter in preschool at Noah's Ark and enjoy going to the zoo, arboretum, plays and shows, playing games, and travelling. Mrs. Clay also enjoys playing piano, cross stitching, and knitting.
Amanda Fulton
Noah's Ark Preschool Assistant Director & Preschool Lead Teacher, Ages 3 - 4
Ms. Amanda has been teaching at Noah’s Ark Preschool for seven years and previously taught with Mrs. Palazzolo at Moraine Valley Community Preschool for three years. She holds a Child Development Associates Degree and is an active NAEYC member. Ms. Amanda has four children; two boys and two girls, ranging from preschool through high school. Ms. Amanda loves being able to work with children and looks forward to interacting with you and your child!
Melissa Lettiere
Church Chair
Melissa has been serving as the church chair since 2016. She started attending Trinity when she was a young girl, was baptized, made her confirmation and married at Trinity. She hopes everyone who visits Trinity will experience the love of the Holy Spirit, and feel welcomed to worship and fellowship with us.
Outside of Trinity, Melissa is a full-time practicing attorney, a graduate of The John Marshall Law School and the University of Iowa. She grew up in Evergreen Park and still lives on the southwest side of Chicago with her husband, Matt, and their two children, Dominic and Clara.
Melissa’s interests include exercising, engaging in her kids’ activities and vacationing with her family.
Christina Palazzolo
Noah's Ark Preschool Director & Lead Teacher, Ages 4 - 5 PreK
Christina Palazzolo has been an Early Childhood Educator for 20 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education. She has a background teaching children ages two, three and four-year-old’s, she has taught religious education and had fun teaching Kindergarten at a daycare center. This is her eighth year at Noah’s Ark Preschool.
Christina’s philosophy is to provide a loving, caring atmosphere where your little ones can feel secure and develop a positive attitude toward school and learning. One of her goals as a preschool teacher is to provide a quality learning environment through discovery and hands-on activities.
Christina is married to her wonderful husband and have three adorable children: twin boys and a daughter. In her spare time, she enjoys making preschool crafts, baking, gardening and attending her children’s sporting events and activities.
Alicia Reese
Associate Pastor
Pastor Alicia has been at Trinity ECC since December 2018. She completed her Masters of Divinity at North Park Theological Seminary, where she also has completed a Masters of Theological Studies and a Masters of Nonprofit Business Administration. Prior to seminary she was a working actor in Chicago and is passionate about integrating the arts into worship and the life of the church. Pastor Alicia is originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan and loves Michigan football and Zingerman’s coffee (as well as all coffee). She is married to her wonderful husband, Courtney, and they have two amazing kids. In her free time, Pastor Alicia enjoys restoring furniture and bike rides and hikes with her family.
Pastor Alicia has also worked for Feed My Starving Children, a world hunger organization, and even travelled to Haiti with them in September 2017. She spends Monday mornings at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, IL as a part of North Park’s School of Restorative Arts, an educational program inside the prison made up of both inside and outside students. Pastor Alicia loves seeing the church be a part of God’s work of restorative justice, love, mercy, and compassion and is excited about equipping those in the church to participate in the Kingdom of God in whatever way they feel God is calling.
Stuart Seale
Director of Music and Worship
Stuart has been working with Trinity since 2012 and has been serving as music director since 2017. He has a Bachelors in Music Education from Illinois Wesleyan University and a Masters in Jazz Studies (piano) from DePaul. In addition to serving at Trinity, Stuart is a music teacher at the Cove School in Northbrook, IL, plays jazz and Latin music with many bands around the Chicagoland area, and scores short films and documentaries.
Mrs. Sloyan
Noah's Ark Preschool Teacher Assistant, Ages 4-5 Pre-K
This is Mrs. Sloyan’s second year at Noah’s Ark Preschool. he is married and a mother of five children. After her fifth child was born, she decided to work just part-time and subbed at the local schools in the area. Prior to that she worked for the Oak Lawn Special Recreation department, and at the Chicago Park District, teaching preschool and various other programs. She worked for five years with the Oak Lawn Special Recreational Department and 10 years with the Chicago Park District. Mrs. Sloyan enjoys working with the children and families of Noah’s Ark Preschool!
Ms. Tabatha
Noah's Ark Preschool Teacher Assistant, Ages 2 - 3
This is Ms. Tabatha’s first year here at Noah Ark’s Preschool and she is extremely excited to get to know your children and interact in their learning. Ms. Tabatha has previously worked at Teddy Bear Daycare and was there for about 5 years. She has also babysat an array of children out of her home for about 3 years until her little guys were school age. She has been married for 10 years and has 4 children: 3 boys and a girl, ranging from elementary to high school!
Mark Westlind
Senior Pastor
Pastor Mark was born in California and raised a missionary kid for 8 years in Costa Rica and Ecuador while his parents were Covenant missionaries. After graduating high school and while pursuing his bachelor’s degree in business management, Mark worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad in the operations, marketing, and traffic departments and subsequently worked as a commercial insurance broker. From there he obtained his Masters in Divinity with a specialization in Cross Cultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He also attended North Park Theological Seminary’s Orientation Studies program, and later pursued a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL.
During this time, Mark married his wife, Alice, to whom he has now been married for over forty years. Mark and Alice have three adult children: Nils, Natalia and Nicole. Between 1987 and 2002, Mark and Alice served as missionaries to Colombia with the Evangelical Covenant Church. He was a mission director of a drug rehabilitation center and involved in church planting, while teaching as a professor for a Covenant seminary in Colombia. Mark and his family returned to Chicago in 2002 where he worked for three years as the Assistant Visiting Professor of World Missions and Developing Director: Center for World Christian Studies at North Park Theological Seminary. In 2005, Mark, Alice, and their children deployed to serve as missionaries in Argentina. Mark preached and taught at 10 national churches in Argentina, 2 in Uruguay, and 8 in Chile, and established a mission-sending school. He was appointed as Director of Theological Education for Argentina and Uruguay in August of 2007. In 2008 Mark and his family moved back to the States where he took a position as a Missions Pastor at a Presbyterian Church in Fremont, California, teaching missional courses, leading two missional groups, and also providing part time pastoral duties.
Pastor Mark has continued in global outreach through world missions by teaching / preaching / consulting and leading trips to Cambodia, India, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Sweden over the last 6 years. Mark has worked as a church consultant with other churches in the area in association with the Central Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church. He also serves as Director for Latin America with another mission agency.
Pastor Mark has traveled extensively, sung for years in a 1950s Rock and Roll Band called “Larry Lowrider and the Eleven Greasy Gears,” and has restored many vintage and classic cars - which he still enjoys doing! You can find a lot more information about Mark, his family and his experiences around the world at the Westlind’s website.