Rev. Lora joined South Valley as our minister on August 1, 2020. Prior to earning her M.Div from Iliff School of Theology in 2017, Lora worked as a chaplain at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and provided pastoral care at Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care in Santa Barbara, CA. Past ministerial positions include a sabbatical with the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Luis Obispo and an internship at Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Congregation. She has also served as Director of Development for the Santa Barbara Charter School and as Co-Executive Director at Kids in Common. After a COVID delay, Rev. Lora was officially installed as minister in October 2022.

John works as a Board-Certified Chaplain at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, providing spiritual care to patients, families, and staff. Areas of interest include the use of research to demonstrate the role of spiritual care, life stories as sacred texts, and end-of-life needs. John is also a member of our choir, The South Valley Singers.

Robb Carlson hails from northern Colorado and has served local congregations in the United Church of Christ over the last fifteen years in the area of children, youth, and family faith formation ministries. Robb holds a B.A. in philosophy from the University of Northern Colorado and is currently completing his Thesis at the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities for a Master of Arts in Ethics & Justice. Robb has been involved in the leadership of numerous outdoor/camp ministry programs for children and youth as a camp counselor, camp director, retreat coordinator, song leader, and worship musician.

Brenda is a professional administrator, marketer, and event planner. She is also a mom, traveler, and life-long learner who enjoys a good esoteric dive into the intersections of spirituality and psychology. A Utah native, Brenda recently returned to Salt Lake after living for some time in San Francisco, and later, in Denver. She loves to study comparative religion and find the threads that connect us all. She is also an avid reader who lists Joseph Campbell, Margaret Atwood, and Neil Gaiman among her favorite authors. She identifies as Native American of the Flandreau Santee Dakota and Northwestern Band Shoshone.

Brenda’s “in-office” hours are Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

A product of musical parents, John Knight Allen began his musical development with the piano in LA at age 4. He continued his studies with the violin at Brigham Young University for his undergraduate career, and recently completed a Master’s degree in vocal performance from the University of Utah as a student of Robert Breault and Barlow Bradford, where he is now working on a DMA in voice and choral conducting. Summer studies include the Chautauqua Institution in New York, the Aspen Music School in Colorado, and abroad in Italy. John has performed internationally both as a violinist and singer, and enjoys interpreting the standard repertoire as well as championing new works.

Rick is a keyboardist, vocal coach, composer and music educator. His long career includes stints with the Oakland, San Antonio, and Utah symphonies, and he was instrumental in creating the Film Composer’s Lab at the Sundance Institute. He has been associated with Utah’s Repertory Dance Theater for over thirty years.