Staff

Connie Jones, birth name – Constance Anne Swartout – joined our staff January of 1991. Connie has a great love for people of all ages which is felt in all the ministries she serves.

Connie presently oversees our Family Ministries, Small Group Ministries, all Adult Education and Spiritual growth programs, Puppet Ministry – “Hands for Christ” and Stephen Ministries which includes being a Stephen Leader and Minister.  Connie is a California native but has lived in Kansas and Missouri for brief periods of time.  She deeply loves her six grown children, Natalie, Ruupak, Adam, Amber, Autumn and Abel as well as her grandchildren, Heather, Shannon, Tyelor and Ashley.

Connie received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Christian Leadership from Azusa Pacific in 2001.  Connie claims she has been a Methodist since she was in the womb.  She began serving in the Christian Education field of the United Methodist Church after a heart warming experience in 1982.  She loves to read and has an insatiable quest for learning especially in the Biblical and Spiritual realm of studies.  She also is a lover of outdoor life through gardening, hiking, beaches and water skiing at Lake Naciemento.

Connie affirms the mission statement of this church: “Changing the World through Jesus Christ” and welcomes the opportunity to help you “Make Your Faith Real.

May Simonds (AKA Mary Anne, her given, legal name or "Maypo" to her husband) was born in Farmington, Maine, the third of four children of a Methodist Preacher's Kid.  The family moved to Alaska in 1967, and she grew up skiing, hiking, fishing, camping and generally, enjoying life in the Last Frontier. 

She attended college at Oregon State University, Class of 1977; and married another Alaskan, husband Michael, on July 26, 1978 at First United Methodist Church (on the Parkstrip) in Anchorage.  Michael is a corporate pilot with over three decades of professional piloting and more than 20,000 accident-free hours in the cockpit. Naturally, next to Methodism, aviation has been a dominant life theme and area of interest.  May and Michael have two daughters, Eden, living in Seattle, WA; and Monica, here in Thousand Oaks. 

Although May has been a member of UMCTO since 1994, she just recently joined the church staff in January, 2011 as office administrator.  May has questioned and pondered her Methodist roots throughout her spiritual journey, but she says it has been UMCTO that has provided the fertile soil where those life roots have found peace and sustenance.  Now, she wants to give back, and serve God and God's people.   

Kathy Ayers comes to the position of Director of Membership and Care after 35 years of Social Work in the medical field. She was born in Detroit, Michigan and moved to San Diego when she was 2. Her dad was a social worker and her mom a nurse. She grew up mainly in Whittier, California. The Lord has been a strong influence in her life and brought her to this job when she needed to refocus her life. Developing the Care Ministries and  working on knowing everyone and keeping track of them is a real challenge.

Kathy’s husband Jim, was born and raised in Santa Monica. He is an avid airplane builder, starting at the age of six and working up to the “real airplanes”. Kathy’s interest includes gardening and especially roses.  They have one daughter and 3 grandchildren, unfortunately they live in Florida.

Although Mitch was born in Indiana, he moved to Thousand Oaks in 1961, so has called California home for over 50 years now.  In fact, his first residence was on Whitecliff Road, just around the corner from the church, and he has had a close association with UMCTO since joining in the early 70’s.  Mitch and his wife, Debbie, are owners of a handmade toy company, Imagination Depot, creating charming, old-fashioned wooden toy trains that they sell online, and at arts & crafts shows locally and as far away as Kentucky. 

They have three grown children; Lisa, and twins, Candace and Miranda.  Mitch likes to tell people that he “knows a little about a lot of things”, and this hands-on aptitude, whether crafting wooden train engines or repairing a broken faucet, are what make him the perfect Facility Manager.