Our Staff
Rector, The Rev. Jimmy Grace
Jimmy is a native Houstonian. He graduated from Episcopal High School in 1994 and went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Art History at Southwestern University at Georgetown, Texas. Jimmy served as Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries at Trinity Episcopal Church, Houston, from 1999 until 2002. He then began studies at Virginia Theological Seminary, where he graduated in 2005.
He was ordained into the Episcopal Church that same year, and served as Associate Rector at Epiphany, Houston from 2005 to 2010. During this time he was also President of the Board for Epiphany Community Health Outreach Services (ECHOS). In 2010, Jimmy accepted a call to serve as Canon for Formation and Worship at Christ Church Cathedral, Houston. Following four years of service there, in 2014 Jimmy accepted a call to serve as Rector of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Houston.
Jimmy is married to his wife Marla and they have three sons, James, William, and Henry. In his free time, Jimmy enjoys running, golf, hiking, fishing, and playing guitar.
Contact Jimmy
Associate Rector for Youth and Adult Formation, The Rev. Clint Brown
Clint is a native of La Porte, Texas. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music (viola performance) from Southern Methodist University and a Master of Divinity from the Virginia Theological Seminary. Prior to his arrival at St. Andrew's, Clint served as curate of St. Mark's, Beaumont. Clint taught orchestra in the public schools for 11 years and served as music director at St. John's Episcopal Church in La Porte for nine years. In his spare time, Clint enjoys reading about history and religion, studying languages, traveling, golfing, gardening, and playing piano.
Assistant Rector, The Rev. Jeff Bohanski
Jeff is a bi-vocational priest and a 2020 graduate of The Iona School of Ministry. A bi-vocational priest serves in a parish while maintaining a full time job. Jeff is a first grade teacher in the Houston Independent School District with more than thirty years of experience. Jeff was ordained a deacon on August 1, 2020, at Christ Church Cathedral. On February 14, 2021, the afternoon before Houston’s historic freeze, he was ordained a priest at Saint Andrew’s. Jeff spent his childhood in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He graduated in 1987 with a Batchelor of Arts Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Saint Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Jeff and his husband reside in a neighborhood near Saint Andrews. Jeff’s pronouns are he/him/his.
Assisting Priest, The Rev. Francene Young
The Rev. Francene Young serves as the Dean of Administration for the Iona School for Ministry. http://www.ionaschool.com/. Until recently, she served as Chair for the Diocesan Commission on Ministry. She served as Rector at St. Luke the Evangelist in Houston’s Third Ward from January 2012 until February 2021. While at St. Luke, Rev. Francene served for three years as the Transition Minister for the Diocese of Texas. In this this role she assisted churches in transition through the search process seeking new clergy. Prior to her ordination, Francene worked for Shell US in Human Resources. At the time of her retirement in 2013, she was the VP for Diversity for Shell US.
Francene is a graduate of the Iona School for Ministry. She has a Master's Degree in Public Health (MPH) from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and an undergraduate in Social Services from Cleveland State University. She is married to Ken Jones and they live in the Heights.
Assisting Priest, The Rev. Joann Saylors
The Rev. Joann Saylors serves as Canon for Mission Amplification for the Diocese of Texas, leading the team of missioners responsible for helping new faith communities and existing congregations to become more missional and vital. She is passionate about helping congregations of all kinds discern how to live into God’s mission in new and creative ways. Joann received her M.Div. from Seminary of the Southwest in Austin. Prior to ordination she used her degrees in Finance/Accounting and Plan II from the University of Texas at Austin in the world of financial systems consulting and project management. She is married to Rick and they try together to manage three hyper chihuahua mixes.
Assisting Priest, The Rev. Robert Merrill
Head of School, Jamie Martin-Currie
Jamie is a seventh-generation Texan who grew up in Houston and Sugar Land before moving to New York to pursue a Master’s degree in early childhood from Bank Street College. While in New York, Jamie taught toddlers and preschoolers and served as Children’s Minister at St. Bartholomew’s Church, where she created and developed a summer camp.
Jamie returned to Houston as the Lay Minister for Children’s Education for St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, and then served as Missioner for Children Formation in the Diocese of Texas from 2011 until 2020. Before coming to St. Andrew’s Episcopal School she was a consultant with Episcopal Relief & Development Fund.
Jamie and her husband live in Sugar Land and she has two grown stepsons - one in law school and one in dental school - who both attended Montessori schools.
Office Manager, Carrie Conti
Carrie Conti was born and raised in Houston, TX. She attended the University of Houston, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Consumer Sciences and Merchandising. Prior to her position at St. Andrew’s, Carrie worked for several years as the Financial Manager for two catering companies and an event venue. She lives in the Meyerland area and in her free time enjoys seeing live music, attending Astros games, and spending time with family and friends.
Coordinator for Special Needs and Family Faith Formation, Lisa Puccio
Lisa Puccio joined the St. Andrew’s staff in January 2015 to begin a weekly Rhythms of Grace service for special needs families and to develop a new Sunday school program for the parish. She has worked in family ministry for more than 15 years and has served on the diocesan formation advisory committee and as a member of the board of directors of Forma, a national association of Christian educators and formation professionals that celebrates and upholds the diverse ministries of Christian formation across the Episcopal Church. From 2011 until 2016 Lisa served in leadership with Kids4Peace, where she helped lead groups of Muslim, Jewish and Christian children from Jerusalem and the United States to build interfaith communities that embody a culture of peace and empower a movement for change. Lisa and her husband Mike have four grown children.
Director of Music & Organist, John Kirk
From a young age, music was a large part of John’s life—music was always playing at home and in the car, a year of obligatory piano lessons, singing in musicals and choir in high school, playing double bass in jazz band, playing in a band throughout high school and college, and vibrant congregational singing in the Lutheran church in which he grew up. John attended Capital University, studying both religion and double bass. He started taking organ lessons and soon found himself spending more and more time at the organ console and less time behind the bass, and so he added yet another musical interest. After college, John moved to Houston through Teach for America and eventually began studying organ, voice, and church music with Robert Brewer and assisting in the music program at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany as a Choir/Organ scholar. In church music, John found the energy and conviction of rock music combined with the craftsmanship and interest of classical music, all within a context that focused on something bigger than music itself. Following his work at Epiphany, John was Music Director of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Dickinson, Texas and Organ Intern at St. Philip Presbyterian in Houston, Texas. He earned a master’s degree in Organ Performance from the University of Houston's Moores School of Music, where he studied with Robert Bates, Matthew Dirst, and Sigurd Øgaard. In August 2021, John was appointed University Organist of Houston Christian University. He and his wife, Sally, have two joyful daughters, Fiona and Joni.
Facilities Manager, Francisco (Frank) Guevara
Frank came to us from Christ Church Cathedral where he was the Facilities Manager for 13 years. Before that Frank was flipping houses and working as a flight attendant for Continental Airlines based in New York. He also spent many years as a traveling musician. Frank's passions are traveling, playing guitar, and restoring VW classics. Frank has a 1968 VW bus named Oliver and a 1967 VW beetle named Opie.
Frank is looking forward to overseeing upcoming projects and making a difference here at St. Andrew's.
Sexton, Byron Pineda
Byron was born in the city of Guatemala in Central America. He attended college earning an accounting degree and began a career as a mathematics professor. He also was certified in carpentry and as a shoemaker. After moving to New York City, he worked as a laboratory assistant in the NYU Hospital in Manhattan. He earned his high school equivalency diploma, and later moved to Florida where he became a US citizen and owned a landscaping business. He moved to Houston and was certified as an electrician.
Treasurer, Bruce Banta-Guevara
Organist Emeritus, Dr. William H. Gilbert
Bill served as the Parish Organist and Choirmaster from 1987-2015.