Maria Cannon

After being a member of the Holy Spirit Community for several years, it is my pleasure and privilege to be a member of the Pastoral Council. I have spent the last 25 years working in the corporate world holding sales and general management roles at HP, start-ups and currently Dell. My parents, sister and I moved to Almaden 34 years ago so I've grown up in this parish. After graduating from college at UC Berkeley, where I met my husband Rick, I returned home to Almaden Valley and Holy Spirit Church. Rick and I have been very fortunate to call Almaden our home for the last 22 years. It was always a dream of ours that Holy Spirit would one day have an elementary school like the one we attended at St. Christopher's. My sister Andrea and I worked as members of the formation team and saw our dream come to fruition. Our children have and had the opportunity to attend HSS, mine have since graduated. Rick and I have two children: Baron 16 and Natasha 15 who are both active members of AVYM.

Holy Spirit has been a significant part of our lives. I look forward to working with the members of the Pastoral Council as well as the parish community to ensure our parish evolves with grace and spirit to meet the changing needs of our parish community.

Chris Cairns

My husband David and I have been long time members of the Holy Spirit Community, after moving to Almaden Valley from Illinois. For the past 3 years, I have worked on the Parish Council, especially in the Grass Roots Listening Sessions and recent Discipleship areas. In the past I have had the privilege of being an RCIA sponsor, as well as teaching children for many years in the ECE and Liturgy of the Word programs. Currently, I also enjoy singing with the choir. We have two daughters and a son in college, at UCLA, Cal Poly and Cal State Hayward. Our children are graduates of Valley Christian Schools. I enjoy organizing our neighborhood 4th of July Parade and Garden Walk. My husband and I love to travel, when we can fit it in.

My educational background includes a BA in Math and an MBA in Finance. I am currently working in Engineering and Program Management for SBC as Executive Director for Advanced Technologies, responsible for integration of new network technology and broadband equipment in the SBC network.

I look forward to using my gifts and skills in the exciting work on the Pastoral Council and hope to help see Holy Spirit become and even more vibrant faith community.

Jeff Smith

My name is Jeff Smith. My wife, Ruth, and I have three daughters and have been parish members for approximately seven years. I am a lieutenant with the San Jose Police Department, and have been a member of the Department for twenty-one years. Ruth is a nurse at Valley Medical Center, where she recently began working after being a stay at home mom for approximately ten years. Our three daughters (ages 11, 9, and 7) attend Los Alamitos Elementary School.

Both Ruth and I have been looking for ways to become more involved in Holy Spirit so that we can begin to give back some of what we have received over the last seven years. I really didn't expect to be selected to serve on the Pastoral Council, but I am honored to have been one of the candidates that was. I am very much looking forward to serving the Parish, and continuing to build on the good work that so many of you have done over the years. Thank you.