Leadership Team
Ryan Jones
Cofounder, Executive Director
ryan@ionahouse.org
Ryan grew up in Placerville where many of his relatives continue to reside. He has a Masters of Divinity (Fuller Theological Seminary, 2008) and is currently working on a doctorate through Nashotah House Theological Seminary. Previous to Iona House, Ryan was the founding Rector (lead pastor) of Eucharist Church in San Francisco. Over the course of his approx. 20 years of ministry, Ryan has served as a pastor on the staff of three congregations in addition to planting Eucharist Church (San Francisco). He was ordained in 2014 as a priest in the Anglican Church in North America. Ryan is a Pastoral Fellow with the Catechesis Institute. At Iona House, Ryan is responsible for vision, fundraising, and the development and management of the leadership team & staff. Together with Elizabeth, he is shaping the vision and cultivating the overall ethos of the ministry. Ryan’s role involves teaching workshops, leading retreats, and also serving as a priest-in-residence - available for confession, pastoral care, and sacramental leadership.
Elizabeth Jones
Cofounder, Director of Soul Care
elizabeth@ionahouse.org
Elizabeth is from the San Francisco Bay Area and has a master’s degree in counseling psychology (Santa Clara University) alongside receiving additional training to become a spiritual director. Elizabeth’s ministry the past few years has focused primarily on providing spiritual direction and counseling. In addition to this, Elizabeth was the co-director of Eucharist Church’s spiritual formation cohort program (Catechumenate). Her role in this ministry included curriculum development, teaching, and group processing. She has also spent time as a music leader, a hospice grief counselor, spiritual disciplines instructor, equine-assisted psychotherapy horse expert, and project manager in Stanford’s Psychophysiology lab exploring the connection between our minds, bodies and emotions. At Iona House, Elizabeth will be utilizing her education in counseling psychology, spiritual direction, and theology to oversee many of the spiritual formation aspects of Iona House. Her role involves teaching workshops, leading groups, and offering individual, group, and equine-assisted spiritual direction.
Emily Brannan
Director of Hospitality & Volunteer Coordinator
emily@ionahouse.org
Emily is from the East Bay (though now living in Placerville) and is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s in Psychology at Sacramento State. Upon graduating in spring of 2024, she plans to begin a Master’s program at a seminary to be determined. Most recently, Emily worked as a Business Operations Specialist in the Computation Directorate of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Previously, she was the Guest Service manager at a 400-unit retirement community in Livermore. She has been on staff at two churches in the East Bay as well as volunteering for a handful of organizations doing everything from planning events for 200+ people to serving meals at the local soup kitchen. At Iona House, Emily is responsible for helping to shape the guest experience by working with Elizabeth to envision aesthetics, managing the care of the interior of the homes, and assisting with the needs of those staying in the homes on retreats. Additionally, she coordinates the volunteer activities at Iona House, determining opportunities for service, scheduling volunteers, and assisting with volunteer projects.
Strategic Advisors
The Iona House vision has emerged in the midst of many, many conversations with faithful people offering wisdom. Below are a few of the folks who are guiding this vision and providing assistance.
Rev. Dr. Greg Peters
Professor at Nashotah House Theological Seminary & Biola University • Author & Scholar of Christian monasticism • Anglican Priest
Expertise on all things monastic
Lorna Brindley
Former co-director (alongside Fr. Thomas Brindley†) of St. Columba Retreat House (Inverness, CA)
Practicalities of operating a retreat center
Michele Ruby
Co-founder of Generosity Bay Area
Guidance on fundraising and vision
Will Fogleman
Director at McKesson • founding member of the Iona House board
Overall vision, wisdom, and support
Elizabeth Conkle
Founder and Director of the Anglican Catechist Training School
Prayer, Spiritual warfare, Encouragement
Rt. Rev. Eric Menees
Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin
Spiritual oversight and pastoral care for Fr. Ryan & Elizabeth Jones
Julie Younger Aleman
Executive Director of the Younger Family Foundation
Partnerships, Fundraising, Nonprofit management
Gordon Landies
CEO of Traction Holdings
Growth Consulting for Founders and CEO’s. M&A Consulting for Technology Companies.
Real estate acquisition, fundraising, faith
Dashell Laryea
Research Analyst at Eventide Asset Management
Guidance and assistance with vision and communication
Pastor Dave Lomas
Founder & Lead Pastor of RealitySF
Wisdom about ministry to urban, post-Christian contexts; aesthetics
Board of Directors
Iona House is incorporated as the Institute for Christoformity, a religious, tax-exempt, nonprofit recognized as a 501(c)(3) by the IRS. As a nonprofit, the Institute for Christoformity abides by a set of bylaws and is operated under the authority of a Board of Directors. The Institute for Christoformity is currently in the process of developing a board of directors. The board (in development) currently consists of five committed Christians:
Ben Chelf
Ben and his wife Kim and two children live in San Francisco where he is a General Partner at Elementum Ventures. Ben also heads up the Venture Lab at Praxis, helping serial entrepreneurs research and develop new organizations from the moment of inspiration to incorporation. He was a co-founder of Coverity, a software quality and security company birthed from his research as a PhD student at Stanford. Ben is passionate about seeing people live out and deepen their faith. Ben and his family attend Epic Church in San Francisco.
Andy Ku
Andy lives in the Bay Area where he is a Partner at IQT. Prior to this he served as a White House Fellow. For most of his career, Andy has worked at tech companies including Google, Linkedin, and as a startup founder of his own company. Andy has a BS in Engineering from Stanford and a MBA from Harvard Business School. He attends Reality Church in San Francisco.
Daniel Pyke
Daniel lives in Oakland with his wife Rachel and son Elias. Daniel teaches and works as the Business Operations Director at Donum Dei Classical Academy in San Francisco. Previously, he worked at L’Abri in Switzerland where he and Rachel met. Daniel has also spent time working in consulting and several startup companies. Daniel has a B.A from UCLA and a Masters degree from Western Seminary. He and his family attend Eucharist Church in San Francisco.
Denise Yohn
Denise Lee Yohn is the Co-Executive Director of the Bay Area Center for Faith, Work & Tech, the Founder/Director of Faith & Work Journey, and a keynote speaker, consultant, and writer on brand leadership. Her work calling is to help businesspeople faithfully steward their professional vocations. Denise and her husband, Chris, have lived in San Francisco since 2016 and lead a community group at Christ Church East Bay.
Ryan Jones
See the bio information above.