THE OUMC STAFF TEAM
Our office hours are Monday - Friday, 9 am-1 pm.
The office is closed on Federal holidays. You can reach us in the office at (703) 938-1234. Please leave a message if needed and your call will be returned as soon as possible. You can also reach any of our staff people directly using their emails listed below!
Rev. Ashley Allen - Pastor
Rev. Ashley Allen is the lead pastor at Oakton UMC. Ashley calls Virginia home as she was born and lived most of her life in the Tidewater area with the exception of high school, college and a few years after until her arrival in Northern VA in 2002. Ashley’s high school and college years were spent in South Florida. She attended Palm Beach Atlantic University and received a BA in Musical Theatre. Her Master of Divinity is from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.
Ashley is married to Ken Scroggie and together they care for three young adult children; Ken’s two children, Kenny & Jessica and Ashley’s niece, Makaila. They also share two four-legged children, Ajna and Lucy.
Ashley strives to work with the leaders and members at Oakton UMC to find a way forward in this ever-changing world, to reach new people for Christ and to strengthen the existing community relationally and spiritually. Her favorite scripture is 2 Corinthians 5:17 and her favorite book in the Bible is Isaiah.
Jennifer Montes - Operations Manager
Jennifer is the Operations Manager at Oakton UMC. She was born and raised in Herndon VA. Jennifer has always had a heartfelt passion for community service and a deep commitment to helping others. With both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University, she has navigated a diverse career path. Jennifer has spent time working with public housing communities for eviction prevention, advocating for non-speaking individuals with Autism, and supported teens facing mental health challenges.
Outside of her professional life, Jennifer loves spending time with her family, especially her nephews and her Australian Shepherd, Mila. She loves being a homebody, finding comfort in watching a good show and cuddling with Mila. She has a love for creativity —whether she’s working on DIY projects, renovating spaces, or drawing. Jennifer’s favorite season is fall, where she loves the crisp air and vibrant colors. She believes that with determination and a clear vision, you can achieve anything you set your mind to, a principle that guides both her personal and professional endeavors.
Raquel Corona-Parra - Oakton Christian Preschool Director
Raquel Corona-Parra was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico. She joined the OCP community in 2018 when her son entered the 2 1/2 year old class, and now her daughter will be in the Pre-K class. A master's degree graduate from George Mason University, Raquel's professional experience has always centered on programs and services for children. Her previous professional experience includes six years working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. She also worked with AmeriCorps to coordinate health services for children with special needs. Raquel enjoys traveling, playing board games, and reading with her children.
Michelle Orhan - Music Director
Michelle Orhan is the Oakton United Methodist Music Director. She was trained in vocal performance at The Catholic University of America. Michelle works as a middle school mathematics teacher and performs regularly in the Washington DC area with her acapella group The Chromatics. She is passionate about helping people come to Christ through music and to raise their voices in praise of God!
Ben Paris - Organist/Pianist
Ben is the principal pianist and organist at OUMC. Prior to joining OUMC, Ben was the pianist and organist at First Christian Church of Alexandria where he rediscovered music ministry in 2011.
Ben began learning how to play the piano at age 4 and has never stopped. In 1992, he began organ lessons under Dr. Daniel McNew, an instructor at Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD. In those formative years, Ben fell in love with sacred music and the role of music in worship and considered pursuing it as a full-time career, even earning an Organ scholarship to Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA.
After careful discernment, he decided to pursue his other love of computers and mathematics at James Madison University where he was also the primary pianist with his worship group during his four undergraduate years at JMU.
Ben currently works full-time in the data analytics industry, is married with two daughters, two dogs and a fish and lives near Reston, VA.
Katie Paris - Children and Families Ministries Coordinator
Katie was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota but considers Virginia home. Her family moved to Vienna, where she lived for most of her childhood. She attended James Madison University and graduated with a master’s degree in k-12 special education in 2005. Katie has worked as an elementary special education teacher in Fairfax County Schools for 17 years. She currently lives in Herndon with her husband, two daughters, two dogs, and a fish.
Angie Erschens - Ministries Coordinator
If you ask Angie where she is from she will tell you Northeastern Pennsylvania, even though she has lived in Northern Virginia since she graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) in 1990 and has “grown up” at OUMC, spending her entire adult life as a part of this beautiful church family since the spring of 1992.
She lives in Herndon with her husband Joe, their teenage son and two dogs. They like to say they have three only children in their “yours, mine and ours” blended family since their two older boys are out of the house leaving the youngest to enjoy being the only child. They love to travel, take long weekends with their RV, and spend time with friends and family.
Angie loves to volunteer at OUMC and in the community (so much so that friends and family have had to help her practice saying NO!). Over the years at Oakton she has served in a variety of volunteer positions as Youth Director, President and Vice President of the UMW, Sunday School and Vacation Bible School Teacher, Newsletter Editor, Fall Bazaar Coordinator, Church Council and Choir member and more. She has been creating the worship slides for several years and when the church had to shut down for the pandemic, she and Joe took on the challenge of taking the church online.
Sharing God’s love and light with others feeds her soul, and she is looking forward to using her professional skills as a project manager to help coordinate and grow the ministries at Oakton UMC as we move forward, expand our reach into the community, and continue to welcome new friends into our loving, supportive family.
Doris Page - Nursery Attendant
Doris is a life-long resident of this area and attended local schools as well as NOVA and George Mason University. She is active as a Lay Speaker in the UMC as well as her local church. She’s worked at different churches in the area and has been at OUMC since 2016.
Sharon LaRoche - Nursery Attendant
Pastoral Care Assistants
Pastoral Care Assistants are volunteers specifically trained to minister and care for individuals within our congregation during seasons of challenge or need. Pastoral Care Assistants make hospital visits, call people in need of personal contact, assist with card writing and newsletter mailing and join the Pastor to meet with those who are home bound and in need of a listening ear, prayer and encouragement. Pastoral Care Assistants offer support to grieving individuals and families and provide on-call Pastoral Care coverage when the Pastor is away or unavailable.
Our Pastoral Care Assistants are active church members or staff who have licensure or training in helping vocations like Pastoral Care and Counseling, Chaplaincy, Thanatology and Psychotherapy.
Pastoral Care Assistants also have shown a commitment to attending worship, exhibiting a heart of concern for others, and demonstrate an attention to detail regarding congregational and individual needs. They have been observed actively pursuing growth in the Christian life and service to the world around them. All Pastoral Care Assistants are background checked, Safer Sanctuaries trained and have agreed to and signed a Covenant and a Confidentiality Agreement.
OUMC Pastoral Care Team: Doris and Mary Ellen