Staff
A graduate of Fairfield University (where she met her best friend and life long partner, Paul) and mother of 4, Ginny has lived in Ridgefield for twenty years. Ginny has a background in human resources. She has had the great blessing of spending much of her time volunteering for various organizations including Emmaus, HOME, Meals on Wheels, National Charity League and the PTA. Ginny has been at St. Stephens since 2000, first as a teacher in the Nursery School and beginning in 2006 as the Parish Administrator.
Virginia Leeman, a Ridgefield resident for more than 25 years, began her piano studies at age 5 and organ studies at age 12 and continued both through college. At age 14 she became organist for a small Methodist church in Indiana. Before coming to St. Stephen’s in 2007, she served churches in Danbury, Katonah, and Darien. During that time she studied organ with St. Stephen’s Minister of Music, Alec Wyton. Ginny has a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan (where she met her husband George, a Ridgefield native) and dual degrees in math and music from Butler University.
She has over 20 years experience as a software developer, most recently with PepsiCo. Ginny and George have a daughter, son, and one grandson.
Paul has been on staff since March 2000. Prior to joining St. Stephen's Paul was a self employed tradesman. He received his B.A. from the University of Connecticut. Paul is married and has two children.
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Suzanne Perlman - Coordinator of Counseling Services
203.834.2497 (office)
Suzanne began her work with St. Stephen's Church on February 27, 2006. She is responsible for interviewing and assessing the parishioner's needs and referring him or her to a counselor with the appropriate expertise in the local community.
Suzanne is a highly regarded professional with over thirty years of experience in clinical social work, clinical supervision, management, community education, teaching, employee assistance and corporate consulting.
Parishioners who are in need of counseling services can contact the Coordinator of Counseling Services on a confidential basis and schedule and appointment. If you are in need of this service, call 438-3789, ext. 23, where you can leave a confidential message, or her office at 203-834-2497
Noelle Carr - Nursery School Director
ncarr@ststephens-ridgefield.org
203.438.6806 (Nursery #)
Noelle comes to the nursery school from The Discovery Center, where she was its executive director. She spearheaded the center’s recent growth and developed and taught nature, art and history programs for many local children and their families. Noelle is an artist educator and art historian with a degree from SUNY Purchase. She has worked at The Museum of Modern Art and The Pace Gallery, and has taught art programs for pre-school and school-aged children.
Ms. Carr lives in Ridgefield with her husband, Richard, and two young children, Evelyn and Vincent, and she is active in the Ridgefield community.
“St. Stephen’s Nursery School is an intimate school with a family-friendly atmosphere, and I look forward to spending time with all the children and their families.” For more information about St. Stephen’s Nursery School please call 203-438-6806 or email ncarr@ststephens-ridgefield.org
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Over the past 20 years Mr. Toperzer was conductor and director of a variety of sacred and secular musical groups in the Midwest and in the New York City area. A gifted performer with a rich bass voice, he received a Certificate in Opera from the Boston University (B.U.) Opera Institute and an Artist Diploma in Vocal Performance from B.U. He has performed as soloist under such luminaries as Seiji Ozawa and Helmuth Rilling, has sung as a chorister with the Dale Warland Singers and Robert Shaw, and has worked closely with the great French baritone Gerard Souzay. Mr. Toperzer holds a B.A. in Church Music and Music Education from Bethel University in St. Paul, MN, and an M.M. in Choral Conducting from the University of Oklahoma. He and his wife, Lydia, who is a soprano in the St. Stephen’s Choir, live in Ridgefield with their two young children, Ben and Grace.
Erin McKibben, who has lived in Ridgefield for the past three years, is originally from Oxford, Miss., as evidenced by her slight southern drawl. A graduate of the University of Mississippi, for the past 17 years she has been a wife, mom and volunteer. Erin worked as a litigation paralegal in several cities before starting her family and trading in her briefcase for a diaper bag. She has been a stay at home mom for 17 years. She is married to her college sweetheart, Chuck, a tax attorney with UBS. They have two children, Joe and Mimi, ages 16 and 14, respectively.
Erin had once considered becoming a school teacher, but after attending a youth conference in Chicago she realized her calling was to become a children’s minister. “If you wait and trust, it is surprising where the Lord plants you,” she said. “As the old saying goes, in a 100 years it won’t matter what car you drove, the house you lived in or the clothes you wore, but what will matter is that you made a difference in the life of a child. This is especially true when we are fostering a child’s spiritual growth.
Liz Townsend is a product of St. Stephen’s and its children and youth ministries. “I grew up in Ridgefield, and St. Stephen’s was a big part of my upbringing,” she said. “It molded who I am today, and I am looking forward to giving back to the youth of St. Stephen’s the positive influence that was given me.” After graduating from Ridgefield High School she earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Colorado.
Liz loves outdoor activities, and when she worked as an adventure guide for Mountain Workshop, she routinely took teenagers camping, hiking, rock climbing and white water rafting. While at Mountain Workshop she also headed programs for inner city students to teach them leadership and team-building skills. She credits her work as an adventure guide with much of her love of working with middle and high school aged individuals and her desire to expand on those experiences as youth minister at St. Stephen’s. Liz has also worked as a preschool teacher and continues to work part time with teens in the special education department of the Westport school system.
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