Our Staff
Rev. Dr. Sarah Calvert
District Superintendent
Sarah is a United Methodist elder serving as District Superintendent, first for Arlington, then Arlington & Alexandria, then Northern Virginia, and now for the Mountain View District.
Sarah grew up all over as a military kid (itinerate from an early age!), ending up graduating from high school in Fairfax, Va. She has a BA in Economics & International Studies from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg and then became an attorney with her own firm in Fairfax after receiving her law degree from George Mason Law School.
After an overwhelming and literal calling from God, Sarah attended Wesley Theological Seminary to receive her Masters of Divinity and then again a few years later went back for a Doctorate in Church Leadership. Her dissertation work was on the formation of clergy peer learning groups.
Sarah served as associate pastor for 6 years at a large church in Loudoun, planting a second site for them and developing a Fresh Expression in another retirement community. She then spent 3 years as a solo pastor, helping revitalize a small church in Luray, Virginia. She then served the Bi-Districts of Arlington and Alexandria for five years as a revitalizer and leadership developer. Her hobbies include reading, vegetarian cooking, and enjoying live music. Sarah has one son, Matthew, 30, who lives in Front Royal, and she hopes to find a new dog now that she is settling in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Rev. Leigh Anne Taylor
Director of Connecting Ministry
Rev. Leigh Anne Taylor is a Deacon, serving the Mountain View District as Director of Connecting Ministries. She joined the staff of the former Lynchburg District in 2017 after 30 years serving as Minister of Music at Blacksburg United Methodist Church in Blacksburg, Virginia; First United Methodist Church in Wichita, Kansas; Trinity United Methodist Church in Hutchinson, Kansas; and First United Methodist Church in DeSoto, Texas. Her top 5 Gallop Strengths are "connectedness, empathy, positivity, adaptability, and learner" and she brings expertise in Bowen Family Systems and the Enneagram to her work with the district.
Her north star is "to love the Lord our God with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength" and "to love her neighbor as herself." She enjoys experimenting with what that looks like in actual practice moment by moment and day by day. It gives her great joy to provide support for the clergy, laity, and churches of the Mountain View District in whatever way is needed.
Leigh Anne lives in Lynchburg with her husband Hugh Ballou. Together they have five adult children and four grandchildren. They love visiting the kids, taking long drives on the parkway with the top down on the Mustang, watching murder mysteries on PBS.
Katie Wilson
Executive Administrator
Katie Wilson is the new Executive Administrator of the Mountain View District. She joined the staff in late October 2024 after a career in clinical research. A native of Lynchburg, VA, Katie grew up in the mountains of the Blue Ridge Parkway. With a BA in Psychology from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and an MA in Experimental Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Katie’s areas of expertise were mindfulness, complementary and alternative medicine, and women’s health. This led to an adventure working in a lab at the University of Utah before returning to Central Virginia to be closer to her family. Upon her return, Katie began working remotely on clinical trials with various CROs and pharmaceutical companies.
During a trip to an art museum in Washington, D.C., Katie had the revelation that she wanted to shift from working in research to a field connected to spirituality. Three days after returning from that trip, Katie’s former UMC youth pastor told her family about the MVD’s Executive Administrator opening. A month later, she was blessed to begin working with the team of this district. Katie believes God will place each of us where were are not only needed but also where we need to be.
Katie is a proud aunt of one niece and five nephews dubbing them all her favorites and the apples of her eyes. She is also a dedicated dog mom to her 8-year old pug mix, Sheba Coconut. With a deep love for her family and the outdoors, you can find Katie in the kitchen cooking vegan food with her mom, joking with her nephews and niece, devouring books, and tromping through the woods and mountains with Sheba Coconut. For Katie, nature is healing and spends as much time outside as possible and relishes in the love for her family and God.
Jennifer Coffey
District Connector
Rev. Jennifer is an ordained elder in the VAUMC. She currently lives in Danville, Va., with her husband (Stephen) and two kids (Rebecca and Jonathan). She and her husband met at Virginia Tech, where she got her Bachelor of Science in Human Development in 2004.
Jennifer received her Master of Divinity degree at Wesley Theological Seminary in 2010 and was ordained in 2014. The Coffey family loves the beach, lake, games, movies, spending time with family and their two dogs (Grace and Dipper). She’s passionate about helping churches and people connect more deeply with God and one another and loves getting to help with this work as the Connectional Ministry Coordinator for the River and Ridge View Regions.