Full Staff Biographies
Pastor Jennifer M. Kopacz
Pastor Jennifer M. Kopacz, better known as, Pastor Jenn, was born in Philadelphia, PA – her dad was attending the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, at the time. As you may have guessed, her father was a Lutheran pastor. Her mother was a nurse. Both are now retired and enjoying it.
Pastor Jenn grew up in New York State, living in the Albany area from the age of three until she was ten, and then they moved to Jamestown, NY, about 2 hours south of Buffalo. Pastor graduated from Jamestown High School, where she played flute in the Marching Band (go Red Raiders!) and sang in the choir. She and her husband, Rob, were college sweethearts, and married in 1999. They have a dog, two cats and several other less cuddly, reptilian creatures Rob keeps in the garage.
Pastor Jenn received her BS in Psychology from Elmira College, Elmira, NY in 1997. Prior to entering seminary, she worked in the non-profit sector, first as a Counselor/Advocate for victims of violent crime and eventually as a Risk Reduction Educator. This involved providing informational programs in schools, churches and various community organizations regarding what steps people of all ages can take to reduce their risk of being victims of such crime. She then went to the Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, OH, and received her Master of Divinity in 2011.
Her first call was to a very rural, three-point parish in central Pennsylvania. Services were at 8 AM, 9:30 AM and 10:45 AM on Sundays – at three separate church buildings! Sundays were hectic, but it was a beautiful place to become a Pastor, and to learn and grow in her own faith and her own calling, while also seeing the Holy Spirit at work in the people she was called to serve.
Pastor Jenn was installed at Grace July 7, 2015, and it is a blessing to her, as well as to our church that she is here with us. In addition to leading worship and presiding over Communion, she gets to walk with the wonderful people of Grace as they make their faith journey. She gets to participate in the lives of our congregation – baptizing young and old; providing First Communion instruction and then welcoming new young men and women to the Table; supporting our Confirmation class, and then presiding as our young people confirm their faith; welcoming new members; conducting marriage ceremonies and celebrating anniversaries; even commending our brothers and sisters back to God at their funerals. It is a privilege to be present in each of these moments, these milestones, in the life of this congregation and her members.
She says that Grace has also returned these gifts to her. In 2015, shortly after she arrived here, she was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, and had to have surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. The love, support and – most of all – the prayers that she and her family received were incredible, inspiring, and uplifting – which helped her to get through the treatments, to survive – and to come back to being the full-time pastor after months of full disability.
What Pastor Jenn enjoys most about her position here is the wonderful Grace Community. She says, “It is amazing how they care for one another here, and how they care for me! Many of our members have been a part of Grace from the beginning – they know the history and the stories of how we became who we are today. And they love one another – and this community – deeply and truly. But they also welcome those who are new to our area or new to Grace – wanting them to feel that sense of community as well. In addition, this community serves the wider community of Tallahassee in so many ways – Manna on Meridian; Meals on Wheels; Habitat for Humanity; One Blood; singing at Harbor Chase and Broadview assisted living facilities; Relay for Life – the list goes on and on. They are a blessing to one another, to our neighbors here and around the world, and to me.”
Prior to coming to Grace Lutheran, Pastor and her husband loved where they were in Pennsylvania, but she felt that the Holy Spirit was calling her to a new place, with new opportunities and new challenges. She considered calls to churches in many different places – from Upstate New York, to Washington State, and to Florida. But, in her interviews with the people of Grace, in conversations and in learning about one another, she felt that this was the place that she was being called to serve – this was the community she was being led to be a part of – to join with in carrying out their mission of welcoming all to the fellowship of Christ, serving the community, the Family of God, here at home, and around the world.
In her spare time, Pastor Jenn really loves to read. There are lots of places she enjoys going and things she enjoys doing, but no matter what, at some point she will likely be reading! She also loves to do work on her family tree (she is the family historian of sorts), and she enjoys going to the movies, and spending time with family and friends – especially at FSU Women’s Basketball Games – GO NOLES! Finally, both she and Rob love to travel – they’ve been to Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Israel (not all on the same trip!). And they have many more places on their list of countries to see. But a quiet night at home is always nice, as well.
Grace Lutheran is so thankful to have Pastor Jennifer M. Kopacz as our faithful leader and we hope that many of you plan to come visit our church, meet her and our loving members and experience true “Grace”!
Dr. Leslie Heffner, Music Program Coordinator
A native of Ohio, Dr. Leslie Heffner completed her Bachelor of Music Education degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and her Master of Music degree from Bowling Green State University. Dr. Heffner is an alumna of Florida State University where she earned her Doctor of Music in Vocal Performance and also a certificate in Arts Administration.
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Dr. Heffner is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Tallahassee Civic Chorale. Prior to moving to Tallahassee, she served as the Director of The Creative Arts Program at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH.
Leslie came to Grace Lutheran Church in 2013 as the Director for the Chancel Choir. She also maintains the choral library and assists the music director with the children’s hand bell activities. Leslie is thrilled to be involved with a church that has such a deep love, appreciation, and commitment to music making.
Jackie Yong, Organ, Keyboard, Piano Player
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Jackie Yong, pianist, is a native of Miri, Sarawak from Malaysia. He grew up as a choir boy, sang in children's choir and church choir, and only started taking formal piano lessons when he was 16 years old. He then achieved Licentiate and Associate Diploma from Trinity College of London with Distinction within 5 years. Being a versatile musician, he actively performs as a pianist, improvises hymns at churches, collaborates in chamber music, and accompanies singers and choirs.
He has been serving as church pianist for more than 13 years. He was the pianist and/or conductor of Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church, Redeemer Church of Knoxville, Petaling Jaya State Chinese Methodist Church, and Miri Gospel Chapel. He was the pianist for Kuala Lumpur Chinese Church Music Association Choir, Yin Qi Choir, and Miri Orchestra and Choir Society. He was invited to collaborate with the 2019 Reformed
Evangelical Church Choral Festival and 2016 Miri International Choral Festival as festival pianist. Moreover, he was also actively promoting church music and had given a workshop on playing traditional hymns and contemporary church music. He is a member of Malaysia Bachfest and was invited to sing J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion Concert Tour. As a choral conductor, he taught and conducted numerous church choirs and award-winning school choirs in Malaysia.
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He is the Gold Award and Best Performance winner in Hong Kong-Asia Open Piano Competition, Second Prize of International Charleston Music Competition, Second Prize and Audience Favorite Award in ASWARA 1st International Piano Competition, University of Tennessee Concerto Competition finalist, and a recipient of 2017 Yamaha Scholarship in Malaysia. His recitals and interviews have been featured on WUOT FM and 988 FM. During the summer of 2021, he organized and presented a recital to benefit the “Cultivate the Corner” campaign for Redeemer Church of Knoxville. He has presented his paper and performed new music at both College Music Society Regional Conference and Music Teacher National Association Collegiate Chapter Symposium. Yong graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the University of Malaya in Malaysia under the tutelage of Dr. I-Ta Wang, and a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville under the tutelage of Dr. Chih-Long Hu. Currently, he is studying his doctoral degree at the Florida State University-Tallahassee under tutelage of Dr. Read Gainsford with Graduate Assistantship in Accompanying.
Jackson Englund, Contemporary Singer
Jackson Englund, from Orlando, Florida, and has been making music since elementary school. First a vocalist and brass player, he then taught himself guitar, bass and piano. Currently he is studying Choral Education at Florida State University. Prior to his current studies at FSU, Englund participated in classical voice, musical theater, marching band, concert band, jazz band, and the worship team throughout high school and college. He loves all kinds of music and studying its place in God’s creation, and especially using it to bring glory to God.
Lisa Rubin, Church Administration
Lisa has a Master of Science Degree in Administration with a specialization in Public Administration from the University of West Florida, a Bachelor of Science degree in Philosophy from Florida State University, and an Associate in Arts degree in Theatre from Tallahassee Community College. Her master's program emphasis included executive management in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, while the focus of her studies and research included Administrative Law, Human Resource Management, Conflict Resolution, Ethics, and Organizational Structure.
Lisa came to Grace Lutheran Church after a more than 25-year public service career with the State of Florida. More than 20 of those years were spent working at Florida State University, primarily as a Personnel/Human Resources Representative in the Office of the Dean of the Faculties and Deputy Provost. But, she says that probably the most fun employment she has ever had was as a competitive twirling coach for 4 years when she was in high school and college.
Lisa came to Grace Lutheran in 2004 as she began devoting more of her time to her children's classrooms and extracurricular activities to compliment her career. She is responsible for the business operations of the church, which require the wearing of many different hats in order to keep the church office running day to day.