Meet our Staff
Aaron Berkowitz, Lead Pastor
Pastor Aaron Berkowitz joined our church in November 2015. His family moved to Nampa from Upland, California where he served as an Associate Pastor at Upland First Presbyterian Church for seven years.
Pastor Aaron and his wife Sarah have two children, daughter Jaya and son Lucas. Pastor Aaron graduated from the University of California at Riverside with a degree in English Literature. He then studied at Fuller Theological Seminary.
Madaline Friedrich, Family Ministry
Madaline, a Jackson Hole native with Southern Idaho roots, is excited to settle in and call the Treasure Valley home after a few years spent traveling. Madaline loves children and is inspired by the faith of these precious youngest members of our congregation.
She brings with her a degree from the College of Southern Idaho in American Sign Language Studies. During her free time Madaline enjoys being outdoors and traveling.
Colette Briden, Secretary
Colette, a Montana native and long-time Washingtonian, comes to us with over 30
years in administrative and office management experience.
She studied Business
Education at the University of Montana and later renewed her Administrative
Secretarial skills at Spokane Falls Community College. She enjoys working with the
congregation and staff and in her spare time likes to read, cook and grow indoor
plants.
David Barrett, Custodian
Dave is a British citizen from Manchester who moved to Idaho in 1985. Dave and
his wife, Sharyn, have three children and seven grandchildren.
Dave was a
professional chef in Europe and now owns and operates a commercial cleaning
business.
Karlee Mathison, Pianist
Raven Mathison, Music Director
Having grown up in the rural reservation town of Poplar, Montana, Raven Mathison moved to Idaho in the fall of 2018 to begin his studies in music education at Northwest Nazarene University. While in college, Raven took part in many music leadership and student leadership roles. This is also where he met his wife, Karlee, and they have been active music participants and collaborators in the years since.
Raven graduated from Northwest Nazarene University in 2023 with a bachelor’s in music education, and has since taken on several music roles.
After having been the combined band director for the Victory, Liberty, and Legacy Charter School Bands, Raven recently accepted a position as the Director of Choirs at Lone Star Middle School.
Raven is happy and excited to serve as the Music Director for First United Presbyterian Church!