Megan Cochran
Pastor
Rev. Megan Cochran comes from the land of hotdish and snow piles much taller than her commonly known as Minnesota. After graduating from Macalester College with a joint degree in Psychology and Religious Studies, she spent a year in Cameroon, Africa doing counseling with people living with HIV/AIDS. When she returned from Cameroon, she loaded up her car and drove to Chicago to begin the Master of Divinity program at McCormick Theological Seminary.
After graduating from seminary, Megan began working at Lake View Presbyterian Church in Chicago. While there Megan led the Christian Nurture areas of the church: Sunday School and Bible studies for all ages, youth groups, young adult groups, and managed a daily senior citizen lunch program. She also taught art to preschoolers, co-founded Creation Lab (an art studio where art and faith intersect), led worship weekly and participated in whatever other exciting stuff came up during the week. Social justice, creativity, finding God in the midst of this wild world, and building community are a few of her deepest passions.
When Megan isn’t dreaming up artistic new ways to be the church she is spending time with her curious daughter, Clarus and her wise husband, Alex (who also happens to be a pastor). Some of their family hobbies are reading books, having dance parties and exploring the world together. Once Clarus is asleep, you can usually find Megan knitting scarves, sewing stuff, or watching movies. Megan and her family are beyond thrilled to begin this journey with Westminster Presbyterian Church and can’t wait to see the amazing things that God will do in this place!
Lesi Mei
Music Leader
Lesi Mei has been involved in many fields—such as bioengineering and kinesiology—but piano and classical music have molded her into the person she is. In front of the keys, her background and personality manifest in dazzling virtuosity and stunning musicality.
She was the first call pianist for Beijing International Orchestra before traveling the U.S. from coast to coast, performing in such festivals as the Mostly Modern Festival in Saratoga Springs, International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New York City, and Olympiad Piano Festival in Colorado Springs, where she was a semifinalist in the concerto competition. Lesi has also been invited by the Composers Concordance to New York City to premiere works by Gene Pritsker, Seth Boustead, Peter Jarvis, etcs. As an in-demand collaborator, Lesi has performed with ensembles such as American Modern Orchestra, La Jolla Symphony, the Hausmann Quartet, to name a few. Her performance diploma hails from the European Music Institute in Vienna, under the tutelage of the esteemed Professor Martin Hughes. Currently Lesi is faculty member of School of Music and Dance at SDSU, and of San Diego Piano Academy.
Lesi holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance from San Diego State University, a Master of Science in Exercise Physiology from Florida State University, and a Bachelor of Engineering in Biological Engineering from the Beijing Institute of Technology.