Born in Oakland and a lifelong Bay Area resident, Helena graduated from Cal State Hayward with a BA in Liberal Studies with a French Minor. She's married to Steve, and is the mother of four adult children: Christopher, Alyssa, Jonathan, and Elizabeth, and is stepmother to Lisa and Jason.
Helena has worked in Music Ministry in the Diocese of Oakland for more than 30 years - beginning as an accompanist and cantor, and eventually becoming a Music Director at Church of the Assumption in San Leandro and later St. John's in San Lorenzo. In addition to her work at Santa Maria, she continues working with the choir at St. John's in a limited capacity.
She enjoys planning events, ballroom dancing with her husband, going on early morning walks with their dog Jake, flower arranging, studying foreign languages, solving word puzzles, and singing karaoke.