Who We Are
Trellis emerged from a group of leaders and pastors who had been praying for Costa Mesa for 15 years that were convicted it was time to move beyond prayer to more effective collaboration with one another as well as with other leaders in the city. In the process of convening leaders, developing partnerships, doing events, and establishing initiatives a strong team emerged.
Leaders in other cities started noticing what was happening in Costa Mesa and they began asking for help and insight to get movements started in their own cities. We are a team of practitioners who continue to work in our city but want to help stimulate and encourage church, business, and city leaders to work better together as they engage the city in which they exist.
Our Mission:
Our Vision:
The Body of Christ is leading the way in our cities facilitating collaboration that resolves the city's greatest challenges. Together they will have:
- Intentional, focused, regular, and united prayer efforts
- A neighboring network
- Regular and ongoing impact on the next generation
- Strategic organization and coordination that is overcoming the greater practical and societal problems in their city
Our Values:
- Prayer Drives Us
- Unity Defines Us
- Results Count
- People Matter
- One Church Empowers Us
- Self-leadership Sustains Us
- Endurance Wins
Our Team:
IAN STEVENSON
Executive Director
Ian Stevenson, the full-time Executive Director of Trellis since the fall of 2015, is responsible for expanding our capacity of the organization as the primary vision caster and strategy developer. A team player at heart, he finds joy in team development, growth, and increase of effectiveness through his work with our board, staff, and city leaders.
Prior to joining Trellis full-time, Ian was a pastor at The Crossing Church in Costa Mesa, California, where he became the second full-time staff member, in 1989. For 27 years, he focused on ministry development, outreach, and teaching to lead, manage, and grow the church from 40 to approximately 2000. Holding a bachelor’s degree from Jacksonville University, Ian is an expert in volunteer mobilization and management and has an extensive background in strategic planning, budget preparation, goal setting, and facilitating partnerships.
Ian and his wife Terrilee have been married since 1986, with three grown children and seven grandchildren. They provide unconditional support and guidance for the Trellis team, as well as their adorable little encouragers. In their free time, the two enjoy riding motorcycles or e-bikes, hiking, back packing and working out.
ISABEL CARPENTER
Director of Operations
Isabel oversees the planning, managing, and resourcing process for Trellis to operate with excellence and integrity. She was first called to volunteer with Trellis for a few years, where she led at the Check-in Center and helped establish the Community Impact Team, before stepping into her official role. Her passion to see God’s justice brought to every one of His children is what drives her to help equip and mobilize the church to make an impact on the city.
Prior to joining the Trellis team, Isabel acquired a diverse skill set while working in government as a policy advisor and later for a data visualization company specializing in school districts. Isabel moved from Big Bear Lake in 2011 to attend Vanguard University, where she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in History & Political Science and a minor in Religion as well as a certification in Lean Six Sigma process improvement methods.
Isabel enjoys spending time with family and friends. She and her husband Greg love to travel and plan to visit as many places as they can. Cooking a good meal or finding a new restaurant is what brings Isabel joy.
LEHUA COLEY
Director of Development
Lehua directs and leads the team in developing sustainable ways to support and grow the work of Trellis in Costa Mesa and beyond. She also works closely with our Stakeholders group, while managing our fundraising and donors. Her deep knowledge of leading in churches and nonprofits ignites her passion to help continue to build bridges and inspire our communities to be better together.
Originally from Hawaii, Lehua relocated to gain a dual bachelor’s degree from Vanguard University in Theatre and Religion. While residing in Cosa Mesa for 23 years, she gained experience as the Creative Arts Pastor at the Crossing Church and 5 years in the Spiritual Formation Department at Vanguard University.
Lehua relocated to Franklin, Tennessee with her husband and 3 kids, where she works remotely for Trellis and still visits occasionally. When she isn’t working or spending time at home, you can probably find her adventuring or camping with her family in the mountains.
Sam Ashurst
Director of City Solutions
Sam Ashurst the team at Trellis in 2023. She is excited to see the church connected and activated to the challenges in their city across Orange County. We love seeing her passion for evaluating where people need more support, coming beside them, and helping find those resources come to life throughout her work with Trellis.
Sam graduated from Vanguard University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Interpersonal Communication. She then worked for five years in Human Resources at the OC Fair & Event Center where she learned the power of meeting people where they are at and caring about where they are going. She then served on the pastoral staff of Genesis Church. In this role, she learned the importance of community and the ability to walk with and restore dignity to the hurting. Before joining the staff team, Sam blessed Love Costa Mesa as a volunteer, executing major wins at Love Costa Mesa Day and other events.
Sam and her husband Caleb have a sweet dog named Penny that they love dearly and they welcomed their first child in 2024. She loves to create art and experiences the most joy when she is in community and walking out life with those the Lord has put in front of her.
Terrilee Stevenson
Education Initiative Director
Terrilee is our liaison for the Newport Mesa Unified School District, as well as all its beloved schools, teachers, and administrators. She is passionate about using her gifts, skills, and experience to help engage more of our community to help our schools be all they can be to impact future generations. She ensures that our schools are working together by supporting and encouraging them in any way possible.
Terrilee attended Taylor University in Indiana, where she obtained her Associate Degree in Business Administration before relocating to Costa Mesa. Prior to Trellis, she worked in the Newport Mesa Unified School District utilizing her administrative skills for 13 years. She then gained experience as the Executive Assistant at a local church for 12 years. Terrilee jumped into her position at Trellis with a total of 25 years of relevant experience and skills, with which she effortlessly blesses both our team and our local schools.
Terrilee has lived in Costa Mesa for 34 years, raised her three children here, and is now helping her seven grandchildren also recognize what is great about our city. While she loves relaxing with a good book or spending time at the beach, she also thrives on adventure. Terrilee and her husband, Ian, enjoy the thrill of motorcycle rides, as well as hiking and backpacking excursions.
Reina Cuthill
Neighboring Initiative Director
Reina utilizes her experience and connections with various cities, communities, and nonprofits to grow relationships throughout our communities. Her heart for connecting neighbors and encouraging her community to love our neighbors as ourselves has propelled our Neighboring Initiative since she became the director in 2020. Reina heads up Love Costa Mesa Day each year and helps execute other city’s City-Wide Volunteer Days. She has instilled rhythms in our Neighboring Initiative like the Intentional Neighboring Celebrations and the Labors of Love team (volunteers helping residents in need with home maintenance and repairs).
Prior to Trellis, Reina studied at UCI, where she found her heart for working with the homeless. She became President of Helping Hearts for the Homeless at UCI, which allowed her to empower students to serve the local homeless community, as well as spread awareness and education on campus. Furthermore, she oversaw several community youth programs regarding leadership development, community service & mental health advocacy at Orange County Herald Center. Reina discovered her passion for community work while on staff at The Beacon Church in Orange, working alongside Love Orange & Love Irvine initiatives and directly witnessing how churches can strategically partner with cities to make a greater impact.
Reina is a proud resident of Costa Mesa, and loves pouring into the city she believes in. She was blessed to meet her husband, Chris, at our Homelessness Check-In Center, where they now serve as a family with their two children. Reina loves to thrift-shop and listen to indie-alternative music in her spare time.
Kayton Garcia
Prayer Initiative Director
Kayton is a catalyst for prayer. He functions as a facilitator for prayer leaders in cities' efforts to build a prayer culture and movement and as an organizer for city-wide prayer opportunities. In its simplest form, He desires to see the presence of God in the city. With an understanding and empathy for the different demographics represented in the city, and an appreciation for different denominations, traditions, and Christ-following practices, Kayton deeply desires to see the body of Christ function in unity.
Kayton cultivated his heart for prayer during his time at Biola University with a degree in Biblical Studies/Theology and Christian Ministry and his experience in various ministry settings. Kayton interned with North Coast Family Fellowship in Seaside, then became the Campus Worship Pastor for Cypress Church. He also spent time as the Ministry Contractor for North Coast Family Fellowship. He is passionate about seeing God’s provision and intercession all throughout our county.
After moving to the city of Costa Mesa in 2020, drawn by his community at Genesis Church and the surf/art community, Kayton has found his home among friends of every age, tradition, and culture. In his spare time, he creates pottery and music. Kayton recently married his “angel”, Ari, who is also passionate about uniting the Body of Christ. They love playing music and worship songs together.
Molly Rowland
Marketing and Social Media Coordinator
Molly’s marketing and social media practices provide our team with direction, leadership, and support, from weekly routines and small projects to our large campaigns and events. She crafts stories out of content from events, gatherings, and campaigns to show people the importance of catalyzing your city. Molly’s volunteer work with Trellis in 2020 sparked her passion for connecting people from different communities to unify our city and county. She was hired as staff in early 2021, and we have loved witnessing her personal and professional growth.
Molly’s Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a concentration in Public Relations from California State University Fullerton prepared her to know how to be a voice for nonprofit organizations and improve communications practices. Molly interned and volunteered with various nonprofits, such as RAD Camp, Family Promise of OC, and the Newport Beach Film Festival. Her previous experience as a camp counselor and recreation attendant at Big Canyon Country Club, as well as a nanny and caregiver, nurtured her heart for coming alongside people with support and guidance to be the best version of themselves. Molly’s passion for those in need and her experience in a variety of fields fuels her marketing and social media efforts to assist our Trellis team and Initiatives.
Molly loves gaming and puzzling with her family, who raised her in OC, and expresses herself through songwriting, singing, and playing guitar. She enjoys camping, hiking, playing music, and exploring with her husband, Chace, on their new adventures since moving to Colorado for his career as a firefighter in 2023. Molly stays connected with our team remotely, and we love having her out a few times a year for our big events and campaigns.
Allie Jacoby
Coordinator of Development, Community Relations
Allie Jacoby joined our team in 2023. She is excited to serve as a liaison for businesses to connect with nonprofits, churches, schools, and community organizations to help unify our cities around their biggest challenges. Allie stays connected with our business partners and sponsors and she ventures out into the community to cultivate relationships with new organizations. She does a great job of making people feel seen and loved. Allie understands that we can make a bigger impact on our community when its organizations and businesses work as a team. More than anything she is passionate about collaborating with others to see God’s work in this world advance. She has a deep love for Orange County and a heart for building unity and creating change for the cities we love.
Allie brings many years of experience from her time in Development with the YMCA in Newport Beach. Allie graduated from Concordia University with a degree in Business Administration, emphasizing in Management. Before joining the staff team, she volunteered multiple times on the Love Costa Mesa Day Committee and was part of the inaugural Love Newport Beach team. These experiences mixed with the connector qualities Allie embodies makes her a great boots-on-the-ground counterpart to our Director of Development, Lehua Coley.
Allie is a long-time member of the Crossing Church, and attends with her loving husband, Mike, and spunky daughter Emmy. They love going to Disneyland where Allie gets to live vicariously through her daughter’s magical princess visits. She is also passionate about being a voice for the voiceless via her involvement in the nonprofit, Crime Survivors. Allie loves collecting seashells in Newport Beach with Emmy, hiking with Mike, cycling, and traveling.