Our Spiritual Care Services Team

Manager of Spiritual Care Services

After a 30-year career as a marketing executive, Allison Draper shifted her life focus to become a chaplain. Rev. Allison is board certified with the Association of Professional Chaplains and advanced practice board certified in hospice and palliative care. She is an ordained Zen Buddhist priest with an established meditation practice of many years. She holds a Master’s in Divinity from Shogaku Zen Institute and completed her Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) residency at Stanford Health Care, where she remained as an on-call chaplain while working as a full-time hospice chaplain at Sutter in San Mateo County through 2020. Prior to her CPE residency, Rev. Allison offered spiritual care to hospice and hospital patients at Kaiser Santa Clara and at Regional Medical Center San Jose.

“I see my role to companion and support others in accessing their unique spiritual resources. One encounter with a 102-year-old hospice patient sticks with me. During our visits, ‘Marie’ was happy to share exciting stories in life review. She had immigrated from Central America in her early teens to escape a brutal regime change. She had educated herself, became successful in real estate, and mentored other immigrant women while raising a family. Marie never talked about her struggles or spiritual concerns, such as facing her own end of life. Her daughter had warned me, ‘She’s not religious, so please don’t bring up any of that.’ I wondered about the crucifix above her bed but respected her daughter’s request and never asked. On the day that turned out to be her last, she surprised me: ‘Can you say a prayer?’ I asked her to tell me about her faith tradition. ‘I’m Catholic, because my grandparents on both sides were Catholic, but our parents taught us to respect everyone’s beliefs. We all have our own way of seeing God, don’t you think?’ I nodded, asking, ‘What shall we pray for?’ Without hesitation she said, ‘Blue.’ I wasn’t sure I had heard her correctly. ‘Pray for blue?’ Her eyes beamed with a light that filled the room. ‘Yes, blue—like the sky. May we all find happiness that is blue, like the sky.’” I carry with me Marie’s teaching about the many ways of spiritual experience, and the wish for everyone to be well and happy.

Staff Chaplain

Scotty Kirk has been serving as a Packard Children’s staff chaplain for almost 18 years. He offers emotional support and spiritual guidance for patients and families in the Bass Childhood Cancer Center and an acute care unit. A few years ago he met “Mateo,” a newly diagnosed cancer patient and a high school senior. Mateo said he was not religious but wanted to talk with a chaplain. Over several visits, Mateo expressed the emotions that were coming up for him: worry about his life expectancy, frustration with treatment that was interfering with his goals, anger with God, and fear that his girlfriend might find someone else. Rev. Scotty supported Mateo and his family over many hospitalizations. Mateo survived his cancer and is now working with adults in a medical clinic. Rev. Scotty meets children and adults where they are without trying to fix or change them. He supports people as they tap into the spiritual practices of their own faith. Often he talks with children while they engage in play activities.

Rev. Scotty is a Princeton Theological Seminary graduate, a pastor, and a board-certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains. He holds a certificate in spiritual direction from Mercy Center Burlingame. Rev. Scotty practices mindfulness meditation as a way to build resilience. He enjoys cooking, walking, classic movies, and spending time with his nieces and nephew.

Staff Chaplain

Hugo Gonzalez is a board-certified chaplain with the National Association of Catholic Chaplains and serves as a member of Spiritual Care Services at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. In his capacity as a staff chaplain, Chaplain Hugo primarily serves the Spanish-speaking population. He journeys with patients and families through times of great spiritual and emotional crisis. His spiritual care support is rooted “in empathy, deep listening, and respect for all.”

Chaplain Hugo first came to the Bay Area in 1982. He attended St. Patrick’s Seminary & University in Menlo Park and received a Master of Divinity degree. He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest and served in the Diocese of Phoenix. He received a Master’s in Theological Studies with a focus on spirituality from the University of San Francisco. After a career change, he worked as a hospice chaplain with Hospice of the Valley in Phoenix and later Sutter VNA and Hospice in the Bay Area. Chaplain Hugo enjoys weightlifting, cooking, watching sitcoms, and spending time and traveling with his spouse.

Staff Chaplain

“One evening I was paged to be with a family while a Code Blue was called for their child. I stood with the parents while the team worked with the patient. The parents were understandably upset and tearful. I listened while they told stories about their child and expressed their fears. We shared a quick prayer together. I waited with them while they received updates from the medical staff. More tears flowed. As the code ended and staff were leaving the room, I pondered what words of wisdom I might share now that things had quieted down. Before I could say anything, the mom heaved a big sigh and turned to tell me ‘Thank you so much for being here, you were a big help’. I thought to myself, ‘I mostly just stood here and let you cry in front of me’. There can be great healing and comfort in simply being present with people and holding a safe space for them to share their fears and feelings.”

Rev. Wally Bryen is a graduate of Berkeley School of Theology, earning a Master of Divinity. He is an ordained American Baptist pastor and served a number of churches in the Bay Area, before becoming a chaplain. He completed his Clinical Pastoral Education at Stanford Healthcare, and he has been a Staff chaplain at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health since 2013. Rev. Wally supports Stanford Medicine Children’s patients at Lucile Packard Hospital as well as at El Camino Hospital in Adolescent Health. He sees his role of Chaplain as often providing Spiritual Care by being with people more so than doing for people.

Staff Chaplain

After growing up in both Argentina and Brazil, Valeria Faraci (she/her) moved to the United States as a young adult and calls California her new home. Chaplain Valeria completed her theological studies in Brazil and her clinical pastoral education at both CPMC Sutter Health and Stanford Health Care in the San Francisco Bay Area. She navigates different cultures and languages daily in her personal life, and this practice guides her work as a health care chaplain in the diverse Bay Area melting pot. She considers herself a lifelong learner and has taken several science courses through UC Berkeley Extension. When she’s not working, you will find Chaplain Valeria spending time with her husband and cat, speaking with family on video calls, caring for her indoor plants, decorating her home, reading in her hammock, and finding peace in connection with nature while camping surrounded by outstanding redwood trees.

Staff Chaplain

Rev. Sookja Han-You’s spiritual vocation as a Healthcare Chaplain came after a long and successful business career. She worked at Apple Inc. for several years as a software engineer and many startups as an international sales executive. Her last career before becoming a chaplain was as a venture capitalist. Rev. Sookja has extensively traveled around the world for work and leisure. Although she feels most at home in the Bay Area, her childhood in South Korea and international travel makes her passionate about learning from and respecting people from all cultural and spiritual backgrounds. Rev. Sookja feels she can especially connect with families in the Johnson Center, empathizing as a mother and grandmother herself. She hopes to extend the kind of care she would want for her own family, bringing calmness and loving support in understandably anxious situations in the NICU and ICN.

Rev. Sookja is a Fuller Theological Seminary graduate, an ordained Presbyterian Church USA pastor, and a Board-Certified Chaplain (BCC) with the Association of Professional Chaplains. She enjoys spending time with her grandchildren on FaceTime when she is not able to see them in person, reading, cooking, hiking, hanging out with friends, and being alone to be with God.

Relief Chaplain

Rev. Petra van de Water’s mantra in her spiritual care of others is a quote of Maya Angelou: “Be a rainbow in someone’s cloud!” In her role as a chaplain, Petra is a listener, advocate and ally for her pediatric patients and families, and in community with staff colleagues. She hopes to offer everyone a safe sacred space in which they feel heard and accepted, and to connect them with their own spiritual sources and strength.

Rev. Petra has called the Netherlands, India and now California her home, which makes her passionate about ethnic, cultural, and spiritual diversity. She speaks Dutch and English fluently. Years ago, Rev. Petra felt supported and inspired by a chaplain at Lucile Packard when her teenage son was treated for cancer. Petra is ordained and endorsed through the American Baptist USA Church. She completed her chaplain residency at Stanford Healthcare in 2014 and has her Masters in Christian Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary. After several years as a hospice chaplain, she has now returned to the hospital setting as a Relief Chaplain. In addition to pursuing her Doctor of Ministry studies in Spiritual Direction, Rev. Petra enjoys a good conversation and laughter with friends over coffee, going out for dinner, reading a book or going on trips with her husband, Cor.