MENTORS AT WESTGATE

Looking for a mentor?

Check out our list of WestGate Church mentors and get in touch.

Mentorship provides an honest, intimate, and safe, short-term space where intentional and
meaningful conversations take place, to help us grow in desired areas of our lives.

What to expect:

• There are a variety of mentors of which 1-2 can be selected to contact.

• We encourage all selections to be of the same gender and meetings to be in public spaces.

• Fill out your name, email, and short message under the mentor you would like to connect with and click contact.

• You can expect mentors to contact you within 5 days via email. If you do not hear from someone, they may be unavailable at the current time. Please either choose someone else or email our team at mentor@westgatechurch.org

  Our mentors are regular people who attend WestGate and have a heart to walk alongside others as we all follow Jesus. They are not experts but have wisdom to impart.

RONETA DICKEY

Among the greatest blessings of my life is my family -- my husband, two sons, and daughter-in-law. Through them, God has given me years of joy and grown my faith tremendously. I was born in San Jose and became a believer at 14. Even though there have been times I’ve pulled away, the Lord has walked right by my side every single day, through joy and sorrow. I’m so thankful I belong to Him. Currently, I teach reading to students with dyslexia. There’s nothing like seeing a child who struggles begin to experience success! In my spare time, I enjoy gardening, reading, hanging out with friends, and taking walks.

TERI GILBERT

As a lifelong reader, I am a storyteller at heart so it is life giving to me to connect with others by listening deeply to their story with curiosity and wonder.  A wife of 42 years, a Christ follower longer, a mom of two and grandma to three, you would find me enjoying my retirement from teaching walking my neighborhood most mornings, reading a good book, hanging with friends and family, thinking/talking/eating good food and simultaneously adding to and checking off my travel/food bucket list.

ANGIE HAVEN

I’m originally from SoCal and grew up in a Christian home. After college, I moved to the bay to work as an exercise physiologist in health tech. I now work as a PA in pediatric cardiology. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, running or biking, and I am always willing to grab a cup of coffee or ice cream.

DEBI KRUG

I have been attending Westgate since 2003 and in that time I have met some amazing people who have helped me grow in my daily walk with Jesus. Through mentoring, I hope to encourage others in this same way. I've been married 48 years and I am currently a proud  "Mimi" to my two young grandsons, ages 11 and 8. In my spare time I enjoy gardening, walking/hiking, and hanging out with family and friends.

KARA LOIACONO

I am a wife, a mom of two 20-something adult children and a Christ-follower for over 30 years. My journey has taken me from a job in the high tech world, to being a stay-at-home-mom, and then into PR at a Christian school. Things I love include hanging out with family and friends, exercise (just learning to play pickleball), volunteering, reading, and eating good food!  Getting to know new people and chatting over a good cup of tea brings me joy. 

TRACEY LEWIS

I’ve been a Christ-follower for more than 40 years, as a professional marketing and communications leader in a high tech company, wife, mother, daughter, and friend. I’ve been married for 28 years and have 2 twenty something daughters. My husband, Dave, and I have been grateful members of Westgate's worship team for almost our entire married life. I love to hang out with friends, drinking coffee and talking about all the amazing tapestry of life that God has created and our place in it.

LAURA LOPES

Throughout my 25+ years of attending WestGate Church, I’ve had the pleasure of serving mostly in the areas of Life Group leadership, shepherding, and prayer. My spiritual gifts of mercy and encouragement are being cultivated as I serve in these areas. I enjoy hearing journey of faith stories from the people I meet, and I love to see how God works in lives through the power of prayer. I’ve been happily married to Dave for 43 years and we have two wonderful daughters. In my spare time, I enjoy taking walks, gardening, Pilates, and reading. I am grateful to be a part of the WestGate mentoring team and look forward to being an encouragement and help to those I meet.

JANEY MLAKAR

I was born and raised here in San Jose and have been on a spiritual journey for over 45 years.  My husband and I began attending the WestGate Saratoga campus when South Hills and WestGate came together.  We share four adult daughters and their families and have several grandchildren we adore.  We both would say we’ve had our share of life’s experiences, both highs and lows. We enjoy mentoring younger couples, and we are enjoying our retirement years to the fullest.

Some of my personal passions are people and getting to know them, hospitality and entertaining, making my house a home, and eating! And then experiencing the depth of joy during both easy and difficult times by leaning on the Word, and guiding others to that same place.  I try to live life with the intention of looking back with no regrets.

DEBBIE MCDONALD

I enjoy making people feel welcome and included. It might be as simple as instigating a conversation with someone I don’t know or as complex as creating an elaborate plan for a large gathering of people. I have found myself in various leadership roles over the years from school boards, to fundraisers to various ministries at WestGate. More recently, I have enjoyed planning larger family and neighborhood gatherings as well as fun vacations with my immediate family.

LINDA WANG

I’m a recently “retired” stay-at-home mom. After twenty years of volunteering in schools, taxiing two kids around town to various activities, and planning numerous play dates, I'm now enjoying a new season of empty nesting with my husband of 27 years. I grew up in a Chinese Christian church in San Jose and began my journey with Jesus at a young age. I enjoy hiking, gardening, and thrifting. I also love to share conversations over coffee.

DAVID HASKER

I recently retired from a satisfying career in the medical field as a senior manager developing strategies, directing projects, and leading teams in small startups as well as multinational corporations. I’ve spent my life in Santa Clara Valley but have traveled the world for business and pleasure. I love hiking, watching sports, cooking, eating good food, and listening to all kinds of music. My wife Sue and I have been married for 40 plus years and we have one son. Since becoming a Christian at 20 I have continually served in some capacity, be it teaching, leadership, elder oversight, or stacking chairs and emptying garbage cans. My heart mission for the last 20 years has been toward helping men learn to trust Jesus, live in community with other men, and understand that we were never meant to walk this path alone.

CRAIG LEMAS

Being raised Catholic started my foundation in faith, but I eventually fell away from faith altogether, becoming an atheist for many years. Through the pain of a divorce (that was reconciled!), I came back to Jesus in 2007.  I was fortunate to be surrounded by a good group of guys who helped me during my marital issues, and I now want to take that blessing and give back as a mentor.  I have been married for over twenty-five years and have two adult daughters.  My likes are trail running, movies, and computer games.

DAVE LOPES

I have attended WestGate since the end of 1994, served on the Elder Board for 12 years, and am currently a Life Group leader. My spiritual gifts/strengths are in leadership and teaching. I was born and raised in the Bay Area, graduated from UC Berkeley, and am now retired from a career in the semiconductor industry. Laura and I have been married for 43 years and have two daughters. My hobbies include reading, walking/ hiking, wine collecting, and golf.

ART MARSHALL

I have been attending Westgate for approximately 15 years. I volunteer in Kidztown, teaching Kinder and 1st, which I really enjoy and look forward to every week.  I also help out with Westgate Water and have been fortunate enough to go to El Salvador to drill a few water wells. I’m a father of three and grandfather (papa) of seven. They are such a blessing to my life! My best days are when I get to spend time with them, going to all their activities and sporting events.  I recently retired as a firefighter/paramedic after 34 years of service.

RICK MLAKAR

I grew up in Santa Clara and have lived in Almaden Valley the past 35 years. I have been retired for the past ten years after 35 years in Aerospace financial management. Raised Catholic, committed thru Young Life, “matured”  thru South Hills Community Church.   My wife, Janey, and I attend Westgate Saratoga campus.  We share four beautiful adult young ladies and their families.  I would say we have had our share of life’s experiences, highs and lows. We enjoy mentoring younger couples and the slower pace of our second chapter. Family, friends, dogs, travel, and the pursuit of breaking 80 in golf. Maturing in Christ a never ending pursuit.     

KIM PETERSON

My professional career spans 30+ years in Sr. Management with corporate and startup experience.  In 2018, the Lord put upon my heart to be available for men who need someone to listen to them and help navigate through the issues that are faced regularly. I have enjoyed mentoring varied ages of men on many different issues over the past years. Part of my journey includes divorce, remarriage and having a grown daughter. I enjoy traveling, being at the beach, walking/hiking and fly fishing.

WALTER WANG

I’m a  local boy, born and raised in Santa Clara.  My walk with the Lord started in high school when my mom first encouraged me to attend church “to meet girls”.  Not only did I successfully meet my future wife, but I also started loving the Lord during those years. I am an electrical engineer, having been with the same company for as long as I’ve been married.  Linda and I have 2 children in university and are enjoying the empty-nest life. I’m an avid road/gravel cyclist, and a frequent Zwift and Strava user.

JOHN LOIACONO

I’m a husband of 32 years, father of two. I spent 35+ years in technology at Sun Microsystems (20), Adobe (6), venture capital and two CEO roles at startups. Now I’ve recently jumped into real estate development (buying/renovating/selling property). I enjoy ALL sports! Watching many but I also have a love/hate relationship with playing golf.  And I just picked up PickleBall.