Matt joined us on December 16, 2014 as Dir. of Youth Ministry. Prior
to coming here, Matt worked for seven years at
South Shore Trinity Lutheran Church in White
Bear Lake, MN, responsible for overseeing the
Youth Program, Sunday School, Confirmation and
Vacation Bible School.
Matt was raised in
Milwaukee and graduated from Milwaukee Lutheran
High School. He moved to St. Paul, MN, to
attend Concordia University, where he took
courses in the Director of Christian Education
Program and majored in Parish Administration. He
graduated from Concordia in May 2007 and joined
South Shore Trinity Lutheran Church that fall.
In 2010 Matt married Joy, who teaches at Lake
Country Lutheran High School. Their first child Elliott
was born in May 2016 and also have two daughters: Ava born in February 2019
and Evelyn in February of 2023.
In his free time, Matt loves spending time with his family
and extended family (who live in the area), golfing, running,
watching old movies, and traveling up north.
A graduate of Brookfield Central High School, Michelle earned her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education
at UW-Madison, followed by her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Curriculum and Instruction from
Cardinal Stritch University. She later worked for Brookfield Elementary, first as a Learning Support Teacher,
then as a Program Support Teacher, until she was named Associate Principal in 2014.
Michelle first joined our Cross of Life campus with her parents in the 1980’s, later marrying her
husband Mike there in 1989. She and Mike have three children – Mitch, Marcus and Madison – all of
whom grew up immersed in our many different youth offerings.
Over the years, Michelle has served as a Sunday School teacher for Saturday evening services and as a
Confirmation Small Group Leader. Mike serves as Worship Assistant and helped foster the collaboration
between Cross of Life and Christ the King years ago.
In addition to spending as much time as they can with their kids, Michelle and Mike enjoy taking their
road bikes on trails – whether here in Brookfield or all around Wisconsin.
UNITY is thrilled to welcome another "lifer" as Madison Arredondo officially joined our staff on August 1! "I've been at UNITY for 27 years, my entire life." Madison says. "My parents (Mike and Michelle Aprahamian) were married here, I was baptized here, and my husband and I were married here in December of 2022. It feels like a full-circle moment."
A 2016 graduate of Brookfield Central High School, Madison attended Florida International University, graduating from there in 2019 with a triple-major in International Relations, Spanish and Latin American and Caribbean Studies. From there she earned her Master's Degree in Teaching from Carroll University in 2023. In addition, she is also certified in English as a Second Language.
Growing up, Madison experienced all the programs UNITY had to offer, including Sunday School, VBS, Confirmation, the East Coast Road Trip (both as a student & adult), and El Salvador. This immersion in our culture, along with her education and experience, makes her role as our Director of Communications a natural fit.
Madison lives in Menomonee Falls (2 minutes away from the CTK campus) with her husband, Ivan, and their daughter, Magdalena (or Lena as she is known by the staff). As Madison explains, “I needed to find something other than teaching to provide me with greater flexibility. Pastor Sherrie mentioned to me that this position was open, and I thought, ‘This is a sign from God! It really is!’”