David Birnie, Campus minister
David and his wife, Krista, are excited to return to Stanford to continue the work that God has been doing through RUF. They met through RUF at Stanford University when David was an RUF intern and Krista was in medical school. David is a graduate of Gordon-Conwell seminary as well as Wake Forest University, where he was first introduced to RUF. Born in California, David has lived all over the country, including Colorado, Massachusetts, Washington, and now back to California.
David loves being outside, particularly when he gets a chance to play golf, go hiking, or ride his bike. Friendly competition is always welcome, so challenge David to a little game of cornhole, spikeball, ping pong, or a new game, and he will almost certainly always take you up on it.
David and Krista got married in 2010. They have three kids: Annika (2014), Micah (2017), and Nate (2019). Each one is an absolute delight, and they are all excited about meeting more students at Stanford.
kathleen chitty, campus staff
Kathleen was first involved with RUF as a student at the University of Florida. It was through RUF that she began to experience the transformative grace of the gospel in new ways--grace she loves getting to share with Stanford students. After graduating with her Bachelor's in English in 2014, Kathleen worked on staff with a church youth ministry for 5 years. In 2019, Kathleen made the cross-country move to Palo Alto to start as Campus Staff at Stanford.
Kathleen loves everything about warm weather and has loved living in the Bay Area. She loves good storytelling in books, movies, and podcasts. When Kathleen isn't on campus, you can find her walking her dog, Ruth, trying out a new recipe, or spending time with her nieces in San Jose.
Max Serna, INtern
Max Serna was born and raised in the Inland Empire of California and graduated from UCLA with a bachelor's degree in political science and a minor in the study of religion. Max found RUF late his freshman year and immediately fell in love with how the staff and students met him with so much love. He tangibly experienced the Lord's kindness through the rest, wisdom, and encouragement that the RUF at UCLA community provided. In his free time, you'll probably find Max thrifting at any thrift store in a nearby radius, trying new coffee shops, using his AMC stubs membership, playing some music, or simply enjoying community. Max is so excited to live life alongside the students at Stanford and see the Lord at work!