Javier is a native of the deep South: he was born and raised in San Salvador, El Salvador. When he was ten years old, he and his family moved to the Pacific Northwest, near Portland, Oregon. He earned his Masters of Divinity Degree at Duke Divinity School and completed his Post-Graduate Diploma in Anglican Studies at Virginia Theological Seminary. Prior to studying at Duke, Javier worked as a mental health therapist and case manager in Seattle. It was also in Seattle that he discovered the Episcopal Church.
During his formation Javier did intern work in parishes in Durham, Apex, Oxford and Raleigh as well as a summer internship with the L’Arche community in Ontario. Javier also worked as a lay minister at St. Philip’s, Durham between his time in Divinity School and Anglican Studies at Virginia.