The Faith to Action Initiative functions as a coalition, including a Leadership Council, Advisory Network, and Board. Together, we seek to solve the complex problem of reaching U.S. Christians with the family care message, because no individual or single organization has the mandate, capacity, knowledge, or resources to do so alone. The coalition is based on the shared vision we can only create together. Our purpose in joining together to form Faith to Action is catalyzing our collective value for pursing Faith to Action’s mission.

Board Members

The Board acts as fiduciary and oversees the mission of Faith to Action’s work.

KELLEY BUNKERS
Senior Partner, Maestral International

Kelley McCreery Bunkers is an international child protection and social welfare consultant with over twenty years of experience working and living in East Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Kelley has worked with a wide range of actors including international organizations, private foundations, government ministries, USAID, and UNICEF. Her most recent work has been in Moldova, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, and Rwanda focusing on strengthening child protection systems, identifying and promoting linkages between child protection and programing for children and families affected by HIV and AIDS, and supporting child care reform, including expansion of family-based alternative care. She has an advanced degree in Children’s Rights and is a regular contributor to peer reviewed articles and books covering international child welfare. Kelley is an advisor for the Better Care Network and Global Health Promise.

MARK LOREY
Vice President of Global Programs and Impact, RestoringVision

Mark serves as Vice President of Global Programs and Impact at RestoringVision, an international nonprofit focused on solving the global vision crisis.  Prior to this, he worked with World Vision International (WVI) for more than twenty years.  His first role with WVI included leading co-creation of WV’s approach to community-led care for orphans and vulnerable children. A subsequent role focused on leading co-creation of WVI’s development approach: working with communities and partners toward the sustained well-being of children within families and communities – especially the most vulnerable. Mark has lived and worked in Malawi, South Africa, and Zambia and worked with offices and partners in more than 60 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Europe, and Oceania.  He is currently based in the Washington DC area.

BEVERLY NYBERG
Independent Consultant, Common Root Consulting

Beverly Nyberg has over 40 years’ experience working with vulnerable children and their caregivers in multi-cultural settings both in the United States and abroad, including 10 years in the Democratic Republic of Congo and directing an international volunteer organization. Most recently, Beverly served as Senior Advisor for Orphans and Vulnerable Children with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) at The State Dept/PEPFAR (2005-2011) and Peace Corps/PEPFAR (2011-2016). She has a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a doctorate from The George Washington University, where Dr. Nyberg has also served as adjunct professor.  Bev is also currently on the executive team of World Without Orphans and on the board of Forgotten Voices, International.

Leadership Council

The Leadership Council serves as the governing body for the Initiative. Members support the Initiative in their areas of expertise, and member organizations amplify the messaging within their own networks.

PHIL AND JILL ASPEGREN
Casa Viva

Philip and Jill Aspegren pioneered caring for children in local families when they co-founded Casa Viva in Costa Rica in 2004.  Working in partnership with local churches, Casa Viva places children in local foster families while biological family reunification and adoption possibilities are being pursued. Casa Viva’s team provides professional support to the families and churches. Before founding Casa Viva, the Aspegrens developed children’s homes, day programs and educational facilities for six years in the Dominican Republic.  Today, with Casa Viva Costa Rica as their platform, and using their backgrounds in business economics and education, the Aspegrens are developing Casa Viva Solutions and the Casa Viva Greenhouse to equip and inspire solutions for children separated from their families with the goal of seeing local families become the first and primary response.

JOANNA KRETZER CHUN
Director of Program Quality for International Programs, World Relief

Joanna Kretzer Chun is the Director of Program Quality for International Programs at World Relief. Joanna has over eighteen years of international development and ministry experience, including seven years as a gender advisor at World Vision International and three years working alongside churches in the north coast of Colombia. Supporting programs in Latin America, Africa and Asia, her background spans the areas of gender mainstreaming, women’s empowerment, child protection, child development, family strengthening, faith leader engagement, and social norm change. Joanna has a passion for ensuring families are equipped to provide a nurturing and safe environment for their children to thrive. She holds Master degrees in Intercultural Studies and Family Studies from Fuller Seminary and a BA in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. Joanna resides with her husband and son in Washington, DC.

RANDY DANIELS
Vice President, Buckner International

Randy has been with Buckner 33 years including living in Ethiopia overseeing Africa and Middle East programming.  He began his career in social services working for Child Protective Services in Texas for 8 years.  Randy has experience designing, developing, and operating foster care, family preservation and transitional programs for single mothers as well as youth aging out of the foster care system. In his current role he is responsible for government relations at the state and federal levels, impact investing, business development, and consulting. He is a credentialed Social Worker, has written several articles including “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child”, “Suffer the Children”, “The Power of Women to Change the World (A Generational Approach to the World’s Orphan Problem)” and “Is the Church Really Important to Developing Healthy Families?”. Randy is married with 4 children and 1 granddaughter.

MICHAEL DOURIS
President Emeritus, Orphan Outreach

Michael has managed children’s services domestically and internationally for over 35 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State University and a master’s degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. He has developed childcare programs including therapeutic foster care, assessment centers, residential treatment, and international programs including adoption, foster care, baby homes, residential care, and transitional living.

KARMEN FRIESEN
Executive Director, World Without Orphans

Faith to Action - World Without OrphansKarmen has led CoMission since 2001, networking, resourcing and equipping Christian leaders, organizations, churches and individuals in Russia and Ukraine to minister more effectively to orphans and children at risk. Since 2007, a major focus has been equipping Russian and Ukrainian Christians for adoption and foster care. As a result, Karmen has been involved in developing the Russia Without Orphans Alliance and supporting Ukraine Without Orphans, movements that are engaging the Church in their own countries for family-based care. He is also on the steering team of World Without Orphans, a movement of Christian organizations and leaders working globally to mobilize national movements like the ones in Russia and Ukraine. As part of his work, Karmen has coordinated numerous conferences and led the development of online directories of orphan care resources and events, in both English and Russian.

LEENA HILL 
Vice President of Global Services, Bethany Christian Services

Leena Hill joined Bethany Christian Services in March 2021 as the Vice President of Global Services. In this role she oversees Bethany’s international programs in family-based care services, including local foster care and adoption, family preservation and reunification, mental health and psycho-social services, and child protection. She has more than 15 years of  experience leading global humanitarian responses and international operations involving institutional and private donor engagement, partnership development, project design and delivery, and cross-functional collaboration and accountability. Previously, Leena worked at Food for the Hungry, World Vision, and served as U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in South Africa. Leena has a B.A. from Western Washington University and a M.A. in International Development from American University in Washington D.C. She lives in Arlington, Virginia, with her husband and daughter.

MARY BETH IDUH
Senior Program Manager for Faith Engagement, Changing the Way We Care, CRS

As the Senior Program Manager for Faith Engagement for Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC), Mary Beth Iduh brings over 15 years of Catholic international development experience to the role. Mary Beth is responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive global engagement strategy with faith-based audiences and actors, beginning with the U.S. Catholic Church, as well as supporting CTWWC’s faith-based partnerships. Mary Beth joined Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in 2008, first working in Africa and South America in the areas of orphans and vulnerable children, HIV & AIDS, human trafficking/refugees and economic strengthening, followed by regional and national representational roles focused on deepening global discipleship and solidarity within U.S. Catholic organizations, dioceses, universities, seminaries and other communities. Since 2007, Mary Beth has served on the Board of Directors of the Farm of the Child USA, which supports a Catholic center of protection for children in Honduras where she previously was a lay missionary. She is active in her community and parish and was selected for the inaugural cohort of interfaith Imagining Justice in Baltimore community leaders in 2016. Mary Beth has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame and dual-Masters degrees in Pastoral Ministry & Global Macro Social Work from Boston College. She lives in Baltimore with her husband and two young children.

JUSTIN LONAS
Director of Regional Partnerships, The Chalmers Center

Justin serves as Director of Regional Partnerships for the Chalmers Center at Covenant College. He read When Helping Hurts with his church missions committee in 2009, starting a shift in his thinking about poverty and the church that led to his joining the team at Chalmers in 2016 after serving in different roles for 10 years at a small international missions organization. At Chalmers, he coordinates the work behind books, articles, blog posts, online courses, video projects, and small group curriculums produced by Chalmers’ staff and ministry partners around the core concepts of a biblical framework for poverty alleviation and works with churches and organizations to help them apply these ideas in their ministry programs. He holds a B.A. in communications from Bryan College (2006), and is a current M. Div. student (class of 2024) at Reformed Theological Seminary in Atlanta. Justin and his wife, Rachel, have four daughters, and live in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

JEDD MEDEFIND
President, Christian Alliance for Orphans

Prior to his current role, Jedd served in the White House as a Special Assistant to the President, leading the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. In this post, he oversaw reform efforts across the government to make community- and faith-based groups central partners in all federal efforts to aid the needy. He has worked, studied, and served in more than thirty countries, with organizations ranging from Price-Waterhouse in Moscow to Christian Life Bangladesh.

REBECCA NHEP
Senior Technical Advisor, Better Care Network

Rebecca Nhep is the Senior Technical Advisor for Better Care Network. Rebecca has 18 years of experience in international development and child protection. Her work has included a strong focus on advocacy, deinstitutionalisation, family-based care and community-led development. Rebecca also co-founded and co-chairs ReThink Orphanages Network in Australia. Prior to her role with BCN, Rebecca was the Joint CEO of ACC International (ACCI) where she founded ACCI’s child rights and deinstitutionalisation program, Kinnected. Under Rebecca’s leadership, the Kinnected program supported the transition of over 65 residential care centres and the development of family-based care and community-based child and family welfare services in 12 countries. Rebecca also spent 11 years in Cambodia where she supported the development of the country’s first formal family-based care program. She also established an extensive network of family strengthening projects in rural communities to prevent family separation and child institutionalisation. Rebecca holds a Master’s Degree in International Development, and a Graduate Certificate in Missiology and Anthropology.

MATTHEW STEPHENS
Senior Technical Advisory for Child Protection, World Vision U.S.

Matthew Stephens is the Senior Technical Advisor for Child Protection at World Vision United States.  For over 16 years, Matthew has worked domestically and internationally to strengthen government and community responses to child abuse, neglect and exploitation.  Since 2006, he has provided technical support to World Vision’s child protection programming in over 20 countries, with a personal passion for advancing faith communities’ contributions to sustainably reducing violence against children.  Prior to his current role, Matthew spent eight years in living and working in the Republic of Georgia.  Matthew holds a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Texas-Arlington, and is currently based in Washington, DC with his wife and three children.

SHELTON TAGUMA
Executive Director, Forgotten Voices International

Shelton Taguma is the Executive Director of Forgotten Voices International, a ministry that partners with local churches to provide family-based care services for orphaned and vulnerable children in southern Africa. Shelton grew up in Zimbabwe, where he witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by poor children and youth. Shelton is a seasoned international development professional with 15 years of national and international experience as a trainer, program director, team leader, and program facilitator in East and Southern Africa and Central America. He has experience working with children and youth, church-based community programs, child sponsorship, psychosocial support programs for vulnerable children and youth, leadership development, economic empowerment programs, and managing donor-funded programs. Shelton serves as an Africa Regional Facilitator for the World Without Orphans Global Team and is also a member of the Board of Directors of Exile International. He holds an MA in International Development from Eastern University, a degree in Youth Development, and a BA in Community Development from the University of South Africa. Shelton has lived in Africa and Central America and is currently based in Pennsylvania with his wife and their two children.

Advisory Network

EVANS BAGGS, Biblical Studies Teacher, Northwest Arkansas Shiloh Christian School

GREG BURCH, Ph. D., Chair of Global Studies Dept. Multnomah University

PHIL DARKE, President, Providence World; Host, Think Orphan Podcast

C.H. DYER, CEO/President, Bright Hope

ANITA DEYNEKA, Board Member, A Family For Every Orphan

IAN FORBER-PRATT, Director of Global Advocacy, Children’s Emergency Relief International

TARA GARCIA, CEO, Identity Mission

STEVE GILLIS, Executive Director, Patch Our Planet

KRISTI GLEASON, Director of Child Protection and Education, World Vision

BRIAN HEERWAGEN, CEO, MissionWorks

ASHLEE HEILIGMAN, MSW, Global Director, Global Child Advocates

JULIE HILL, Director for Philanthropy, West, Living Water International

LAURA HORVATH Ed.D., Director of Program Development and Community Engagement, Helping Children Worldwide

GREG ISHMAEL, Senior Trainer, Global Training Network

ELLEN LIVINGOOD, President, Catalyst Services

FLORENCE MARTIN, Director, Better Care Network

PETER K. MUTHUI, Director and Co-Founder, Child in Family Focus

MICK PEASE, Founder and Trainer, SFAC

DR. DELIA POP, Director, Tanya’s Dream Fund

JON SINGLETARY, Dean of the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, Baylor University

BRANDON STIVER, Seattle Area Director, CarePortal

STEPHEN UCEMBE, Coordinator, Transform Alliance Africa

GABRIEL WALDER, M.S., Executive Director, Alliance for Children Everywhere

Staff

ELLI OSWALD
Executive Director

 Elli Oswald is the Executive Director of the Faith to Action Initiative. Prior to this role, she served as Director of Mission and Outreach at Bethany Community Church in Seattle, where she guided Bethany Community Church in various ministries to the poor and vulnerable in Seattle and around the world. Elli also served as the Children in Crisis Research and Communications Coordinator for World Vision International’s Child Development and Rights Technical Team, specializing in community-based care for children deprived of parental care. She has a B.A. from Pepperdine University and a M.A. in Cross Cultural Studies and International Development from Fuller Theological Seminary. Elli has worked with a wide variety non-profit organizations, including, Union Station Homeless Services in Los Angeles.

ALLISON COBLE
Director of Programs

Allison serves as the Faith to Action Initiative’s Director of Programs. She has over eleven years of experience overseeing family-based care initiatives. Prior to joining the Faith to Action Initiative, Allison served as Senior Director of Programs for the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), managing CCAI’s core programs including the Foster Youth Internship program and the annual Angels in Adoption Gala. Additionally, she provided oversight and direct support for their global initiatives in Ethiopia, Guatemala, and Haiti. Her areas of expertise include project management, program development, marketing, and large-scale event management. She previously worked for a U.S. Senator as Deputy Press Secretary, and then as the Associate Director of Marketing for a Washington D.C.-based trade association.

STEPHANIE ROBINSON
Outreach Coordinator

Stephanie Robinson has worked in holistic community development and family preservation for 11 years. Her experience has created several initiatives that offer holistic services to community members in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. She is the co-founder of a grassroots organization called Konbit Haiti, which provides localized support to family preservation through supplemental programs. In addition to these programs, Stephanie has also established a social enterprise called Konbit Collective, which helps single parents care for their children though various artisan goods sold through this venture. Stephanie holds a Master’s Degree in International Community Development through Northwest University.