Members

Faith to Action Initiative - Core Working Group

Faith to Action Initiative - Advisory Group

Kerry Olson (Chair)
Founder and President, Firelight Foundation

Kerry Olson is the President and Founder of the Firelight Foundation, (hyperlink is www.firelightfoundation.org) started in 1999 as a private foundation created to support and advocate for the needs and rights of children and families made vulnerable by poverty and HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2010, Firelight became a public charity. Prior to Firelight, Kerry worked for over 20 years as an early childhood educator, the founding director of nonprofit child/parent programs, and as a research social scientist. She holds a Ph.D. in developmental psychology and education from The University of Michigan. Kerry is the lead author of From Faith to Action (2006), a widely endorsed guide for churches and faith-based groups on supporting family and community care for orphans and vulnerable children and coordinating writer/editor of Journeys of Faith (2011).  Kerry is the chair and co-founder of the Faith to Action Initiative.

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Amanda Cox
Coordinator, Faith to Action Initiative

Amanda Cox is the Coordinator of the Faith to Action Initiative, founded in 2006 through the Better Care Network. Amanda coordinates all advocacy and public engagement efforts on behalf of the Faith to Action Initiative and its member organizations. She is a frequent conference speaker and travels throughout the United States to engage with church groups, students and faith-based organizations on the topic of best practice in caring for and engaging with orphans, vulnerable children and their communities. In 2009 and 2010 she traveled to Africa to document case studies of successful U.S./African faith-based partnerships supporting family-based care and was a lead writer and photographer for the resulting publication, Journeys of Faith.

Amanda has worked in child protection and advocacy for the past 11 years and holds a B.A. from Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota and an M.A. in International Development from The George Washington University in Washington, DC. Previous projects have taken her to Uganda to report on the impact of early childhood development programs on HIV affected communities as well as to Thailand to oversee a post-tsunami migrant child reunification program. Amanda currently lives in Denver, CO with her husband and two-year-old daughter.

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Diana Millner
Program Officer, Stoneleigh Foundation

Diana Aubourg Millner currently serves as a program officer with the Stoneleigh Foundation, which supports outstanding individuals whose work unites research, policy and practice to improve youth serving systems. At Stoneleigh, she oversees two fellowship programs and the work of both senior and junior fellows.

Previously, Diana served as a Senior Policy Analyst with Bread for the World Institute, focusing on foreign aid reform and related global hunger and poverty issues. Prior to this, she served as Executive Director of Save Africa's Children (SAC), an African-American church initiative that supports orphan care programs throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. In this capacity, she led the disbursement of more than 400 grants to hundreds of grassroots and faith-based organizations serving orphans and vulnerable children in Africa, and represented SAC to faith-based organizations and policy and advocacy groups addressing the global aids pandemic.

Diana has worked closely with Firelight Foundation's founder and president, Kerry Olson, as a founding member of the Faith to Action Initiative and was a co-writer of the publication Journeys of Faith. Diana earned a bachelor's degree in policy studies from Syracuse University and a master's in international development planning from MIT. She is happily married to Rev. Marlon Millner and the proud mother of 2 children.

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John Derrick
MDG Consultant, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

John Derrick has served as the Training Specialist with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) Global Missions and is now a Millenium Development Goals (MDG) consultant. His work with CBF focused on equipping field personnel for cross-cultural service and now is concentrated on global learning and service opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students. During his tenure with CBF John traveled and worked in 33 countries. He has also provided leadership for special projects including an HIV/AIDS Summit and Freedom from Hunger and Poverty advocacy and awareness event, and lead a group of university and graduate students on an 8 week multi-country Millennium Development Goals trip in summer 2008.  The focus of the next special project will be on water. John's educational background includes a Master of Divinity.  John's career is now focused on pediatric nursing and is currently working towards a MSN as a pediatric nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt University. During his nursing studies, he has completed research on the Impact of Food Insecurity on Pediatric Health (rural Alabama) and the Physical and Psychosocial Development of Orphans (North Africa). John's focus and passion in nursing are on the global needs of children affected by trauma, poverty, war and institutionalization. John and his wife are the parents of two sons from Guatemala - Jonah, 10 and Toby, 8.  

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Jon Singletary
Associate Dean and Professor, Baylor School of Social Work

Jon Singletary is Associate Dean and Professor of Social Work at Baylor University (in Waco, TX) and Diana R. Garland Chair of Child and Family Studies in the Baylor Center for Family and Community Ministries. His teaching, research, and practice focus on Christian responses to global poverty from the perspective of strengthening families through building communities. Before coming to Baylor, Jon served as a Mennonite pastor in Virginia. As a volunteer advocate with Bread for the World, he had the opportunity to participate in a ONE Campaign delegation to the G-8 summit in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2005. He currently serves on the Family and Children committee of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA and edits the journal Family and Community Ministries.

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Tanya Medrano
Sr. Technical Officer for OVC, FHI 360

Tanya Medrano is the Senior Technical Officer for OVC (orphans and vulnerable children) at FHI 360 located in Durham, North Carolina. She has 20 years of experience in program management and HIV/AIDS. She has national and international experience designing and implementing programs for vulnerable children and youth. She was the founder and director of PROINFANCIA, the first NGO established in the Dominican Republic to address the needs of children and youth affected by HIV/AIDS. She has also designed and implemented programs for inner city children and youth affected by HIV/AIDS in the U.S. Tanya holds a masters degree in Management of Social Services and a certificate in Early Childhood Education.

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Kathleen Riordan
Acting Sr. Coordinator, Better Care Network

Kathleen Riordan is the Acting Senior Coordinator of the Better Care Network Secretariat based at UNICEF in New York City. In this role, she serves as the primary point of contact between the network's global membership and the Secretariat. Kate is responsible for supporting BCN members (academics, policymakers and practitioners) with research and technical assistance in the areas of alternative care development, social welfare strengthening and the development of standards and legislations for children in care. She supports the Secretariat promoting and enhancing the BCN advocacy and networking platforms. Before joining the Better Care Network, Kate served as a Senior Assistant Child Advocate for the New Jersey State Office of the Child Advocate. As part of a team monitoring and evaluating child welfare system reforms, she assessed the care and protection of children served by the social welfare and child protection systems. Her particular areas of attention related to children in care, particularly those in foster care and out of home facilities within the statewide child protective system. Kate previously worked with community-based organizations serving children in Kenya. Kate currently lives in New York City.

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Karl Mueller
Executive Director, Visionledd

Karl Mueller is the Executive Director of Visionledd USA based in Arizona. Karl has been in ministry for more than 30 years. He has served in leadership with Youth With A Mission and the North American Baptist Conference. He was also president of a Bible College and for 12 years worked in leadership in local churches. Prior to becoming the Executive Director of Visionledd USA in December of 2008, Karl was the Missions Pastor at a large church in the Phoenix, AZ area. His ministry has taken him to more than 30 nations of the world. For the past six years he has been active in building partnerships between North American churches and churches and ministries in Guatemala, Turkey, Indonesia and Malawi. Karl is a graduate of the University of Albert and Fuller Theological Seminary (Missiology). Since 2005 Karl and his wife, Debbie, have been involved in catalyzing, connecting and coaching North American churches in the process of walking alongside African churches and ministries in the battle against AIDS and for transformed communities. They frequently travel to Africa where they are involved in building relationships and the capacity of African churches and ministries engaged in community transformation. Karl and Debbie live in Mesa, Arizona. They have one son.

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Pamela Harrington
Director, Bethany Christian Services

Pamela Harrington is the Director of Bethany Christian Services Global, LLC, headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Passionate about kids being in loving and protective families, Pam is an advocate and clinician with experience in a spectrum of child welfare services. Starting with her MSW internship with Bethany, she worked in family preservation and reunification, foster care, and adoptions including infant, special needs, and older child adoption. She then spent 3 years in Romania as the director of Bethany's system-change partnership with the Government of Romania as it moved from institutions to family-focused and community-based alternatives. Pam absolutely hates orphanages. After 15 years, Pam left Bethany for the greener pastures of Academia where she was the Social Work Program Director at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, MI. After the excitement of gaining initial CSWE accreditation was over, she consulted on a variety of international child protection-related activities including annual family-based care conferences in China, family violence prevention projects, and USAID Project Evaluations. In 2005 she went to Sri Lanka for 1 1/2 years with ChildFund/UNICEF for a post-tsunami project aimed at macro-level systems change for children who had lost one or both parents in the disaster. Upon returning from Sri Lanka, Pam continued her consulting practice and was working for Bethany in Africa when she was asked to return to Bethany. She has just completed 3 years as the director of Bethany's global services. She loves to write, cook, read, be around water, and enjoys their cottage on Lake Michigan with her family.

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C.H. Dyer
President, Bright Hope

C.H. Dyer has been CEO/President of Bright Hope since 1993. After graduating from Talbot Seminary with a Master of Arts Degree in Theological Studies in 1989 and a Bachelor's Degree in Finance and Marketing from Northern Illinois, C.H. has led Bright Hope to focus on assisting the extreme poor, including the orphan, widowed and disenfranchised.  He has developed partnerships with over 600 indigenous churches in nine countries, each program includes relief aid (food, clothing, medical, shelter and education), development programs (micro-lending and skill and wage increasing programs) and evangelism and discipleship programs.  C.H. has traveled to over 50 countries and enjoys visiting the people he serves.  He belongs to the Christian Leadership Alliance Association, The Chicago Council of Global Affairs and The Master’s Program. He has been a frequent featured guest on Moody Radio and Mission Network News and an invited keynote speaker at numerous colleges, seminars, and conferences.  He has preached at over 50 churches throughout the US and internationally.  C.H. is the father of three children. His wife, Anne and he live in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.  The Dyers adopted their two youngest children from Russia and have founded Better Orphan Care to help Russian orphans find loving families in Russia.

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Elli Oswald
Director of Mission and Outreach, Bethany Community Church

Elizabeth Oswald is the Director of Mission and Outreach at Bethany Community Church in Seattle, Washington.  Elli is a graduate of Pepperdine University (BA in Religion and Non-Profit Management) and received her Masters in Cross Cultural Studies and International Development from Fuller Theological Seminary. She has worked with a wide variety non-profit organizations both locally and internationally.  Most recently she was the Children in Crisis Research and Communications Coordinator for World Vision International's Child Development and Rights Technical Team, where she specialized in community-based care for children deprived of parental care.  Elli has also worked in the Los Angeles area, including, Union Station Homeless Services and Habitat for Humanity.  She lives in Seattle with her husband, Forrest, an Economist for the Federal Treasury Department.

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Mark Lorey
Sr. Technical Specialist, World Vision International

Bio forthcoming...check back soon!

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Wendy McMahon
Mobilization Manager, Food for the Hungry

Wendy McMahan serves with Food for the Hungry as Mobilization Manager, equipping American followers of Christ to advocate for the world's most vulnerable people. Wendy hosts Poverty Unlocked, an audio program exploring the Christian response to poverty and injustice. She holds a B.S. in Agricultural Systems & Environment, and an M.S. in International Agricultural Development. Wendy lives with her family in Southern California and serves as City Pastor at her church, Rock Harbor Mission Viejo. 

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Tammy Johnson
Assistant, Faith to Action Initiative

Tammy Johnson is the Administrative Assistant for the Faith to Action Initiative.  She holds a B.A. in Spanish from Geneva College in Pennsylvania. Tammy worked for eight years in the role of Executive Assistant for the Senior Vice President at CHF International, a non-profit international development agency. She left that post to become a stay at home which she has enjoyed now for four years. She has traveled to many parts of Europe and Latin America planning conferences and organizing logistics. Tammy loves assisting with church mission trips especially when she can serve in the role of translator or logistics coordinator.  She currently lives in Dallas with her husband, Nate, and two sons, Tyler, 4 and Caleb, 2.

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