LEADERSHIP

Omar Hernández – Finance and Operations Coordinator

Based in Honduras

omar@asj-us.org

Omar works with our directors, managing finances and administrative functions for our organization. He joined the ASJ-US team in 2021 after spending two years teaching English at Abundant Life Christian School in Gracias, Lempira. Omar was raised in the small town of La Union in the mountains of Lempira, Honduras, where he grew up learning English as a second language. He went abroad for his Bachelor’s degree, studying Business Administration and Accounting at Nyack College in New York. Omar believes that his country can build a progressive future if we all strive to be intentional, just, and loving in the job we have been entrusted with. In his free time, Omar loves spending quality time with family and friends, as well as traveling and adventuring to new places.

Elizabeth Hickel – Operations Coordinator

Based in Michigan

elizabeth@asj-us.org

Elizabeth maintains ASJ-US's website and advertising, develops communications and social media, and assists with fundraising event logistics. She was born and raised in Honduras, where she studied Dentistry at the National University of Honduras. In 2019, she moved to the United States and pursued a Master’s Degree in Business Administration with a focus on project management at Cornerstone University. Since finishing her master’s, she has worked in the non-profit sector. Elizabeth is passionate about serving others and loves traveling, the outdoors, and spending time with friends and family.

Kyle Meyaard-Schaap – Executive Director

Based in Michigan

kyle@asj-us.org

Kyle leads our ASJ-US team and gets to connect people from around the world to ASJ’s groundbreaking work for justice. Kyle brings to ASJ-US over a decade of experience in faith-rooted advocacy, education, and mobilization toward justice, especially environmental and climate justice. He is a Yale Public Voices Fellow on the Climate Crisis, and his advocacy work has been featured in national and international news outlets such as PBS, NPR, CNN, NBC News, New York Times, Reuters, and U.S. News and World Report. His book, Following Jesus in a Warming World: A Christian Call to Climate Action, was published by InterVarsity Press in February 2023. Kyle holds an undergraduate degree in religious studies from Calvin University (B.A. '12), a Master of Divinity degree from Western Theological Seminary (M.Div. '16), and is ordained in the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA). Kyle, his wife, and their two young sons live in Grand Rapids, and can often be found cooking, reading, and exploring the natural beauty of Michigan.

Angela Montes – Eventos Colibri Manager

Based in Honduras

eventoscolibrihn@gmail.com

I joined ASJ-HN in 2018. I was born and raised in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras and completed my higher education at the Technological University of Honduras (UTH), obtaining a Bachelor's degree in Business Management and, later, a Master in Commercial Management and Marketing. It is an honor to be part of ASJ-US, an organization committed to protecting the most vulnerable and promoting a more just society in my beloved country. My favorite hobbies are spending time with my family, my pet, friends, and now I also really enjoy traveling.

Sara Pineda – Communications Coordinator

Based in Honduras

sara@asj-us.org

Sara is responsible for developing comprehensive communications strategies to connect with our ASJ constituents in the US and worldwide. Sara graduated from Wheaton College with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies focused on writing, sociology, and psychology. She has worked in various fields, including publishing, mental health, education, and research. Sara is passionate about the power of storytelling to bring about individual and systemic change. She was born and raised in Honduras, and she believes that sharing the stories of her people is crucial to the pursuit of justice in her country. Sara and her spouse are currently based in Tegucigalpa and have made it their personal mission to find the best baleadas spot in town. 

Based in Michigan

alison@asj-us.org

Alison leads our programs in the U.S., connecting North American supporters to ASJ’s work in Honduras and helping them learn how to do justice in their own contexts. After spending a semester abroad in Honduras, Alison wanted to be a part of building a brighter future in Honduras, and she has worked with ASJ since 2012. Alison received her B.A. in Spanish and Recreational Therapy from Calvin University and her Master’s in Business Administration from Central Michigan University. Alison is also an artist, focused on drawing and painting, and she believes that art is a platform to challenge everyday thinking and effect change. She and her husband manage Blue House Home Inspections in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Russ Jacobs, JD – Board President; Member, Finance Committee

Russ Jacobs leads the global Intellectual Property practice at Starbucks Coffee Company.  Mr. Jacobs returned to Starbucks following three years as the first General Counsel for the National CASA/GAL Association for Children, the leading organization in the US promoting volunteer best-interest advocacy for children who have experienced abuse or neglect. He started his legal practice at the New York office of Hughes Hubbard & Reed before moving to Seattle and working at Focal Law PLLC.  While earning a bachelor's degree with a double major in Spanish and the History of Art from the University of Michigan he participated in an internship at the national art museum in Costa Rica.  He received his J.D. from Columbia University, studying abroad at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina. He also earned a Certificate in Spanish Community Interpreting from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

Dr. Mark Veenstra, MD – Chair, Development Committee; Member, Governance Committee

Dr. Mark Veenstra retired in 2014 after 27 years as an orthopedic surgeon, though he continues to perform surgery several months per year with medical brigades to Honduras. Dr. Veenstra studied at Calvin University before earning his MD from Wayne State University School of Medicine. He and his wife live in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and they regularly travel to Gracias, Honduras to work in a medical clinic they founded together with the Luke Society.

Dr. Kim Lodewyk – Secretary; Member, Development Committee

Dr. Kim Lodewyk is a licensed clinical psychologist who works as a managing partner and clinician at Heritage Professional Associates with multiple offices in the Chicagoland area. She works with a variety of problem types and ages and specializes in working with trauma. Dr. Lodewyk and her husband have three adult children and live in the western suburbs of Chicago. She also serves on the board of Sunshine Gospel Ministries.

Chelsea Lernihan – Treasurer; Member, Finance Committee 

Chelsea Lernihan serves as the Executive Director for the MIGMIR fund, which supports Christ-centered ministries that meet the spiritual and physical needs of individuals in under-resourced communities in Chicago, East Africa, Central America, and Southeast Asia. Chelsea received her MBA from the University of Southern Indiana, and she is passionate about promoting faith, justice, and empowerment. Chelsea and her husband Tom live in Carmel, Indiana with their four kids.

Erica Boonstra – Member, Executive Committee; Missional Alignment Committee

Erica Boonstra is strategist, design thinker, and nonprofit advisor, passionate about spurring innovation and impact in the nonprofit sector. She currently works on the Nonprofit Success team at Salesforce, one of the largest and most innovative software companies in the world, after spending 15+ years working in international nonprofits, mostly recently at International Justice Mission. She has an Masters in Nonprofit Management from American University. Erica, her partner (Jonathan), and her two kids (Asher and Gideon) live in Grand Rapids, MI.

Paul DeBoer, CPA – Member, Finance Committee

Paul DeBoer is a member of the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is one of the original partners of the local public accounting firm DeBoer, Goodyke, Kahler & Tuttle in Grand Rapids, MI. He has worked as the CFO at Extol, Inc., an engineering and manufacturing company in Zeeland, Michigan, before returning to the public accounting practice he helped to found.

Stephen DeHaan, JD – Chair, Governance Committee

Steve DeHaan has more than 30 years of experience as a lawyer focusing on personal injury cases. He has a Master’s degree in physiology from the University of Wisconsin, and has done research into cardiovascular physiology. Mr. DeHaan attended law school at Valparaiso University School of Law in Indiana. He graduated with honors in 1983 and became a member of the State Bar of Michigan that same year.

Jodi de La Pena-Vanderpol – Member, Missional Alignment Committee

Jodi is a licensed clinical social worker with 28 years of direct social work and managerial experience, focusing mainly on supporting refugees/immigrants/asylees and children and youth. Jodi holds a Master of Social Work degree from Washington University in St. Louis and spent 5 years in Latin America (Colombia, Venezuela, and Costa Rica) working with youth living on the streets and supporting the development of a foster care system. Jodi currently manages a federal human trafficking prevention grant for Oakland Unified School District and volunteers her time supporting her previous non-profit which provides refugee resettlement services. She and her husband live in Berkeley, CA with their almost-grown teens!

Luis Flores – Member, Development Committee

Luis grew up in a small town in Guatemala and just before entering high school he immigrated to Grand Rapids, Michigan with his family. In 2013, Luis obtained a Bachelor’s degree in business from Calvin University and currently serves as a Sales Development Manager with Service Express. Luis and his wife have actively supported ASJ since 2012, and they are also passionate about serving youth and families involved in the foster care system. Luis knows firsthand the prevalence of injustice in Central America, and he has remained deeply connected and committed to serving the Central American people in any way possible.

Dr. Scott Johnson – Member, Finance Committee

Scott Johnson began his career in the 1990s working for the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (now World Renew) in the Philippines and Grand Rapids. He joined the board of ASJ-US in 2006, after finishing his Ph.D. in Strategic Management at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Johnson currently teaches Strategy and Business Ethics at Iowa State University in the Ivy College of Business.

James Nealon – Member, Missional Alignment Committee

Jim Nealon has more than 30 years of experience in international affairs. His work in the U.S. Foreign Service has taken him to Spain, Hungary, the Philippines, and other countries around the world. Ambassador Nealon has served in public affairs, strategic communications, and human rights, including as the Civilian Deputy to the Commander of U.S. Southern Command. From 2014 to 2017, Nealon served as the U.S. Ambassador to Honduras, where he led U.S. diplomacy, and connected with civil society organizations such as ASJ to promote U.S. interests in reducing crime and violence in the country.

Maureen O’Keefe Hodge – Member, Development Committee

Maureen has lived and worked in urban poor communities in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Los Angeles. Maureen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has helped start nonprofits and community programs that bring change and justice to the suffering. Maureen and her husband Chris lived in Honduras and have three children with a large extended Honduran family.

Michael Pineda – Member

Michael is a Honduran-American organizational administrator and active musician that is committed to building bridges and creating opportunities for the Honduran community. He was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and moved to Honduras in 2012 where he completed his high school studies in Tegucigalpa. Michael received his bachelor's degree in business from Hope College in 2021, where he first connected with ASJ. He interned for a summer in Honduras with ASJ in 2019 on the Marketing team, and from that point on, continued to be deeply inspired and guided by the impactful work of the organization. He currently serves as the Rental Program Coordinator for Lyon & Healy Harps in Chicago, IL, and is committed to being a resource and developing strong relationships for ASJ anywhere he goes.

Dr. Kelli Schutte – Chair, Missional Alignment Committee

Kelli Schutte serves as department chair and professor of business at William Jewell College in Kansas City, Missouri. She holds an economics degree from Calvin University, a Master’s Degree in Finance from Western Michigan University and a Ph.D. in Labor Relations from Michigan State University. Dr. Schutte and her family are active in foster care both working with foster youth and volunteering with local organizations.