Staff
Larry A. Smith
President
Larry has served as President of ScholarLeaders since 2010. He and his wife Victoria have been board members since 1997, and Larry was Chair from 2001 to 2006. Larry also serves on the boards of Fuller Theological Seminary and the Institute for Religion & Public Life. Before becoming President, Larry was a strategy consultant to multinational corporations. Larry and Victoria have five children and eight grandchildren and live in Cortona, Italy.
Emmanuel Bellon, PhD
Vice President
Emmanuel has directed the ScholarLeaders Vital SustainAbility Initiative since 2015. As Vice President, he draws from over 20 years of experience in leadership training, consulting, and coaching. Previously, he served as Vice Chancellor of International Leadership University in Kenya and as President of International Leadership Universities in Zimbabwe, Burundi, Nigeria, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He received a LeaderStudies scholarship for his PhD in Intercultural Studies at Fuller. He is on the board of The Sanneh Institute. Emmanuel and his wife Leticia live in Florida and have three children.
Evan R. Hunter, PhD
Vice President
Evan’s passions for the Church and the seminary shape his work as Vice President for the ScholarLeaders LeaderStudies program and as editor for the InSights Journal for Global Theological Education. He joined ScholarLeaders in 2004 after working as a missions pastor and in campus ministry. He also serves on several boards, including those of the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education, Northern Pines Christian Family Camp, and Tyndale House Foundation. Located in Minnesota, Evan and his wife Becky keep up with three very active sons.
Bonnie E. Lin
Prayer Community
Bonnie has worked with ScholarLeaders since 2015. After managing communications, she stepped back in order to begin a PhD at Princeton Theological Seminary. She loves the ScholarLeaders fellowship and continues to support the ministry by guiding the prayer community.
Wageeh Mikhail, PhD
Christian-Muslim Expert & Vital SustainAbility Initiative
Wageeh joined ScholarLeaders in 2019 to guide the ministry in religions and to help lead the Vital SustainAbility Initiative. Before joining ScholarLeaders, he was Director for the Center of Middle Eastern Christianity at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo, Egypt. He has published and spoken widely on medieval Arab Christianity. He received a LeaderStudies scholarship for his PhD at Birmingham. He and his wife have two sons.
Marcos Orison de Almeida, PhD
Vital SustainAbility Initiative
Marcos has served with the ScholarLeaders Vital SustainAbility Initiative since 2016. Since 1998, he has worked at South American Theological Seminary in Londrina, Brazil as a full-time teacher and in many administrative positions, including as President from 2006 to 2010. Marcos is also an Evaluator of Theological Institutions and Courses for the Brazilian Department of Education. He is an ordained Presbyterian minister. He received a LeaderStudies scholarship for his PhD at Fuller. He and his wife Patricia have two children.
Evelyn Reynolds, PhD
Communications
Evelyn serves ScholarLeaders in communications. She joined the team in 2019. She edits articles for the InSights Journal for Global Theological Education, manages foundation relationships, and facilitates storytelling. She has a PhD in medieval English literature and an MFA in poetry, and she and her husband live in Indiana.
Linzay Rinquest, PhD
Vital SustainAbility Initiative
Linzay joined ScholarLeaders in 2020 to help lead the Vital SustainAbility Initiative. From 2006 to 2019, he was Principal/CEO of Cape Town Baptist Seminary in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2018, he was also President of the Baptist Union of Southern Africa. He continues to minister as a member of the National Executive of the Baptist Union of Southern Africa. He lives in Cape Town with his wife and three children.
Tatiana J. Ritter, MA
Advancement
Tatiana employs her compassionate, pastoral heart in Christ’s service as the ScholarLeaders advancement director for churches and individuals. She joined in 2018 after directing Adult Student Services and serving as Adjunct Faculty at Trinity International University. She and her husband live in Pennsylvania, where she also ministers in grief counseling.
Lynn M. Simons
Vice President
Since 2014, Lynn has directed finances and operations for the ScholarLeaders staff. Now a Vice President, she acts as the organization’s central command. She has an Executive Scholar Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Northwestern University. She lives with her husband in the Chicago area. They have three children.
Shyan Xiong
Administration
Shyan connects the ScholarLeaders staff through administrative and technical expertise. She joined the ministry in 2018. She and her husband George have a heart for the Hmong community and for young people. They live in the Chicago area.
Board
Our long-serving board of directors represents extensive experience in global theological education, Christian mission, entrepreneurial leadership, and business strategy and practice. Board members generously cover all administrative costs, allowing 100% of other contributions to support programs that directly encourage and enable Christian theological leaders from the Majority World for the Global Church. * member of the Executive Committee
Tite Tiénou*, PhD (2004) CHAIR
Tite holds the Tite Tiénou Chair of Mission and Global Theology and is Research Professor of Theology of Mission at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is known worldwide as a theologian with particular expertise in Africa and passion for developing leaders for the Global Church.
Gary Ames (2011)
Seattle, WA
Retired Chief Executive Officer, MediaOne International; Trustee, Seattle Pacific University
John Azumah, PhD (2012)
Accra, Ghana
Executive Director, The Sanneh Institute; Visiting Faculty, Divinity School at Yale University
David Baer*, PhD (2017)
Medellin, Colombia
Director, Theological Education Initiative; Professor, Biblical Seminary of Colombia
Bruce Baker, PhD (1997)
Seattle, WA
Professor of Business Ethics, Seattle Pacific University and the University of Washington; Former Senior Executive, Microsoft
Dan Boyce* (2012)
Naples, FL
Partner, iHs Professional Services
Paul Evans (2005)
Waynesville, FL
Principal, Rosetta Partners Investment Group
Clair* & David Fung (2004)
Encino, CA
Real Estate Investor
Anesthesiologist (MD)
Barry Glaser (2018)
Santa Monica, CA
Ministry Entrepreneur; Retired Vice President, Morgan Stanley
Matthew Heynen*
Grand Rapids, MI
Owner, Brookside Holdings
John Lovewell (1995)
Palo Alto, CA
President, Lovewell Company
Matt Mascioli* (2019)
New York City, NY
Independent Consultant
Beth & Doug Paul (2009)
Oxford, MS
Former Area Vice President, CVS Caremark (PharmD)
Partner and Vice President, Medical Marketing Economics (PhD, PharmD)
Linda Prinn (1989)
Newport Beach, CA
Retired
Anthony Rè (2018)
Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Executive Vice President, Fairbanks Capital Management
Marshall Reavis (2005)
Lake Bluff, IL
President, SVM; Board of Trustees, DePauw University
Marleen & Bruce* Rognlien (2001)
Pacific Palisades, CA
Chairman Emeritus, Associated Travel
Marylee & Grayson* Sanders (1994)
Newport Beach, CA
Independent Counselor
Chief Investment Officer, PREDEX Capital Management
Meritt & Steve* Sawyer (2017)
Palo Alto, CA
Executive Pastor, Peninsula Covenant Church
P&C Advisor, Woodruff Sawyer
Scot Sellers (1995)
San Diego, CA
Retired Chairman and CEO, Archstone-Smith Trust
Sharon & Dennis* Sheehan (1992)
Menlo Park, CA
Teacher
Cardiologist-Consultant, Sequoia Hospital (MD)
Victoria & Larry* Smith (1996), PRESIDENT, FORMER CHAIR
Cortona, Italy
Retired Marketing and Advertising Executive
see above
Debbie & David* West (2017)
Lavallette, NJ
Church Administrator
Vice Chairman, Simply Good; Partner, Centerview Capital Consumer; Former Chief Executive Officer and President, Big Heart Pet Brands; Former Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director, Hershey
Mike Woodruff (1994)
Lake Forest, IL
Senior Pastor, Christ Church Lake Forest; Former President, ScholarLeaders
Amos Yong, PhD (2018)
Pasadena, CA
Dean of the School of Theology and the School of Intercultural Studies, Professor of Theology and Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary
Founders
Tom Cooper, PhD
Steve Hayner, PhD (RIP)
Mark Labberton, PhD
Directors Emeriti
Mark Conroe
Walter Liefeld, PhD
Doug McConnell, PhD
Paul Pierson, PhD
Brian Prinn (RIP)
Kerry & Tim Dearborn