Board Members

Catherine M. Barsotti, Vice Chair - B.A. (Economics) University of California, Davis, M.C.S. (Cross-cultural Ministries) New College Berkeley, and M.Div. Pacific School of Religion, doctoral candidate at the School of Intercultural Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary

Cathy has enjoyed weaving the two threads of economics and theology throughout her life. She has worked in the business world, as a real estate appraiser for over twenty years, first for Bank of America, and then establishing her own business.

She has also worked in diverse ministry contexts within the Anglo and Latino communities, from being a short-term missionary in Mexico City, to youth minister in Berkeley, CA, to part-time associate pastor, to chaplain at a domestic abuse center for women and children in Chicago. She mostly finds herself in urban settings, which she loves. From 1997-2002 she used her combination of skills as the Director of Development for Centro Hispano de Estudios Teológicos (CHET)--a Latino ministry training center in southeast Los Angeles.

Currently her focus is teaching, and consulting with Christian non-profit organizations. She regularly teaches courses at CHET in the areas of theology, ethics, and spirituality (in Spanish) and is also an adjunct professor for Fuller Theological Seminary and Young Life International, teaching in the areas of theology and film, spirituality.

She has been writing movie reviews (with her husband, Rob Johnston) for “The Covenant Companion” and “[email protected]” for over ten years. They also co-authored the book, Finding God in the Movies: 33 Films of Reel Faith (Baker Books: 2004). They regularly teach together in the area of film and theology. Both of them are ministers in the Evangelical Covenant Church. For fun Rob and Cathy love to travel and are renewed by time at the beach (so they spend a bit of time in the south of Spain). Of course, they also see a lot of movies.

 
Byung Chung - Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, with a BS in Electrical Engineering.

Mr. Chung is the Managing Director of Misfit Financial Group, a manager of a commodity hedge fund based in California. He focuses on statistical and fundamental based trading opportunities in the futures market. Prior to joining Misfit Financial in 2004, Mr. Chung was an engineering manager in the high tech industry specializing in routing and switching systems for data networks.

Mr. Chung is a member of Newsong Church in Irvine, CA and serves as a teacher and a parent council member in the children’s ministry. He is also active in serving the at-risk children in Tijuana, Mexico. Byung is married with 4 children and resides in San Juan Capistrano, CA.

 
Charles Gietzel, Treasurer  - Chuck is a CPA and owner of Herreid and Gietzel CPA. Chuck and his wife, Jan are members of Arbor Covenant Church in Madison Wisconsin. God has blessed the Gietzels with two daughters and three grandchildren. The Gietzels love summer outdoor concerts on the Madison Capitol Square.  They also enjoy the Farmers Market and like to get away to their cabin in northern Wisconsin.

 
James W. Gustafson Ph.D, President - University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, Ph.D. in Development Studies; North Park Theological Seminary, Chicago, IL, Special Studies; Fuller Theological Seminary, SWM, Pasadena, CA, M.A .in Missiology; Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA, M.Div.; Nyack College, Nyack, NY, B.A. in History (Anthropology minor).

Jim grew up in Laos where his parents were missionaries with the Christian & Missionary Alliance. He attended Dalat School, a C&MA school for MKs in Vietnam grades 1-11. He returned to the USA and finished high school at Toccoa Falls High School, a public high school affiliated with the Toccoa Falls Bible School run by the C&MA in Toccoa Falls, Georgia.

Jim worked as a missionary in Thailand with the Evangelical Covenant Church from 1971-1998. During that time he was a founding member and President of IDF, a non-profit development foundation in Udon Thani, Thailand with whom he worked in holistic development doing agricultural, aquacultural, vocational training and agro-forestry projects in Thailand. He was Executive Director of World Mission for the Evangelical Covenant Church with headquarters in Chicago, IL from 1998-2002. He became a founding member and President of GDN in 2002 and currently works full-time for GDN in partnership with SDRF, a non-profit development foundation in Thailand directing socio-economic projects in aquaculture, agriculture, agro-forestry, education, ESL, etc. He also works with CAM, a church planting and development organization in Thailand doing leadership training. He is a Special Professor of Intercultural Studies and Asia Director of the Faith and Culture Center at Tokyo Christian University in Japan where he teaches intensive courses periodically.

Jim enjoys fishing in Florida with his uncles whenever he has an opportunity. His passion continues to be his holistic development work.

 

Thomas Greer, CPA, is an ordained minister and church administrator. He is recognized as an expert in the management of church development projects and currently serves as the West Coast Regional Director for Visioneering Studio, a national architectural/urban design firm based in Orange County, California.

Thomas has more than 30 years of experience as a financial expert and business consultant, including 18 years as the chief financial and administrative officer for four mega-churches, including Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, and Newsong Church in Irvine, California.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business from California State University, Fullerton.
 
Mark E. Hanson, Board Secretary and Sustainable Technology Advisor - University of Wisconsin –Madison, Doctorate in Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin –Madison, Masters in Water Resources Management, Harvard College, Bachelor of Arts in Economics

Mark works as Director of Sustainable Services for Hoffman, a group of expert planners, architects, and construction managers with a single goal: to create physical environments that positively impact people’s lives. He works with fellow Hoffman staff to provide sustainable project delivery services for all projects. Hoffman uses the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) guidelines. Mark’s work includes integrated daylighting design, lighting, energy modeling, HVAC system review, renewables, construction waste management, and monitoring systems.

Mark previously served as the Executive Director of the Energy Center of Wisconsin, a private not-for-profit energy research and development organization from 1994–2001. Mark immerses himself in the environment. His professional expertise and commitment help him safeguard the beauty and health of his favorite personal haunts. Want to try to keep up with him? He enjoys wilderness travel, such as backpacking, river running, cross country skiing, and canoeing areas like the Boundary Waters and the Quetico along the Minnesota/Canada border.

Mark is a long time member of the Arbor Covenant Church in Madison, Wisconsin. He works with the youth and serves as Camp Booster for the Bible Camps, and has served on the church council in various capacities over the years.

 
Joyce Salter Johnson Boggess - Joyce’s diverse background and interests in other cultures give her a unique perspective in her role with GDN. She has managed and directed non-profit organizations, administered schools, and co-directed Project JAMAD, a cultural exchange program to Jamaica that teaches youth about commitment and cultural diversity.

Her commitment to the community has led her to participate in programs such as Urban Rural Connection, Garden of “Eattin,” and the Evangelical Covenant Church’s Sankofa Journey. Joyce’s career has led her to specialize increasingly in the management of complex multi-cultural projects and staffs at all level. She has extensive experience in strategic forward—planning; and operating within the tight financial disciplines imposed by ambitious budgets. She has been honored with the J. Martin Wolman Outstanding Service for Youth Award (1999) and chosen to travel to Cuba as ambassador in Early Childhood.

Joyce is an active member of Arbor Covenant Church in Madison, Wisconsin and served on its council for a number of years. She is a mother of three, grandmother of seven, and a great grandmother of three. She loves history, research, genealogy, and filmmaking of those subjects.

 
Ho Kim, Chair - California Institute of Technology - Post Doctoral fellow; University of Southern California - PhD. In Physical Chemistry; Marquette University – Bachelor of Science in Physical Chemistry.

Following his graduate work, Ho started a software company focused in optimizing the service supply chain. After selling his company, he got involved in developing technical trading systems and risk management. He is currently a partner in Ascend Trading Group trading in the futures market.

Ho has been an active member of Newsong Church since its inception. He served on the Newsong Leadership Team for over 6 years and is passionate about holistic ministry. Ho has been married for over 23 years and has two sons, age 20 and 16.