Rebecca L. Meyer, RN, BSN, MSN, PhD Team Principal for Christian Global Health in Perspective Course Associate Professor of Nursing Director in MSN Program Worked in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of a Tertiary-Quaternary Children’s Hospital for over 20 years. Member of the ECMO Team, Transport Team, IRB Committee, Preceptor, Charge Nurse, and Manager. Master’s education and Doctoral work focused on Palliative Care and Hospice Care, as well as nurses caring for vulnerable and dying children. Hired as lead faculty for Pediatrics at California Baptist University in 2010 and stepped into the MSN Program Director position in 2011. In that role, wrote the initial FNP Program, and co-authored numerous curriculum revisions to the MSN Program, as well as co-writing the DNP Program – the first doctoral program on campus to be approved by WASC. Have written new syllabi for courses, revised policies and procedures, and mentored new faculty. Participated in university level committees: Graduate Curriculum Committee, Doctoral Council, and Assessment Committee. Teach in all 5 nursing programs: BSN, RN-BSN, MSN, EL-MSN, and DNP. Train with and lead teams of students on CBU’s 3 week international service projects, partnering with fieldworkers to participate in Kingdom work. Participate in many professional and community activities. Member of the Executive Strategy Team Special Session for Global Missions Health Conference (GMHC), reviewer for Journal of Pediatrics, reviewer/advisor for Lippincott Nursing Solutions, and Board of Director and part of Executive Team for Health to Hope Clinics. Types of courses taught include Global Health, Nursing Theory, Transcultural Nursing, Advanced Pathophysiology, Health, Quality, and Safety Innovation, and Physical Assessment. Have presented at national and international conferences and am a member of a variety of professional affiliations.
Paul Hudson, MD, is an internist and epidemiologist, and served with his wife and family with SIM over the last 30 years, in Ethiopia, Nepal and Thailand. His focus has been both clinical medicine and public health, missionary health care and discipleship. Recently he has been exploring the intersection of the history of healing and medical mission as it relates to the theology and the church. He continues to discover how good, wise and sovereign the Lord is – both in his own life and as He continues to work His plans for redemption through ministries of compassion. He is the SIM point person for healthcare mission; he leads a team of men and women with experience and passion for medical missions.
Grace Tazelaar, RN. Taught nursing for 12 years and assisted in the transition from diploma to baccalaureate nursing education at West Suburban College of Nursing. Served as a health consultant with the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee in Uganda doing community health development and organization capacity building. Involved in the initial response to HIV/AIDS, and worked with the Ministries of Health and Education to begin the first baccalaureate nursing program while in Uganda. Upon returning to the US, served as the Domestic Missions Coordinator for the Luke Society encouraging the development of lay health programs around the country. Serve as the Missions Director for Nurses Christian Fellowship, a strategic ministry of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.
Dr. E. Anthony Allen, MB, BS, MDiv, MRC Psych, DM (Psych). Psychiatrist in private practice since 1981. Works also as a Consultant in Whole Person Wellness with patients, medical colleagues and the public for empowerment of self and others. Worked for 24 years as a part-time lecturer in psychotherapy. Theologically trained Consultant in Church-based Health Ministries. Provides capacity building to related organizations. Has pioneered community-based Whole Person Health Ministries in local congregations in Jamaica. Co-founded the Wholistic Counselling and Healing Ministry of Bethel Baptist Church and the Jamaica Baptist Union. Served on the Christian Medical Commission of the World Council of Churches and carried out assignments for World Vision International. Has authored books including Caring for the Whole Person, Whole Person Healing (Guidebook) and The Healing Congregation (Manual).
Laura Smelter, M.D. serves as Director of Training with Christian Health Service Corps. Her passion is to help educate, equip, and edify healthcare missionaries. Throughout her training and career as a family medicine physician, Laura has sought out and participated in educational and experiential global health and medical mission opportunities. She has volunteered short term in various settings and at several mission hospitals around the globe with World Medical Mission/Samaritan’s Purse. She served a term with SIM in Nigeria in hospital administration, residency physician training, and clinical capacities; and a term with Samaritan’s Purse in Haiti in medical and maternal child health program management. In these experiences Laura saw the importance of collaboration between clinical care and community development. As part of the USA administrative team at CHSC Laura works to help develop and implement individual, organizational, and public training and awareness programs supporting clinical excellence, transformational development, and missionary care.
In Memory of Dr Willard Swartley. Pastor, professor, teacher, author and friend. A major contributor during the initial course consultation in 2018. His books include: Slavery, Sabbath, War, and Women; Covenant of Peace; and Health, Healing and the Church's Mission, Jesus, Deliver Us: Evil, Exorcism, and Exousiai.
Mike Soderling, MD, MBA(ID). 10 years in private practice (OB/GYN), 11 years serving in Central America (primarily Guatemala), 2 years working with a new medical school in the US, now 5 years as Director of the Center for Health in Mission. Also member of Frontier Ventures and the Ralph D Winter Launch Lab. Passionate about helping the Church recapture its central ministry of helping people live healthy and whole lives. Especially focused on health related ministry as it applies to braking down barriers to the spread of the Kingdom of God.
Daniel O'Neill, MD, MA(Th). Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine, University of Connecticut School of Medicine and Managing Editor, Christian Journal for Global Health. He was the Medical Director of Medical Ministries International and serves regularly building capacity in cross cultural settings among unreached, impoverished, nomadic or displaced people groups. With a Master’s degree in theology, he has researched and written on an applied global theology of health. Co-facilitator of the Evidence Working Group of the World Bank’s Faith Initiative (Moral & Spiritual Imperative) and the Joint Learning Initiative for Faith and Local Communities.
Perry A. Jansen, MD, MPH, DTMH Served for 16 years with SIM in Malawi, Africa working primarily with HIV/AIDS treatment and health systems strengthening. He is the founder of the Malawian NGO and Medical Center Partners in Hope (PIH). In addition to directly delivering medical services, PIH is a major partner with the Malawian Ministry of Health, USAID and UN agencies to strengthen the national response to HIV/AIDS. Dr. Jansen is now working as the Vice President for Strategic Health Partnerships at African Mission Healthcare. His focus is in health systems strengthening and medical education at African mission hospitals.
Christoffer Grundmann, MTh, Dr. theol., Dr. theol. habil. (University of Hamburg, Germany), Emeritus John R. Eckrich University Professor in Religion and the Healing Arts, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN; ordained Lutheran Pastor worked in Caracas, Venezuela, and at the Tamilnadu Theological Seminary Arasaradi, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, before joining the German Institute for Medical Missions, Tübingen, Germany, as theological consultant and hospital chaplain. Author, "Sent to heal! Emergence and Development of Medical Mission" (Lanham, MA, University Press of America 2005) is one of the several books he authored and edited besides numerous articles on topics of medical missions, health, and healing, as well as on inter-religious / inter-cultural dialogue.
D. Merrill Ewert, Ph.D. President Emeritus, Fresno Pacific University. Spent 8 years in international development in Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, and the Philippines. Taught at the University of Maryland, Wheaton College and Cornell University. Following tenure at Cornell, became Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension (the university’s outreach division) before serving 10 years as President of Fresno Pacific University. Retiring after 31 years in higher education, spent a year as Senior Consultant to the Assistant Secretary of Education at the U.S. Department of Education. Now doing research, writing, speaking and consulting.
Bruce Dahlman, MD MSHPE ABFM. Executive Team of Christian Academy of African Physicians. Served 8 years in full service, small community family medicine in US; 16 years with AIM in Kenya, 9 as hospital medical director, also establishing family medicine as a specialty in Kenya and most recent at Kabarak University, Director of Institute of Family Medicine (Nairobi); Director of Digital African Health Library and Editor-in-Chief of CALS Essentials, a comprehensive emergency medicine skills training course.
Arnold Gorske, MD, FAAP. CEO, Standards of Excellence in Healthcare Missions. Editor, Health Education Program For Developing Communities. Member, CHIM governance team and Best Practices in Global Health Missions Working Group, as well boards of other Christian health missions. Served as medical team leader for the International Red Cross in Iraq at the end of the first Gulf War, followed by over 45 short-term medical missions to numerous countries throughout the world. Also provided monthly long-term care to Indian migrant workers at a mission clinic in Baja, Mexico for over 15 years. Also served as Medical Quality Assurance Director in the Navy, had years of training and experience in medical staff administration, education, credentialing, quality improvement/risk management, medical resident and student training, as well as additional positions of responsibility for the accreditation and quality of medical care provided by hospitals, clinics, and medical missions.
Dr. Steve Hardy (D.Missiology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, M.Div. in Biblical Studies from Bethel Theological Seminary and a B.A. in government from Oberlin College).
Dr. Hardy is from the US. He has served as SIM International's Advocate for Theological Education as well as a senior consultant to ICETE. He worked as a missionary educator in Brazil, Mozambique and South Africa and directed the Overseas Council's Institute for Excellence in Theological Education. His writings have focused on issues of educational administration.
Ronald (Ron) Halbrooks, M.D. Undergraduate-Texas AM University Med school- UTMB Galveston Residency- OU Health Science Center in Internal Medicine Worked in Ethiopia- 1986-88 in a famime 1987 married in Australia my wife Mary whom I met in Ethiopia; she is Italian/Australian Worked at Duke from 95-99 99-2005 worked in China 2005- now work at Duke Have 4 daughters and 4 grandkids