John Zeswitz - Interim Chair
With a passion for people and leadership, John brings 27 years of executive level leadership to his role at North Group Consultants. John served as Executive Vice President at Lancaster Bible College. Prior to that, John spent 7 years as Executive Director of Ministries at LCBC. Throughout his career, John has seen the positive ripple effect of good leadership, noting that as leaders get better, it makes their organizations and the lives of those in them better. John holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from Millersville University and an honorary Doctor of Divinity from New Hope College.
John is an active member of a variety of organizations on the local, regional and national level.
Emily Hartman - Secretary
Emily Hartman has had a heart for engaging with the nations from a very young age. She has served short term in 8 different countries in areas of children’s ministry, teaching, media development, writing and administration. Her focus is to invest in others by discipling them and doing life together. Most recently, she served as Personnel Director for Mandate, an organization placing professionals in countries in Asia where traditional forms of missions cannot operate.
Emily recently moved to Atlanta but previously lived in Chicago and loved the opportunities available to her in such a multicultural city. The church she attended was in a small neighborhood that is home to more than 40 distinct cultures, and their focus is to be intentional about connecting with individuals and families from other ethnicities with the hope of the Gospel. Her educational background includes a BA in Anthropology from University of Texas at San Antonio and a MA in Biblical Studies from Moody Theological Seminary in Chicago. Her sweet spot is using her administrative skills to help others, and it has been her joy to serve PDN in this capacity since it’s inception.
Dr. Terry Timm - Past Chair
Terry Timm is a pastor/teacher, musician, and coach with a deep desire to help people pursue God sized dreams for their lives. Since 1985 Terry has served in a variety of local church settings and in 2003 launched Christ Community Church of the South Hills, a missional community of faith located in the south hills of Pittsburgh. His background in the fields of music, education, theology and leadership fuels his passion of helping people become everything God intended, created, redeemed and gifted them to be. He is the author of the book, “A Movable Feast: Worship for the Other Six Days” and his intention is to empower people to engage in a lifestyle of worship, a life marked by a deep love for God, others and the world.
Terry serves as a Regional Coordinator for Made to Flourish Pittsburgh, coaches pastors and leaders through his work with the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation and teaches East African pastors as an adjunct faculty for Lancaster Bible College and Capital Seminary.
Terry’s educational background includes degrees from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh (BS and M.Ed in Music) and his theological studies were conducted at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (M.Div) and Northern Theological Seminary in Chicago (D.Min) where his focus was in the area of leadership and teamwork.
Terry and Patty have been married for 34 years and together have raised four children and have two grandsons, Christopher and Roman.
Rob Blanks - Ex Officio Member
Rob Blanks grew up in Colorado and attended the Colorado School of Mines where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Rob went on to earn a Master of Divinity Degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY.
In 1999 Rob married his wife Heather and they have 4 kids: Marian, 16; Hayden, 14; Judah and Josiah, 11. After finishing seminary Rob pastored a church in Colorado. After pastoring, Rob and Heather, along with their kids were missionaries living and working in Mozambique, Africa for 6 years. In Mozambique, they worked and taught in Portuguese in the areas of discipleship and theological education. In the fall of 2015 they relocated to the US.
Rob works for Lancaster Bible College (LBC) as the LBC-PDN Partnership Liaison and Assistant Professor. In this capacity, in partnership with PDN, he leads LBC’s online Master of Arts in Contextualized Pastoral Ministry degree offered in Africa.
Robert W. Teague
Rob completed college in 1999 and soon after began his career in the Financial Services Industry as a Financial Advisor. In 2008, Rob was appointed as the first Executive Director of Eden Bridge Foundation, a faith-based non-profit in Lancaster, PA, where he continues to serve. Rob’s current role as Executive Director of Eden Bridge Foundation involves assisting donors with specialized estate planning through various charitable planning techniques, including charitable trusts, in kind gifts and donor advised funds. Currently, the Foundation directs nearly $40 million in assets, all earmarked for ministry!
Rob serves as a Partner and Financial Advisor with Capital View Wealth Management and also serves as the Treasurer of the Board for Jessica and Friends Community in York, PA.
Rob is a graduate of Houghton College (earning a B.S. degree) and also the American Banker's Association Trust School at Emory University.
Rob is married to his high-school sweetheart, Kirsten. Together, they have three children. Hobbies include adventure motorcycles, travel, cooking (eating), and skiing.
Dr. Richmond Wandera - President and Founder
Dr. Richmond Wandera grew up in extreme poverty in the Naguru slum near Kampala, Uganda. His childhood was a painful and challenging one, marked by extreme poverty, illness, loss and hopelessness.
When Richmond's father was murdered, he was left to help care for his six siblings. It was not until he entered the Compassion-assisted child development center at his local church when he was 8, that his life and his family changed dramatically.
He began attending Compassion’s child development center at a local church, the healthcare, education, and love he received changed his life dramatically. As hope grew, Richmond quickly began excelling in school. After graduating, he was chosen for Compassion’s Leadership Development Program, which gave him the opportunity to earn a university degree. This ultimately shaped the trajectory of his entire life, building in him a heart for inciting transformational change in individuals, communities and nations.
With his master’s degree in Spiritual Formation from Moody Graduate School and Theological Seminary in Chicago, Richmond is unwaveringly committed to theological training for pastors; discipleship and spiritual formation for all believers. Richmond is also a voice from the frontline fighting against poverty in developing countries. He holds strongly that Church must play a crucial role in breaking the bonds of injustice and poverty. Richmond holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Leadership from Lancaster Bible College and Capital Seminary in Lancaster, PA.
He is currently the senior pastor of New Life Baptist Church in Kampala, and the Founder and Director of Pastors Discipleship Network, a nonprofit that serves, equips and trains thousands of pastors across East Africa.
Richmond resides in Kampala, Uganda with his wife, Rosette and their child. The church he pastors is the very same one that hosted the Compassion program that altered his story forever.