Keith Cureton

President & Chief Executive Officer

President & Chief Executive Officer

Keith joined Bethany after working on the leadership team at Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii that provides education to more than 10,000 children every year with little cost to their families. Before working at the school, Keith was employed by United Parcel Service for more than 35 years where he completed his career as chief compliance & ethics officer. At UPS he oversaw all domestic and international compliance programs for employees, customers, and vendors. Keith is a frequent speaker on topics of leadership, compliance and ethics, change management, and enterprise risk management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business and economics from Malone University and a master's in business administration from Franklin University. Keith and his wife, Dr. Deborah Burdick-Cureton, have four adult children and eight grandchildren. They're motivated by their faith and thrilled to be answering God’s call together to strengthen families by serving the mission of Bethany.

Lorita Shirley

Chief Operating Officer

Chief Operating Officer

In partnership with the CEO, Lorita works to align all of Bethany's programs, processes, and resources with our strategic framework, equipping us to accomplish our mission today and realize our vision for the future. She is a recognized leader in the social services field, with over 31 years in the public and private sectors. Her experience includes managing media relations, fundraising, corporate oversight, quality, and process improvement for national organizations. Lorita excels at driving executive-level projects, building teams, and establishing systems within complex organizations. She has a BSW and MSW from Florida State University. Lorita and her husband have four children and reside in Florida.

Michael Bruxvoort

Chief Information Officer

Chief Information Officer

Mike leads a team of 20 members who support and build Bethany’s technological services, websites, and internal applications to advance Bethany's mission. A graduate of Dordt College, Mike brings 20 years of IT experience with a passion for working in organizations with a strong mission.

Scott De Vries

Chief Financial Officer

Chief Financial Officer

Since 2001, Scott has served a variety of roles within the finance team. He now leads a team of dedicated financial professionals whose mission is to promote stewardship of the resources that God has entrusted to Bethany. Scott strives for financial transparency and accuracy in every aspect of managing the business activities of Bethany.

Nhung Hurst

General Counsel

General Counsel

Nhung provides leadership to all legal aspects of the organization including legal transactions, contracts, risk management, and mattes of regulation and compliance. She most recently served as the senior associate counsel/data privacy officer for Samaritan’s Purse providing legal advice and guidance to management, both domestically and internationally, in the areas of employment and labor law, privacy and data protection regulations, child protection, bribery and corruption, anti-trafficking and aviation law. Nhung, her husband, and daughter live in West Michigan.

Annie Osburn

Chief Communications Officer

Chief Communications Officer

Annie leads the Marketing, Communications, and Government Affairs teams at Bethany. Motivated by her faith, she wakes daily to engage staff and stakeholders to create a world where every child and family is safe, loved, and connected. Holding dual Master of Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership and Master of Education degrees, Annie's career path to becoming a Chief Communications Officer has been unconventional but so purposeful. Annie lives with her husband and three children in West Michigan, where they enjoy the great outdoors in the summer and plan as many sunshine-filled vacations as they can in the winter.

Kelli Cavasin

Chief People Officer

Chief People Officer

Kelli is an experienced human resources executive. Clear in purpose and with a strong sense of urgency, she’s followed her passion to build inspired, high-performing teams and assess critical business issues. She’s passionate about inspiring cross-functional partners to adhere to best practices that lead to mission-driven wins for the organization, culture, and people. A graduate of Northern Michigan University, she began her career at Target in store operations before moving to HR where she eventually served at the director level. She later joined The Michaels Companies, Inc. where she was vice president of human resources for 1,200 stores. Her most recent role was vice president of people and culture at New Holland Brewing Company where she led and oversaw all aspects of the people strategy.

Ted Ancelet

Senior Chaplain

Senior Chaplain

As leader of the faith and culture department, Ted’s focus is the spiritual health and development of Bethany’s 1,800+ employees through a network of local chaplains. He also provides support and spiritual council for the extended leadership team. Along with spiritual care, he equips staff with skills in biblical conflict resolution and peacemaking through a program he helped create called Coaching Peace. Utilizing Coaching Peace, he provides conflict coaching and mediation to Bethany’s employees and board members. He also is a lead trainer in The Sanctuary Model, a trauma-informed, trauma-response culture blueprint. Ted and his wife of 26 years, Tracie, live in Knoxville, TN, with their four children.

Dr. Tawnya Brown

Senior Vice President of Strategy & Operations

Senior Vice President of Strategy & Operations

Tawnya has worked in child welfare and refugee services for over 27 years. During her career at Bethany she has served in a number of roles including branch director, regional director, national development director for refugee services, vice president of regional operations, and vice president of refugee and immigrant family services. Tawnya is a strategic leader in growing programs and services specifically designed to meet the greatest challenges facing children and families. She holds a Master of Social Work and is clinically licensed. She and her husband have two sons and reside in Maryland. In all things, Tawnya is motivated by her faith and seeks God’s purpose daily as she speaks up for people in vulnerable situations around the globe.

George Tyndall

Senior Vice President of Performance and Quality Improvement

Senior Vice President of Performance and Quality Improvement

Since 1998, George has provided direct clinical services and oversight to a broad range of family strengthening programs. He has also directed branch strategic planning and various cultural diversity initiatives. George earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Michigan and his master’s degree in social work from Grand Valley State University.

Dr. Ricardo Brambila

Senior Vice President of Field Operations

Senior Vice President of Field Operations

Dr. Ricardo Brambila is a first-generation Mexican American whose journey from the Texas-Mexico border to ministry and nonprofit leadership is a testament to faith and perseverance. Once a high school dropout, he encountered the gospel at a Vacation Bible School, leading him to answer his call to ministry at 18. Ricardo served as a bi-vocational pastor at First Baptist Church San Isidro in South Texas from 2002 to 2016. His call to serve in non-profit ministry began in 2008 with Buckner Children and Family Services, where he started as a Mission Group Coordinator and rose to become Family Hope Center Founding Director, a role he held until 2021. Ricardo was serving as Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer at West Dallas Community Schools, a ministry that provides classical Christian education for minorities and communities affected by poverty and crime in West Dallas. Dr. Brambila holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Universidad Valle del Bravo, a Master of Divinity from Liberty University, and a Doctor of Ministry from East Texas Baptist University. He is also completing a Master’s in Business Administration with Texas A&M.

Brian Britton

Chair

Chair

Brian serves as CEO of Kilwins, a national premium chocolate, confections, and ice cream retail franchise company. He previously was CEO of National Heritage Academies, a for-profit charter school management company that consists of 102 schools and 70,000 students in nine states. Before moving to the Midwest, Brian spent 15 years at The Walt Disney Company in multiple leadership and executive roles. He’s a proud graduate of the United States Naval Academy, serving the country for nine years as a naval flight officer, and received an MBA from Harvard Business School. He enjoys fitness, travel, golf, wine collecting, and Pittsburgh sports. Brian and his wife are the adoptive parents of three children.

Maegan Schwindling

Vice Chair

Vice Chair

Maegan serves as chief of staff for Meet Copper, Inc, an online platform for book clubs bringing people together in meaningful communities. A social worker by trade, she has spent over a decade in various leadership roles and working with adoptive families and vulnerable children. Maegan is host of The Post Adoption Podcast and serves with Equality for Adopted Children. She enjoys helping others launch products or books they love to bring positive change to the world. She and her husband, TC, believe their most meaningful work is parenting their three children, two of which came to them through international adoption. Her family resides in North Alabama.

Joel Rahn

Treasurer

Treasurer

Joel has been a banking professional in West Michigan for 30 years. He currently serves as regional president for Independent Bank. He graduated from Central Michigan University with degrees in finance and economics. He has been married to his wife, Nancy, for 30 years and has two adult daughters, Katelyn and Sarah. Joel and Nancy worked with Bethany to adopt Sarah from South Korea. They attend Grace Community Church, where Joel is active in the music ministry.

Susanne Jordan

Board Secretary

Board Secretary

Susanne served as an adoption social worker for Bethany in Fremont and Muskegon, Michigan, for 31 years before her recent retirement. Her expertise is in the areas of domestic infant adoption, pregnancy counseling, foster care adoption, and refugee transitional foster care. She enjoys bicycling, camping, traveling, and reading.

Beth Garrett

Member at Large

Member at Large

Beth is a partner at Frazier & Deeter, LLC, a certified public accounting firm headquartered in Atlanta. She graduated from Furman University and earned a Juris Doctor from Cumberland School of Law, Samford University. Beth has been active in urban ministries in the Atlanta area for many years, serving and supporting families, children, and refugees. Beth attends Grace Midtown Church in Atlanta

Marben Bland

Board Member

Board Member

An emerging faith leader, Marben is a pastor, writer, and entrepreneur committed to humbly serving the Lord while being a successful business leader as a bivocational pastor. Marben is a military veteran, retired businessman, and recent second-career graduate of Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta. He currently serves the New Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Dublin, Georgia, while also assisting business and faith-based clients to achieve success.

Peter Burleigh

Board Member

Board Member

Peter Burleigh is a commercial real estate broker and currently serves as senior vice president at NAI Michael where he has worked for over 12 years. He attended college at Virginia Tech and currently resides in Annapolis, MD, with his wife and four children.

Kafi Mashariki Carrasco

Board Member

Board Member

Kafi is a third-generation community organizer working at the institutional and grassroots levels to empower communities to solve their own problems. Her experiences include working in incarnational Christian community development in urban Los Angeles, running a community-based non-profit leading the church's antiracism effort, and working in public and private urban Christian schools as both teacher and a principal. She holds a B.A. in psychology/public policy analysis from Pomona College, a master's in elementary education from Claremont Graduate University, and a master's in educational leadership from California State University, Los Angeles. Kafi is currently working on a Ph.D. in Innovative Urban Leadership at Bakke Graduate University, a global Christian university.

Lori Hockema

Board Member

Board Member

Children have always been at the center of Lori’s life. Four children, two grandchildren, several Safe Family host children, and hundreds of school children have blessed her with rich experiences and insights. Lori also served on Bethany's Board in Indiana for nine years.

Peter Kraslawsky

Board Member

Board Member

Peter is the director of client relationship management at Vocera Communications in Knoxville, Tennessee. He has also served as an elder at Redeemer Church of Knoxville and as an associate pastor at Community Church in California.

Scott K. Lewis

Board Member

Board Member

As one of the founding partners and VP of sales of Legacy Risk Solutions, Scott believes in not just protecting his client’s assets, but empowering them to understand the best course of action to ensure their financial future. For over 33 years, Scott has been a proactive risk management partner, building strong relationships with his customers as well as throughout the industry. He has served on the board of directors for both the Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) of Georgia and the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter (Home of Hope). He is regularly sought out for his guidance from other industry leaders and has been honored with earning his Certified Insurance Counselor and Certified Risk Manager designation from the National Alliance Institute for Insurance Education, a designation earned by less than one percent of agents. He has a degree in risk management and insurance from the University of Georgia.

Steve Mayer

Board Member

Board Member

Steve Mayer has over a decade of experience in the philanthropy space and is a program director with Cornerstone Trust, a private foundation in Grand Rapids, MI. The Trust partners with Christian organizations to catalyze and accelerate Kingdom change in the least-reached and least-resourced areas of the world. Steve loves to read and learn, with separate master’s degrees in theology and international development, and he is working on a third in reconciliation and peacebuilding. Prior to his role with the Trust, Steve served for over 10 years in a local church. He also founded and served as executive director for a clean water organization called 20 Liters.

Roger Shank

Board Member

Board Member

Roger is the CFO of CREA, LLC an Indiana-based affordable housing equity provider. He has 30+ years of finance experience. He graduated from Huntington University and is a licensed CPA in the state of Indiana. He has been married to his wife, Melinda, for 30 years and has four daughters. Roger and Melinda serve on the local advisory board of Isaiah 117 House which provides physical and emotional support in a safe and loving home for children awaiting foster care placement.

Betsy Tanner

Board Member

Board Member

Betsy is an adoption and probate attorney in South Carolina with a passion for serving her community. A graduate of Furman University and the University of Georgia School of Law, Betsy is committed to advancing Bethany’s mission and ensuring its impact continues to grow. Betsy’s personal and professional experiences uniquely position her to contribute to the nonprofit’s efforts. As a former foster mom and a mother of three boys, one of whom is adopted, Betsy understands firsthand the importance of family, advocacy, and support systems. Her experiences have deepened her commitment to making a difference in the lives of children and families in need.