Our Board

Neal Joseph is the co-founder and managing partner of Mission: Leadership, a faith-based executive recruiting firm that serves nonprofit ministries and Christian businesses of all shapes and sizes around the world. He previously served as vice president for Nonprofit Search at Slingshot Group and, for six years prior, as senior vice president and senior advisor for Compassion International, where he oversaw their partnerships in ten countries—accounting for more than $200 million in annual revenue—and served on their Global Executive Leadership Team. Neal was also a senior executive at Word Records and Warner Bros., chief operating officer at Generous Giving, and executive pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Brentwood, Tennessee. A five-time Grammy Award winner as a producer, Neal has received multiple Dove Awards and gold and platinum albums. He served on the Board of Directors for the Gospel Music Association for nearly twenty years, and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Anderson University. Since 2002, he has brought extensive experience in business and nonprofit ministries to the Board of Directors of Hope Rises International (formerly American Leprosy Missions.)

For more than three decades, Alan Terwilleger provided leadership to a variety of Christian nonprofits. A longtime confidante of the late Chuck Colson, Alan most recently served as president of the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview, guiding the organization in its mission to create and educate cultural ambassadors who apply their faith in all areas of life.

Prior to joining the Colson Center, Alan led the advancement initiatives at Prison Fellowship as senior vice president. He also served fifteen years in fundraising leadership at Moody Bible Institute and worked with The Domain Group as a consultant to Christian nonprofit organizations across the U.S.

Alan is a Cedarville University graduate with a degree in business and minor in Bible. He has served on the Board of Directors of Hope Rises International (formerly American Leprosy Missions) since 1999 and has also served on the Board of Directors of The Leprosy Mission International.

Benedict Okoe Quao is a Family Medicine Specialist and Global Health practitioner with expertise in the control of leprosy and other case-management neglected tropical diseases, sports, exercise and rehabilitation medicine, and a 15-year post-qualification experience across a variety of clinical, public health and healthcare managerial settings. 
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He has been actively involved in shaping policy and strategy for leprosy and other skin- NTDs both in Ghana and at the international level for several years now. He has served on several boards and expert committees, including ongoing membership of the ILEP Technical Commision and WHO Technical Advisory Group for leprosy, in addition to previously representing country leprosy programmes and ministries of health on theGlobal Partnership for Zero Leprosy (GPZL) Leadership team.

Many years ago, Lori visited India and encountered a child with leprosy—this became the catalyst for her involvement with Hope Rises International (formerly American Leprosy Missions). She became an avid supporter and then eventually joined the board of directors.

Lori has a master’s degree in Global Community Engagement with an emphasis in Culture/Diversity, and has spent the last 15 years volunteering and advocating on behalf of international nonprofits as well as various community organizations near her home. She is a former board member of New Life Restoration Ministries: a school and orphanage located in Nairobi, Kenya where she created a successful sponsor-a-child program.  Lori is also actively involved with ACD Guatemala: a community organization in the western highlands of Guatemala, where she travels once a year.

Lori works with a health research company and enjoys spending time with her teenage son in their hometown of Nashville, Tennessee.

Mindy Caliguire is the co-founder and president of Soul Care (www.soulcare.com), a spiritual formation ministry that exists to increase soul health in the Body of Christ. Soul Care serves ministries and organizations across the US and beyond, including C-12, Compassion International, The Navigators, Christ Church of the Valley, Dallas Theological Seminary, Plum Creek Church, and many more.

Mindy has served in executive leadership in the marketplace and in ministry, at both Gloo (www.gloo.us) and the Willow Creek Association (now GLN). Her books include Discovering Soul Care and Spiritual Friendship (IVP), STIR (Zondervan/HCC), and the forthcoming Ignite Your Soul: When Exhaustion, Isolation, and Burnout Light a Path to Flourishing (NavPress).

Rhona Murungi is World Relief’s Director of Accountability and Safeguarding, having served in various capacities at the organization for 12 years. Her most recent previous role was Director of Finance and Operations for the USAID-funded SCOPE Projects. She also served for a number of years as the Director of Programs for World Relief Rwanda where she oversaw multi-sectoral projects in public health, economic development, child and family strengthening and church empowerment. In the past, she has also worked with HOPE International.

Born in Hoima, Uganda, Rhona founded and co-runs the Grow Together Youth Alliance: a community-based organization in Uganda that works to empower and educate vulnerable youth. She has been an editor for one of Uganda’s Christian magazines, and she currently serves on the board of several NGOs in East Africa. She also plays a mean game of tennis!

Rhona holds a M.A. in economic development from Vanderbilt University and a B.A. in developmental economics and accounting from Taylor University. She is currently completing a Ph.D. in Biblical peace studies from the International Graduate School of Leadership Asia in Manila, Philippines.

Dr. Richard W. Truman is a microbiologist with extensive experience in leprosy (Hansen’s disease). He earned his Ph.D. from Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1985, where his work was supported in-part with a small seed grant from the American Leprosy Missions. His career has been closely associated with the National Hansen’s Disease Program (NHDP) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where he served as a Regular Corps Officer in the U.S. Public Health Service and retired as Chief of the Laboratory Research Branch in 2017. He continues to serve as Chairman of the Scientific Review Committee for the Leprosy Research Initiative.
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Among his most significant contributions is his research into the zoonotic transmission of leprosy in the southern United States. He showed that wild nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) are natural reservoirs for M. leprae. His studies revealed that both humans and armadillos in these regions often carry the same unique strain of the bacterium, indicating that leprosy can be transmitted from animals to humans. In addition, he has been involved extensively in deciphering transmission networks within human communities, as well as other translational research on new leprosy diagnostics and therapeutics.

As a son of missionary parents, Silas grew up in Chennai, India. He spent a decade serving in human resources and global operations roles for information technology (IT) companies in India. In 2003, Silas followed the Lord’s call to join Compassion International as the Country Director for India.

In 2012 he was invited to lead Compassion’s Global Programs operations in Colorado Springs, and in 2014 Silas became Compassion’s Regional Vice President for the Asia ministry. Since September 2022, Silas has served Compassion by establishing its inaugural Program Integration function.

During his tenure at Compassion, Silas envisioned numerous improvements to both field ministry and global operations, guiding the organization through a period of remarkable growth and challenges. He continues to be humbled by the calling placed on his life to equip local churches and ultimately expand the kingdom of God to youth, their families and communities throughout the world. Silas and his wife Gracia live in Cave Springs, Arkansas. The Lord has blessed them with three adult daughters and two sons-in-law.

During his long career, Steve has used his engineering and leadership abilities in industry, education and ministry.

After completing an engineering degree from John Brown University in 1976, Steve joined Seagate Technology in Oklahoma City as a design engineer, assuming increasing responsibility, including Vice President of Drive Design Engineering, Vice President of Electronic Platforms and finally Vice President of Six Sigma, reporting to the president of the company and coordinating the worldwide activity of Seagate’s industry-leading Six Sigma
quality program. Steve retired from Seagate in 2004.

In 2007, Steve received his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. He taught at the University of Oklahoma as an adjunct professor for a number of years. Steve currently is in semi-retirement, serving in the part-time position of Administrative Pastor at Covenant Community Church in Yukon, Oklahoma.

Steve joined the Board of Directors of Hope Rises International (formerly American Leprosy Missions) in 2008. He also serves on the Board of Trustees and the Engineering Advisory Board of John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Steve was named Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by John Brown University in 2013.

Susan Griffin spent much of her adult life raising four daughters with her husband, Tim, enjoying each of the places they called home: New York City, Arlington, Los Angeles, Houston, Minneapolis and finally Asheville. In each city, she continued her calling as a self-described “professional volunteer”. This vocation included teaching Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, leading numerous Bible studies and planning women’s retreat programs. She successfully restructured and directed a youth swim team, tutored elementary reading and writing programs and encouraged middle school students’ participation in volunteer outreach programs.

With her move to Asheville, Susan has participated in neighborhood and civic efforts to make downtown a better living experience for all residents. Through each relocation, Susan has sought ways to give back locally, but also globally. After a long history of supporting Hope Rises International (formerly American Leprosy Missions), Susan was thrilled by the invitation to serve on the Board in 2022.