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Covenant Community Services Staff
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Randy M., CEO
Randy
is the founder and CEO of Covenant Community Services
Inc. (CCSI), which was founded in 1999. It is Randy’s passion
to transform the community through significant and relevant
outreach to foster children, emancipated youth, the jobless, and
the mentally ill. Randy has been involved in social
services since 1986 and has served as Kern County’s Royal Family
Kids’ Camp Director for 13 years. He serves on several other
committees/board of directors including the Urgent Action Team,
Kern Leadership Alliance and the Canyon Hills Assembly of God
Leadership Team. Randy is a licensed minister and has spent
time in Tanzania preaching, teaching and ministering to the
orphans and people of that region.
Additionally, Randy is engaged as a speaker in many churches,
trainings and events. Randy is a gifted public speaker and uses
his skill as an advocate for the underprivileged and underserved
in our community.
Kim M., Manager of Operations
BIO
coming soon!
Leah G., Therapeutic Behavioral Services & Jeremiah Mentoring
Leah
comes to us from Ventura, CA and currently manages our
Therapeutic Behavioral Services (TBS) division and serves as a
Mentoring Coordinator for our Jeremiah Mentoring Project. As our
TBS manager, she supervises TBS staff and provides intense,
in-home behavioral services to children and their families. Leah
works directly with these challenging children to teach and
model appropriate behavior and coping skills and serves as a
parent coach to provide education and support to these families.
As a Mentoring Coordinator, she actively recruits, trains, and
supports our mentors as we work to expand our Jeremiah Mentoring
Project. Leah and her husband, Dan, moved to Kern County in
November 2006 when God called Dan to come work for Kern County
Teen Challenge. Their obedience to God’s call led Leah to the
doors of Covenant where she has rooted herself and is committed
to serving the children and families of Kern County.
Mark W., Building Blocks Manager
Mark joined Covenant Community Services on June 1,
2007, and he is very proud to be part of the team. Mark has
gone through teen challenge and the teen challenge institute,
which led him to minister in the Compton, CA area. Eventually,
he and his wife, Stephanie, took over a church/outreach in
Venice Beach, CA.
Mark and Stephanie
relocated to Bakersfield 3 years ago and became an active
participant in ministry at Canyon Hills Assembly of God. They
run a ministry for the homeless at Central Park in Bakersfield
and services Covenant as the Building Blocks Manager. Building
Blocks is a residential program that teaches emancipated foster
youth the skills they need for successful, independent living.
Building Blocks is a 6 unit complex that houses a total of 12
youth. They will learn to search for and maintain a job,
budgeting, home maintenance, personal health and safety—and much
more. They skills they learn will enable them to become
self-sufficient and productive members of society. Building
Blocks was extremely run down and there are many things that
still need to be worked out, but Mark is trusting that the Lord
will provide the resources needed to get these youth the message
that they have a hope and a future—in Jesus Christ! Mark
has recently been recognized by the
Modern Woodmen of America as a "hometown hero" for his work
with Building Blocks!
Jessica C., Community Developer
Jessica comes to Covenant from CSU Bakersfield where she worked
in marketing--graphic design, website management, and public
relations. She received a BA in Communications, with an
emphasis in Computer Imaging, from CSU Bakersfield.
As the Community Developer, Jessica is
responsible for "getting the word out" about CCSI, in an effort
to recruit more volunteers and financial supporters, which will
allow us to serve more children. Jessica is actively
engaged in grant-writing and is committed to finding reliable
funding sources that will allow Covenant to expand its current
programming. Jessica has developed "Covenant Partners"--a
donor program that allows individuals or businesses to pledge a
monthly amount or provide a one-time gift to offset the cost of
our CARE-NET and Jeremiah Mentoring programs. These
programs are offered as community services--they do not generate
any revenue for Covenant, but require a lot of resources to
execute. If you would like to know how you can get
involved as a volunteer or donor, contact Jessica and she will
be happy to get you plugged into one of our ministry
opportunities.
John P., Foster Care Coordinator
John is a Bakersfield Native. He graduated from
Bakersfield High School. For a three years he went to school in
Phoenix Arizona. After an encounter with Christ in 1979, he
went back to school and got his undergraduate degree in
Philosophy and religion with a minor is Psychology. He then
went to Fuller Theological Seminary and received his Masters of
Divinity Degree in 1995.
John has been working with children for
over two decades. He started as an intern in Youth Ministry in
1980 at First Baptist Church in Bakersfield. He has counseled
many youth through the basics of life. He is also a foster
parent of three. John and his wife Jennifer have been
doing foster care for nine years. In 2002, after stepping
down from church ministry John came to Covenant Community
Services as a part-time social worker and a TBS coordinator.
John loves the interaction with families and feels he can help
abused and neglected children find hope a healing in homes that
show the love of Christ with determination and dedication.
John still has his hand is formal church
ministry. He is the worship leader and choir director at
University Baptist Church in Bakersfield. John is an avid
Golfer. He says his handicap is his driver, but he is about a
12.
Kevin C., Building Blocks Asst. Manager & CARE-NET
Coordinator
Kevin comes to Covenant from Teen
Challenge. He spent over 5 years counseling and discipling
young adults with addiction problems. He also managed the
kitchen at the Teen Challenge Women's Home. He has a
passion to see the lives of hopeless and hurting people become
transformed by the love of Jesus Christ.
Covenant Board of Directors
Wendell V., Chairman of the Board
Wendell and his wife Lynda have been the Senior
Pastors of Canyon Hills Assembly of God Church since May 1983.
During these years, Canyon Hills has grown from a small group of
people meeting in northeast Bakersfield to one of the leading
churches in the region. Wendell’s passion is to serve with other
pastors in his community to impact the culture of their city.
This has resulted in hundreds of pastors and leaders effectively
working together on strategies for both evangelism and city
transformation.
Supporting this effort, they have carried out a
strategic plan in their congregation. Over these twenty-two
years, Wendell and Lynda have led the Canyon Hills congregation
through a major relocation of the church facilities and numerous
building programs. The design and development of the 42-acre
Canyon Hills Church campus, Florence Gardens Senior Living
Community, and Frazier Woods Conference Center has been driven
by the priority of creating environments that invite and include
the “un-churched”.
Wendell and Lynda serve on numerous local and national boards
for Christian ministries serving to engage the faith community
in reaching beyond the walls of the church. Wendell also serves
or has served as a member of the board of trustees for Vanguard
University (Costa Mesa, CA), We Care America (Washington DC),
Covenant Foundation of California, Convoy of Hope (Springfield,
MO), Covenant Community Services (Kern County, CA), Stand for
Israel (Chicago, IL), and The Jerusalem Prayer Team (Dallas,
TX).
Russ U., Board Treasurer
Russ is the Treasurer on the Board.
Russell G. Unruh is Owner and Broker of The Russell Group, a
real estate company he founded in 1992. Russell oversees the
complete operation of The Russell Group. As owner, broker, and
manager he establishes company direction and policies, while
maintaining a hands-on approach to the management of day-to-day
activities of the company. With over 19 years of extensive
experience in the local real estate industry, Russ understands
the needs of both buyers and sellers of all types of real
estate.
Russell is a native
of Bakersfield and holds a California Real Estate Brokers
License, the Certified New Home Sales Professional (CSP)
designation from the National Association of Home Builders, and
a Bachelor of Science Degree in Real Estate. Russell has been
dedicated to serving foster children and has been a counselor
for Royal Family Kids’ Camp for several years.
Todd G., Board Secretary
Todd is the Secretary of the Board. Todd is a trial
attorney who represents people and businesses when they have
been harmed by others. Todd is a 1995 law school graduate and
has been representing accident victims since 1995. He also
provides legal counsel and advice to non-profit
groups/ministries in the legalities of non-profit formation,
operation, and management. Todd is a member of the California
State Bar, The Kern County Bar Association, The Christian Trial
Lawyers Association, the Consumer Attorneys of California, the
American Trial Lawyer Association, and the Consumer Attorneys of
Los Angeles. Todd was elected by his peers to a leadership
position in the Consumer Attorneys of California as a
representative on the Board of Governors.
Todd and his wife, Heath, have three children. One of their
children was brought to them through Covenant Community Services
as a Foster Child. Todd was a founding board member of Jesus
Shack and served on the Board for the first eight years of that
ministry’s existence. Todd has a passion for serving and
protecting children in foster care. A highlight of Todd’s
community service each year is acting as a counselor at Royal
Family Kid’s Camp, the summer camp for foster children hosted by
CCSI.
Bob C., Director - picture coming soon!
Bob is a Director on the Board. Bob is a Water Resource Analyst
for three large water districts in Southern California. He holds
three degrees from the Colorado School of Mines: Bachelor of
Science in Engineering, Master of Science in Geology, and a
Ph.D. in Geophysics. Bob has spent his entire career in
energy/mineral exploration and ground water development.
Bob serves Covenant because he believes God has called him to
serve by providing basic gospel outreach to remote parts of the
world, supporting families and children in the community, and
donating his time to teach others.
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