Leadership

At World Relief, our leadership team is not only committed to good stewardship and business practices, but to our Mission, Vision and Values which are at the heart of what we do.

Stephan Bauman, President/CEO
In January 2011, Stephan Bauman was named CEO-Elect for World Relief and will officially be installed as President/CEO at the May 2011 Board of Directors Meeting. Until then Stephan continues to serve as Senior Vice President of Programs. He has also previously served as Director for World Relief Rwanda. Before coming to World Relief, Stephan served as Director of International Programs for World Hope International, worked for Mercy Ships International directing programs and training for over 300 staff on the Anastasis, a hospital ship based in Africa, and as a consultant for Anderson and Co. Stephan is a Certified Public Accountant, an ordained minister, and he holds a master’s degree in International Development from Johns Hopkins University, a master’s degree in Intercultural Studies from Wheaton College and a bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of Wisconsin. Stephan lives in Maryland with his wife Belinda and their two sons Caleb and Joshua.

Kevin Sanderson, SVP of International Programs and Chief Information Officer
Kevin Sanderson has been World Relief’s Senior Vice President of Finance since 2007. His background in agriculture, development and economics has allowed him to implement programs in sustainable agricultural support services, small and medium business training, agricultural development, and disaster response and rehabilitation programs. Since 1991, Kevin has worked with World Relief in Nicaragua as well as overseas programs in Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mozambique and Rwanda. Kevin graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in Sociology and Psychology and received a master’s of Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School in 1986.

Dan Kosten, SVP U.S. Programs
Dan Kosten is the Vice President of U.S. Programs for World Relief. Dan is responsible for all U.S. based World Relief programs and he oversees the technical support for a number of programs inolving refugees and immigrants. Before joining World Relief in 2001, Dan worked for nearly ten years in Africa where he began as a member of the U.S. Peace Corps then went to work work with Christian Blind Mission Intl. Dan holds a master’s degree in Missions and Intercultural Studies from Wheaton College and a bachelor’s degree from Calvin College. He and his wife, Holly, live in MD with their two daughters, Hannah and Martha Nadine.

Connie Fairchild, VP Advancement
Connie Fairchild is the Vice President of Advancement for World Relief. Connie has served on World Relief’s marketing and development team for most of 20 years, engaging with donors as they explore how their calling and passion match with World Relief’s ministry. She was born and raised in Viet Nam, learning life-lessons of hope and peace in the midst of war and loss. Connie served as an urban church planting missionary with her husband, Gary, in Indonesia and has been on the boards of the Christian & Missionary Alliance and Christian Women United. She graduated from Nyack College with a degree in Education.

Don Golden, SVP Marketing and Church Engagement
Don Golden is Senior Vice President of Marketing and Church Engagement for World Relief. His passion to help churches serve the poor and oppressed led to the development of World Relief’s strategic church partnership program and has taken him to more than 60 countries. Don spent three years as lead pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church and ten years serving as a missionary in Europe. He holds a master’s of Philosophy from the University of Wales and recently co-authored the book Jesus Wants to Save Christians (Zondervan October 2008) with Rob Bell, about the church’s calling to serve the most vulnerable.

Barry Howard, CFO/Vice President of Finance and Administration
Barry Howard is CFO/Vice President of Finance and Administration, and has been with World Relief since 2007.  He was formerly Chief Financial Officer at one of Youth With A Mission’s largest training centers, located in Colorado, where he worked for sixteen years.  Barry graduated summa cum laude from Regis University with a degree in Business Management and is currently a candidate for a master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Johns Hopkins University.  Barry and his wife, Amie, live in northern Maryland with their four children: Noah, Hillary, Abraham and Joshua.

John Gichinga, Director of Spiritual Formation
John Gichinga is the Director of Spiritual Formation for World Relief where he is serving in an interim capacity for at least three months with the mandate to recommend and begin implementing a chaplaincy function at World Relief. In addition to this duty, John will also serve as an advisor to the senior team. As the former Director of Church Mobilization in the World Relief Kenya Office and leader of the 3,000 member Nairobi Baptist Church for more than 30 years, John comes with significant pastoral and leadership experience.

World Relief Board of Directors