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Meet the Staff

 

 

 
 
Henry Doorn - Executive Director
Henry was appointed Executive Director of Barnabas Foundation in 2000. A Chicago area native, he began his career with the accounting firm of KMPG Peat Marwick, earned a CPA in 1981, and was continually promoted within the organization. He left public accounting to become the Chief Financial Officer of Brinson Partners, an investment management firm in Chicago, where he became a managing partner. Henry attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI and holds a B.S. degree from Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, IL. Henry's financial experience and expertise combined with his passion for Christian stewardship contribute to the important Christian leadership style that distinguishes the gift planning services of Barnabas Foundation.

 

Amy Bakker Baty - Director of Planned Giving Services

Since joining our ministry in February 2006, Amy has demonstrated outstanding legal and planning skills, as well as organizational leadership.  Her 17 years of private practice experience and track record of quality service at Barnabas Foundation, combined with her Christian commitment, qualify her to lead our Planned Giving Services team.   Amy is a graduate of Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, MI, with a Bachelors of Business Administration degree and University of Illinois College of Law with a Juris Doctorate. Most recently she has been a partner in the firm of McNeil, Karafa, Baty & Saunders, LLP, Grand Haven, Michigan where she focused her practice on estate planning and probate administration.  Amy resides in Michigan and apportions her time between our main office in Tinley Park , IL and our Grand Rapids , MI office.

 
Bob Zeilenga - Senior Estate Planner
Bob specialized in tax and estate-planning during his 17 years of law practice in California. He was a partner in a law firm that focused mainly on tax and estate planning matters. His professional services included participation in the trust and probate section of the San Luis Obispo County Bar Association. Bob's specialization in Estate Planning, Trust Administration and Tax Planning produced charitable giving plans for many clients which benefited major Christian organizations. He joined Barnabas Foundation in 1995 as an estate planner and later served as Director of Planned Giving Services. Bob has a B.A. degree from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI and received his law degree from Western State University College of Law in Fullerton, CA. He manages the foundation's California office.

 
Steven J. Baker - Senior Estate Planner
Steve practiced law in Michigan for 5½ years before joining the Grand Rapids office of Barnabas Foundation in 1995. He specialized in Taxation and Benefits Law and estate planning in the law firms of Paramenter O'Toole and Thomas H. Andrews, both in Muskegon. Steve holds a B.A. from Calvin College in Grand Rapids and a degree from the University of Detroit Law School, where he was an editor of the U. of D. Law Review. He serves on the board of the Muskegon Christian School Educational Foundation. Steve manages the Michigan office of Barnabas Foundation.

 
Don Long - Estate Planner
Prior to joining Barnabas Foundation, Don concentrated on estate planning and business succession matters during the last 6 years of his 27 years as a practicing attorney. As a solo practitioner in Minneapolis since 1991, he describes himself as "a planner, a protector and a preserver." Don holds a B.A. degree from Minnesota State University in Mankato and earned a Juris Doctorate at Hamline University of Law in St. Paul, MN. He is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association. He's served on boards of the Wayzata Community Foundation, Greater Wayzata Chamber of Commerce, Christian Legal Society of Minnesota and has served as a volunteer for Twin Cities Christian Legal Aid and Prison Fellowship Ministries. Don provides estate planning services from his office in Minneapolis.


 
Dave Vander Ploeg - Estate Planner
During his 26 years of law practice in St. Joseph, Michigan, Dave specialized in the acquisition and sale of companies, as well as tax and estate planning. He then served five years as Executive Director of Back to God Ministries International in Palos Heights, IL. As a founder and later Executive Director of Barnabas Foundation for seven years, Dave is totally familiar with and committed to its ministry. He has a B.A. degree from Michigan State University and a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. Dave has served on a number of corporate boards and professional committees as well as contributing to the boards of charitable Christian organizations.

 
Kurt Knoll - Director Finance & Administration
Kurt brings 15+ years of experience in finance and administration to Barnabas Foundation. His tenure with several Chicago area companies includes serving in positions of Chief Financial Officer, VP Finance and Administration and Corporate Controller. In addition to accounting and financial management, Kurt has extensive background in organizational structure, as well as workflow and process management. He brings experience in policy and procedure development and firsthand knowledge of strategic planning. Kurt is passionate about stewardship and is a Crown Ministries trained Financial Budget Counselor and Small Group Leader. He graduated Cum Laude with a BS in Accounting from Northeastern Illinois University.


Karen Layland - Director of Communications
Karen returns to Barnabas Foundation in this newly-created position after establishing a marketing department for Bible League, a member organization, and serving for three years as its VP Marketing. Previously, she spearheaded our foundation’s initial branding efforts as Director of Marketing. Karen’s professional background includes marketing communications positions with CRC Publications, ABC Radio, Knapp Communications and marketing consulting with Fortune 500 companies. Her commitment to Christian communications includes work with Presbyterian, Reformed Church in America and the Christian Reformed Church denominations. In addition to marketing communications, Karen’s current focus is on stewardship education, member services and church relations.

 
Laura De Vries - Church Relations Associate
Laura has extensive background in the stewardship education program of Barnabas Foundation. In 1992, she joined the foundation and began working with staff to meet the needs of churches in this important area. After attending the Southwest School of Business in Chicago, Laura served as a legal secretary. She later became the assistant to the Director of Development at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, IL. As Church Relations Associate, Laura is responsible for stewardship education programs and resources including the Good Steward Ministry program for churches; information about the Legacy Foundation for churches; and newsletters and general communication with churches.
 

Lynell Dykstra - Marketing Specialist
Since 1994, Lynell has served Barnabas Foundation in the Executive Director’s office as Executive Assistant. In that capacity, she worked with the Board of Directors, Executive Committee and Investment Committee and was Secretary of the Foundation. In addition, Lynell has handled communications with the almost 200 Barnabas Foundation member organizations. A graduate of Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, Lynell majored in Business Administration. Her career includes service with rep firms, engineering firms and a Child Support Recovery Unit. In her marketing position, Lynell provides expanded marketing services for member organizations and Barnabas Foundation. She is instrumental in newsletter and external communications development, as well as the foundation’s annual planned giving conference.

Cindi Riemersma - Investment Services Administrator
Cindi’s extensive non-profit experience is an asset to Barnabas Foundation. She served as Director of Operations with the Illinois Chapter of The Nature Conservatory and as Business Manager and later Director of Finance and Administration for the Milwaukee Art Museum. Her financial background also includes accounting and management consulting services for a number of non-profit organizations. Cindi has a BS degree from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI, with a major in accounting. Cindi services our growing member organization endowment accounts, our new church Legacy Foundation accounts and manages relationships with a number of our Charitable Trust and Endowment Stewards Fund account holders.

 
Fred Hoekstra - Treasurer
In 1993, Fred joined Barnabas Foundation in the Trust area of our growing finance department. He holds a BS Degree in Business Administration from Trinity Christian College. He began his career on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange where he was a "runner" and later a phone clerk for Saul Stone & Co. Following commodities trading courses at Loyola University, Fred moved into a floor broker (member) position on the Exchange. After 12 years of intense trading activity, he chose to devote himself to Trust administration and development at Barnabas Foundation. His knowledge of trading and the markets in general benefits donors daily. Fred also serves as Treasurer of Barnabas Foundation.

 
Kevin Butler - Controller
In 1997, following graduation from Trinity Christian College, with a major in accounting, Kevin became part of our financial department. He is the Trust Administrator and Controller for Barnabas Foundation. In this capacity, he works in management of donor accounts both with the donor-advised Stewards Fund and all other established accounts.


 
John Sharp - Information Technology Manager
John joined Barnabas Foundation in 2001 as Manager of Information Systems. He came directly from Lucent Technologies where he was a senior engineer in the Standards and Engineering, Computing Facilities group. His career at Bell Laboratories / Lucent Technologies spans 32 years during which he moved from specialization in electronics research to focus on computers and communications. At Barnabas Foundation, John is responsible for computer technology, databases and is instrumental in the development and update of our website.


 
   
         
   



 

 


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