Leadership Development Team




Luska has three sons, Thiago, Andre, and Lukas, as well as eight grandsons. Her daughters-in-love add the right measure of sweetness to the mix of energy and craziness that comes from having a family of 11 guys.
From a very young age, Luska developed an interest and love for foreign languages and cultures, and she is fluent in English, Portuguese (native tongue) and Spanish, with the ability to interpret and translate. She is a member of the American Translators Association (ATA). She has a Bachelor’s and Master ’s degrees in Business Management from Indiana Wesleyan University, and an Education Specialist degree (EdS) from Liberty University. She also completed all the coursework for a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership at Liberty University (dissertation not completed).
Luska enjoys time with family, taking pictures, traveling, writing devotionals, editing, dining out, going to the movies, volunteering, mentoring, teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), networking, knowledge-sharing, writing letters with confetti in them, and teaching her grandchildren about Jesus.

R.C. is a lifelong methodist beginning with his home church in New Jersey and congregations in Kentucky and Indiana. R.C. earned a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Asbury University and two Master’s degrees in Theological Studies (Asbury Theological Seminary) and Education with a focus on leadership and curriculum (Campbellsville University). R.C. has held positions in K-12 Christian Education and served as the District Director of Lay Servant Ministries for the South District before joining the conference staff. He is also a trained coach pursuing ACC certification with the International Coaching Federation.
R.C. lives in Yorktown with his wife, an elder in the UMC, and three boys. Though he has long been away from the East Coast, R.C. still cheers for the Philadelphia Phillies and Eagles. He also enjoys collecting and writing with fountain pens and sporadically makes attempts at whittling.

In her current role, Michele serves as the Administrator of Ministerial Services, working alongside Rev. Shannon Stringer as part of the Leadership Development Team. Michele began serving in that role on November 4, 2019.
In addition to her position as Administrative Assistant, Michele works full time at Saint Joseph UMC in Fort Wayne where she serves as the Director of Church Operations. She has been in her position for six years. Michele also serves at Saint Joseph as a volunteer worship leader and wedding coordinator. Michele has been married to her husband Jeff for 26 years and has two daughters ages 20 and 17.
