Meet the Trauma Healing Institute team
Our team is passionate about helping people in every area of the globe to experience healing from trauma that brings life-changing restoration.
Rebecca Taguma
Rebecca is Senior Director of Restoring Hope and the Trauma Healing Institute (THI). She is passionate about equipping local churches with tools they can really use to help hurting people in their communities begin healing and build skills for resilience and flourishing. In 20 years of Christian ministry in the US and around the world, she’s seen firsthand the spiritual and emotional transformation that is possible and the lasting impact it has on individuals, families and whole communities. Under her leadership, the ministry of THI has tackled the problem of making trauma healing resources accessible to anyone, anywhere. She resides in Pennsylvania, in the USA.
Dr. Philip Monroe
Phil is a psychologist and educator specializing in trauma and recovery in faith communities. For 18 years, he was chair of the Graduate School of Counseling at Mission Seminary. As an active clinician, he currently leads Langberg, Monroe & Associates and is founder of the Global Trauma Recovery Institute. Phil serves as Advisory Council Chair for the Trauma Healing Institute at American Bible Society where he has helped create Bible-based trauma healing materials for the last ten years, contributing to innovations that have made trauma healing the powerful tool it is today. He is based in Pennsylvania, in the USA.
Frederick Barasa
Frederick is Director of Global Partnerships at the Trauma Healing Institute. Barasa is tasked with the critical responsibility of collaborating and building partnerships with THI's ministry partners worldwide. His primary responsibilities include developing streamlined program implementation systems, facilitating project execution, measuring project success, and providing strategic guidance. He manages a team of Regional Coordinators committed to fostering healthy Communities of Practice around the globe. Frederick possesses a graduate degree in Social Work with a specialization in Community Development from Marathwada University, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. Although he’s most often found on a plane, he resides in Pennsylvania, in the USA.
Brianna Leiendecker
Brianna is the Director of Program Development at Restoring Hope and the Trauma Healing Institute. In her current role she oversees the materials of our ministry and the infrastructure that delivers them to churches, partners and facilitators around the world. She is responsible for the stewardship of current ministry programs and development of new ones designed to help as many people as possible She graduated from the Graduate School of Counseling at Missio Seminary and earned a certification from the Global Trauma Recovery Institute. She resides in Delaware, USA.
Maghan Perez
Maghan serves as the US Program Manager for Restoring Hope where she leads data-driven strategies and cultivates partnerships to expand awareness, impact, and access to Bible-based resources integrated with mental health principles for churches, communities, and families nationwide. She is a nonprofit and humanitarian leader with over 20 years of experience in next-gen ministry, Bible-based mental health resources, and global crisis response. She lives in Pennsylvania, USA.
Erica Chumbley
As Senior Manager of Community Engagement at Restoring Hope and the Trauma Healing Institute, Erica supports partnerships with churches and ministry leaders to help communities create sustainable spaces for healing and transformation. A key focus of her work is engaging and supporting trauma healing facilitators—equipping them with connection, encouragement, and resources to lead well. She brings 22 years of strategic communications and storytelling experience to this dynamic role through crafting audience journeys across email, social media, events, and websites. Erica holds a B.S. Mass Media Communications from ORU and a Master of Public Administration (Nonprofit Management) from the University of Colorado at Denver. She is based in Colorado, USA.
Peter Aruya
Peter is the Senior Operations Project Manager for Restoring Hope and the Trauma Healing Institute. To this role, he brings a passion for building efficient, mission-driven operations and over 10 years of experience in project, contract, and vendor management. Peter is a graduate of Andersonville Theological Seminary (ATS), Doctor of Ministry in Christian Counseling, specializing in Substance Abuse and Addiction Therapy, and is a Board-Certified Mental Health Coach (BCMHC), equipping him to integrate practical counseling and coaching insights with strategic operational leadership. He is based in Texas, USA.
Patrick Hayes
Patrick serves as the Materials Project Manager for Restoring Hope and Trauma Healing Institute at American Bible Society. Within his role, he project manages the complete materials lifecycle to support Trauma Healing programs and partners worldwide. With more than a decade of experience in international ministry materials management and logistics, he is committed to equipping Church leaders with high-quality digital and print resources that aid in bringing hope and healing to individuals and communities affected by trauma. He is based in North Carolina, USA.
George Wanjiku
As a Product Associate at the Trauma Healing Institute, George oversees the ministry's technology ecosystem, serving as a bridge between ministry needs and technology solutions. With years of ministry experience, he has equipped Gospel ministers across multiple countries with technology tools to support evangelism, particularly among unreached people groups. He is also an award-winning social impact technology innovator, driven by a passion to create meaningful transformation through technology. George is committed to helping accelerate THI's mission to bring lasting inner healing around the world by leveraging technology to better serve its stakeholders and expand its global impact. He is based in Georgia, USA.
Sheila Smith
Sheila is the Operations Associate at Restoring Hope and Trauma Healing Institute. She specializes in supporting those building the infrastructure that allows healing to take root. Her work is fueled by a deep-seated passion to see individuals not just recover, but truly thrive across their mental, spiritual, and emotional landscapes. By streamlining workflows and managing the essential details of our operations, she ensures the team can focus on what matters most: providing a safe harbor for the brokenhearted. She is an active THI facilitator and represents Restoring Hope and THI at conferences as a passionate advocate for the ministry. She is based in Pennsylvania, USA.
Olivier Nahayo
Rev. Olivier Nahayo is Sr Regional Coordinator for Africa with THI, providing regional leadership and strategic oversight for Trauma Healing programs across sub-Saharan Africa. He is an ordained pastor, teacher, and experienced ministry leader with a strong background in pastoral care, church administration, and program management. He served as Project Coordinator for Trauma Healing and Reconciliation at the Bible Society of Burundi, where he led and expanded trauma healing initiatives across churches, communities, and institutions in response to deep emotional and spiritual wounds caused by recurring crises. He is based in Dakar, Senegal.
Jay Baylor
Jay serves as the U.S. Coordinator at Restoring Hope. In this role he provides equipping and support to partner organizations, ministries and churches in the US, providing them with high quality tools so that more people in their communities can receive healing and build resilience. He is passionate about connecting and inspiring individual facilitators, churches and organizations to reach more people with the transforming love of Jesus through the trauma healing material. He continues to lead trauma healing groups for men in recovery from addiction. He brings over 30 years of experience in youth, pastoral, and teaching ministry Jay received a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary and is ordained a priest in the Anglican Church of North America. He lives in Maryland, USA.
Nellmari Suliveres
In the role of U.S. Hispanic Program Support, Nellmari provides support for the launch of the U.S. Church Toolkit Pilot with Hispanic churches and serves as a key liaison connecting Spanish-speaking facilitators across the United States. She is an experienced and passionate THI facilitator and a vital part of our U.S. ministry engagement with Spanish-speaking churches and facilitators. With more than 15 years of ministry experience, she is passionate about equipping Hispanic churches with the resources needed to foster healing within their communities. She is dedicated to training Pastors and Leaders to effectively utilize the tools and programs offered by Restoring Hope and THI to strengthen and support those they serve. She is based in New Jersey, USA.
Sharon Bermudez
Sharon has served as the Latin America Coordinator for the Trauma Healing Institute since 2019. During this time, she has actively advanced the program throughout the region, successfully establishing facilitator teams in most countries. She is distinguished by her deep passion for and strong commitment to the program. Before joining THI, she was the Trauma Healing Coordinator at United Bible Societies in Ecuador, where she grew an impactful national trauma healing ministry. She is a creative and passionate mentor whose commitment to the people of Latin America has produced enormous fruit over the past decade. She is based in Quito, Ecuador.
Hannah Salisbury
Hannah is the Customer Services Associate for the Trauma Healing Institute. In this role, she supports facilitators across the Global the Community of Practice, ensuring they have access to the materials and information they need to lead impactful trauma healing ministries in their churches and communities. She supports the Restoring Hope and THI teams in leading successful events to equip facilitators. Hannah strives to make our shared efforts more tangible, accessible, and impactful. Hannah currently resides in Montana, USA.