Heather Broeder, Executive Vice President of People at Refined Technologies, Inc., in Houston, Texas. Following her 20-year career at Mustang Engineering, now Wood, Heather followed a previous boss to a growing private organization, Refined Technologies. Heather now serves as the EVP of People, where she serves teams across the organization spanning from marketing to admin. In this role, Heather spends time with RTI’s many missions partners and is passionate about the teams understanding of the eternal impact of their daily work.

In our May Work+Faith Online Speaker Series with Danny, Executive Director of Desire Street Ministries, he shared the impact of growing up with multi-cultural immersion and his successful career in the NFL. Danny provided insight on remaining humble in the midst of success through faith and the encouragement of community that prioritizes a servant-leadership mindset. Danny's heart for the underdog inspired his interest in the work of Desire Street Ministries. We hope you are inspired by the organization's 31 years of experience of revitalizing neighborhood ministry leaders through the intersection of work and faith.

Terrica shared with us her powerful life testimony of overcoming abuse, homelessness, and poverty to become a top realtor and developer in Louisiana. Her story of redemption is a living example of Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD”. Terrica has not let rejection from her childhood or professional endeavors stop her from believing that God has a plan purpose for her life. She is now living that out through her $14 million development, Madeline Cove, for Lafayette’s lower-income residents to find safety, stability, and a roadmap to long-term wealth through homeownership.

To kick off the New Year, we had the blessing of learning from Lee Behar on the topics of stewardship and generosity. Lee serves as the Director of Finance and Strategy Director for The Maclellan Foundation, which is one of the largest Christian family foundations in the world. In our time together, Lee shared with us 5 principles for Biblical generosity and the difference between the mindset of “how much can I give” vs. “how much do I keep”. We hope this conversation encourages you to give generously because God has first given to us.

In our December Work + Faith Online Speaker Series we had the honor of hearing from Scott Sabin, CEO of Plant With Purpose. During our time with Scott, he shared about the impact of how viewing work as a privilege, and a gift, has helped people around the world realize that God has given them a way to contribute to society.  We are encouraged by the life changing empowerment Plant With Purpose is making around the world through the connection of work and faith!

We were able to hear about Barbara's calling from God while in Germany, and how she made her "Nehemiah Walk" around the city of Houston to see where resource gaps were for those in need. Realizing the need for employment resources, Barbara wanted to be sure the faith component was there to provide purpose and a stable foundation, while also giving people an opportunity to gain the skills to find meaningful employment. We hope you are as encouraged as we are by Barbara's story and reliance on God!

In our October Work + Faith Online Speaker Series, we talked with our friend Chris Winton (Senior Vice President, Human Resources FedEx Ground). Chris shared with us about his experience finding a career through nontraditional paths and allowing adversity to shape and grow him positively. He shared how living out his purpose of helping people reach their full potential launched him into his current position. I hope you were as inspired as we were from our time together.

In our July Work + Faith Online Speaker Series, we talked with our friend Kem Wilson III (Principal at Kemmons Wilson Companies). Kem shared with us how he learned by example to carry on his grandfather's legacy of treating others with dignity and respect. We also heard about Kem's heart for giving back, both personally with a South Memphis youth outreach and professionally with KWC staff volunteer hours. I hope you were as inspired as I was from our time together.

In September, we spoke with our friend Candace Matthews  (Amway's Chief Reputation Officer) in the Work + Faith Online Speaker Series. We heard about Candace’s experiences of relying on God to open windows when the doors are closed, finding a network of support as a means to take care of oneself and one’s career, and investing time and energy into others. I hope you were as inspired as I was from our time together.

In our July Work + Faith Online Speaker Series, we talked with our friend Andy Crouch (partner for theology and culture at Praxis; M.Div. Boston University School of Theology). Andy discussed topics from his book Strong and Weak: Embracing a Life of Love, Risk and True Flourishing. We heard about Andy’s perspective on power, and how to utilize authority and vulnerability so that we may flourish in our everyday lives, and in our experiences with others.

In June, we featured Jessica Kim (Co-Founder of Ianacare, Venture Partner at Praxis Labs) in the Work + Faith Online Speaker Series. Jessica spoke on her experiences utilizing her positions of power to affect systemic change on her own ventures and elsewhere, giving voice to her faith in the workplace by sharing her story, and using her grief as a catalyst to develop ways to help others in need through the development of her most recent business, an online platform for family caregivers.

In our inaugural Work + Faith Online Speaker Series in May, we heard from Rodney Bullard (President of Chick-fil-A Foundation and VP of Corporate Social Responsibility for Chick-fil-A Corporation). Rodney shared his heart and told us about working in Washington D.C. at the White House, NASA, Pentagon and Department of Justice, prioritizing service and giving back in each chapter of his career, and living out God’s perfect plan for his life that ultimately led him to working at the C-level of Chick-Fil-A.