SPEAKERS

Paul H. Douglas

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Ray Wahlen

Undertreasurer

general conference

Ray Wahlen is the Undertreasurer of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists having been elected to that position in 2015. Prior positions at the GC include Director of Seventh-day Adventist Accounting Software (otherwise known as SunPlus) for nine years and followed by five years as Associate Treasurer and Co-Director of International Personnel Resources & Services. Ray began his church employment with the General Conference Auditing Service (four years in the USA and Singapore) followed by a total of thirteen years as Treasurer of the Guam-Micronesia Mission (FED), the Montana and Washington Conferences in the United States.

For his education, Ray graduated from Pacific Union College with a BBA in Management and Accounting and has earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland University College. In addition, he is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of Maryland and a Chartered Global Management Accountant.

Born to missionary parents in Seoul, Korea, he became a third-generation missionary since his mother was born to missionary parents in Kunming, China. He and his wife, Maurine, are the parents of two adult children – Jessica and Michael.

Ray has a passion to serve the Lord on the financial side of the Church by removing inefficiencies, creating integrated financial systems, and promoting collaborative teams across traditional boundaries.

Pastor Kirk Nugent

media Pastor

breath of life tv ministry

The “Geek Speaker Preacher,” Kirk R. Nugent, uses his expertise in the ever-changing, technological world to empower content entrepreneurs to gain visibility and expanded reach through online video. As an accomplished speaker, content creator, and digital church consultant, he continues to be the go-to resource for everyone’s brand needs.

Kanique Mighty-Nugent is CEO/Founder of her own business, Komposition LLC, a Web Design and Media Consulting Agency that has been in business for over 13 years. In 2011 the couple received a call to work as Director of IT at the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division based in Pretoria, South Africa. This is where they called home for 4 years before moving back to the states in 2015 to serve as CIO (him) and Webmaster (her) at Oakwood University. With Kanique at the helm Komposition has been named in the top 3 Web Designers in Huntsville for 2 years and has been instrumental in multiple denominational web projects. In 2020 Kirk joined the business full time as the Online Video and Social Media expert and developed that side of the business which has been quite a success as he has also developed a platform for himself on YouTube. Kirk has recently been appointed as Media Pastor at Oakwood University Church and Digital Content Specialist for Breath of Life Ministries.

The Nugents are based in Huntsville, Alabama and in all their professional capacities they focus on bringing to life the needs of their partners and clients through visually composed elements. Their aim is to provide digital media services and best practices to entrepreneurs, small businesses and faith-based entities.

Richard Stephenson

associate treasurer

General Conference

Richard Stephenson started working for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1998, serving as Chaplain and Campus Pastor for Madison Academy in Nashville, TN. In 2005 he accepted the call as Director of IT for Madison Academy and later Director of IT for the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference. Richard placed a significant emphasis on Educational Technology for the dozens of schools in the conference. He later transitioned to the Southern Union Conference where he served for 10 years. In 2018 Richard accepted the call to serve as Director of IT Services for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America.

In June 2022 Richard was elected at GC Session in St. Louis to serve as Associate Treasurer of the General Conference, where his portfolio includes Technology Strategy, and Operations. Richard loves to integrate technology into the organization in a way that sustains and strengthens Mission. More than this, Richard loves the Lord, and has a heart for ministry.

regis Reis

chief executive officer

iatec

Regis Gonzalez dos Reis, born in Taquara, RS – Brazil, is accountant and treasurer for over 10 years. Married to Adriana Cunico dos Reis, they have two daughters, Giovanna Cunico dos Reis and Bianca Cunico dos Reis. He currently resides in Hortolândia, S.P, where he is an active member of the UNASP/HT Church.

Josue Pierre

Associate Treasurer, Data Protection Officer

General Conference

Josue Pierre serves as an associate treasurer and the data protection officer for the General Conference. His responsibilities also include serving as the corporate secretary of the General Conference Corporation, oversight of the General Conference’s contracts procurement and purchasing processes, and oversight of the General Conference’s real property and intellectual property inventory. Prior to joining the Treasury department in 2022, Josue served as an associate general counsel for the General Conference. Josue earned a Bachelor of Business Administration (emphasis in accounting) from Andrews University in 1994 and a Juris Doctor from George Washington University Law School in 1997. Before joining the General Conference, he accumulated more than 19 years of experience in various areas of the law, which includes commercial transactions, commercial finance, contracts, real estate, corporate governance, nonprofit law, appellate and civil litigation. Born and raised in New York to Haitian parents who served the Church in ministry and in the mission field for more than 40 years. He is married to Danielle since 1994 and they have two daughters – Katherine and Madeline.

ernest staats

technical dpo

General Conference

Ernest Staats, the security/privacy consultant for Network Paladin, has also served as an information security expert for corporate, government, medical, educational, private, and religious institutions both nationally and internationally. While Ernest has focused on data privacy and security compliance, he enjoys the technical aspects of networking, security, and privacy.

Previously, he served as director of IT for various organizations and the director of IT security for the city of Chattanooga and Georgia’s largest multispecialty physician group. He also has a passion for mentoring and has worked with youth mentoring them in cyber security in programs such as the ROTC Cyber Patriots. The mission of Network Paladin is to protect the personal and organizational information of our clients by encouraging, training, supporting, guiding, and mentoring.

sam Neves

associate director of communication

General Conference

Pastor Sam Neves serves as the Associate Director of Communication of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. His main responsibilities are branding and digital evangelism for the world church. He was born in Brazil and moved to England as a teenager, where he later served as a local church pastor for 11 years. Today he lives in Silver Spring, MD, in the United States with his wife, Amy and their 3 boys.

Brent Burdick

director, sunplus

General Conference

Brent Burdick is Assistant to the General Conference Treasurer and Director of SunPlus, based in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. SunPlus is the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s accounting and financial reporting solution used in over a thousand sites around the world. Brent has worked for the Church for over 25 years in multiple countries and in various financial roles including auditing, accounting, and CFO at the conference and division levels. He is also an ordained minister.

milton sand

director of it services

north america division

Milton comes from the engineering field and has been in IT for 20 years, serving in different roles, starting in one of our Adventist Universities, then working at a Union Conference and most recently at the North American Division where he’s the Director of IT Services.

Passionate about providing first class IT tools to empower our ministries to finish the mission of our church.

mildred weiss

data governance

general conference

Mildred Weiss was born in Uruguay and grew up in Argentina. She was raised as an Adventist in a missionary family, and she completed her elementary and high school studies in several Adventist institutions in Argentina. She finished a bachelor’s in nutritional science from a public university and then worked as a Clinical Dietitian and Public Health Nutritionist.

Once married to Adrian Schmidt, they decided to become self-sustained missionaries to the south of Argentina, where they had the privilege of founding a small Adventist group (now a small church) in the city of San Martin de los Andes. While there, Mildred became the proud mother of Egan (1999) and Aine (2001). In 2002, the small family accepted an invitation to serve at River Plate University, where she played a key role in the development, organization, and instruction of a new Nutrition program. Mildred and Adrian’s missionary souls took the family to the Philippines as Volunteers at the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS). While working as staff in the AIIAS Library, Mildred got a post-graduate diploma in education. The family then immigrated to Canada in 2008, making Lacombe their home.

In 2011, Mildred started working in the Education department at the Alberta Conference of Seventh-day Adventists with a passion to help Adventist education grow in Alberta. Mildred moved with her husband in 2022 when they accepted the call to serve at the General Conference of the SDA. Her desire for children to become citizens of heaven drives her goals and decisions. She desires to use education and discipleship for children and adults to be productive citizens in this world and for eternity. One of her favorite verses from Scripture is Philippians 4:4; “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” She wants everyone around her to know that her love for Jesus is the reason for her happiness and joy.

Herberth B. Ribeiro

chief information officer

iatec

Herberth started his service for the Church in 1995 at APLAC, a Conference of the Brazilian Central Union in the capital of Brazil, Brasilia, where he served part-time as an IT coordinator and part-time as a computer instructor and personnel department assistant.

In 1998 Herberth started working as an IT manager for the same Conference, managing IT services for the field, including the schools’ IT teams.

Herberth was IT manager for 16 years, serving the Church in the territories of the UCB and UCOB unions, when in 2014 he was called to serve as Infrastructure and IT Services manager at the headquarters of the South American Division, where he worked to consolidate the IT Department of the division and also worked on the planning for the creation of IATec

In 2015 he received the call to serve in Hortolândia – SP, as IATec INFRA and IT Services manager and for the challenge of building this new institution.

In 2018 Herberth was given the responsibility of assuming the role of CIO of IATec, a position he still hold today, collaborating directly with the board of directors of IATec, serving as a bridge between technical resources and the strategic needs of the Church, supporting the various technical teams, leading technologies and methodologias adoptions, building consistency and synergy between the different technical areas of IATec and supporting the decision-making and direction of the Church in South America, through the use of IT resources.

williams costa

director of communication

General Conference

Williams Costa Jr. is the executive director for Adventist News Network (ANN) and director of the Communication department at the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s world headquarters. He is originally from Recife in Brazil and has previously served as a large-scale production manager and Communication director for the church in South America.

gerardo sangronis

it manager, sunplus

General Conference

Systems Analyst adept at designing innovative IT solutions and enhancing existing systems with new features. Committed to improving business productivity and efficiency. Specialized in applying technical expertise to develop insightful solutions applicable to current business practices. 16 years of experience as a Systems Analyst with a focus on Networking, Project management for Business Solutions, Cyber Security, and Cloud technologies. Solid understanding of software development lifecycles, including all phases of system and software development. Expertise in managing Cloud Environment and Cloud Infrastructure using different technologies.

sherri ingram-Hudgins

director

adventist membership systems

Sherri Ingram-Hudgins has worked for twenty-two years supporting the work of the church through technology. First, as a developer with the North American Division and more recently as Director of the Adventist Membership Systems office at the General Conference. Under her direction, the Adventist Church Management System has been implemented in ten divisions and 145 countries. She spends much of her free time with her two grandsons, but occasionally finds some time for watercolor painting.

Stephen Filkoski

director of data governance

General Conference

Stephen Filkoski is the Director of the newly formed Office of Data Governance at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (GC). Stephen has worked for over 30 years for the GC’s Information Technology Services (ITS) department, for the last five years as the IT Director and the Cyber Director. During this time, the GC has revamped data center operations including adding a data center in Las Vegas, built out committee-based governance, and incorporated IT Service Management into much of IT’s operations. He is married to his wife of 30 years, Lyvouch, and has three grown children and spends most of his free time fishing and spending time with his family.

john beckett

director of digital media technologies

General Conference

John Beckett has worked for the General Conference since 1999. He first served as an Assistant Director for the Communication Department. He is currently the Director of Digital Media Technologies, responsible for the technical systems that run GC’s public-facing digital media. He also manages the netAdventist website software used by local churches in many parts of the world. John, his wife, Lesley, and three boys live in Laurel, Maryland.

John graduated with a Bachelor’s in Computer Science from Southern Adventist University and a Master’s in Strategic Communication from Regent University. John believes that reliable and secure technology is crucial to the communication efforts of every organization.

Adrian Schmidt

director of it services

General Conference

Adrian Schmidt was born in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, and he studied Electronic Engineering at the University of Buenos Aires, graduating with honors. Near the end of his studies, he started working for the National Justice Department as the Head of Software Development to develop a system connecting multiple registries across Argentina via satellite connections. Adrian helped start the Information Technology Department of the National Ombudsman of Argentina. Some years later, he moved with his wife Mildred to start a family in southern Argentina (San Martin de los Andes), where he worked multiple jobs as an entrepreneur. Shortly after, Adrian accepted the call to serve at the River Plate Adventist University in Entre Rios province. He became the IT director sometime later, heading a big modernization at this University.

In 2005, Adrian moved with his family to the Philippines, earning his MBA while working as an associate and later IT director at the Adventist Institute of Advanced Studies. Adrian then moved to Canada in 2008, where he set down roots in Lacombe, AB, working as a Servers and Network Administrator at Burman University. Recently Adrian moved to Maryland to serve as Associate Director for the IT Department for the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists. His passions continue to be: networking and internet technologies, learning ways to improve and secure networks, and using his knowledge and expertise to create positive change in this world while getting ready for the new earth.

Italo Osorio

Enterprise architect

General Conference

Italo Osorio works at the General Conference as Systems Architect. He has a degrees in computer science, accounting, a master in accounting, and a post graduate degree as Education Specialist. Married to Sheralee Thomas and has two daughters: Kim and Lin. He has been developing enterprise system in Seventh-day Institutions in South America, South Asia, and North America for 27 years. He has been blessed to have his work as his main hobby. He also enjoys music, graphic design, electronics, carpentry, and fixing broken things.

Annette Melgosa

associate director of data governance

General Conference

Annette Melgosa is the Associate Director in the Office of Data Governance at the General Conference of Seventh- day Adventists (GC). Previously, she worked for seven years as Strategic Planning and Research Analyst in the GC’s Information Technology Services (ITS) department. She holds a doctorate in Educational Research from the University of Calgary, a master’s degree in Educational Technology from the University of Southern Queensland, and a master’s degree in Library and Information Studies from University College London at the University of London.

Annette has served the church as Instructional Librarian at Walla Walla University in Washington State, USA, as Associate Library Director/IT Director at the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS) in the Philippines, and as Assistant Librarian at Newbold College in England. She is married to Dr. Julian Melgosa (Associate Director, Education Department, GC), has two grown children and two granddaughters, and loves the mountains in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.

Eric Claus

associate director of its: nadcloud

North american division

Eric Claus, MCSE, is the Associate Director of ITS at the NAD. He is lead engineer for the NADcloud and its incredible team. Since the age of 12, Eric has been intrigued by technology and its systems. The opportunity for innovation and efficiency drives his love for IT. When he’s not on his laptop or giving percussive maintenance to a server, you can find him playing disc golf, hiking, at the beach, or all three at once. He is currently engaged and will be married this December!