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Team & Board

Team & Board

The Team

John Ensor

President

Q

John Ensor

President

John is an ordained Evangelical pastor, who has led in the pro-life movement for over 30 years as a speaker, author, mentor, and co-laborer. Currently, John serves as the President of PassionLife, where he concentrates on helping missionaries and indigenous Christian leaders serving in countries plagued by abortion to equip the church in bioethics and pregnancy crisis intervention services.

Starting in 1991, John led the effort in Boston to establish a network of six ultrasound-equipped pregnancy help centers. In 2006, he joined Heartbeat International and piloted Heartbeat of Miami, a minority-led, ultrasound-equipped, pregnancy help ministry now serving amidst 30 nearby abortion business.

John writes books on things he is most passionate about; the gospel, marriage and prolife ethics. He and his wife, Kristen, have been married for over 40 years. They have three married children and three grandchildren. They live in Roswell, GA.

Mark Nicholson

Executive Director

Q

Mark Nicholson

Executive Director

Mark and his family lived in the highlands of inner Asia for ten years as church planting missionaries, becoming the first-ever foreign residents in their prefecture. Spreading the message of freedom through Christ from bondage to fear of local gods, they were privileged to deliver good news for nomadic herdsmen in this far-flung area.

Heartbroken by the high infant mortality rate in their county, Mark and his wife established Nomad Infant Rescue & Care (NIRC), a locally led program designed to provide education, resources and medical assistance to the perinatal needs of young nomadic families vulnerable to  various pregnancy-related risks.

Upon returning to the USA in 2013, Mark came onto the Board of Directors for PassionLife and transitioned to serve as the company’s Executive Director in 2016.  Mark is in special ops.  His main role is to enter high-abortion-rate countries and help engineer new international pregnancy help movements by initiating relationships with churches.

By God’s grace and with his experience in contextualization, Mark circles the globe and has worked with local leaders to raise up life-saving operatives among peoples in Cuba, Vietnam, and India, and many other countries.  From his home base in North America, Mark speaks to churches and organizations about the international cause for life.  He and his wife, Dana, have been married since 1997, and they have four children who work together with them on a clean-meats farm near Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Jeanne Pernia

Director of Latin American Operations

Q

Jeanne Pernia

Director of Latin America Operations

Jeanne is a certified mental health counselor, most recognized for her role as the Co-Founder of Heartbeat of Miami, a minority-led pregnancy help ministry and the founder of the Restoring the Heart Ministry, a post-abortive healing program. She is widely recognized for her role in the South Florida community, promoting the care of pregnant mothers and advocating for the lives of their unborn babies.

Since 2007 Jeanne has reached out to people around the world, sharing her testimony of grace and redemption. Jeanne’s 2013 biography Conquered details her story, from her beginnings in the abortion business to her subsequent journey as one of South Florida’s most widely recognized leaders in the Pro-Life Movement. She continues to share her passion for post-abortive healing and pregnancy counseling by leading weekend healing retreats and is now a part of an expansive mission establishing the Sanctity of Life teachings in Cuba.

Jeanne is passionate about providing life changing education on the sanctity of life, particularly in the Latin-American community and Spanish speaking countries around the world. She and her husband, Albert, have been married for over 30 years. They have three grown children, two sons-in-law, one daughter-in-law, and eight grandchildren. They currently reside in Miami Lakes, FL.

Jeanne’s book Conquered is also available in Spanish, translated as Conquiste. The English version is available at www.amazon.com.

Kristen Ensor

Operations Assistant

Q

Kristen Ensor

Operations Assistant

Contact Kristen

Kristen is the co-founder, with her husband, John, of PassionLife Ministries. She traveled to China 16 times from 2010-2017 documenting in pictures and video, PassionLife’s training in over 40 cities. Later, Kristen served as PL’s first operations manager. Currently she serves as an assistant to the President.

Kristen has served alongside of John in the prolife/pregnancy help movement for 30 years. She was one of three women in 1992 to identify the need for a pregnancy help clinic in Boston that would serve women in a pregnancy-related crisis. What eventually developed was A Woman’s Concern, a network of six ultrasound-equipped pregnancy help clinics. In 2006, she assisted John in Miami, as they worked to start Heartbeat of Miami, now a network of five, minority-led pregnancy help clinics.

Kristen and John have been married for 42 years and have 3 married children and 3 grandchildren.

Megan Sulser

Communications Director

Q

Megan Sulser

Communications Director

As the daughter of John and Kristen Ensor, Megan observed prolife work as a child and has been doing prolife work her whole life. In 2009 she moved to China as a missionary with Pioneers, serving among Muslim people groups for seven years. When her parents came to visit in 2010, Megan arranged for John to teach prolife theology to local pastors. This in turn, led to multiple invitations and sparked the start of PassionLife.

As PassionLife work in China spread, Megan served as a catalyst to local house churches organizing a home for pregnant mothers. Since returning to the US, she has worked in various capacities with PassionLife, most recently as the Director of Communications where she handles design, marketing, editing, and email communications.

Megan earned her B.A. from Wheaton College, where she studied business, anthropology, and theology. She lives with her husband, Ben, in Evansville, IN.

Tammy De Armas

Director of Mission Advancement

Q

Tammy De Armas

Director of Mission Advancement

Tammy mobilizes and engages PassionLife ministry partners, sharing about the opportunity to provide life-saving and life-changing help in the neediest places on earth. She has a deep compassion to speak the truth in love about abortion, while sharing the answer of forgiveness and grace that the gospel provides. Having fallen on this very battlefield, she understands the transforming love that is afforded to all.

Tammy previously served as CEO of a pregnancy medical clinic in Southern California for 10 years. She felt a call to look at abortion globally and use her gifts to share with others who have a desire to help rescue the most vulnerable where abortion is most concentrated. Having met John Ensor years ago and resonating with the mission of PassionLife, she welcomed the opportunity to be a part of it!

Tammy has been married for 34 years to her college sweetheart. They have three grown children, a daughter-in-law, and a son-in-law. Tammy and Pete live in Escondido CA.

Cana Davidson

Operations Manager

Q

Cana Davidson

Operations Manager

Cana serves as the Operations Manager of PassionLife. Her role is to assist the team in all aspects of operations. She finds much joy in working behind the scenes, coming alongside others to help them do the important work that God has called them to do.  Her desire is to serve the Lord and be where He wants her to be. 

Cana previously served as COO and CFO at a pregnancy medical clinic in Southern California for 8 years. In addition to handling all aspects of operations and finance, Cana also spoke at various clinic events and fundraisers as needed. Prior to that time, she worked in Finance and Accounting for a Construction Contractor in Poway, California for 13 years. She participated in the growth of the Construction company from 5 to 130 employees. She has enjoyed learning and growing in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. 

Cana is also involved with Freedom In Christ Ministries and desires to see others find their freedom in Christ. Cana serves and lives with her husband, Gary, in Escondido, CA.

Sara Minard

Assistant Director of
Mission Advancement

Q

Sara Minard

Assistant Director of Mission Advancement

Contact Sara
513-550-9104
sminard@passionlife.org

Sara serves as PassionLife’s Assistant Director of Mission Advancement. She loves being a part of this amazing team working to spread the Gospel of Life throughout the world.

Sara comes to PassionLife with multiple years of experience in the pregnancy care center field. She worked previously as Operations, Advancement and Executive Director for a pregnancy care center where she also played an integral part in promoting and organizing various fundraising banquets and community walks, raising funds and bringing awareness to the issue of Life and to affect positive change. She has also served on various boards and committees through her church and non-profit organizations.

Sara has a heart for those experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and for the unborn as she also faced an unplanned pregnancy herself in 2006 which brought her a beautiful daughter, Mazie. In her spare time, she enjoys working out, going camping with friends and family, and sipping coffee with friends. Sara lives in Florence, KY with her husband Adam, and daughter, Mazie.

International Partners

Anderson E. Ocampo

Regional Coordinator for Latin America

Amit Paul

Working in India

Pastor Edward & Barbara Mwansa

Association for Life Africa (AFLA)

Niza Simwinga

Association for Life Africa (Working in Zambia)

David Waters

Working in Vietnam

Q

 Anderson E. Ocampo

Regional Coordinator for Latin America

Contact Anderson

+57 (301) 781-2555  
aocampo@passionlife.org

Anderson is bilingual, a family psychologist, and certified in Christian Ministry and Theological studies. He has led ministries focused on education for low-income regions in Colombia. He has been an interpreter, translator, and an academic coordinator in theological settings. He's translated theological and devotional books.

He is happily married to Tatiana, with whom they homeschool his children, Josué and Lucy. They live in Antioquia, Colombia.

Naydú Villamarín Rentería

Coordinator of Latin America Operations

Board of Directors

John Ensor
Q

John Ensor

President

John is an ordained Evangelical pastor, who for the last 25 years has served as a leader in the pro-life movement as a speaker, author, mentor, and co-laborer. Currently, John serves as the President of PassionLife, where he concentrates on helping missionaries and indigenous Christian leaders serving in countries plagued by abortion to equip the church in bioethics and pregnancy crisis intervention services.

Starting in 1991, John led the effort in Boston to establish a network of six ultrasound-equipped pregnancy help centers. In 2006, he joined Heartbeat International and piloted Heartbeat of Miami, a minority-led, ultrasound-equipped, pregnancy help ministry now serving amidst 30 nearby abortion business.

John writes books on things he is most passionate about; the gospel, marriage and prolife ethics. He and his wife, Kristen, have been married for over 40 years. They have three married children and three grandchildren. They live in Roswell, GA.

President, PassionLife

Quinn Skinner
Q

Board Chair

Naval Officer (Retired)

Bill Wright
Q

Bill Wright

Board Secretary

Bill is an attorney with 38 years of experience, including four years teaching law in China as a tent-maker missionary. He has been active in pro-life matters for many years. After losing his wife of 43 years, he has now been blessedly married to Robin for three years. Living in Alpharetta, Georgia, between the two of them, they have seven children and 22 grandchildren.

Board Secretary

Attorney

Mark Schlup
Q

Mark Schlup

Board Treasurer

Mark is a chemical engineer who grew up in Latin America and travelled extensively throughout the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico during his working career. Having witnessed the hardship and courage of people who live in areas of the world that have limited resources, a desire to become involved in a mission that promotes the value of human life from conception led to PassionLife. Mark has been married to Dana for 42 years and lives in Atlanta. They are blessed with 3 adult children and 7 grandchildren.

Board Treasurer

Chemical Engineer

Mark Boivin
Q

Mark Boivin

Mark has over 30 years of experience primarily in the chemical and renewable energy industries. He is currently the President and CEO of Mohegan Renewable Energy and serves as an elder in his church. He and his wife, Fern, live near Boston and have three grown children and three grandchildren.

President and CEO, Mohegan Renewable Energy

Piroscka Ventura
Q

Piroscka Ventura

Piro, originally from the Dominican Republic, has been married to Rad for 29 years and is a mother of four. She travels Latin America as a defense contractor. Her own experience with abortion and forgiveness has galvanized her desire to serve the Church and women around the world in desperate need of guidance and support, sharing her testimony and leading women through abortion recovery Bible studies.

Defense Contractor

John Cissel
Q

John Cissel

John C. Cissel is an accomplished Global Real Estate Development and Advisory Executive with more than 30 years of experience.

Known for building partnerships between faith-based organizations, businesses, and governments to positively impact communities, he has advised dozens of organizations, from Nasdaq, Wachovia, and Mitsubishi to The Salvation Army, The Bowery Mission, and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Over the last three decades, John has completed more than $1 billion in real estate leasing, sales, and development projects in over 100 cities across 20 countries.

For nearly 30 years, John Cissel has worked with John Ensor in the cause of life, beginning in Boston and the development of 6 pregnancy help medical clinics (1993-2006) and continuing with Heartbeat International (2008-2013) and currently with PassionLife.

President of Development, Core Investments

Erica Millar
Q

Erica Millar

Erica is a champion for women’s health.  As a Certified Nurse Midwife and experienced nurse educator, she has over 20 years’ experience working in women’s healthcare. She is currently a fulltime faculty for the University of Northwestern in St. Paul, MN, where she shares her Biblical worldview and passion for life with students. In addition, she advocates for women and the unborn as a Nurse Practitioner for Alliance Women’s Care in Kenosha, WI. She has spent significant time outside of the United States, living in both Ireland and Puerto Rico but she and her husband, Anthony, now reside in Pleasant Prairie, WI and have 4 children.

Asst. Professor of Nursing, University of Northwestern, St. Paul, MN

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Check out our core commitments or read our statement of faith.