Langham Leadership
Our leaders consider it a privilege and blessing to be used by God to serve the global church through the ministry of Langham Partnership. Read more about these godly men and women with a heart to bring God's Word to God's people around the world.
Langham USA President
Benjamin K. Homan
From 2001 until 2010, Ben Homan served as president and chief executive officer of a Christian relief and development organization. He has led assessment teams to Iraq, Afghanistan, tsunami-ravaged Indonesia, Sudan's Darfur region, and other devastated zones of the world. Prior to that, he taught at the University of California-Irvine and was vice-president at Covenant Theological Seminary. In 2006, Ben was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the HELP Commission, an entity that was established by Congress to recommend reform of all of the U.S. government's foreign assistance. He also served as president of the Association of Evangelical Relief and Development Organizations (AERDO) and as chairman of the USAID's Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid. Ben joined the leadership of Langham Partnership in August 2010. Ben and his wife, Annette, live in Whitefish, Montana, and have three children. Homan is an alumnus of Biola University, the University of Nebraska, Shanghai Normal University, and Washington University.
U.S. Board of Directors
Don Brown
Don Brown serves as the Founder and President of Family Office, a wealth management consulting service in Orlando, Florida. Prior to founding Family Office, Don served as senior vice president and senior trust officer at Sun Bank, N.A. (now SunTrust N.A.), and also worked in trust services for 13 years at NCNB (now Bank of America). He also created, administered, and served as officer and director of one of Florida's largest private foundations, which has disbursed more than $30 million to New York and Florida charitable entities since 1980.
Don served in the United States Army at Fort Lesley J. McNair, in Washington D.C. He also served as a commander of a signal battalion, which supported a separate brigade of the 25th Infantry Division, during the Vietnam War.
Joel Carpenter (Board Chair)
Joel Carpenter is Provost emeritus and professor emeritus of Calvin University, where he also founded and directed the Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity. Before coming to Calvin, he was the director of the religion program of the Pew Charitable Trusts. A historian by profession with advanced degrees from the Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Carpenter has taught at Calvin, Trinity International University and Wheaton College. At Wheaton he was the director of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals.
Dr. Carpenter has published extensively in the field of American religious history, most notably the award-winning Revive Us Again: The Reawakening of American Fundamentalism (Oxford, 1997). More recently, he has been studying Christian movements in Africa and Asia. His latest book is Christianity Remade: The Rise of Indian-Initiated Churches (Baylor, 2022), which he edited for its late author, Paul Joshua.
Lynn Cohick
Lynn Cohick serves as provost/dean and professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary. She taught New Testament at Wheaton College from 2000 to 2018 and briefly served as interim dean of humanities and theological studies. Most recently, Lynn served as dean/provost and professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary. Lynn also taught at the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (Nairobi, Kenya).
Lynn has researched how Jews and Christians lived out their faith during the Hellenistic period and the Roman Empire. She is fascinated by the lives of women in the ancient world, particularly Christian women in the early church. Lynn has written numerous books, book chapters, reviews, and articles. She enjoys studying the Apostle Paul and his epistles within their larger Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts.
Chip Combs
As president of E.M. Combs & Son, a futures soybean and grain trading company, Earle "Chip" Combs is the 4th generation Combs to hold a membership on the Chicago Board of Trade. His earliest memories are with his father, Earle, on the bustling trading floor. After graduating from DePauw University, Chip returned to the family business. The Combs family legacy also extends to caring for the global church. It was through Chip's friendship with Langham's founder, John Stott, that his parents became friends and faithful supporters of "Uncle John." Chip has served on the international ministry board at Willow Creek Community Church for 10 years, and has spent 15 years on the advisory board of Majesty Hedge Fund. He and his wife, Karla, live in Barrington, IL, where she cheers him on in his biking, hiking, sailing and skiing adventures. (He likes to compete in the American Birkebeiner in Wisconsin-one of the longest country ski races in North America!) Together, they enjoy visiting their kids and grandkids in Boulder, CO.
Bob Crawford
Bob Crawford has significant experience in most all areas of intellectual property (IP) including patent and trademark procurement and portfolio management, and litigation. Over his thirty-year career, he has prosecuted a multitude of patent applications primarily in the areas of electronics, telecommunications, software, mixed-signal processing, circuit fabrication, biomedical devices and a variety of cross-disciplinary technologies involving circuits, life sciences, optics, material sciences and/or nanotechnologies. As an example limited solely to the biomedical-device area, Bob has prepared and prosecuted over one hundred patent applications for more than a dozen portfolios which have yielded many tens of millions of dollars in acquisition/licensing fees. Bob's litigation experience includes a mix of bench and jury trials successfully representing both patent owners and accused infringers. He has successfully represented clients across a broad spectrum of legal areas including IP litigation in both federal and state courts, trade dress, trade secret, post-employment non-competition, multi-district patent matters, NPE's and disputes concerning IP ownership. Bob founded the Crawford Maunu Law Firm in 1998 and serves as its Chief Manager. Prior to launching the Firm, he was an officer with a large Intellectual Property firm in the Twin Cities. With roots in the Chicago area, he was previously with patent-litigation firm Arnold, White & Durkee, and Motorola's Intellectual Property Law Department. He launched his legal career after several years of engineering experience with Motorola where he engineered and managed projects involving cellular communications, mixed-signal communications, and all aspects of computer (hardware and software) design. Bob is also an inventor on about twenty U.S. Letters Patents.
Jenny Cromartie
Jennifer Cromartie graduated from high school in Korea, where her parents served as medical missionaries. In the U.S., she attended Covenant College (Lookout Mountain, TN) and Calvin College (Grand Rapids, MI). While at Covenant, she met her would-be husband, Mike. Sadly, in 2015, Mike was diagnosed with terminal cancer. His desire was for his vast library to be used by Langham to equip the global church. Thus, after Mike's passing, more than 800 books were sent to a seminary in Pakistan.
As a journalist, Jenny has worked in public relations and marketing. But for the past 21 years, she has been teaching middle school humanities and drama. She enjoys kayaking, biking and doing mission work.
Ben Homan
Ben Homan joined the leadership of Langham Partnership in August 2010. Previously, he was president and CEO of a Christian relief and development organization for nearly 10 years. In 2006, Ben was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the HELP Commission, an entity established by Congress to review U.S. foreign assistance programs and recommend reforms. He was president of the Association of Evangelical Relief and Development Organizations (AERDO) and chairman of the USAID's Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid.
Ben is an alumnus of Biola University, the University of Nebraska, Shanghai Normal University, and Washington University. He taught at the University of California-Irvine and was vice president at Covenant Theological Seminary.
Stanley John
Stanley John serves at Alliance Theological Seminary in New York as director and assistant professor of missions and intercultural studies program. He received his doctorate degree in intercultural studies from Asbury Theological Seminary. Stanley is the author of Transnational Organization and Practice of Faith: A Contextual Analysis of Kerala Pentecostal Churches in Kuwait. His research focuses on migrant Christianity in the Arabian Gulf, global Pentecostalism and global Christianity, and transnational networks.
Stanley serves on the board of directors of India Gospel Ministries and is a member of the Lausanne Global Diaspora Network. A licensed minister of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, he serves as teaching pastor at Ridgeway Alliance Church in White Plains, NY.
Ilya Manzyuk
Ilya's roots are in Ukraine, where he was born shortly before his family migrated to Sacramento, CA, in hopes of a better future and greater religious freedoms. In 2016 he served as the interpreter for the Langham team covering the launch of the Slavic Bible Commentary in Kiev and saw firsthand the impact of Langham's work globally. In 2018 he graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with honors and was awarded the Henry C. Thiessen Award for his work in the field of New Testament studies. After several years of seminary and pastoral ministry in Dallas, Ilya now serves as the Executive Pastor at Genesis Church, a multiethnic church-plant in Sacramento. Ilya is passionate about seeing people grow within their church community and hopes to continue serving the local church through biblical preaching, teaching, and leadership.
Margaret Mwenda
Margaret Mwenda serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Calvin Theological Seminary and has held other leadership roles in higher education including associate dean of a college of business and department chair in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has also served as professor of business for more than 13 years both in Kenya and the USA. Margaret holds a PhD in higher education policy and leadership from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, and an MBA. Margaret and her husband, also an educator and administrator, have two adult daughters.
Brad Palmer
Brad Palmer is principal of Cross Street Partners, a Pennsylvania-based real estate firm that invests in commercial projects and development opportunities.
Brad served on the staff of Langham Partnership for eight years and worked alongside founder John Stott. He received a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University and a master’s degree in business administration from Villanova University. Brad is a member of Wayne Coffee & Ice Cream Bar, a coffee bar by morning and ice cream bar by evening.
Santiago Proaño
An American native of Ecuador, Santi came to faith through US missionaries in Ecuador. He is a student of history and culture with a passion for helping others reach their potential. After graduating from Arizona State in Accountancy he began his career at Starwood Hotels, supporting sound financial decision making. He and his wife, Kayla, served as Peace Corps Micro-Enterprise volunteers, helping coffee growers in Ecuador develop a coffee-tourism program and their own brand of packaged coffee. Since receiving his MBA from the University of Michigan Santi has served consumers through delicious food & beverage innovations from brands owned by KraftHeinz, Tyson Foods, and Ocean Spray. His fascination with creating brands included the creation of plant-based protein brand Raised & Rooted, Yappah!—a concept inspired by a tradition in his homeland—and CarryOn sparkling waters. Most recently Santi is applying his product marketing experience at Compassion International, working to expand the ministry’s offerings beyond sponsorship. A blessed father of 5 children, Santi is based in sunny Tempe, Arizona and spends his free time dragging the family on biking, camping, and hiking adventures.
John Rain
John Rain is a retired lawyer who previously specialized in banking, finance, and natural resource transactions. John and his wife, Ellen, are members and officers of Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas. John Stott’s books have been an important part of their lives, and they consider themselves privileged to support the strategic work of Langham Partnership in helping the global church grow in maturity. John is a graduate of Amherst College and The University of Texas School of Law. He also studied at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and at L’Abri Fellowship in Switzerland.
Eidi Cruz-Valdivieso
Eidi Cruz-Valdivieso was born in Mexico City, where she worked for many years at Armonía, a ministry that serves impoverished urban and rural communities. She studied psychology in Mexico and earned a master’s degree in organizational and social psychology from the London School of Economics.
Eidi developed and led programs promoting community integration, collaboration and innovation. She also led a collaboration with Pitch@Palace, an initiative founded by HRH The Duke of York to support entrepreneurs.
Eidi is passionate about finding solutions to poverty and other global issues. She considers her involvement from a very young age with Armonia (founded by her parents) and John Stott’s influence as pivotal to her Christian walk.
Jack Swanson
Jack Swanson graduated from Wheaton College and earned a doctorate degree from Northwestern University. He taught at Wheaton Academy (West Chicago, IL) and served as assistant principal and counselor at East High School (Rockford, IL).
Jack served as superintendent of Oak Park-River Forest High School for 13 years before going to the Philippines to help establish a Christian mission in Manila. Back to Chicago, Jack served with several city ministry programs, including the Austin Christian Law Center, the Lawndale Christian Development Corporation, and the Lawndale Christian Health Center. Jack served on the boards of Trinity College, Wheaton College, West Suburban Hospital College of Nursing, and C.A.R.E. Philippines.
Tom Tolleson, Jr
Tom Tolleson, Jr. is a certified financial planner with more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. He also holds various securities and insurance licenses and is widely known in the Atlanta professional community for his integrity, expert knowledge and dedication to putting his clients’ interests above his own. Tom has consistently received the Five-Star Wealth Manager award by Atlanta Magazine every year since 2014. Tom serves on the board of CS Lewis Institute Atlanta, whose mission is to develop wholehearted disciples of Jesus Christ. He has earned degrees in law, theology and history from Emory University, Regent College and the University of Virginia, respectively.
Luder Whitlock
Luder Whitlock is president of Excelsis, an Orlando-based nonprofit, and Vice Chair of Trinity International University. Prior to that, he was executive director of the CNL Charitable Foundation and the Willovita Foundation. After nearly ten years as a pastor, Luder joined the faculty of Reformed Theological Seminary in 1975 and was appointed president in 1978, a position he held for 23 years. He was on the executive committee of the Association of Theological Schools for 10 years, including a term as president.
Luder’s service to higher education has been rich and varied, and his years of ministry have been marked by an effort to bring mutual understanding and cooperation within the worldwide evangelical community. He wrote The Spiritual Quest: Pursuing Christian Maturity and Divided We Fall: Overcoming a History of Christian Disunity.
U.S. Advisory Board
Nancy Seay
Former Langham USA board member
Dallas, TX
Walter Hansen
Former Langham USA board member
Chicago, IL
International Leadership Team
Chris Wright
Global Ambassador and Ministry Director
Chris Wright represents and promotes the vision and work of Langham around the world through his international travel, his speaking and writing ministry as a Christian scholar and author, and in sharing the spiritual and strategic leadership of the organization.
Tayo Arikawe
International Director
Tayo Arikawe leads the spiritual and strategic direction of Langham Partnership, working with the Program and National Member teams around the world as well as the International Council. He is from Nigeria, has been Director of Ministries at London City Mission, and has served in church planting and pastor training ministry in several countries in Africa, in the UK and in continental Europe.
Riad Kassis
Director of Langham Scholars
Riad Kassis is a Langham Scholar from Lebanon and is deeply committed to global theological education. He has served as Regional Director for Overseas Council, as well as visiting professor of Old Testament at The Arab Baptist Theological Seminary. Riad combines his Langham role with another, as the Director of ICETE (the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education).
Pieter Kwant
Director of Langham Literature
Pieter Kwant has worked for several Christian publishers, including the one he founded himself, Piquant Editions. He oversees the work of the Langham Literature Warehouse and Service Centre in Carlisle, England, and is sought out around the world for his expertise in Majority World publishing.
Paul Windsor
Director of Langham Preaching
Paul Windsor coordinates an international team of trainers who facilitate Langham Preaching movements around the world. Until 2020, he and his wife, Barby, were based in Bangalore, India — but the arrival of COVID-19 took them home to Auckland, New Zealand.
Femi Adeleye
Director for Africa, Langham Preaching
Dr. Femi Adeleye is an internationally renowned New Testament scholar, teacher, author and leader for the global church. Originally from Nigeria, he spent more than 30 years in leadership with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES). Today he serves in Ghana, where he leads Langham’s pastor training movement in Africa.
John Corban
International Finance Officer
Born in Tanzania, John is passionate about seeing the Church strengthened and mature; his family has a long history with mission work around the world. Prior to his work with Langham, John was an Accountant in the corporate sector for many years. He and his family live in Auckland, New Zealand.
Seble Daniel
Executive Director for the Women's Commission at the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA)
Dr. Seblewengel Daniel is a Langham Scholar who serves as the Executive Director for the Women's Commission at the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and teaches part time at the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology (EGST) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church, she serves as the deputy chair of women. In 2015, she joined The International Fellowship of Mission as Transformation’s (INFEMIT) Networking Team as the second representative for Africa. Her doctoral research focused on the perceptions and identity of Ethiopian Orthodox believers and evangelicals in Ethiopia.
Craig Hoffman
Growth Campaign Director / Global Strategist / IT Coordinator
Since 2016, Craig has directed Langham Partnership’s global long-term strategic planning and the All In Growth Campaign that is propelling it. Prior to that, Craig helped lead the 10x growth of an engineering missions organization, launching offices in the Middle East and West Africa, and leading multi-disciplinary teams to design hospitals, orphanages and infrastructure projects for ministries in 30+ developing world countries. Craig has served as chairman of the Association of Christian Relief and Development organizations, has a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, and started his career as a Civil Engineer with ExxonMobil. He and his wife Susanne reside in Colorado with their 4 children.
John Libby
National Director, Langham Partnership UK & Ireland
John is an ordained minister in the Church of England and comes to Langham after many years in Parish Ministry. His job is to raise the profile, funding and administration, giving maximum support to our three international ministry streams. A place on the international executive team helps define strategy such that those three streams deliver maximum positive global impact. John spent 16 years in international banking with significant experience in senior financial management in the UK and USA. Ordained in the Church of England, he spent 18 years as vicar of St. James, Carlisle. As a Christian entrepreneur John built and fund-raised for charitable enterprises including the Kepplewray Trust, with connections in Africa.
Elspeth Mackay
Program Liaison Executive
Elspeth joined the Langham Partnership team in 2016 and serves as Program Liaison Executive, based at the Langham Service Centre in Carlisle. Program Liaison is a key connection between the activity of the Langham Programs (Scholars, Literature and Preaching) and the fund-raising and marketing activity of the National Members. Prior to joining Langham, Elspeth worked in University administration. Elspeth and her husband Donald live in Carlisle, UK, and they have two adult daughters.
Carolyn Slavik
Vice President, Langham Partnership USA
Carolyn joined the Langham Partnership team in 2003 as a project manager for the Scholars program. She went on to serve as Scholar Director for three years before becoming Vice President for Operations and Development in 2005. Prior to joining Langham, Carolyn had a long career in high tech, primarily focused on customer relationship management. Carolyn lives in Napa, CA, where she attends The Father’s House church. She has four adult children and ten grandchildren.
Gillean Smiley
CEO, Langham Partnership Australia
From 2008 to 2012, Gillean was Chief Executive of the Bible Society in South Australia and the Northern Territory. She was subsequently manager of Peirson Services, a ministry arm of the Ann Street Presbyterian Church Brisbane. She has served as CEO of Langham in Australia since 2014.
Victor Sun
General Secretary, Langham Foundation Hong Kong
Victor Sun was born in Hong Kong and brought up in a Christian family. Before joining Langham Foundation in 2005 as General Secretary, Victor has an MBA degree from Michigan University on tax-based leverage leasing. He then spent 25 years with the HSBC group as a merchant banker, fundraising for government projects and investment banking based in Hong Kong, China and the United Kingdom. He was appointed Advisor China Affairs to the Group Chairman of the HSBC Holdings plc in 1997. Victor now lives in Hong Kong with his wife Mary.
Russell Thorp
Executive Director, Langham Partnership New Zealand
Russell was born in Papua New Guinea (PNG) of missionary parents. He and Pearl married in 1982. After training at Laidlaw College, earning a Master of Theology degree, they went back to PNG and served on the faculty of Christian Leaders Training College (CLTC). Prior to taking up his former role, as Mission Director, Global Connections in Mission (GC3), he was Dean of Undergraduate Studies at Carey Baptist College, Auckland, and prior to that, a senior lecturer at Pathways Bible and Mission College. Russell and Pearl live in Auckland. They are parents of four adult children.
Steven Van Dyck
National Director, Langham Partnership Canada
Since 2018, Steven has led Langham Partnership Canada as National Director. Steven is a chartered accountant with extensive Canadian and African professional experience. A graduate of the Th.M. program at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto, and an ordained minister with parish experience, he served most recently with SIM, teaching theology at Shalom University in Bunia, DR Congo.
Rico Villanueva
Regional Commissioning Editor, Langham Literature / Scholar Care Coordinator, Langham Scholars
Rico serves as the Regional Commissioning Editor for Langham Publishing and Scholar Care Coordinator of current Asian Langham scholars. He is author of several books, including "The Uncertainty of a Hearing: A Study of the Sudden Change of Mood in the Psalms of Lament" and "It’s OK to be Not OK: Preaching the Lament Psalms." He teaches part-time at the Asia Graduate School of Theology and Loyola School of Theology in Manila.