Meet the Administer Justice Team
Bruce Strom
CEO & Founder
Andrew Sharp
VP of Legal Services
Mark Garavaglia
VP of Engagement
Allison Smith
VP of Finance & Operations
Bruce Strom
CEO & Founder
Bruce is the Founder & CEO of Administer Justice which began in 2000 as a direct response to the prayers of Bruce’s wife, Helen. Bruce admits he got caught up as the senior partner in a successful law practice where he argued cases all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Through a series of circumstances and the power of his word, God called Bruce to leave that practice, and join the ranks of the poor as he learned and served alongside them. While Bruce has received many awards, spoken at conferences, and published the books Gospel Justice (Moody) and Persevering Power (IVP), he is most grateful for the chance to use the gift of a law degree to serve one of the least of these. A graduate of Judson University and the University of Illinois College of Law, Bruce is also a pastor. He encourages the church, attorneys, and individuals to step out of their comfort zone and in the words of our founding verse, “Administer true Justice, show mercy and compassion to one another.” Zechariah 7:9.
Andrew Sharp
VP of Legal Services
After launching a Gospel Justice Center at his church, Andrew saw God bring together his legal training, his passion for access to justice, and his faith. When a position opened at AJ to help other attorneys, churches, and Christ followers walk the same path, he jumped at the chance. His law degree at Chicago-Kent College of Law and prior work experience at Illinois Legal Aid Online showed him the great need for legal assistance as well as insight into how pro bono and legal aid work together to meet client’s legal needs. His passion for technology, in addition to law, enables him to find solutions that help our centers operate more smoothly, our attorneys and volunteers build stronger community, and our National Support Center address client and volunteer questions more efficiently. He finds great joy in hearing how much serving impacts our volunteers and knowing that God is transforming their lives as much as he is those of our clients. Andrew and his wife live in Oak Park with their two daughters.
Mark Garavaglia
VP of Engagement
Mark served in government and private practice before becoming the first General Counsel for Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation. He spent nearly 20 years serving at Rotary while also continuing his education part-time at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where he earned his M. Div. He quit the practice of law in 2010 when he and his wife, Alicia, were called to serve as missionaries at Tyndale Theological Seminary near Amsterdam. His family moved to the Netherlands in 2012 and Mark served as the president of the seminary there until early 2022. When preparing for their move back to the U.S., Mark learned about AJ and felt the Lord was leading him there, where he could combine his legal and theological training to work at building relationships with churches, supporters and attorneys. Mark would love to talk with you about how AJ is spreading gospel justice across our country.
Allison Smith
VP of Finance & Operations
Allison’s background as an entrepreneur and business owner prepared her well to keep up with the many moving pieces of a quickly growing organization. That experience along with her MBA provide the skills to ensure AJ’s resources are optimized and enable her to connect the many small details to AJ’s larger goals.
Her experience as a foster parent deepened her compassion and solidified her commitment to work toward justice for all who are under resourced in our community.
Allison joined AJ because she saw how her experience, skills and personal convictions aligned with our incredible mission. She finds joy and motivation in working alongside other talented professionals who are committed to the vision of Administer Justice.
Kristin Crawford
Director of Digital Marketing & Communications
Jeanette Gonzalez
Support Specialist
Katrina Kessler
Senior Director of Operational Excellence
Ruth Latzke
Support Director
Kristin Crawford
Director of Digital Marketing & Communications
Kristin is excited to be a part of the AJ team where she can use her marketing and communications skills to support the work of providing access to justice through the local church. With a bachelor and a masters degree in multidisciplinary media and communication studies, combined with more than 10 years experience in non-profit and B2B marketing, Kristin has background in a range of areas including video, web and graphic design, and communication strategy. She loves to collaborate and utilize technology and storytelling to share stories of God at work, and invite others to become part of those stories. She makes sure to get plenty of time away from the screens on long walks with her dog, Fitz, and international travel whenever she can.
Jeanette Gonzalez
Support Specialist
Jeanette joined the AJ team after a season where she felt like she wasn’t using her gifts to give glory to God and help build his kingdom. When she learned about this role, she felt an immediate pull to learn more. She loves talking with people and helping them, so supporting volunteers and clients by phone is a perfect role for her gifts. Her experience as a Patient Care Manager helped her know the huge impact that listening and providing advice and referral can have in people’s lives. To be able to help clients in the name of Christ, and to pray with and for them, is one of her greatest joys. Jeanette is excited to see the growth of Administer Justice and to now be using her gifts to help build God’s kingdom of justice and righteousness.
Katrina Kessler
Senior Director of Operational Excellence
Katrina joined the AJ team because she is passionate about seeing the body of Christ using their gifts to bring hope and be a much-needed witness of God’s concern for justice. Before joining the AJ team, she spent several years in the Christian nonprofit space finding ways to improve processes and remove barriers so that volunteer leaders were able to join in the work of the organization with as light of a lift as possible. Katrina enjoys bringing together different pieces of data and information and working collaboratively to remove pain points, develop better processes, and celebrate impact. Her greatest joy is hearing stories of impact and transformation in the lives of clients and seeing volunteers find a meaningful way to use their gifts as part of building God’s kingdom.
Ruth Latzke
Support Director
Ruth serves at AJ supporting both our clients and volunteers. Her experience as an immigrant, a legal intake specialist, and someone accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice to practice Immigration law, gives her a unique perspective that benefits all our constituents. She loves to lead workshops that train and equip people to serve others and is thrilled to be in a workplace that provides both legal help and gospel hope. Her passion is helping and encouraging others and her role at AJ allows her to do that every day. As she supports volunteers, they can in turn care for and support clients better. She wants to remind our volunteers of Matthew’s words, “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Raquel Leal
Support Specialist
Abbi Littrell
Launch Director
Anne Miller
Executive Assistant
Judy Miller
Director of Attorney Engagement
Raquel Leal
Support Specialist
Raquel is passionate about helping low-income families break harmful cycles and regain hope. She came to East Tennessee with her family from Venezuela in 2017. She obtained her law degree in Venezuela in 1999 and became a Human Rights Activist in 2015. Her dad was a Pastor, Teacher, and Writer in their home country, Venezuela, and her mom was an attorney and community leader, so serving at AJ is a natural fit for Raquel!
She is currently a Family Advocate with The Restoration House of East Tennessee, in addition to her work at AJ as the Saturday Support Specialist. Raquel is thrilled to walk alongside clients who call to book appointments knowing she is helping point them to legal help and gospel hope.
Abbi Littrell
Launch Director
Abbi joined AJ because she is passionate about equipping the Church in very practical ways to help God's people pursue radical compassion and transformative justice in their daily lives. She enjoys helping center volunteers find passion and purpose in their work and loves that her role as Launch Director involves a unique blend of interpersonal relationships and strategic systems. As a creative problem-solver and successful team-builder, Abbi finds joy in walking alongside volunteers as they dive into the work of launching a Gospel Justice Center. It is her privilege to support and cheer them on in any way she can!
Anne Miller
Executive Assistant
Anne joined AJ because she’s been longing to work at a place where faith, justice, and church partnership come together. After 10 years in campus ministry, she brings significant experience in fundraising, event planning, strategic planning, donor development and nurturing hearts for justice with the students and staff. Her administrative skills and ability to take a vision from an idea to a reality are critical in her role supporting our CEO. Anne’s greatest joy is knowing that all her work is helping to advance God’s heart for justice, whether directly or indirectly. She is excited to see our vision of 1,000 Gospel Justice Centers transforming lives in the name of Christ become a reality!
Judy Miller
Director of Attorney Engagement
Judy has been affiliated with Administer Justice for many years, starting as a pro bono attorney while in private practice. She served as the lead attorney and director of the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic before becoming the Legal Services Director and then Executive Director. With the growth of gospel justice centers across the United States, Judy moved into her current role where she can focus on identifying attorneys with a call to serve and helping them find the right fit with a gospel justice team. She loves hearing attorneys talk of the satisfaction and joy they get out of using their law degree for life-changing impact. Judy earned her law degree from Northern Illinois University School of Law in 2008, where she received numerous accolades and scholarships. She is licensed in the State of Illinois, U.S. Tax Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Emily O'Donnell
Senior Director of Engagement
Courtney Seyller
Development Associate
Bob Thurow
Chaplain
Daniela Villafuerte
Emily O'Donnell
Senior Director of Engagement
Emily joined the AJ team because she wants to see the church leading the way in seeking justice for the least. She met her husband Douglas while attending Wheaton College and together they helped plant several churches in the Chicagoland area. After serving the church as a pastor’s wife for nearly 20 years, Emily knows the challenges most church leaders face and how busyness can pull them away from making a real gospel impact in their community. She finds great joy in sharing with churches how easily they can get started in legal ministry because she’s seen the impact Gospel Justice Centers have, not only on clients, but on volunteers and churches. Emily would love to talk with you about how to get a Gospel Justice Center started at your church!
Courtney Seyller
Development Associate
Courtney joined our team because she loves that AJ supports people by providing compassionate legal help and God’s hope through the home of the church. With over 8 years of experience in creating unique and unforgettable events Courtney allows AJ to build community and foster relationships among our volunteers and supporters to achieve our mission. As a natural collaborator, she finds joy in seeing people from all walks of life joining in and supporting God’s movement of justice. She also enjoys visiting area coffee and antique shops, spending time outdoors, and taking care of her flowers!
Bob Thurow
Chaplain
Bob, as a farmer and a chaplain, summarizes God’s call on him as Hosea 10:12: "Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you." Bob believes he is called to serve and support the team at AJ through faithful prayer, counsel, encouragement from God’s word. He leads our weekly prayer Zooms, attends our bible study, and seeks to raise up those who are feeling low to the throne of grace. After 35 years in Nursing Home ministry, Bob is blessed to shepherd the AJ team and support Bruce as he leads AJ towards 1,000 Gospel Justice Centers. He knows the faithfulness of God through serious physical challenges and believes there’s nothing better than knowing Jesus and following him.
Daniela Villafuerte
Support Specialist
Daniela welcomes walk-in clients and handles all incoming calls and emails to our National Support Center. She decided to join the team here after seeing how AJ keeps God at the center of all their plans and goals. She loves talking to people and helping them and as a Spanish speaker it brings her great joy to see the relief on people’s faces when they ask her if she can understand them in Spanish! The knowledge that clients will receive legal help and gospel hope when they book an appointment makes her work rewarding. She looks forward to talking with you if you need help as either a volunteer or client!
Need to get in touch?
Board of Directors
Jim Charlton
Board Chair | Attorney | Coach | Non-Profit/Church Consultant
Tempia Courts
Board Vice Chair | Attorney, MacDonald, Lee & Senechalle, Ltd.
Steve Keist
Founding Partner at Keist Thurston O’Brien PC
Jim Charlton
Board Chair | Attorney | Coach | Non-Profit/Church Consultant
Jim’s professional life includes 20 years as a trial lawyer, three years on church staff as Evangelism Director and 14 years in leadership roles with Alpha USA, most recently as Director of Ministry Development. Jim seeks to help people become more fully alive through his current roles as attorney, coach and non-profit consultant. He also serves as a volunteer attorney for Administer Justice. Jim and Christine have been married 40 years, have three adult sons (and one grandchild) and live in the Chicago area.
Tempia Courts
Attorney, MacDonald, Lee & Senechalle, Ltd.
Tempia is a partner with the law firm of MacDonald, Lee & Senechalle, Ltd. A graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, she concentrates her practice in the areas of business and corporate law and not-for-profit law. Tempia advises businesses, churches and other not-for-profit organizations in a variety of matters, including entity selection and formation, mergers and acquisitions, employment and service contacts, tax exempt status, board governance and donor relations. She also coordinates corporate governance for numerous businesses and not-for-profit organizations, and assists minority and women-owned business enterprises with obtaining certification from state and local government agencies. Tempia is licensed to practice in Illinois and the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois.
A musician with a heart for music ministry, Tempia plays piano, flute and brass handbells and conducted a three-octave handbell choir for more than a decade.
Steve Keist
Founding Partner at Keist Thurston O’Brien PC
Steve is Senior Partner of Keist Thurston O’Brien PC, a general practice law firm with offices in Glendale and Peoria AZ. Steve has 45 years of experience as a trial lawyer. In 2002 he was appointed Judge Pro Tem in the Family Law division of the Maricopa County Superior Court, one of the largest Court systems in the U.S. He served 15 years in that position. He founded Christian Legal Aid of Arizona in 2001 and led that ministry until its merger with Administer Justice in 2022. He is Past President of the West Maricopa Bar Association, served several years on the Salvation Army Advisory Board in Glendale, AZ and joined the Administer Justice Board of Directors at its inception, serving as Chairman for several years. He was the Wing Legal Officer of the Arizona Wing of the Civil Air Patrol for several years, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. He currently volunteers at three different gospel justice clinics and believes God has especially prepared him for this ministry. He and his wife Joann have been married 46 years and live in Glendale, AZ where Steve serves as an Elder at Northwest Community Church.
Lori Kim
Sr. Customer Success Account Manager, Microsoft
Rev. Dr. K. Edward Copeland
Pastor | Attorney | Author
Kevin Drendel
Attorney, Drendel & Jansons Law Group
Lori Kim
Sr. Customer Success Account Manager, Microsoft
Lori is a Senior Customer Success Account Manager at Microsoft and wears many hats – from being a consumption architect to orchestrator, solution connector, radical collaborator, and digital transformer, all aimed at achieving more together. With over two decades of diverse leadership experience, she's dedicated to empowering clients through their digital transformation journey. Her focus? Ensuring they not only meet goals but conquer challenges, accelerating deployment and adoption for optimal success.
Rooted in her Christian faith and fueled by a love for justice, she's on a mission to inspire and empower individuals to live their best and favorite lives joyfully. Her commitment to lifelong learning and growth in shepherd leadership propels her forward, as she strives to use her skills and potential for positive change globally.
Driven by a passion to create a lasting and impactful legacy through service, encouragement, and empowerment, she actively champions the causes related to gifted education, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics), justice, mental health, diversity & inclusion, and the Faith & Work movement. For her, serving others isn't just a commitment; it's her highest calling and a legacy in the making.
Rev. Dr. K. Edward Copeland
Pastor | Attorney | Author
K. Edward Copeland is a graduate of the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana (B.A.in English/Rhetoric) the University of California, Berkeley (J.D. 1987), Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div. 1992) and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (D.Min. 2017).
In his local community he has served as a commissioner for the Greater Rockford Airport Authority, as a founding member of Rockford’s Alternative Drug Strategy, the Fun Safe Summer Partnership and the Rockford Area Violence Elimination Network. From its inception in 2009 until the end of 2016 he served as Governing Board Chairman of Alignment Rockford, a public school support organization. He currently serves on the board of Advance Illinois, a statewide education policy advocacy organization.
Nationally, he serves as a council member for the Gospel Coalition and as a speaker for the National Network for Safe Communities and the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice. He also serves as an independent consultant for the Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice and the Bureau of Justice Assistance at the U. S. Department of Justice.
He and his wife Starla have been married for 32 years and they have three adult children.
Kevin Drendel
Attorney, Drendel & Jansons Law Group
Kevin is an attorney with offices in Batavia, IL and Aurora, IL with a practice that focuses on Corporate & Business Law, Estate Planning & Administration, Residential & Commercial Real Estate and Local Governmental Law. Kevin is a past President of the Kane County Bar Association, Director of the Batavia Chamber of Commerce, Member of the Fox Valley Music Foundation Board, Member of the Kane County Judicial Evaluation Committee, among other things. Kevin is a local Lion’s Club Member, President of the Chicago Chapter of Reasons to Believe and Justice Champion for the Aurora, IL Legal Clinic. Kevin has a BSS in English Literature from Cornell College and JD from Northern Illinois University where he was a Law Review Member and Salutatorian.
Daniel Arnold
Director of Project Management, Exhibits Concepts, Inc.
Mary Ann Mings
Executive Director, IAM/Circles of Allen County
Simon Wilce
Executive Director, Christians Against Poverty
Daniel Arnold
Director of Project Management, Exhibits Concepts, Inc.
Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Dan spent his early years in Peru, South America, where his parents provided medical and mechanic services to the Peruvian people. Dan has a MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. While a student, Dan started a successful electrical contracting service. Dan used his Biblical knowledge and experience in the trades to lead teams to design, build, and install large-scale theatrical sets for Sight and Sound Theaters. The success of this work caught the attention of Museum of the Bible and Dan was invited to join them in 2012 as Director of Exhibits. This provides opportunity to travel the world spreading the good news of the Bible through powerful exhibits which bring the Bible to life. Dan served in the United States Navy trained to repair and maintain the shipboard MK-26 guided-missile system and as an emergency medical technician. He served in Operation Desert Shield. Dan is married to Diana and they have a son and daughter.
Mary Ann Mings
Executive Director, IAM/Circles of Allen County
Throughout my more than 25 years of experience in the business world, I have consistently proven myself as a top-tier leader possessing the insights and expertise necessary to succeed.
Some of my accomplishments include:
- Excelling within cross-functional leadership roles in areas including operations management, human resources, and facilities management.
- Taking the initiative to identify, research, and implement new technologies which have been proven to drive efficiency while slashing costs.
- Delivering hands-on leadership and direction to staff to ensure the timely completion of all operations and projects.
Simon Wilce
Executive Director, Christians Against Poverty
Simon has worked for Christians Against Poverty (CAP) since completing his Law Degree at the University of Leeds, UK in 2003. After using his legal training in credit counseling and managing teams, he moved to New Zealand in 2009 to pioneer and lead the national CAP work there.
Simon returned to the UK in 2013 and his last role was Director of Operations overseeing 200 staff in the Church / Debt Counseling operation and the Center Network of 1000 church based volunteers in 500 CAP church centers. Simon's passion for pioneering work hadn’t wavered and he stepped out in faith to pioneer CAP America in 2019. Simon is committed to empowering the local Church to reach out to those in need and to share the good news. He lives in Naperville, IL and in his free time he enjoys running, yard work, being a movie and TV buff and time with friends.
Want to help provide legal aid?
There are many ways to get involved. Learn more at the links below about how you can join the team providing legal help to people in need.
