Take Root

Melissa Gehrig is the Executive Director at Vision House, a Christian social service agency in Renton and Shoreline, Washington that helps break the cycle of homelessness for families by offering transitional housing, and moving them from crisis to stability. Melissa holds a BFA from the University of California and an MA in Organizational Leadership with an emphasis on servant leadership from Gonzaga University. In her own story, one can easily see how God guided her path to be in this position for such a time as this. 

https://visionhouse.org

Jeannet Charles is Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of DADS (Divine Alternatives for Dads Services). Marvin and Jeannet Charles founded DADS over 23 years ago, and the impact of this ministry on the Puget Sound area continues to be profound.

Jeannet's story of trauma, drug abuse, homelessness, and the loss of her children to the state might leave one feeling hopeless. But she was fortunate to have both a Father in heaven and an earthy father who never gave up on her. Jeannet's story of overcoming life's challenges is truly inspiring!  

Marvin Charles is the Founder and Executive Director of Divine Alternatives for Dads Services (DADS), based in Seattle, Washington. Through this work, he has been helping men to reclaim their positive role as the fathers their children for more than 20 years. 

Marvin is the author of Becoming Dads, which chronicles his own powerful story of separation and reunification, and tells about the founding of DADS. Marvin and his wife, Jeanett, have a beautiful blended family of eight children and live in Seattle.

aboutdads.org

Jeff Rogers is Chairman for OneAccord, which buys, sells and operates privately held companies in the Pacific Northwest. He is also the founder of KIROS, which encourages people of faith to understand and live out their calling in the context of the marketplace.  

He serves on several boards and connects many people throughout the faith community, yet you might be surprised to know that Jeff was once an an atheist. His is a profound story of God's relentless pursuit of us, His beloved children.

Jeff and his wife, Amy, live in Bellevue, Washington, and have three adult daughters.

Kellie Schneider is a woman with a servant heart. After working for many years as a social worker, Kellie continues to have great impact through her service on Seattle's Union Gospel Mission Board of Trustees, serving on the planning team for the King County Prayer Breakfast, and as Young Life leader at Bellevue High School (which she volunteered for at age 55!). She listens for that still, small voice that nudges her to do what God puts in front of her, and her story encourages us all to do the same. 

Doug Burleigh is a Senior Associate with Centered and the International Foundation and the author of Jesus Changes Everything. He worked with Young Life for over 25 years, five of those as President, and started Young Life's work in the former Soviet Union. Doug lives with his wife in Annapolis, Maryland, and they have four adult children and 16 grandchildren. Please join me in listening to Doug share about his book, which is based on a lifetime of teaching how following key principles of Jesus really can change everything.   

To see Doug's teaching on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, go to https://www.centered.org/attributes

Chris Lumry is a filmmaker, author, and founder of OneStep Guides, a mission-driven company that helps people increase joy and purpose in their lives by rediscovering their creative nature. OneStep Guides offers live, online workshops, e-courses, and other resources designed to support life-giving creative exploration and mindsets that fuel growth and joy.

Chris's soon-to-be-published book, Creativity Unlocked, is a neuroscience-informed, narrative-inspired guide to celebrating and activating expressions that bring delight and meaningful connection to daily life.

https://onestepguides.com

https://onestepguides.com/creativity-unlocked-book

Jamie Winship is the co-founder of Identity Exchange and speaks internationally about discovering the transformative power of living in our true identity. After a distinguished career in law enforcement in Washington, D.C., and earning a Master of Arts in English, he taught at a university in Indonesia and then worked for decades in some of the world’s highest conflict areas in order to bring forth peaceful solutions. His premise remains that identity transformation is the key to acquiring new levels of learning in any field, in any place.

https://www.identityexchange.com

Deborah Herlax Enos, CN, is a global speaker, Healthy Living Expert, TV personality, and recent cancer survivor. As a nutritionist and healthy living expert,she took great joy in her amazing career, offering excellent advice on how to live a healthy lifestyle.  And then came the shock of a cancer diagnosis in the fall of 2020. This rocked her world, and sent her on a journey to ask the question "why"? In this podcast, Deborah shares about this journey, and about the podcast she has started recently called "Why Did I Get Cancer?" 

Cindy Breilh is the Executive Director of US programs for Medical Teams International. She has a passion for caring for the poor and has a deep understanding of some of the more hidden problems that impact our world, including mental illness

Cindy lives in Edmonds, Washington, with her husband. They have three adult children and adorable grandchildren.