Just like every NCS chapter needs a strong core leadership team to model NCS friendship for, and support and encourage, its members, NCS has a core team of leaders, advisors, staff and key volunteers who try to model NCS leadership for, and support and encourage, the NCS chapter leaders and who support NCS. It is a pretty small team, but it is a group committed to serving marketplace men by furthering the NCS mission and purpose.
Staff
James Anderson
James Anderson joined the New Canaan Society as President in 2015. Prior to this he worked in the Office of the President at Focus on the Family in Public Affairs and Donor Relations, handling the West Coast.
James comes from an entrepreneur background after a career selling high-end real estate in Los Angeles for 10 years. James spent 5 years with Coldwell Banker before leaving to found the Pacific Luxury Group with Keller Williams. While there he earned the Quadruple Platinum Sales Award in four consecutive years as well as national awards from the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing for his innovations in sales marketing. Anderson then became a founding partner in the Malibu/Pacific Palisades office.
As the Director of Operations for Lakeshore Entertainment, an independent film production company based at Paramount Pictures, James was involved in many films, including Runaway Bride, Arlington Road and Million Dollar Baby. James left Lakeshore after having scripts optioned by Paramount and New Line Cinema before going on to direct Hometown Legend, a $2 million dollar film sold to Warner Brothers.
Anderson’s life changed in 2010. “I crashed my life with some terrible personal choices. I had an out of control ego, was materialistic and narcissistic, and nothing was ever enough. I was empty.I am a man who has seen his own life radically transformed by Grace . . . I was rescued by a Jesus I did not know before, and He is redeeming my story.”
James attended Biola University and USC in Los Angeles, California, studying Screenwriting, Film Directing, and Marketing. He and his wife Carrie have been married for 17 years and have 2 daughters, Charlie Mae (7) and Lucy (5).
James is especially obsessive about golf and fly-fishing right now. He also loves to oil paint and is a voracious reader.
Jim Lane
Jim Lane is Chairman of the New Canaan Society, a non-profit organization which he founded in 1995. He is a Principal of Devonwood Capital Partners and currently serves on the corporate Boards of Acacia Capital Management, LLC and Payoff.com.
Previously, Jim was Chairman and CEO of SG Capital Partners, the private equity business affiliated with Societe Generale and SG Cowen Securities. Prior to establishing SG Capital Partners, Jim spent 20 years at Goldman Sachs & Co. where he was a General Partner and a founding member of the Firm’s global private equity business.
Jim has a BA from Wheaton College and an MBA from Columbia University. He has served on several charitable boards including the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, The Trinity Forum, Wilberforce Forum (Prison Fellowship Ministries), and the New Canaan Society.
Jim and his wife, Susie, live in Dorset, Vermont, have three daughters, and two dogs, also female. Jim is a member of NCS Manhattan and NCS Manchester, Vermont (Green Mountain Boys).
Lauren Brown
Lauren Brown is Director of Events of the New Canaan Society. She has a BA from Wheaton College with a diverse background in teaching, resort management and non-profit events management. Prior to New Canaan she was Lead Planner for Public Affairs at Focus on the Family. She and her husband Kevin have 3 daughters and they all live in Manhattan, where Kevin is COO of The King’s College.
Liz Weed
Liz is the Events Coordinator and provides support for NCS President, James Anderson. She has worked for NCS since August 2010.
Liz graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Restaurant and Resort management. She worked with Marriott International for 5 years and then switched gears to work in higher education for 3 years. She worked for Grand Canyon University and a higher education consulting group.
Liz resides in Naples, FL with her husband Billy. She enjoys traveling, cooking, spending time with family and of course the Florida sunshine.
Michael Voytek
Voytek Law, LLC was founded by Michael T. Voytek in 2005. Michael’s vision has always been to provide high quality legal services at affordable rates. Initially, he exclusively represented a select group of corporate entities, entrepreneurs and hedge funds on transactional and corporate matters. His practice was strictly a traditional Wall Street one. Today, in addition, he has expanded his offerings to include litigation and dispute resolution services, trusts and estates, bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, family law, personal injury, criminal and other general legal matters in order to provide a fuller range of services to his clients.
Michael graduated from Fairfield Prep in 1983, from Fairfield University in 1987,magna cum laude, and from Emory Law School in 1990, with distinction. At Emory, he was the Managing Editor of the Emory International Law Review and was published in the Emory Journal of International Affairs. Michael is admitted to practice law in the States of Connecticut, New York, Georgia and Massachusetts. He is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court in Connecticut.
Michael started his career at Lord, Day and Lord, a Wall Street law firm in 1990. He worked principally on mergers and acquisitions matters in its New York office. After a brief stint in Boston at Goodwin Procter, Michael worked at Paul Hastings law firm in its New York and Atlanta offices for over 10 years. While at Paul Hastings, Michael acted essentially in an outside general counsel capacity for corporate entities, officers and directors and entrepreneurs in many diverse industries. After leaving Paul Hastings, from 2003 thru 2004, he bolstered the corporate practice of Goodkind Labaton in New York working on general corporate, contracts, and transactional matters such as m&a, corporate finance, securities and private equity deals. In 2005, he started the Voytek Law Firm (which is now known as Voytek Law, LLC).
In addition to his legal work, Michael is active in his community having served on a variety of charitable boards of directors (most notably on the Boy Scouts’ Connecticut Yankee Council’s Executive Board as its VP of Legal Affairs and on the Board of the Boys and Girls Club of Bridgeport). He also served on the Board of the Bethel Women’s Recovery Center as its General Counsel. He was the Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Connecticut Eagle Scout Association.
Michael has also ben involved with local community groups in Bridgeport – serving as Chairman of the Committee to Ungag the People, as Special Counsel to the Boys and Girls Club of Bridgeport and the Derail the Jail Committee and as general counsel to various NRZs in the City of Bridgeport. By way of additional pro bono work, he has helped indigent tenants at the Security Deposit Clinic in Waterbury and Bridgeport.
In his spare time, Michael has made appearances on “Bridgeport Now”, a local cable news television show where he has provided commentary on local and state legal and political issues. He is also a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Roma Club and is actively involved with the New Canaan Society (both in Fairfield and in Darien) and the Bridgeport Republican Town Committee. Michael is proud to be an Eagle Scout.
Board of Directors
Bill Voge
Bill Voge is the global Chair and Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins, a global law firm with more than 2,200 lawyers and 2,000 professional staff resident in 30+ offices in 14 countries. Mr. Voge chairs the firm’s Executive Committee and is responsible for the strategic vision and management of Latham.
Prior to becoming Chair in 2015, Mr. Voge focused his legal practice on complex project development and finance transactions, advising sponsors, banks and other financiers on energy projects around the world. His leadership experience includes two separate four-year terms on Latham’s Executive Committee. He also served as global Chair of the Latham’s Finance Department and global Co-chair of Latham’s Project Finance Practice. Mr. Voge also led a number of initiatives at Latham focused on global expansion and practice integration for markets outside the United States.
Mr. Voge earned his law degree from the University of California Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall), his Masters of Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley (Haas School), and his Bachelor’s Degree in Science at California State University, Fresno. Prior to his university education, Mr. Voge served in the United States Army. Mr. Voge is qualified to practice law in California, New York, and in England and Wales as a Registered Foreign Lawyer.
Currently, Mr. Voge serves on the boards of Ubuntu Education Fund, a nonprofit entity assisting disadvantaged children in the townships of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and Christian Camps and Conferences Inc., a nonprofit entity that owns summer camps in New Hampshire and Maine.
Bob Doll
Bob Doll serves as a leading member of Nuveen Asset Management’s Equities investing team. Immediately prior to joining Nuveen Asset Management, Doll served as a senior advisor to BlackRock, where he recently held the role of Chief Equity Strategist and Senior Portfolio Manager of the U.S. Large Cap Series equity team and had primary portfolio management responsibilities for these products. His service with BlackRock dates back to 1999, including his years with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM), which merged with BlackRock in 2006. At MLIM, he served as the President and Chief Investment Officer and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Merrill Lynch Large Cap Series Funds. Prior to joining MLIM, Mr. Doll served as the Chief Investment Officer of Oppenheimer Funds, Inc.
Bob received a BS in Accounting and a BA in Economics from Lehigh University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Certified Public Accountant and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation from the CFA Institute. Doll appears regularly in the national financial press discussing economic developments and markets.
Bob appears regularly in the national financial press discussing economic developments and markets. Bob and his wife Leslie live in Princeton, New Jersey and have three children. He is also choir director at his local church and holds leadership positions in the NYC Movement Project and in the Global Executive Leadership Forum within the Lausanne Movement. Bob serves on a number of boards including the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Word of Life Fellowship, New Canaan Society Advisory Board, Kingdom Advisors, Philadelphia Biblical University and the Wharton Graduate Executive Board.
Britt Harris
Britt Harris has more than 30 years of investment experience leading several of the largest, most successful, and most innovative investment organizations in America. In addition, Mr. Harris is currently a member of the President’s Working Group for Financial Markets and serves at the New York Stock Exchange on a sub-committee on pensions. He is one of only a few people who have worked extensively in both the public and private sectors.
Mr. Harris is currently the CIO for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) which is among the 20 largest pension funds in the world. Prior to his arrival at TRS in December 2006, he was the CEO for Bridgewater Associates, a privately owned Global Investment Manager specializing in absolute return strategies and enhanced Beta programs as well as the CIO and President for Verizon Investment Management Corp., a $50 Billion corporate pension system. Previously Britt was a Managing Director for Asea Brown Boveri AG in Europe. Mr. Harris got his start in his home state of Texas, working for TXU Energy. He has three times been named one of America’s leading pension plan investment chiefs.
Mr. Harris also serves as an Executive Professor teaching a course titled, “Titans of Investing” at his alma mater Texas A&M University. He has also guest lectured on investments and public policy at Harvard, Princeton, Yale and The University of Texas at Austin. In addition, he is a frequent speaker on various spiritual matters associated with our world today.
Mr. Harris has been married for more than 30 years to his high school sweetheart. He and his wife Julia have four children and live in Austin, Texas.
Chris Broussard
Chris Broussard is an internationally-known NBA analyst for the ABC and ESPN television networks, as well as an award-winning journalist for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com. Broussard has co-starred on the KIA NBA Countdown Show alongside basketball legend Magic Johnson and makes regular appearances on ESPN’s flagship show, SportsCenter. He is also a consistent presence on Outside the Lines, ESPN’s First Take, His & Hers, NBA Coast to Coast, SportsNation, and Mike and Mike in the Morning. In addition, he has appeared on ABC World News Tonight, Good Morning America, CNN American Morning, The Charlie Rose Show, MSNBC, Fox and Friends, NBA-TV, the Madison Square Garden Network, and dozens of radio stations throughout the United States and Canada. Broussard has interviewed some of the world’s most influential figures, including former President Bill Clinton, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Bill Cosby, and his achievements led to his being listed among the 100 Black History Makers of 2012 by Thegrio.com, the African-American news arm of NBC. Before joining ESPN in 2004, Broussard worked for six years as a reporter for The New York Times. He has also worked at The Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Akron Beacon-Journal and is a 1990 graduate of Oberlin College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in English.
In addition to his work as a journalist, Broussard is the Founder and President of The K.I.N.G. Movement, a national Christian Men’s organization with chapters throughout the country. Along with gospel recording artist Fred Hammond, he is a National Chair and Spokesperson for the “Ties Never Broken’’ campaign, which is sponsored by Fathers Incorporated. He is a spokesperson for former NBA star Allan Houston’s “Father Knows Best” program and serves as a Board member of Write-On Sports, a sports journalism program for teenagers, and the nationally-known sports ministry Athletes in Action. Broussard is a frequent speaker at churches, colleges, high schools, charitable fundraisers and youth-related events.
Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and raised in various parts of the Midwest, Broussard now lives in New Jersey with Crystal, his wife of 20 years, and their teenaged twin daughters, Alexis and Noelle.
Dr. John Townsend
Dr. John Townsend is a New York Times bestselling author, business consultant, leadership coach and psychologist. He has written 30 books, selling 10 million copies, including the Boundaries series and Leadership Beyond Reason. His newest book, The Entitlement Cure, was a 2016 finalist for Book of the Year.
For more than twenty years Dr. Townsend has engaged with leaders, organizations and individuals around the globe, offering them life-changing solutions to their problems. He is a co-host of the nationally syndicated talk show “New Life Live” which is heard in 180 markets with 3 million listeners.
John is founder of the Townsend Institute for Leadership and Counseling, which offers graduate degrees and credentialing in Organizational Leadership, Executive Coaching, and Counseling. He is the Clinical Director of the American Association of Christian Counselors.
John formed the Townsend Leadership Program, which develops leaders nationwide, conducted by a team of Directors who have been personally trained by John.
Dr. Townsend works with leaders and organizations by providing team and executive coaching, corporate consulting, and by giving conference presentations. He coaches families and family businesses.
Dr. Townsend is active on the board of the New Canaan Society, and of Mustard Seed Ranch, a residential program for abused children. A resident of Newport Beach, California, Dr. Townsend and his wife Barbi have two sons. One of John’s passions is playing in a band, which performs at southern California lounges and venues!
Frank Vizcarra
Mr. Vizcarra and his family emigrated from Tijuana, Mexico in 1973 when he was 18 years old. He attended college and graduated from Ohio State University in 1979 with a BS in Education. He then went on to play professional soccer for several teams from 1979-1983. In 1983, he retired to begin his business career with Pizza Hut where he worked for two years before joining McDonald's Corporation in 1985 and worked there for over 20 years.
While at McDonald’s, he held a number of positions from restaurant manager to Director of National Training and several Corporate Vice President positions in the field and at the Global Corporate Headquarters including: VP of QSC, Corporate VP of Franchise Relations, Strategy and Innovation for the U.S. as well as, Corporate VP in the Restaurant Solutions Group which oversees operations around the world. Mr. Vizcarra led the strategy team that designed and executed the turn-around of the U.S business. In addition, he led the design of the restructure of the European and the Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa markets. Mr. Vizcarra worked closely with senior management for 14 years on a variety of areas of the business.
After retiring from McDonald’s Corporation in April of 2006, He founded The Vizcarra Consulting Group (VCG) to help CEOs define their leadership platform as well as the corporate strategy and execution plans to drive the growth of their business. He also spends a significant amount of time as an advisor to established companies and start-ups.
Mr. Vizcarra has served as an advisor to Goldman Sachs, The Coca Cola Company, McDonald’s Corporation, Pechanga Resort and Casino, Sycuan Resort and Casino and Served on the BOD of Oovoo Communications and Ensequence. He currently serves as an advisor to Goldman Sacks, Revalesio, Tender Greens, Anue Water technologies, and Uwanna. In addition, he serves on the Board of Del Taco, Tender Greens Board of Advisors and The Salvation Army National Advisory Board.
Mr. Vizcarra and his wife Anita co-founded, with the Barrio Logan College institute the “College Success Program” which provides four-year college scholarships and a comprehensive support system to underprivileged students.
Hal Rosser
Harold (Hal) O. Rosser is a Managing Partner of Rosser Capital Partners Management, LP, a Greenwich, CT based private investment firm he founded in 2011. Previously, he spent 15 years as founder and Managing Director of Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co., Inc., a New York based mid-market private equity firm, established in 1995 and before that, 20 years at Citibank/Citicorp/ Citicorp Venture Capital. Hal earned his BS from Clarkson University and attended Management Development Programs at Carnegie-Mellon University and the Stanford University Business School.
Hal is currently a director/trustee of Brio Bravo Restaurant Group, Barteca Holdings, the Culinary Institute of America, and Wake Forest University.
Hal and his wife Rita live in Naples, FL and New Canaan, CT. Hal co-founded the Naples NCS chapter in 2006.
Jay Helvey
Jay Helvey is a Managing Partner with Cassia Capital Partners LLC based in Chicago and Winston Salem, NC. Prior to founding Cassia Capital Partners, Mr. Helvey served as Managing Partner and Chief Risk Officer for CMT Asset Management based in Chicago. Mr. Helvey is a former Managing Director with J.P. Morgan & Co., having served as Vice-Chairman of the firm’s Risk Management Committee and Global Head of Counterparty and Hedge Fund Risk Management during a 17 year career with the firm. He has a masters degree from Columbia University, specializing in international finance and banking, was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Cologne, Germany, and is a magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wake Forest University where he serves as Trustee, a Director of the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, and a Director of Verger Capital Management.
Mr. Helvey is also a Director of Pike Electric Corporation (PIKE on the NYSE) and Piedmont Federal Savings Bank based in Winston Salem, NC. In 2004, Mr. Helvey was a candidate for the United States Congress in the 5th District of North Carolina. Mr. Helvey lives in Winston-Salem, NC with his wife Jane and five children, including twins who Jay and Jane adopted from Ethiopia in March of 2008. He is a member of River Oaks Community Church.
Jay co-founded and leads NCS Winston Salem. The chapter has three weekly meetings with over 900 men on the roster and weekly attendance across the three meetings of over 200 men. “NCS helps men to come into relationship with Jesus and each other. As the power of the gospel moves from the head into the heart, men are changed,” says Jay.
Jim Lane
Jim Lane is Chairman of the New Canaan Society, a non-profit organization which he founded in 1995. He is a Principal of Devonwood Capital Partners and currently serves on the corporate Boards of Acacia Capital Management, LLC and Payoff.com.
Previously, Jim was Chairman and CEO of SG Capital Partners, the private equity business affiliated with Societe Generale and SG Cowen Securities. Prior to establishing SG Capital Partners, Jim spent 20 years at Goldman Sachs & Co. where he was a General Partner and a founding member of the Firm’s global private equity business.
Jim has a BA from Wheaton College and an MBA from Columbia University. He has served on several charitable boards including the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, The Trinity Forum, Wilberforce Forum (Prison Fellowship Ministries), and the New Canaan Society.
Jim and his wife, Susie, live in Dorset, Vermont, have three daughters, and two dogs, also female. Jim is a member of NCS Manhattan and NCS Manchester, Vermont (Green Mountain Boys).
Mike Timmis
Mike Timmis was born in Detroit, Michigan, where he has had a distinguished career as both an attorney and businessman. He earned his undergraduate degree from Wayne State University and graduated with highest honors from the Wayne State Law School in 1965. Mike has received honory doctorate degrees from University of Detroit Mercy and Ave Maria University.
Mike serves as chairman of Prison Fellowship International, comprised of 120 chartered countries, and Prison Fellowship Ministries (USA). He also presently serves on the board of Alpha International and is a past member of the board of Promise Keepers and The Navigators.
Mike is a Roman Catholic and a member of St. Paul Catholic Church, Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. He is also a founding member of the National Fellowship of Catholic Men and most recently, one of our newest chapters – NCS Grosse Pointe.
He and his wife, Nancy, minister to the poor in the Third World and have developed self-help projects in Africa and Central and South America. They are also very active in addressing the educational needs of children in Detroit. Mike and his wife are in the Order of Malta.
The Timmises, who have been married for forty-eight years, reside in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, and Naples, Florida. They are parents of two and grandparents of five.
Richard Mouw
Richard J. Mouw has served as President Emeritus of Fuller Theological Seminary since 1993, after having served the seminary for four years as provost and senior vice-president. A philosopher, scholar, and author, Mouw joined the faculty of Fuller Theological Seminary as professor of Christian philosophy and ethics in 1985. Before coing to Fuller, he served for 17 years as professor of Philosophy at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
A graduate of Houghton College, Mouw studied at Western Theological Seminary and earned a master’s degree in philosophy at the University of Alberta. His PhD in philosophy is from the University of Chicago.
Dr. Richard Mouw currently resides in Southern California with his wife, Phyllis. Their son, Dirk, daughter-in-law, Christine and grandsons, Willem and Peter, live in Arkansas.
Steffen N. Johnson
Steffen Johnson is a litigation partner in the Washington, D.C. office of the international law firm of Winston & Strawn LLP. He is a founding member of the firm’s nationwide appellate practice, which has been described as “outstanding in every respect” by Legal 500, ranked in the first tier by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers®, and named among only 20 appellate practices nationally on The National Law Journal’s 2014 “Appellate Hot List.”
Steffen has extensive experience in complex appellate and commercial litigation. He has twice argued in the U.S. Supreme Court, and he has briefed more than 60 cases before that Court. He has repeatedly been listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers for appellate litigation. Law360 recently named him a “Legal Lion” for his victory in an important case at the intersection of patent and antitrust law. His Supreme Court work has also been recognized in Legal 500. And in 2009, he was named to The National Law Journal’s prestigious “’40 Under 40’ Washington’s Rising Stars” list, which highlights young lawyers already playing a major role in the nation’s legal community.
Steffen’s practice spans a wide range of substantive areas, including intellectual property, patents, antitrust, pharmaceuticals, preemption, class actions, punitive damages, accountant liability, securities, labor and employment, environmental, property rights, constitutional law, and the First Amendment. He previously taught courses on the First Amendment at The University of Chicago Law School. And his academic articles have been cited by several courts, including most recently the Seventh Circuit. McCarthy v. Fuller, 714 F.3d 971 (7th Cir. 2013) (Posner, J.).
Steffen and his wife, Christine, and their children live in Arlington, Virginia.
Timothy J. Keller
Dr. Timothy J. Keller was born in 1950 and grew up in Pennsylvania, where he attended Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and the Westminster Theological Seminary. During his seminary training, he met and married the former Kathy Louise Kristy of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They have three sons: David, Michael, and Jonathan.
After graduation, Tim began his ministry experience with three years as an associate on staff with InterVarsity Fellowship in Boston, Massachusetts. Tim was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in America in Boston and relocated to Virginia, where he served as a pastor for nine years. During that time, Dr. Keller also served as director of church planting for his denomination in the Middle Atlantic region, supervising the development of two dozen new congregations. During the mid 1980’s the Keller family moved to Philadelphia where Tim served on the faculty of Westminster Seminary teaching communication and leadership. In June of 1989 the Keller family moved to New York City to begin planting what is now Redeemer Presbyterian Church, a church that averages 5,000 attendees throughout Manhattan every Sunday.
Tom Cole
Tom joined Citigroup in July, 2010 as Co-Head of US Leveraged Finance, Citigroup Global Markets. He is responsible for the non-investment grade loan and bond financings for US Corporate Clients and leveraged buyouts.
He joined the firm from HSBC where he was Co-Head of Global Banking, Americas. His responsibilities included Client Coverage for Corporate and Investment Banking, Leveraged Finance, Equity Capital Markets, Private Equity, M &A, and Project Finance for the region.
Prior to joining HSBC, Tom was the head of Deutsche Bank’s North American leveraged finance practice, which he started in 2001. IFR Magazine recognized the group as U.S. Leveraged Finance house of the year in 2006. Prior to 2001, he ran the chemical industry group practice within Investment Banking. He joined the firm in 1987 in Corporate Finance in the Chicago office, and moved to London in 1992 where he oversaw the risk management associated with the firm’s distressed debt trading, derivatives, and corporate finance activities. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, he spent three years at Continental Bank, and two years at General Electric.
Tom received a BS in Finance from Indiana University, where he currently serves on the Dean’s Council, and a MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago.
He is married to Kim, and they have three children, Jenna (27), Tara (25), and Jonathon (22).
Tom Lane
Tom Lane is Vice Chairman of a private equity firm, Energy Capital Partners (ECP), with offices in NJ, TX and CA. ECP invests in energy infrastructure assets, and has $13 billion under management. He was previously a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs where he worked for almost 20 years in the Energy and Power group in NYC. Tom co-founded NCS Bergen County, a chapter of NCS in northern NJ, in 2005. NCS Bergen County has grown from six guys in Tom’s family room, to a roster of over a 500 and average attendance of approximately 100. Two additional chapters have since been established in NJ, in Short Hills and Princeton.
Tom is a graduate of Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL) with a BA in Economics and he holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago. Tom serves on the boards of Summit Midstream, USD Partners and Sendero Midstream, all headquartered in Houston, TX. He also serves on the non-profit boards of Place of Hope, and Street2Street, in addition to the New Canaan Society. Tom and his wife Kathleen have four children, and seven grandchildren, and now reside in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
NCS operates with an Executive Committee of seven members of the Board of Directors that meets on a more regular basis to direct the month-to-month governance of NCS and its Board.
NCS Council
B.J. Weber
Media From Speech: B.J. Weber Spring Retreat 2001
William J. Weber has lived and served in New York City since 1979. Upon first coming to Manhattan, B.J. started a street ministry, where for five years he served in rescue and recovery efforts with addicts, prostitutes, teenage runaways and the homeless while co-pastoring a mission church in Times Square.
In 1984, B.J. founded the New York Fellowship, an interdenominational ministry, which provides spiritual direction, counseling and pastoral care to leaders in the business and professional communities of the New York City area.
For twenty years, B.J. served as a sports Chaplain. He is the co-founder of more than 25 inner-city ministries, including the East Harlem Little League, Youth Impact, Pregnancy Help, Brooklyn Little League, Kids to Camp Program. He also was co-founder of the Amistad Mission Clinic and Orphanage in Bolivia, and has been the catalyst for launching other endeavors that reflect Christ’s love for those in need.
B.J. Weber is an ordained minister, attended the Presbyterian Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, and graduated with a B.S. in psychology at Iowa State University in 1971. During seminary, he lived for six years as a non-vowed monk, attached to the New Melleray Trappist Monastery in Iowa, where upon a casual visit to buy their homemade bread, he first came to faith in Christ. He worked and lived for those seminary years in relationship with their sister Trappistine convent, Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey, whose chaplain, as well as the abbess, provided spiritual direction and mentoring during B.J.’s early years in faith.
Since 1980, B.J. has been married to his wife Sheila, a journalist and public relations consultant, who has also been vitally instrumental in the founding and managing of the New York Fellowship. They run a hospitality house in midtown Manhattan, which serves visitors from all over the world and hosts ongoing dinners and outreach events. Their two children, Max and Rachel, attend Vanderbilt University.
B.J. preaches regularly at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Manhattan and in his sermons very frequently pronounces New Testament names and places correctly.
Bob Buford
Until the sale of his company in July 1999, Bob Buford served as Chairman of the Board and CEO of Buford Television, Inc., a family owned business that started with a single ABC affiliate in Tyler, Texas, and grew to a network of cable systems across the country.
In 1995, Buford wrote Halftime, a book that came out of his mind and heart on how to find meaning fulfillment in the second half of our lives. Those who read Halftime and Game Plan (published in 1997) often want to know more about the endeavors in which Bob Buford is involved as a result of his own “halftime” experience. Buford’s third book, Stuck in Halftime: Reinvesting Your One and Only Life, was released in April 2001.
Bob is currently Chairman of the Board of the Buford Foundation. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and of the Owner Managed Program at the Harvard Business School. He has played active roles in Young Presidents’ Organization and World Presidents’ Organization and serves on the board of the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard. Bob and his wife, Linda, live in Dallas.
Dr. Joseph M. Stowell
Dr. Joseph M. Stowell serves as the President of Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. An internationally recognized conference speaker, Joe has also written numerous books including The Trouble with Jesus, Following Christ, Simply Jesus and You, and The Upside of Down. Joe also works with RBC Ministries, partnering in media productions, outreach to pastors, devotional writing, and a web ministry called Strength for the Journey.
He serves on the Board of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Wheaton College and has a distinguished career in higher education and church leadership. Joe and his wife Martie are the parents of three adult children and ten grandchildren.
Dudley Hall
Dudley Hall is a recognized teacher who has been blessed with extraordinary gifts for equipping the body of Christ. He is a sought-after speaker, an effective preacher, and a trusted spiritual father to many. Dudley serves as president of Successful Christian Living Ministries (SCLM) and the Fellowship of Connected Churches and Ministries (FCCM) in Euless, TX.
Dudley’s formal ministry began in his college years when he led youth evangelism crusades and continued with international conferences on spiritual awakening and development in the 1970s and 80s. He has helped plant churches in the United States and Africa and was a leader of the Emmaus Road Ministry School.
Dudley’s passion is the centrality of Jesus Christ, and his message is the proclamation and practice of the New Testament Gospel. He mentors young men, pastors, and ministry leaders, connecting the generations in a single-minded pursuit of Jesus and His transformation. Dudley also focuses on empowering men to embrace their masculine spirituality and leadership roles.
Dudley is a graduate of Samford University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is author of several books including Grace Works, Incense & Thunder, Glad to be Left Behind, and most recently, Men In Their Own Skin. He also develops teaching and discipleship materials for churches and ministries that value his insightful training. Dudley resides in Grapevine, TX with his wife, Betsy.
Jack Deere
Jack Deere was converted to Christ when he was seventeen years old through the prayers and witness of a friend. After graduating from Texas Christian University with a B.A. in Philosophy, Jack attended Dallas Theological Seminary where he received a Th. M. and a Th. D. He was a professor in the Department of Old Testament Exegesis and Semitic Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary from 1976-1988. During that time, he helped to start and pastor two churches in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex. From 1988-1992, he served as an associate pastor at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Anaheim, California.
Jack is currently working on a number of writing projects as well as speaking at conferences around the world. His three books, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, Surprised by the Voice of God, and A Beginner’s Guide to the Gift of Prophecy are international bestsellers and have been translated into numerous languages. Jack and his wife Leesa live in St. Louis, MO and have been married since 1974.
Jim Lane
Jim Lane is Chairman of the New Canaan Society, a non-profit organization which he founded in 1995. He is a Principal of Devonwood Capital Partners and currently serves on the corporate Boards of Acacia Capital Management, LLC and Payoff.com.
Previously, Jim was Chairman and CEO of SG Capital Partners, the private equity business affiliated with Societe Generale and SG Cowen Securities. Prior to establishing SG Capital Partners, Jim spent 20 years at Goldman Sachs & Co. where he was a General Partner and a founding member of the Firm’s global private equity business.
Jim has a BA from Wheaton College and an MBA from Columbia University. He has served on several charitable boards including the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, The Trinity Forum, Wilberforce Forum (Prison Fellowship Ministries), and the New Canaan Society.
Jim and his wife, Susie, live in Dorset, Vermont, have three daughters, and two dogs, also female. Jim is a member of NCS Manhattan and NCS Manchester, Vermont (Green Mountain Boys).
John Brandon
John Brandon recently was named Vice President, International after serving as Vice President of the Americas and Asia Pacific for Apple, Inc. since June 2001. Prior to joining Apple, he was President and Chief Executive Officer for Academic Systems, an educational content company. Also, John spent ten years with Adobe Systems, Inc., a graphics software company, where he served as the Vice President and General Manager of North America. Before joining Adobe, he held both sales and sales management roles at General Parametrics Corporation, a presentation graphics hardware company and at Texas Instruments, a semiconductor and computer hardware company.
Brandon currently serves on the National Board of Trustees for Young Life, on the Board of Directors of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts and as an elder for Central Peninsula Church (Foster City, CA.)
John and his wife, Nancy, live in Atherton, CA and have three grown children.
John Seel
Dr. John Seel is a senior fellow at Cardus and former director of cultural engagement at the John Templeton Foundation. He is currently principal at John Seel Consulting LLC, a cultural impact consulting firm specializing on millennials. He, and his wife Kathryn, attend Cresheim Valley Church and live in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania.
Seel is a cultural renewal entrepreneur -- putting legs on visions that foster human flourishing and the common good. John's career combines business, education, theology, and cultural sociology. He was actively involved in founding The Williamsburg Charter, The Trinity Forum, the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, The Cambridge School of Dallas, and the Council on Educational Standards & Accountability. He is a fellow of cultural engagement at the Windrider Institute at the Sundance Film Festival and is a senior advisor to the Wedgwood Circle, an angel investment firm investing in art and entertainment.
John has a B.A. in history, business, and philosophy from Austin College; an M.Div. from Covenant Theological Seminary; and a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Maryland at College Park.
Larry Crabb
Dr. Larry Crabb is a well-known psychologist, conference and seminar speaker, Bible teacher, popular author, and founder/director of NewWay Ministries. In addition to various other speaking and teaching opportunities, Dr. Crabb offers several weekend conferences entitled throughout the country and a week-long School of Spiritual Direction held in Colorado Springs, CO or Asheville, NC. He currently is Scholar in Residence at Colorado Christian University in Colorado, and Visiting Professor for Richmont Graduate University in Georgia.
Dr. Crabb has authored many books including; Inside Out, Understanding People, The Marriage Builder, Finding God, Connecting, Becoming a True SpiritualCommunity, The Pressure’s Off, Shattered Dreams, SoulTalk, The SoulCare Experience DVD, The PAPA Prayer, Real Church, 66 Love Letters, God’s Love Letters to You, a 40-day Devotional Experience based on his book 66 Love Letters and his most recent work Intended for More: God’s Vision for Men and Women to Live Fully Alive is scheduled for release in June 2013. Dr. Crabb and his wife, Rachael, live in the Denver, Colorado area.
For additional information please visit www.newwayministries.org
Luis Palau
Media From Speech:
Luis Palau and his ministry have shared the Gospel with more than 1 billion people through evangelistic events and media. He has spoken in person to 30 million people in 75 countries with more than 1 million registered decisions for Jesus Christ. He has authored close to 50 books, contributed articles on issues of faith to countless publications, and counseled business leaders, political leaders, and heads of state around the world.
Luis’ radio broadcasts in English and Spanish are heard by millions on 3,500 radio outlets in 48 countries. Among other top-tier programs, Luis currently hosts Luis Palau Responde, an international Q&A program in Spanish that deals with spiritual issues ranging from marriage to the occult, and Reaching Your World, a devotional-style program featuring tools for evangelism and biblical wisdom broadcast daily on some of the most popular Christian radio stations in the United States.
Luis Palau festivals have produced some of the largest audiences ever recorded in cities from south Florida to South America. His ministry also includes a number of alliances that allow partners in ministry to collaborate, draw guidance and resources from Palau’s vast experience, and become equipped to reach the world for Christ. More than 400 evangelists are currently a part of Alliance Ministries, which includes the Next Generation Alliance®, the Livin It® Alliance, and the Creative Arts Alliance®.
Luis’ latest book, Out of the Desert, was just released.
Luis and his wife, Pat, live in Portland, Oregon, along with their four sons, three of whom are actively involved in the ministry, and twelve grandchildren.
Paul Baloche
Dove Award-winning songwriter, Paul Baloche, has written hundreds of worship songs. “Open the Eyes of My Heart,” “Above All,” “Hosanna,” “Your Name,” and many others have become church favorites throughout the world. As a respected songwriter and teacher, Paul frequently travels the world teaching and leading others in worship. He developed a series of teaching DVD’s designed to help worship teams increase their skill and confidence (www.leadworship.com).
Besides a demanding worldwide ministry schedule, Paul has also served as the Worship Pastor at Community Christian Fellowship in Lindale, Texas, for over 20 years.
Peb Jackson
Peb’s energy currently helps propels both private sector and non-profit organizations to maximize opportunities and develop leaders. He is also currently active serving as liaison to various business, government and entertainment leaders. Previously, he has served with Saddleback Church/Purpose Driven Ministries as Vice President of Public Affairs where he pioneered work in Africa, particularly Rwanda with reconciliation and recovery efforts.
Prior to this, he was with Generous Giving where he served as an Executive Vice President. Generous Giving is an initiative of the Maclellan Foundation that promotes the principle of Christian generosity. Peb was also Senior Vice President of Public Affairs with Young Life in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In this capacity, he was part of the executive cabinet and helped lead the overall development effort of the 60 year-old outreach ministry to junior and senior high school students. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President for Focus on the Family, where he was responsible for Development, Public Policy Activities and International Expansion. He was a founding board member at Focus on the Family and worked there for 13 years.
Early in his career, he was an executive and developed shopping center complexes and mobile home parks and also co-founded Guttenberg’s Bookstore Café. Prior to that, he was President of J.D. Bradley Company, a public relations firm in Southern California and formerly Director of Admissions and Financial Aid for Azusa Pacific University in South California. He has been married to his beautiful wife, Sharon, for 41 years.
Steve Brown
Steve Brown was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina.
He received a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion from High Point College, High Point, North Carolina and an S.T.B. degree from Boston University School of Theology.
Steve is married to the former Anna Williamson of Dublin, Georgia and is the father of two daughters and grandfather of three granddaughters.
Steve Brown founded and serves as the President of Key Life Network, Inc. (www.keylife.org) and Bible teacher on the national radio program Key Life. The weekday 15-minute broadcast and 60-second Think Spots are currently heard on over 600 outlets. Key Life Network yearly sends out over 350,000 CDs, magazines and printed literature at no charge. Key Life Network also has a ministry dedicated specifically to pastors. (www.poopedpastors.com)
He is the host on the talk show, “Steve Brown, Etc.” (streamed live on the internet on Fridays (12:00 noon – 1:00pm EST) and aired on the Salem Radio Network on weekends. (www.stevebrownetc.com)
Steve is Professor Emeritus of Preaching and Pastoral Ministry at Reformed Theological Seminary and is the former pastor of Key Biscayne Presbyterian Church, Key Biscayne, FL, First Presbyterian Church, Quincy, MA and East Dennis Community Church, East Dennis, MA.
Steve has authored two books with Flemming H. Revell: Where the Action Is (1971) and So Now You Are A Christian (1972) which was republished in 1990 under the revised title Welcome To The Family and eight books with Baker Book House: If Jesus Has Come (1992), How To Talk So People Will Listen (1993), Born Free, Living Free and If God Is In Charge (1994), When Your Rope Breaks (1996), Jumping Hurdles (1997), When Being Good Isn’t Good Enough (1990) and Follow the Wind (1999) and the following additional books: Approaching God (1996 – revised 2008), A Scandalous Freedom: The Radical Nature of the Gospel (2004) and What Was I Thinking? (2006) by Howard/Simon & Schuster Publishing.
Steve is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Religious Broadcasters and Harvest, USA, is a contributing Editor of Preaching magazine and has authored numerous articles in such publications as Leadership, Decision, InterVarsity, Plain Truth, Today’s Christian Woman and Table-Talk.
He is a former disk jockey and newsman at radio stations in Boston, MA; Greensboro and Winston-Salem, NC and is a much-in-demand keynote speaker and Bible teacher (delivered the Spurgeon Lectures at Conservative Baptist Seminary, Denver, CO).
The NCS Council is comprised of senior spiritual advisors and senior business leaders who believe in the mission and purpose of NCS and have agreed to advise the NCS Board of Directors on NCS’s growth and development.