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Our Board and Staff
Ray Nelson, Chairman
Ray and
Lori Nelson went through the program of Dunklin in Okeechobee,
Florida during the early 1990s and at that moment received the call
to help restore couples devastated by alcoholism and drug
addiction. Right after they completed the program, Ray and Lori
moved to Stuart, Florida to begin a new life. Ray began his general
contractor business while Lori was licensed as a midwife
practitioner. While both knew they had to earn a living, it did
not deter them from pursuing their passion to be in a restoration
ministry to help others reconcile with their families. Ray and Lori
fell in love with the ministry of Canaan after going to Colombia,
South America for a week in 2005 to support the program, and soon
after Ray became a board member. Ray and Lori have nine children
and a whole lot of grand children.
Todd Haskell, Treasurer
Todd is married to Emily and they have a son who is about a
year old. Todd grew up in Houston and was caught up in addiction
when he came to Dunklin Memorial Church for help. After the
program, Todd elected to stay on as a staff member to help others
who have come from the same background. He currently oversees the
Ministry Training Program and works in the administrative part of
Dunklin. His interest in joining Canaan's Board stems from his
involvement with the international programs associated with
Dunklin. He had personally visited Canaan in Colombia and believes
in the work that Canaan is doing and the vision to spread this work
all over Latin America and the world. Todd and Emily both live and
work in Dunklin Camp at Okeechobee, Florida.
Eduardo Jimenez, Founder
Eduardo and his wife Enith have been married now for 37 years and
live in Miami where their greatest joy is to be around their
grandchildren. Eduardo as a young man was a very good soccer player
and even aspired to be a professional; but God had a different life
planned for him. He abandoned his dreams to be a professional
athlete and became a businessman instead. He successfully grew his
business to branch out from Colombia to other countries. It was his
dream to have a place of refuge in Colombia for emotionally and
spiritually wounded people, which became the vision we now call
Canaan. In 1997, Eduardo and Enith donated a piece of land in
Baranoa, Colombia to start a City of Refuge for drug addicts and
alcoholics. They also helped start a Women’s Refuge five minutes
away from Canaan for women going through life disturbing problems.
Eduardo and Enith’s conviction is to live godly lives with Christian
principles and help others receive the same freedom they have
acquired through God. They are actively involved in various
charitable organizations but their hearts always go back to Canaan
in Colombia.
Roni Lacuesta, Executive Director
Roni was born in the Philippines but lived
most of his life in the United States. He began abusing drugs and
alcohol at an early age, yet maintained a semi-functional life.
Eventually he lost his job and overdosed on cocaine, but by the
grace of God his life was saved and God brought him to Dunklin in
Okeechobee, Florida to change his life. Roni stayed on after the
program to become a staff member and then associate pastor of the
church. While in Dunklin, God gave him a vision for a worldwide
grassroots movement to establish Drug and Alcohol Regeneration
Programs called Cities of Refuge. He became the Assistant Director
for the Dunklin International Ministry, helping programs in Latin
America get established. It was in one of these trips that Roni
fell in love with Colombia, South America and the vision of Canaan.
Soon Eduardo and Roni were sharing their compassion for alcoholics
and drug addicts and the vision for Canaan to become the birthplace
of many ministries throughout the world. Roni became the director
of Canaan’s first program in Colombia and it successfully grew from
a small camp into a full-blown community with a church and training
center within the campus. At that time Eduardo, Roni, and Steve
founded Canaan International, a 501 © 3 organization, in the United
States to carry out the grassroots movement of the Cities of Refuge
from Colombia throughout the world. |
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Steve Concepcion, Vice Chairman
Steve possesses
a Bachelors degree in International Relations from Florida
International University and a Masters in Public
Administration from University of South Florida (USF). He
has also received graduate certification for Non-profit
Management from USF. Currently, Steve serves as the
president of the American Society of Public Administration
Suncoast Chapter and is an active member of the Florida
Government Financial Officers Association. He has been
married to Gina Concepcion for 11 years and has two
daughters. Steve is a Co-founder of Canaan International.
From 2002 to 2006, he served as the Chair and Director of
the organization. He is currently employed with
Hillsborough County as a Budget Analyst in the Management
and Budget Department. With a passion for poverty
alleviation and community empowerment, he is actively
involved in the Dominican Republic implementing Asset-Based
Community Development in the La Vega province.
Gil Nellis, Secretary
Gil received his B.A. in Economics from the University of
Chicago, his J.D. from Mercer University Law School, and his
L.L.M. from the University of Miami School of Law. Gil has
been married to Carrie for seven years and they live in
Savannah, Georgia. Carrie is also a lawyer and both are
involved as active members and volunteers of Court Appointed
Special Advocates for children (CASA), a National
Organization that represents the interests of children when
governments take children away from their parents. Gil is
also an active member of the National Christian Legal
Society and serves as an out-source attorney for the
National Christian Foundation. Gil practices law in
Savannah and specializes in tax and estate planning. When
asked about his involvement with charities he replied with,
“My focus is the Kingdom of God, not a few seconds I have
here on earth. As a result, I have knowledge through my tax
work that can cause other Christians to use their earthly
belongings for God’s work…My job is to educate them.”
Augusto Yamin, Member
Originally from Colombia, South America, Augusto now lives
in Miami where he runs his own business installing kitchen
cabinets from Italy. He has been married to Karla for 22
years and they have one daughter of whom they are very proud
and love so much. One of the highlights of their lives is
to see their daughter grow and love God with all her heart
and to see her marry a good Christian man. Both Augusto and
Karla are also involved with other charitable organizations,
such as Campus Crusade Ministries and Reaching Out Network
International, serving not only in the United States but
also in other countries. When asked why he joined Canaan
International, Augusto's reply was, “I think it is God’s
business and I am obeying Him.”
Lee Jones, Member
Lee has been married to Linda for 18 years and they have two
wonderful children. Both Lee and Linda have a passion to
raise their children with Christian values, ethics, and
principles. This is one reason they decided to home school
their children and elected to move to the outskirts of
Okeechobee, Florida where they enjoy raising farm animals.
The other reason for moving to a farm is because of Lee’s
vision to start an agricultural training ministry, called
Shekinah Ranch, that would help Cities of Refuge like Canaan
to be self-sufficient. Both Lee and Linda graduated from
the University of Florida, where they met. Lee is an
agronomist and works as a grove manager for one of the
orange growers in Florida while Linda works as a physical
therapist.
German Trujillo, Member
German is married to Margarita and they originally come from
Colombia, South America. They have three grown children and
they all now live in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Both German
and Margarita are entrepreneurs and run their own interior
decorating business in Florida. They also run their own
home group and have a passion for helping people. German
has a long history with Canaan, which began when the first
program was founded in Colombia, South America. Both German
and Margarita felt such a bond with Canaan in Colombia and
its mission that it was just natural for them to accept the
board nomination from Canaan International after moving to
the United States. |
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