MEET THE MNTR Development Team
Hollie Benton, Executive Director for the Orthodox Christian Leadership Initiative, is a graduate of St. Vladimir’s Seminary. She and her husband, Rich, and their two college-aged daughters, Nellie and Kali are members of St. Elizabeth OCA in St. Paul, MN. Hollie has cultivated many mentoring relationships over the years among parish leaders and students involved in OCF at universities in Madison, Seattle, and Minneapolis. Hollie enjoys contradancing, bluegrass music, reading, fermenting foods, and gardening. Her family often hosts exchange students and her daughters are studying in Spain and the Netherlands. 
Katrina Bitar is the director of Youth Equipped to Serve, otherwise known as YES, a program of FOCUS North America. She is a graduate of Rutgers University and St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. She has been involved in youth and young adult ministry for nearly 20 years. Katrina is grateful to join the team in creating this incredible opportunity for communities to grow closer to each other and for people to discover who they are in the body of Christ.
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Bethany Geleris is a Nurse Practitioner in San Francisco who has completed her Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) degree from UCSF. Her doctorate marries her passion for people and for happiness research in launching a Mentor training program for advanced practice providers (nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified nurse midwives, and certified nurse anesthetists). Her mentorship model places relationship as the key element in any mentoring experience rather than the traditional elements of expertise or goals. In her free time, you can find Bethany climbing mountains, playing fetch with her dog, trying tasting menus in SF, or participating in church activities. 
Adella Winder teaches at The Saint Constantine School in Houston, TX. Adella received her Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and Advertising from Southern Methodist University where she was involved in Orthodox Christian Fellowship. She went on to serve in youth ministry for six years at St. Anthony the Great Orthodox Christian Church in Spring, TX and continues as co-director of Christian Education at Camp St. Raphael for the Antiochian Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America. Having many awesome mentors in her own life and witnessing years of young people navigate the world and their faith is why she is passionate about bringing MNTR to Orthodox communities. |