Meet our board of directors. Our dedicated board members oversee all aspects of our ministry and ensure that we stay true to our stated mission, vision and values.
Elnail Adam Andudu
Bishop Elnail Adam Andudu is Bishop-in-Exile to the Kadugli Diocese of Sudan. This diocese encompasses the state of South Kordofan, including the Nuba Mountains. He and his family were given exile status and U.S. citizenship after Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir placed him on a “hit list” of prominent figures who refused to endorse Sudan’s policies of persecution and genocide. Since arriving in the U.S. Bishop Andudu has been a staunch advocate for his people in South Kordofan. He is a nationally and internationally recognized leader and peacemaker in a land that has been subjected to ethnically and religiously motivated conflict. As a member of the Board of Pax Dei for Nuba, Andudu provides a trusted ground-level understanding of the needs and opportunities that PDFN seeks to address. He serves the Advising Bishop and Non-Voting Member on the Board of Directors.
Jared Wensyel
After a decade of congregational ministry, first as an intern and then as a pastor, Jared Wensyel is now serving as our first Executive Director. Originally from Ohio, in 2014 Jared moved to Germany to pursue theological studies at the Giessen School of Theology, while also serving as intern for a church plant in Frankfurt as part of the City to City Church Planting Network. In 2020, he and his family moved back to the United States, relocating to Greensboro, NC, where he served for a few years as a pastor at Church of the Redeemer. At Redeemer he served English, Arabic, and Swahili speaking congregations while also managing the church's partnership with the Anglican Diocese of Gahini in Rwanda. Throughout the last decade, Jared has discovered a passion for cross-cultural work and equipping people across language and cultural differences to walk with Christ and serve his church according to their unique gifts. In addition to his work as our Executive Director, Jared continues to serve as a Priest in the Anglican Diocese of Christ our Hope, especially in support of Sudanese and East African congregations within the ACNA. He and his wife are also Associate Missionaries with the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders (SAMS).
Mike Deaton
After a 40-year career in industry and academia, Mike Deaton retired from his role as Professor in the School of Integrated Sciences at James Madison University. He first visited Africa in 2012, when he began a multi-year effort in sustainability education with Maasai communities in Kenya and Tanzania. Since that time, he has made several trips to the region and has many friends and colleagues there. Mike first traveled to Sudan with Bishop Andudu in March, 2020 as part of a 3-person delegation from the Church of the Incarnation. During that visit, Mike was deeply impressed with the faith and resilience of the people in the Nuba Mountains. Mike has been a follower of Jesus since his late teen years (a very long time ago)! He and his wife JoEtta have been married for 48 years. They have two children and five wonderful grandchildren. Mike currently serves as the President of Pax Dei for Nuba.
Jack McDonald
Jack McDonald serves as a Board member (and Treasurer) of Pax Dei for Nuba. He is Chartered Financial Analyst who operates a consulting practice supporting Washington, DC-based international organizations and federal agencies. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Virginia Tech, teaching international business. He began his consulting practice after a 25-year career in banking and development finance with a focus on Africa and Latin America. He has lived and worked in Nairobi, Kenya and Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Jack holds BS and MBA degrees from Vanderbilt University. Jack and his wife, Mary, previously served as missionaries with the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders (SAMS) where Jack advised a Christian microfinance project. Mary, a veterinarian, currently works for SAMS in a livestock health ministry in Uganda as well as in outreach to international students at Virginia Tech. Jack is an ordained deacon at the River Anglican Church in Blacksburg, VA. He and Mary have been married for 31 years. They have two grown children and live on a small farm in Catawba, Virginia.
Deanna Kozel
Deanna Kozel has served in Bible Study Fellowship leadership for 18 years as a Group Leader, Teaching Leader and currently as Area Personnel. She has known and loved Jesus for as long as she can remember. She got her first taste of international missions at the age of 6 when he family visited missionaries in Swaziland, and Israel. At age 16 Deanna went on a summer mission trip to Papua New Guinea where the Lord put a desire in her to reach the nations with the Word of God and the love of Christ. She is the wife of Nick Kozel and mom of Deacon, Jude and Hadassah. She loves watching her children participate in their passions. She is excited to be apart of the work God is doing in Sudan through Pax dei for Nuba.
Martin Rhodes
For the past seven years, Martin Rhodes has facilitated mission partnerships in his role as Discipleship Ministries Coach at Virginia Mennonite Missions. In that role, Martin mobilizes and equips disciples of Jesus for cross-cultural partnerships in the US and abroad focused on sharing the gospel as it touches the whole of life. Martin looks forward to bringing his discipling, teaching and equipping skills to bear on the growing partnership between the Kadugli Diocese of Sudan and Church of the Incarnation where he is a member. Martin first travelled to Sudan in March of 2020 with Bishop Andudu as part of a delegation from the Church of the Incarnation. During that trip, Martin experienced the hospitality of brothers and sisters and saw firsthand their resilience and joy despite years of war and persecution. Martin is married to Sylvia and they have 3 children, Elliot, Vincent and Annaliese. Martin serves as Vice President and Secretary of Pax Dei for Nuba.
Rob Wright
Rob Wright is a communications professional in Washington, DC and member of Restoration Anglican Church in Arlington, VA. In addition to his work in international development, he volunteers and provides pro bono marketing and communications advice to nonprofits serving a variety of at-risk communities, and has served as a mentor with the C.S. Lewis Institute. A childhood trip to Liberia gave him a lifelong interest in Africa, to which he has been fortunate to return several times since.
Teresa Anders
Teresa Anders has held trusted financial roles at Eastern Mennonite University, Mennonite Media, and InterChange, a privately owned logistics company In Harrisonburg, VA which she and her husband are partners in. She has also served on the Board of Directors of Eastern Mennonite School, Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, Rockingham Memorial Hospital Foundation, and Launch4Transformation of Virginia Mennonite Missions. Teresa began a personal relationship with Jesus early in life. Growing up on a NY dairy farm she was frequently a host family for visiting international missionaries. In 2008, she and her family traveled to Haiti for a weeklong volunteer project. She and her husband, Devon, have three adult children and enjoy active excursions around the world.
Mary Beth Anderson
Mary Beth Anderson’s passion for international missions began in childhood as her local church often hosted missionary guest speakers and her father faithfully led the monthly Sunday evening mission-focused service to promote the Nazarene missionaries and ministries in countries around the world. In the early 90s she served 15 months with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries in Bucharest, Romania. With graduate degrees in both Social Work and Education, Mary Beth has had a variety of professional experiences. Currently, she serves as the Registrar at Blue Ridge Community College. Before accepting this position she was the Upper School Principal, Academic Dean, and Guidance Counselor at Blue Ridge Christian School. Mary Beth taught in the Sociology department at Bridgewater College for eight years. Before moving to the Shenandoah Valley she worked as a homeless shelter director in Portland, Maine and a birthmother counselor for Bethany Christian Services. Mary Beth is married to John and they have 3 adult children, Sam, Sophia, and Nathan.