leadership

In over 10 years at YouthWorks, Mara has served in so many roles it’s hard to keep track. Her desire for mentoring and challenging students to find Jesus’ truth and love through service is contagious, as is her passion for YouthWorks to serve and deepen relationships with mission trip communities year-round. When Mara isn't leading her team at YouthWorks, she’s serving her own community in Minneapolis as a mentor advisor for Upper Room Church, or she's training for her next marathon – she’s completed three!

Paul never could have imagined that a volunteer effort as a teenager would turn into a lifetime of ministry. In 1994, while working as the Missions Pastor at Christ Presbyterian Church, Paul founded YouthWorks, a non-profit organization designed to provide fun, life-changing, Christ-centered youth mission adventures to young people ages 12-19. Under Paul’s leadership, YouthWorks has grown from a youth missions organization—planning and implementing mission trips and ministry experiences—into a family of ministries that helps the church live out Jesus’ love and mission. Paul and his wife of 30 years, Nan, live in Minneapolis; they have two sons, Drew and Brett. In addition to serving as CEO of Real Resources, Paul is an elder at his local church and volunteers as a leader for YoungLife.

For more than 10 years, Jeff has provided strategic leadership as YouthWorks has expanded its ministry family including the addition of Youth Specialties and the Table Project. Jeff’s passions for Jesus and the local Church are his primary driving force. Other interests include ideation, facilitation, technology, and coaching. Jeff and his wife Cameon live in Edina, MN, with their two children, Megan and Alex. As a graduate of the University of Kansas, he has a contagious condition known as Jayhawk basketball fever!

For nearly 30 years, Gordy has served in various areas of finance at some of today’s best-known ministries—Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s World Wide Pictures and the Evangelical Free Church—and on the mission field with Wycliffe Bible Translators for four years in Peru as a finance manager and treasurer. He joined YouthWorks in 2008 and shares the organization’s passion for missions. Originally from Aplington, Iowa, Gordy and his wife Cindy now reside in Mounds View, MN, and have three children and two grandchildren. In his free time, Gordy can be seen on the court playing tennis or on the field coaching soccer.

Ken masterfully combines his personal experiences from growing up in India and Nepal with missionary parents with his passion for information technology (IT). After some 20 years working as an IT executive in the healthcare and manufacturing fields, Ken set out to help solve a problem thousands of churches face: disengagement. In 2011, he helped launch Table Project, an online network that helps churches connect fellow believers in life-changing ways—providing a way for them to know one another, pray for each other, and serve one another. Ken and his wife Anne-Marie live in Plymouth, MN, and have three children, Luke, Megan and Nicole. Ken loves adventure and has trekked through the Himalayas extensively, including a recent trip to Nepal with his son Luke where they hiked the Annapurna Circuit—conquering a 20,000 foot mountain!

Mark sparked a career in youth ministry that has spanned more than two decades and has included working with pastors, youth pastors, students and parents. He is a prolific author (including Real World Parents and the WisdomOn series), internationally sought-after speaker who has founded and worked with some of today’s best-known ministries (PlanetWisdom, Youth Specialties, Shepherd Ministries, and Wycliffe’s The Seed Company). A parent of a teenager himself, Mark is always looking for opportunities to engage students in worldview-shaping conversations. Mark and his wife Jade live in Dallas, Texas with their two children, Dax and Sky. When he’s not on the road directing or speaking at an event, he can be found at home volunteering at his church.

Lisa’s 20 year career in the human resources field paved a unique path to join the YouthWorks’ team in 2007, where she continues to share her passion for organizational development and employee relations. A native of Providence, RI, Lisa moved to Minnesota when she was in high school and has made it her home. Recent empty nesters, Lisa and her husband Rob reside in Faribault, MN, with their four dogs (and daughter who sometimes drops by!). In her spare time she enjoys motorcycling with her husband and visiting the ocean.

John describes his job as his “professional sweet spot”—teaching, mentoring and challenging young, emerging leaders. His passion for watching others grow in their faith has been the driving factor behind his work at YouthWorks since 1997. John and his wife Jody reside in Vadnais Heights, MN, with their two children. In his spare time, this sports and fitness enthusiast and adventure lover can be found at a hockey rink, basketball court or soccer field cheering for his kids!

With more than 20 years’ experience in non-profit programming, management and development, Mark has worked at some well-known organizations, including the YMCA and World Impact. Since 2005, Mark has applied his personal passion of stewardship for Kingdom purposes as the Executive Director of the YouthWorks Foundation, now Real Resources Foundation. A native Minnesotan, he and his wife Brooks live in Edina, MN, with their three daughters, son and dog. In his free time, Mark chairs the Minneapolis Young Life Committee and is an active member of Christ Presbyterian Church.