African Enterprise USA Board of Directors
Wayne Herman – Chair
Wayne Herman grew up in Seattle, Washington, and holds a B.A. in Comparative History from the University of Washington, an M.Div. from Western Seminary in Oregon, and a Ph.D. in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary in California.
He lived in South Africa for 16 years and, while there, served as Chief Academic Officer at Cornerstone Institute in Cape Town. While teaching and providing academic leadership there, he enjoyed the opportunity to build friendships with students who had worked with African Enterprise and through them developed a deep appreciation for the mission’s work. Herman‘s travels have taken him to 11 countries in South, East, and West Africa, deepening his love for the rich diversity of the African continent.
Dena Goodman – Secretary
Dena Goodman grew up in the the small Los Angeles foothill city of Monrovia. She met her husband Teddy right after graduating high school and has been married for more than 20 years, with four children. She owns and operates Calgard Insurance agency in Monrovia, near her home church, First Presbyterian of Monrovia. Dena and Teddy came to Christ, baptized their family and have raised their children through this church and also learned about African Enterprise through this community of faith.
Betsy Straeter
Betsy Strater was born in downtown San Francisco and spent her first year living in Mountain View, California. Over the next 29 years, she moved on average once every three years, living in Northern California, Southern California, New Jersey, Washington (where she attended Whitworth College), and in Bend, Oregon, where she received her first call as an associate pastor in the Presbyterian church. In 1984, she accepted a call to Glenkirk Church (currently an ECO church) in Glendora, CA, where she served as an associate pastor until retiring in 2022. She holds both an M.Div and a Th.M in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary and has served as a presbytery moderator in the San Gabriel Presbytery and most recently in the ECO Southern California Presbytery. Betsy has a passion for travel and has taken mission trips to Ghana, India, and Peru. Additionally, she has visited most of Europe, Tanzania, the Holy Land, and nearly every U.S. state. She also enjoys golfing, camping, and watching sports on TV. Committed to running and finishing the race set before her by the grace of God, she seeks to encourage others to do the same. Never married, Betsy’s brother, who is also an ECO pastor, is married and has three grown children.
Remi Lawanson – Treasurer
Remi Lawanson grew up in Nigeria where he worked for sixteen years in investment banking, consulting, and actuarial services. He earned his Ph.D. from Fuller Theological Seminary with research interest in organizational leadership. He served on the 2010 Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization Curriculum and Program Team. Prior to these, he served as the pioneer executive director for the World Evangelical Alliance’s regional Stewardship & Accountability Commission promoting, through training, a culture of biblical stewardship and transparent accountability among evangelical churches, seminaries, and mission agencies in forty-seven nations. He is a member of the Academy of Management serving as one of its reviewers since 2006. He now serves as a professor at Life Pacific University in the Los Angeles area. Remi is married to Ruth and God has blessed them with four adult children.
Jenn Graffius
Rev Jenn Graffius is the Director of Mentoring and Formation in the Center for Vocational Ministry at Azusa Pacific University (APU) in Azusa, California. Jenn is the chaplain to Azusa Pacific Seminary students and teaches in the Practical Theology Department in the APU School of Theology. Jenn is ordained in the ECO Presbyterian denomination and has pastoral leadership experience in church ministry and campus ministry, having served on staff at Glenkirk Church in Glendora, California and at Fuller Theological Seminary as the Director of Chapel and Staff Spiritual Formation. Jenn is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv) and recently completed her Doctor of Ministry at the Divinity School at Duke University. Jenn is passionate about mentoring and the development of flourishing leaders.