After graduating Calvin College and Dallas Theological Seminary, Ray gave his life to fulfilling a pastoral calling. He and his wife found a home in the VineyardUSA—a community of churches—and planted the Vineyard North congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Today they serve as regional leaders, overseeing some 25 pastoral teams and congregations. Ray is currently making a professional transition from full-time pastoral work to develop High Point Training & Coaching, where he works with business and non-profit leadership teams to offer experiential training and executive coaching. He brings a lifetime of experience in strategic planning, leadership development, conflict resolution, Biblical exegesis, and theological reflection.

Nancy Pollard is the Executive Director of Friends of the Children Austin, Friends of the Children’s first Texas chapter, of which she was a co-founder. She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in English Literature and a concentration in Women's Studies; she then earned a J.D., cum laude, from Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law.  Nancy practiced as a Trusts & Estates attorney in Dallas at Bisignano & Harrison LLP and in Austin at Andrews Kurth.  She was most successful in business development and focused heavily on non-profit creation and compliance. During this time, she volunteered extensively with the Junior League of Dallas, served on the board of Hope International, and founded and directed August Dog, a non-profit dog rescue group. When her three children were born, she followed her passion to the non-profit sector and became an active community volunteer. She now has more than fifteen years of experience volunteering in, building, and leading local and national nonprofit organizations.  Nancy has experience serving on a variety of non-profit boards and currently serves as an advocate with CASA of Travis County and on the boards of Austin Pets Alive!, The Marcella Project and Austin PBS.

Dr. Peter Wells received his Doctorate in Medicine from the Indiana University School of Medicine, completed his Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at Vanderbilt University and a Fellowship in Cardiology and Electrophysiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center where he then served on the faculty. He spent the next 15 years as the Director of the Cardiology Fellowship Training Program at Baylor University Medical Center. Over 30-plus years of work Peter has done teaching, research and writing as an expert in cardiac electrophysiology. He has been interested in the roles of men in the church and the family and has co-led seminars and men’s retreats. He and his wife, Linda, have done extensive research on leadership roles in the Church and coauthored a position paper on women as elders. Linda and Peter have two grown children, Derek (31) and Camille (24). No grandchildren, but two grand-dogs. (And Peter loves to fly fish!)