ECFA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Immediate past President, University of Northwestern / St. Paul, MN
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board Officers Team
- VICE BOARD CHAIR / Chief Financial Officer, Life.Church / Edmond, OK
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Communications
Brittany Stepp serves as the Vice President of Communications where she oversees marketing and advertising, social media, newsletters, webinars, and other various communication programs.
Prior to joining ECFA in 2019, Brittany served for nine years in higher education where she utilized her BS in Communication Studies and MS in Nonprofit Organizational Leadership. She is passionate about sharing ECFA resources with other Christ-centered organizations and churches as they fulfill the Great Commission.
Job Titles:
- Director of Accreditation With
Bruce Ramer is the Director of Accreditation with ECFA and is grateful for any opportunity to serve ministries and churches in their application of ECFA standards. Engaging with members during their annual membership renewal process and in ongoing compliance efforts is the primary focus of his work.
Prior to joining ECFA in 2015, Bruce worked as a CPA in public accounting and with an ECFA member organization in accounting and human resources. Bruce values highly the people who serve within ECFA member organizations and is most grateful for this opportunity to serve the evangelical community.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board Officers Team
- SECRETARY General Counsel, Southeast Christian Church / Louisville, KY
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Attorney at Law, Beirute Law, P.C
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Senior Associate Pastor at First Baptist Orlando / Orlando, FL
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Bishop and CEO, Grace Church / Dumfries, VA
Emily VerSteeg serves as an ECFA Compliance Associate, utilizing her accounting background to assist both new applicants and existing members with an emphasis on compliance with ECFA standards.
Emily joined the ECFA team after serving over 20 years in church administration and operations. Emily is passionate about leveraging her background as a CPA and her ministry experience to help organizations fulfill their mission while maintaining high standards of financial integrity, transparency, and governance.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- CEO, Parkridge / Lubbock, TX
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- CEO of Crista Ministries / Seattle, WA
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Member Accountability
Jake Lapp serves ECFA as Vice President of Member Accountability, where he works mainly with current ECFA members in maintaining compliance with ECFA Standards. Jake enjoys getting to work with members through the annual renewal process, the Standards Check-in program, formal compliance reviews, and answering questions regarding compliance with ECFA Standards and best practices.
Jake joined the ECFA team after working in public accounting and denominational leadership. Jake values the opportunity to work closely with ministries and churches of all sizes as they seek to enhance trust in their organization.
Job Titles:
- Senior Compliance Associate
Julieanne (Julie) Beasley serves as an ECFA Senior Compliance Associate, utilizing her background in accounting to assist members during their annual membership renewal process and in ongoing compliance efforts.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Owner and Founder of Slumberland Furniture / Little Canada, MN
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President
- Senior Vice President of Communications and Operations
Kim Williams serves as Senior Vice President of Communications and Operations at ECFA. She leads an expansive communication program consisting of webinars, podcasts, videos, print and electronic publications, and other resources. Kim also is responsible for ECFA's human resource area. She is privileged to work with a team of talented individuals who promote ECFA's brand through advertising, marketing, social media, and website presence.
Kim has used her strengths to serve ECFA since 2008 and with great enthusiasm has overseen the development and launch of a first-ever church website. She provided oversight for several website upgrades, promotion of the ChurchEXCEL program, cloud database projects, and the development of the GiverConnect program.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board Officers Team
- TREASURER / President & CEO, East - West Ministries International / Plano, TX
Melanie Kwast is a Compliance Associate with ECFA and utilizes her accounting knowledge to serve churches and ministries. She assists new ECFA applicants and existing members during their annual renewal process and in other compliance matters.
Melanie joined the team in 2020 after 10 years of working as a state auditor. She also serves in her local church as the Finance Director. Melanie is passionate about equipping churches and ministries with the knowledge and tools they need to operate with integrity and transparency.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Managing Partner, Batts Morrison Wales & Lee, P.a
Michael Martin became ECFA's President and CEO in 2020. Both an attorney and a CPA, he had previously served on ECFA staff for nine years, most recently as Executive Vice President.
An accomplished communicator, Michael has written on both scholarly and popular levels. His authorship is probably best known from the annual Minister's Tax & Financial Guide and the Church and Nonprofit Tax & Financial Guide, both of which he co-authored with former ECFA President Dan Busby, beginning with the 2013 editions.
Michael is passionate about helping churches and Christ-centered ministries maintain high standards of financial integrity through ECFA membership, as well as through addressing legal and tax-related issues. He is a frequent speaker on ECFA's webinars, videos, and podcasts, as well as a regular contributor to ECFA's library of ebooks and other written publications.
He has spoken at numerous conferences and workshops across the country, and he has served as a guest on webinars, videos, and podcasts for numerous Christ-centered ministries and churches.
Michael lives in Winchester, Virginia, with his wife and four daughters.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board Officers Team
- BOARD CHAIR / Resource Development Director, North Central District of the Evangelical Free Church of America / Minneapolis, MN
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- President / CEO, Wheeler Mission Ministries / Indianapolis, in
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President
- Senior Vice President of Member Accountability and Relations
Staci Brown serves ECFA as Senior Vice President of Member Accountability and Relations, where she leads a team of CPAs as they work with existing ECFA members in accountability to our standards as well as applicants who desire to achieve ECFA accreditation. Her team also manages the annual renewal process as well as more extensive accountability initiatives such as the Standards Check-In program and formal compliance reviews.
Staci joined the ECFA team after serving on both the launch team and then as Chief Financial Officer of a large church in Florida, also an ECFA member. She uses her experience and passion for the local church to help ministries and churches maintain high standards of accountability and financial integrity, with a belief that this helps them fulfill their purpose of displaying God's glory to the world.
Valerie Tuthill serves as an ECFA Compliance Associate, assisting members during the annual renewal process. She is passionate about connecting organizations with the tools and knowledge they need to succeed in financial stewardship, for the glory of God.
Valerie is a graduate from Seattle Pacific University (Accounting) and holds a Master of Science in Taxation from the University of Washington.
Warren Bird, Ph.D., is ECFA's Senior Vice President of Research and Equipping. He serves ECFA by increasing the scope, impact, and depth of our knowledge base while equipping ECFA's members to apply what ECFA is learning through research. Warren is widely recognized as among the nation's leading students, researchers, and writers about megachurches. As @lensweet tweeted, "No one knows more about megachurches than @warrenbird."
An ordained minister with a big heart for the local church, Warren has led in various pastoral positions, taught at several seminaries, and served most recently for 13 years at Leadership Network, overseeing their research department where they've released several dozen groundbreaking reports on topics like multisite churches, large-church compensation, church planting, and church internships and residencies. An award-winning writer, he has also co-authored 33 books for church leaders on topics like breaking growth barriers, healthy mergers, and pastoral succession.