Board of Directors
Every member on our Schools For Africa board has a tremendous passion to carry out our mission: restoring life, health and peace to indigenous farmers and nomadic pastoralists in Nigeria.
Director
Phyllis Sortor was born in Mozambique to missionary parents, received her education in Mozambique, then Seattle Pacific University and the University of Washington. Phyllis worked under Free Methodist World Missions with ICCM, and has spent most of her life serving in Africa.
Chairman
Dr. Larry Nyland retired as Seattle Schools Superintendent in 2018. He consults with school districts representing 200,000 students — growing great leaders, great teams, great results. He writes and publishes frequently, and serves with many global missions groups.
Treasurer
Don Standley is a CPA providing tax services in the Seattle area for over 40 years. He has done SFA taxes for many years, and assisted Director Phyllis Sortor with the setup of Schools For Africa. He is married to Robin, and they have adopted three children out of foster care.
Secretary
Carisa Haven has a love for all people and missions. She has supported Schools For Africa for 18 years, and visited Nigeria in 2010. She currently works with SFA in marketing and communications. She is happily married, a mom of two, and is expecting her first grandbaby in 2025! Carisa finds the Lord while working in her garden.
Board Member
Bill Flansburg has served with Action International Ministries as a missionary & office staff for 33+ years, now serving as chaplain. He is involved with his church missions board, evangelism, discipleship, mentoring, intercessory prayer, prison ministries and Gospel tract distribution. Bill has been to Nigeria 3 times!
Board Member
Steve King studied electronics and aviation at Moody Bible Institute, and Science/Anthropology-Sociology at Fresno State. Steve worked in aviation instruction in CA, and currently volunteers with Sister Connection (Burundi), the National Park Service, and the Seattle Architecture Foundation.
Board Member
Dr. Ronald B. Rice heads a large wheelchair ministry for polio survivors in Jos, Nigeria. 46 employees have built and donated over 33,000 tricycle wheelchairs. Ron has visited Nigeria 31 times, and traveled in 33 of Nigeria's 36 states. Learn more at Wheelchairsfornigeria.org.
Board Member
Garrett Rodriguez is a consultant, and manages our SFA website. He led a team to Guatemala to install safe stoves for indigenous people in a remote region of Huehuetenango, near the city of Barrias. Garrett helped drill and train people to drill water wells with SFA Director Phyllis Sortor in Mozambique.
Board Member
Jon Banke served with SIM in Bénin and Niger from 1998–2015. His passion is to see God's kingdom grow among the Fulani, a people almost entirely unreached by the Gospel, through evangelism and church growth ministries. Jon is currently SIM's Regional Ministry Coordinator of Fulani Ministries, and is recently home from Niger.
Board Member
Nelson Reed is a Prairie College & Grace Theological Seminary graduate. He joined Action International Ministries in 1980, serving in the Philippines, then in 2007 as International Director, and in 2016 as Africa Regional Coordinator. Still with ACTION, since 2019 he trains pastors in Nigeria with SFA.
Board Member
Phil Aronson was President/CEO of Aronson Security Group for 30 years, and grew it to one of the largest Security Risk Management Services companies in the US. Acquired by ADT in 2018, Phil retired as VP of Industry Relations from ADT in 2022. Married 40 years, he has two daughters. If Phil is not boating, fishing, or hunting, he is advising, coaching and mentoring the next generation of leaders.
Board Member
Shane Verschelden worked alongside Phyllis in Nigeria, aiding in the planning and construction of multiple schools, clinics, dams, and boreholes, and hosting training sessions on rotational grazing. Shane has also helped with donations, grant writing, newsletters, blog content, and the organization's website. Shane is committed to advancing SFA's mission and values.
Board Member
Mike Sparling has been a veterinarian for 37 years. He met Phyllis in Rwanda in 1999, following and supporting her mission activity ever since. Mike and wife Gay have 6 adult children and 3 grandchildren. They have taught 3-year-olds in Sunday School for over 20 years, and love being with children. Mike longs for the day when Fulani children can live in peace and be educated about God's love for them.
Board Member
Judy Hildebrant is a farm girl, a wife of 58 years, and educated at Seattle Pacific College & Western Oregon University. Raising their six children, Judy home schooled, and was a private/public school teacher. In teacher workshops, she helped to bring a phonics system to SFA teachers in 2018. A follower of our Good Shepherd, reading God's whole word, she wants to help others learn to read.
