SERVING LEADERS TO SERVE THE WORLD
Our experienced team of thought leaders and practitioners are here to serve you. By serving you well, we believe you will be empowered and equipped to serve your “world” – your vision, your organization, and your community.
About Jon Byler
Jon lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with his wife Loice. They enjoy their three children and are delighted to begin learning how to be grandparents to the most beautiful little girl! Jon enjoys woodworking and an occasional bike ride.
He has served the global church for over 30 years through writing and teaching, most recently serving Global Disciples for 16 years.
Jon is author of several books including The Heart of Christian Leadership, The Art of Christian Leadership, and 7 Keys to Financial Freedom. He writes a bi-weekly letter Reflections for Serving Leaders which is distributed by email in English, Spanish and Chichewa (Sign up here). For more information about Jon see his website, www.LeadersServe.com.
About Brian Drewery
Brian N. Drewery serves as the Director at Center for Serving Leadership where he assists with the inner workings of the company including our social media presence, travel logistics, and support in training cohorts. Brian is certified by ServeSafe & Global Priority Solutions and is a certified Center for Serving Leadership Trainer. He has five years of experience as a certified Chef and Leadership Developer.
Brian is the oldest of four brothers and four sisters. He is the husband of a beautiful wife and son. When Brian isn’t cooking, directing, brothering, fathering, or working, he finds peace through the lens of his camera and through prayer and meditation.
He truly delights in helping people! We can honestly claim to be dedicated to creating a flourishing world in which serving is the trademark of leadership because Brian is a member of our CSL Team.
About Clara Drewery
Clara Drewery serves as the Accounting Bookkeeper at Center for Serving Leadership. Her meticulous attention to accuracy and professionalism provides the entire CSL team with comfort and assurance.
Clara has been training for over a year under the guidance and mentorship of our Accounting Firm, Rea & Associates, in pursuit of the equivalence of an associate’s degree in Accounting. She is also currently going through the Serving Leader Cohort to better understand how she can serve others through her role in the company.
Clara is a wife and a mother as well as a homeschool teacher to her son. She enjoys reading and spending time with her family, which includes a bunny named Links.
About Mary Halpin
Mary Halpin works with much joy as the Executive Assistant at Center for Serving Leadership. She can usually be found working with a computer on her lap, warm drink in one hand, a pen in the other and Buzz, the cat asleep nearby. Mary grew up in a large family and is good at managing many moving parts, including being our customer service face and managing our Founder’s overwhelming volume of communications and logistics!
Mary worked as a nanny, trained as a doula, and ran a doula business. She was the enrollment coordinator for Elev8Life, an educational foundation, and also served as Board secretary and as staff for a Serving Leader Mission Trip.
Mary is a newlywed, lives in Dallas, and is a follower of Yeshua. When not working, you’ll find her reading, cooking, or just hanging out with her handsome husband and/or many family members.
About Kevin Lee
Kevin Lee: Managing Director, Center for Serving Leadership Asia Pte Ltd.
Kevin is an accomplished leader in business and strategic management, renowned for his insightful expertise in enterprise development and his adaptability in driving growth across diverse industries. With a career spanning since 1997, he has demonstrated his prowess in steering successful turnarounds in both emerging and mature markets.
His leadership extends to multinational corporations such as Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, and Cisco Systems, where he spearheaded diverse teams of international talent. Kevin’s strategic acumen and management proficiency yielded stellar results, contributing to business transformation and revenue growth across 13 countries in the Asia Pacific region.
Kevin’s impact is not limited to the corporate realm; he actively contributes to the community as a Board Director in both profit and non-profit organizations. His stewardship encompasses key functional areas such as Strategy & Business Planning, Transformation & Innovation, Corporate Governance, Audit & Risk Management, Investment & Finance Operations, Sales & Operations Management, Technology Digitalization, and Human Resources & Nominating Committees.
As a member of the Singapore Institute of Directors, Kevin brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to boardrooms. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the National University of Singapore and has completed an Executive Masters of Science from Baruch College, City University of New York. Given Kevin’s extensive track record, coupled with his commitment to excellence, he has recently been accredited as Senior Board Director and makes him a valuable asset in serving your Leadership or Board engagements.
Kevin and his wife, Jen, have two children, a son and a daughter, and he serves as Elder of his home church
About Mark Peterson
Mark S. Peterson: President
Mark S. Peterson is an accomplished executive leader possessing extensive experience designing and implementing successful strategic plans that drive organizational growth, solidity, and community visibility. He is a knowledgeable and reputable communicator creating valuable partnerships and trusting relationships with key stakeholders, including investors, board members, and the community. He builds highly skilled, top-producing teams, fostering workplace cultures that promote fierce loyalty, collaboration, and accountability. He is a skilled financial administrator responsible for multimillion-dollar budgets and a decisive problem-solver, uniting teams around realization of aggressive goals.
Mark served as Practice Leader at Lawley Insurance, President & CEO of Intersect Illinois (the lead business recruitment and marketing organization for the State of Illinois), President & CEO for the Greater Rochester Enterprise, President at Bishop Kearney High School, Chief Operating Officer at Telecomp, Inc., Director of Major Gifts at Hiram College, Vice President at Philanthropy Management, Inc., and Assistant Director of Development for Syracuse University.
Mark has been a Serving Leader practitioner over the past 12 years, integrating the 5 Actions of Serving LeadershipTM into his leadership practice at Lawley, Intersect Illinois, and Greater Rochester Enterprise.
Consultant Connect honored Mark in 2018 with the North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers Award. He received the Robert A. Clinger Outstanding Professional Fundraiser Award from the Genesee Valley Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (2009).
Mark holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from St. John Fisher University and a master’s degree in business administration from Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship at Kent State University. Mark has served on many community boards including as a member of the Board of Trustees for his alma mater St. John Fisher University.
Mark has four grown daughters and lives in Williamsburg, Virginia with his wife Kathi.
About Nelson Okanya
Dr. Nelson Okanya serves as President of Center for Serving Leadership’s nonprofit division World Serving Leaders and has been a close partner with Center for Serving Leadership since 2012. Nelson comes to us from EMM where he served as President for seven years.
Nelson is chair of the Global Mission Fellowship, serving 71 member organizations through Mennonite World Conference. He brings rich cross-cultural experiences and a passionate vision of a flourishing world in which serving is the trademark of leadership. We thank God for him as he provides skillful leadership in expanding our investments in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Nelson lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Rev. Carmen Horst Okanya, and their two sons.
Nelson is a trained Executive and Leadership coach. He loves hiking, engaging in exciting and enlightening discussions and enjoys foods and delicacies from around the world!
About Dr. John Stahl-Wert
Dr. John Stahl-Wert is the Founder of Center for Serving Leadership. He has pioneered training solutions for thirty years, working with organizations around the world that want to produce outstanding results by investing in their people. He has written eight books, including the international best-sellers, The Serving Leader and Ten Thousand Horses.
John has coached executives in Progress Rail (a Caterpillar Company), Pan Pacific Hotel Group (Singapore), Honda’s North American Lean Network, the Veterans Administration, hundreds of other businesses in the U.S., Singapore, and Hong Kong.
For eighteen years, John served as president and CEO of Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation, founded the International Training Institute for Leadership Foundations, Pittsburgh Urban Leadership Service Experience, Amachi Pittsburgh, City as Parish, and The Union Project.
John is married for 42 years to Milonica, his business partner. They love designing and building things, traveling, going to church, and spending time with their daughters, son-in-law, and grandson.
About Milonica Stahl-Wert
Milonica Stahl-Wert serves as Senior Partner at Center for Serving Leadership, providing prayer coverage and support to the work of the company, as well as for each team member.
She lends her artist’s eye to brand decisions and to designed communications. Her 40-year marriage to the Founder gives her a unique perspective with which to contribute insight, wisdom, and invaluable guidance to company decisions as well as to CSL’s Team.
Milonica earned her BS in Social Work from Eastern Mennonite College. Before becoming a mother, she worked in Elder Care, managing a Senior Center. She also enjoyed a year of seminary classes, is a certified CoreSomatic Practitioner, and with the help of her husband birthed and raised two daughters.
Milonica is an artist who has worked in a wide variety of media, including restoring stained glass windows, writing icons, painting, or quilting in the tradition of her Mennonite foremothers. Her newest vocation is making sidewalk chalk designs with her grandson and embarking with him on long, weekly Saturday adventures.
About Mike Weber
Mike Weber works with an attitude of service as the Senior Servant at Center for Serving Leadership. Mike is motivated by one fundamental business principle: Leadership means making decisions that support the care of people and the world in which we live.
This is a theme woven through Mike’s senior executive career. His commitment to building and maintaining long-term relationships of trust has added significant value to the lives of both employees and customers. “I am a servant,” he explains. “I serve our customers, and I serve 158 employees and their families. My focus is on impacting people’s lives. If the people I work with are successful—of course, part of the job is to make sure we define success in the same way and in a meaningful way, the business results come. We create value by empowering people and optimizing their contributions. But we cannot do that without getting to know them and understanding them. When we align their strengths with the business drivers, we have the privilege of watching them perform their magic.”
