About Us
Catalyst Team
Twitter: @bradlomenick
Blog: http://www.bradlomenick.com
Brad Lomenick leads the Catalyst team, and although his official title is executive director of Catalyst, he’s really more like the Hannibal of the Catalyst A-Team. He was once struck by lightning while installing a barbed wire fence in Colorado, and fortunately for us, he survived with supernatural powers that make him supremely attuned to the needs and desires of next generation leaders. Before leading the charge on Catalyst, he helped lead a cool magazine called Life@Work and did consulting with lots of companies. He really enjoys convening and networking with leaders, and for several years after college, he rode horses for a living in Colorado. His favorite road trip snack is diet coke, wheat thins, and original corn-nuts. Brad considers it his personal mission to ensure that everyone everywhere understands the greatness of a Joey burrito from Moe’s. And he hopes maybe someday he can be a professional golfer.
Melissa Kruse joined the Catalyst team as an intern shortly after graduating from Stetson University. Just to show how far your dreams can take you in life, she now serves on the team as the Quarterback of All Things Catalyst. She makes a wicked good cake and will absolutely be on some kind of Food Network Cake Challenge one day. Everyone who knows her loves her, and not just because of the cake thing. She also has a slight addiction to coffee. And by “slight,” we mean severe.
Twitter: @chadsj10
Chad Johnson is a Catalyst veteran, having served on the team for over five years, most recently as the head Concierge and leader of the sales team. He has an infectious personality, a funny little habit of twisting his hair, a really sweet and patient girlfriend named Kim, and a nice mom. Chad holds the record for wearing a different Catalyst t-shirt every day for consecutive days (21 days, if you’re interested in challenging him). He loves everything sports and is known as the company athletic director.
Twitter: @lvhanson
LV Hanson’s name really is LV, with no periods. It’s not an abbreviation - his name is LV, and he has a brother named DR. After spending 18 months on the road leading the Catalyst Road Trip across the country he is now living in Orange County, CA and has traded the 1985 Volkswagen Vanagon for a coach seat on whatever airline has the best rate! The Catalyst Road Trip has grown into the Catalyst National Tour. Towering above the rest of the team at 6’5”, he’s a former professional volleyball player who was once mentioned on The Price Is Right by his roommate, who made it on stage with Bob Barker.
Beth Nelson loves things that are shiny and colorful, and thus serves as the chick in charge of the Catalyst GroupZine. Her unmatched creativity and experience in marketing is a huge part of what Catalyst is today. Having an unnatural affection for good grammar and punctuation usage, she’s taken editor-in-chief to a whole new level. Beth is currently saving up to book her spot on the first commercial flight to the moon, having always wanted to be an astronaut. She is married to her best buddy, Mike Nelson, and besides their living room, there’s nowhere on earth they’d rather be than Italy.
Twitter: @jessephillips
Jesse Phillips is the Catalyst Special Projects Ninja and editor of Catalyst Monthly. He loves graphic design, scavenger hunts, and creative innovation. He’s a church practice nut, and he’s always reading the latest book, magazine, or blog. Jesse’s greatest desire is to see the Body of Christ effectively loving outsiders and building itself up in love “by what every joint supplieth.”
Twitter: @saheffner
Sally serves in creative marketing for Catalyst and is part of the team that helped launch the first West Coast event in April 2009. After graduating from the University of Alabama and spending a summer with FCA in Texas, she came back to her hometown of Atlanta to work with a sports marketing agency. Little did she know volunteering at Catalyst 2005 would lead to partnering in the vision a few years later. Joining the team in May of 2008, she’s excited to partner in creating environments that awaken hearts, leaving lives inspired and changed.
Brian Cole got his first grown-up job with Catalyst in 1999, and is still with us today as the Production Manager. One might call him a gadget guru, as he has always gravitated towards technology. His first “production” job was rewiring all the TVs and speakers at the local Radio Shack, and shortly after that, he changed his major from Math and Science to Audio/Visual Production. Brian is passionate about serving people and being part of a dynamic team, and it’s the dynamic team that he works with each year that he loves most about Catalyst. Brian did not step foot on an airplane until the ripe age of 22, when he went on a 40-day backpacking trip to Europe. Now besides traveling, Brian enjoys reading C.S. Lewis, anything outdoors, and spending time with his friends and his wife, Akemi and their two boys, Kalen and Kai.
Dustin Ahkuoi has a silky smooth voice and he enjoys using it to talk to people about Catalyst. He just recently joined the Catalyst team and he is pumped to be a part of such a great crew. As a kid Dustin once spent the night at professional wrestler Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka’s house and in that same outing went swimming with Duane “The Rock” Johnson. Dustin is a lover of music and has the uncanny ability of finding the perfect song for every Catalyst office event. He is a huge fan of all things “Old School” and enjoys the fact that the Catalyst team allows him to wear his 1980’s Air Jordan’s as business attire. Dustin is a product of an incredible church plant growing up and knows the impact that just one person can make on the lives of many. He and his beautiful and gifted wife Miriam live in Buford, GA.
Twitter: @aaronRfoster
Aaron Foster serves as the West Coast Catalyst Concierge. He’s the perfect fit for this role having spent the past ten years out there. Yes, Aaron moved from Portland, OR to Atlanta to join the team and work on Catalyst West. Originally from Oklahoma, he was hired to tip Catalyst’s college football scale in the direction of the Sooners, but he also brings a diverse business and ministry background to the table. Aaron has two other full time jobs as well - husband to Allyson and Daddy to Ellie and Hannah. He’s a sports and fitness fanatic and especially enjoys auto racing. He loves racing so much, he’ll watch anything go around in a circle.
Jason Haynes only recently joined the Catalyst team officially, although he has been hanging around these parts for quite some time. His systematic thinking and penchant for making lists then checking things off said list have led him to be a manger of projects. He currently spends his time on the new Catalyst One Day and West Coast initiatives. Jason is passionate about being an ambassador of Gods reconciliation in the world, so feels blessed to be part of a movement which has multiplying influence in reclaiming communities and cultures for the common good. In his free time Jason enjoys spending time in the Creation (Romans 1:20), reading, and pondering the Gospel storys effect on worldview and culture. When he grows up he either wants to live off the land or be a theologian - he hasnt decided yet. He currently lives in the Morningside neighborhood of Atlanta with his turtle, Turbo.
Twitter: @stanj831
Stan made the long track from Chattanooga, TN to Atlanta (all 2 hours of it) to chase a passion and pursue a call and dream of being a part of a Christ-centered movement that is changing lives to be with Catalyst. Now as a full time member of the Concierge team, Stan loves helping leaders across the nation come to Catalyst events to get their leadership “fix”. Stan is usually laced up in retro Nike’s or Chuck Taylor’s around the office and focuses his energy into his family, work with Catalyst, music, and the local church. If Stan’s is not saving the world with Catalyst, he’s probably studying or visioneering, listening to or playing music, working on his golf game (or something else sports/fitness related), beating Chad Johnson in cornhole, or trying on a pair a new pair of Chuck’s. Follow Stan @stanj831.
Catalyst Interns
Twitter: @kelswann
Kelley recently joined the Catalyst team as an intern and is passionate about impacting the next generation. With a degree in Mass Communications she has spent her career in the tourism industry practicing public relations. Though her career was enjoyable, she felt something was missing and left to refocus and pursue the path God has laid out for her. Having East Tennessee roots, she enjoys the outdoors including hiking, camping and running. She also loves to get lost in mystery novels, criminal dramas and has been known to eat an entire bag of marshmallows in one sitting. She shares her loft with her best friend and hubby, Alex, their black lab, Major and will be adding a new member to the family in August.
Catalyst Extended Family
Kevin Sterner is passionate about storytelling and it’s ability to persuade, impact and “open the eyes” of the human heart. His company Brandpoet™ helps ministry organizations, non-profits, best-selling authors and Fortune 500 clients craft and tell remarkable stories that differentiate them in their marketplace. Kevin has lead the creative marketing and graphic design efforts behind Catalyst for the past 7 years. When he is not oozing some sort of creative brilliance, you’ll likely find him traveling with his wife and four kids, enjoying “kayak therapy”, continuing his self-sponsored tour of the world’s great steakhouses, or laboring to write a bio in the third person.
Lanny Donoho
Twitter: @lannydonoho
President and Creative Director of BigStuf Productions, formerly Youth Ministry Resources, Lanny has been working with kids, producing events, and creating environments for ministry for … seems like 43 years, but probably more like since 1975.
He’s the brain behind the BigStuf Camps and has been the emcee/host guy for those events, as well as Atlanta Fest, DCLA, CHIC, Catalyst Conference, Orange Conference, his kid’s birthday parties, and KidStuf at North Point Community Church. He does some creative consulting for a bunch of Christian and secular organizations and his mom is really proud of him.
Most recently, Lanny founded the 410 Bridge. This non-profit organization is focused on partnering churches in America with churches in Kenya to help meet the specific needs of Kenyans. Since visiting Kenya in 2005, Lanny has had a passion to use the resources on this side of the world to help and equip people on the other side of the world.
He wrote this bio himself, and wondered why he typed it all in third person. He also figures that all the stuff in the paragraph really doesn’t mean a whole lot, but that his relationship with God does.
He and his talented and creative wife, Peggy, live in Alpharetta, Georgia, and are presently enjoying the challenge of raising their three sons: Landon, Andrew, and Evan.
Reggie Joiner
Reggie Joiner is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of The reThink Group (formerly known as FamilyWise), a non-profit organization providing resources to help parents and children rediscover family time. The reThink Group provides curriculum for preschool, children, families, and students over the Internet to churches throughout the US and 8 other countries.
Reggie is also one of the founders of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. In his role as Executive Director of Family Ministry, Reggie developed a new concept of relevant ministry for preschool, children, students and married adults over the course of his ten years with the church. Additionally, during his time with North Point Ministries, Reggie created KidStuf, a weekly environment where kids bring their parents to learn about God, as well as Grow Up, an international conference to encourage and equip churches to create relevant, effective environments for children, families and teenagers.
Reggie is the coauthor of The 7 Practices of Effective Ministries along with Lane Jones and Andy Stanley. He and his wife, Debbie, live in Cumming, Georgia, and have four grown children: Reggie Paul, Hannah, Sarah, and Rebekah.
Twitter: @shinabarger
Blog: www.jeffshinabarger.com
Jeff Shinabarger is the co-founder of Fermi Project and has served as experience designer for all initiatives the past three years. He is gifted at creatively communicating the needs of the poor to the greater culture and is actively launching campaigns for International Justice Mission, Hope International, Rwanda Clean Water, Suffered Enough, Gift Card Giver, International Mission Board, and Mission Year. Prior to Fermi Project, Jeff spent three years as Brand Manager and Product Developer for Catalyst. Jeff is actively restoring East Atlanta Village with his wife, Andre, and boxer, Max.
Twitter: @lifeissport
Ken Coleman has been a member of the Catalyst team since 2003 and is the host of the Catalyst podcast as well as the creator and host of the Catalyst Red Carpet experience. In 2005, Ken left his full time role with INJOY to pursue his passion for broadcasting. His quick wit combined with a knowledgeable and comfortable style have earned him high praise and served him well in a variety of hosting roles. Ken has recently interviewed Hall of Fame Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski; Herman Boone, the inspiration for the film Remember the Titans; and several best-selling authors including Malcolm Gladwell, Marcus Buckingham, John Maxwell, Dave Ramsey, Kevin Carroll, and Tim Sanders.
