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Authors

Priya Andrade is a member of the Christian Reformed Church's Canadian Indigenous Ministry Committee (CIMC), a committee of CRC members from across Canada who provide lay leadership to the CRC on Indigenous justice and reconciliation. Priya is a Goan-Canadian mother, emerging artist, and Do Justice columnist. She serves as elder at All Nations CRC in Halifax and strongly believes that our personal welfare is intrinsically intertwined with others, a message she seeks to spread this message through art. Priya intersects her experience on CIMC with her art practice and work with children and youth in Nova Scotia. You can follow her practices on Instagram at @rednsmountain.

Bernadette Arthur serves as a Race Relations Coordinator for the Canadian office and belongs to a small but powerfully passionate bi-national team of individuals who are committed to the work of racial reconciliation. She is hopeful about making significant strides towards racial reconciliation in Canada, because the promises of God are a "YES" and "AMEN" in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 1:20) so she can trust that her generation will, by His grace and our obedience, witness movements towards the future reality of diversity and inclusion described in Revelation 7:9. She is a pursuer of God, daughter, sister, friend, auntie, mentor, teacher, and life-long learner. She enjoys listening to live music, especially jazz; reading a good book; eating ethnically diverse foods; and hiking.

Derek works for the CRCNA in the areas of faith formation and pastor-church relations as a co-leader of the Faith Formation Collaborative Work Group, a coach in the Next Steps Faith Formation Initiative, and a member of the Better Together Delivery Team. He lives in Grand Rapids, MI with his wife Keri and their two little girls, Alida and Cassidy.

Dr. Adejoke Ayoola is an Associate Professor of Nursing at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

Rev. Jayme Babczak is the Associate Pastor of the First Parish Church (United Church of Christ), Yarmouth, Maine.

Jake Bakker is a Resonate Global Mission Cohort Fellow and will be returning to serve in Costa Rica in April. During 2018 and 2019 Jake had the opportunity to join the Cohort program, living and serving in Casa Adobe, and volunteering at Organizacion Surgir, a school for at-risk teen boys in San Jose. Jake has a continued interest in learning more about life in Central America and how that connects to our lives in Canada, US, and around the world.

John and Bev Bandstra live in Ladner, BC, where they are enjoying retirement after careers in the family trucking business (John) and Regent College (Bev). They are joyfully involved in the New Immigrants Support team at Ladner CRC, working with World Renew and City of Refuge to privately sponsor refugees. The Bandstras have four adult children, all married, and nine grandchildren.

Jessica Banninga is studying International Studies and Media Communications at Redeemer University College and is the Christian Reformed Centre for Public Dialogue's social media organizer for 2017-2018.

Rob Barrett is Director of Forums & Scholarship for The Colossian Forum. He has PhDs both in Applied Physics from Stanford University and Theology from Durham University in England. He worked as a research scientist at IBM for over ten years, as a professor of Old Testament and Hebrew in England, and as a postdoctoral researcher of Old Testament in Göttingen, Germany. He has numerous publications in fields ranging from biblical studies to physics, data storage technology, and human-computer interaction, and holds many patents. He has also earned degrees from Washington University in St. Louis and Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. His varied background is unified by his longstanding interest in the intersection of faith, Bible, science/technology, and culture. Rob and his wife Crystal have two young children.

Heather Beaudoin is a National Organizer with Equal Justice USA, a national organization working to build a criminal justice system that is fair, effective, and responsive to everyone impacted by crime. She is also one of the coordinators for Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. Heather joined EJUSA after three years of working for the Montana Abolition Coalition. Previously, Heather worked for the Helena Pregnancy Resource Center, the National Republican Congressional Committee in Washington DC, and for the Michigan Republican Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema. Heather graduated with a political science degree from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She currently resides in Three Rivers, Michigan with her husband Matt and their daughter Grace.

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