Board of Directors

Steve Shaner, Chairman
steve@agapeasia.org

Steve Shaner is Chairman of our Board of Directors. He is a retired professor of Mass Communications at Harding University. He has a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications and a master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communication. He started his career in Little Rock where he was a news photographer for KATV Channel 7.  While in Little Rock he owned and operated a photography studio and advertising agency.  Steve was the director of public relations at the University of the Ozarks before moving back to his hometown area of Chicago in 1987.  In Chicago, Steve worked in the printing and direct marketing industry.  In 2002 he created Image Marketing & Communications, an integrated marketing communications consulting firm. While at Harding, Steve was the director of the Advertising majors while teaching a broad variety of classes in mass communication. Steve also taught an ESL level communication principles class for Chinese students. During the summers since 2010, Steve has been a visiting professor in China at Universities in Hengyang, Wuhan, Xi’an, Guangzhou, and Zhuhai; and, he spent one summer teaching communications and photography in Bangkok, Thailand. Steve has served as an elder at churches in Searcy, Arkansas, and Naperville, Illinois.  Steve his wife Donna have two sons and four grandchildren.

Debbie Binski
monarch@hotmail.com

Debbie Binski is a Director of Research & Development at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio.  She has a BS in Chemical Engineering from University of Michigan and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from University of Cincinnati.  Her work and studies allowed her to visit many countries as well as live in Singapore with her family for 2.5 years.  She has been an active supporter of Agape Asia for over 20 years, sponsoring children in China, Myanmar, and India.  She is married to Chris and they have a son and daughter.  She also enjoys teaching Sunday School for 3rd and 4th graders at Northeast Church of Christ in Cincinnati and spending time in her flower garden.

Christy Hesslen
christyhesslen@yahoo.com

Christy Hesslen is a career educator and lives in Greenwood, Arkansas. She has a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from the University of Arkansas and a master’s degree in Secondary Education from Arkansas Tech University.  Christy serves as Secondary Instructional Facilitator for grades 7-12 in Greenwood, serving on the Leadership Team and Right to Intervention Team at each campus.  She holds various professional licenses and certificates, including an Arkansas Educator’s License in English Language Arts, Gifted and Talented, and PRAXIS III assessor. Christy has been married to her husband Kevin for 27 years. Also an educator, he serves as the Assistant Superintendent for the Greenwood School District.  They have two married daughters and a son who is in college.

David Jenkins
jenkinsdal@hotmail.com

David Jenkins recently retired from his own construction management company, a field he worked in most of his life.  He is a graduate of Abilene Christian University.  He and his wife Marla have been married for 45 years and have 4 children and 4 grandchildren.  In the past, he served as a board member of HUG (Humanity United in Giving Internationally), an NGO working primarily in orphanages and group homes in Romania.  During that time, he led teams of Americans to Romania assisting state employees as well as paid HUG staff in training and improved child care methods.  A few years of this volunteer work led David and Marla to adopt two teenage girls from an orphanage in Russia.  Both girls have now completed college. One has completed a Masters degree in Social Work and is employed in that field. The other is married and working full time.  Recently after several years working as a volunteer David joined the board of directors for India Discipleship Network (IDN).  David has a heart for missions and especially hurting children and plans to dedicate his retirement years to such efforts.

Tyler Kemmerer
tylerkemmerer@gmail.com

Tyler Kemmerer is the Director of Lipscomb Missions, a program that annually mobilizes 500+ students and 200+ faculty, staff, alumni and friends to serve with ministries and nonprofits across the globe. He holds a B.B.A. in Management and M.Min. in Bible and Ministry from Harding University. Prior to working at Lipscomb University, Tyler served at Pepperdine University for six years, most recently as the Visiting Faculty of Communication and Religion for the Shanghai International Program. Tyler also taught five years at ZhongNan University of Economics and Law in Wuhan, China. Tyler and his wife Rebecca were married in 2008 and have three wonderful children.

Ted A. Knight
tak@ksc.law

Ted Knight is the senior member of the five-member law firm, Knight, Stockton & Cunningham in Poteau, Oklahoma and has served as such since his retirement in 2014 from the position of a District Court Judge in the 16th Judicial District, Oklahoma. He served on the bench for 32 years. During his tenure on the bench, he handled a variety of dockets such as criminal, divorce, civil, juvenile, probate, guardianship and Drug Court. He also presided over approximately 250 jury trials, including criminal cases involving first degree murder to drug, burglary and child abuse cases. He also presided over civil cases from multimillionaire-dollar wrongful death cases to imminent domain proceedings. Following his creation of Drug Courts in all three counties in the Judicial District, he was chosen as faculty member of The National Drug Court Institute in Alexandria, Virginia and served periodically as a faculty member for 12 years. He is presently an Elder at the WestArk Church of Christ in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He and his wife Sharon have two married children and three grandchildren.

Sam Leow, Treasurer
samleow1@gmail.com

Sam Leow is of Chinese descent but was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sam came to the US for college and has lived here ever since.  He has his undergraduate degree in Graphic Arts from Arkansas State University an MBA in Marketing and Management Information Systems from University of Memphis. He and his wife Vivian, who is native Taiwanese, bring a wealth of knowledge and experience of Asian missions and ministry to our board of directors.  Sam is an elder at the Highland Church of Christ in the Memphis area where he leads the Chinese ministry and church missions.  Sam and Vivian have two children.

Jeff Robertson, Vice-President
jeff@agapeasia.org

Jeff Robertson recently served as our Executive Director and has transitioned onto our board. He is a retired US Coast Guard officer and has served in executive roles in government, industry and nonprofits. He believes that we are all created in the image of God and should treat each other with dignity and respect. As a follower of Jesus, he feels called to demonstrate the love that God has for each person by following the example of Jesus – to love God and to love others the way that God loves us. Providing for the “least of these” in our communities demonstrates our participation in the Kingdom. He seeks to create opportunities for communities to become financially independent and self-supporting, grounded in dependence on God. He and his wife Phyllis live in the mountains of southeast Tennessee; they have 3 wonderful daughters in law (married to their 3 sons) and four grandchildren.

Dr. Raj Selladurai
rsellad1@gmail.com

Dr. Raj grew up in Bangalore, India. He is a graduate of Abiline Christian University and currently serves as an elder at the Bethel Church in Indiana. He comes to the Board with great credentials in Christian service, education, business and networking. Currently he is a business professor at Indiana University Northwest. Raj and Rebecca reside in Schereville, Indiana.