• Officers and Staff

A Brief Note...

Officers

Larry N. Chamberlain, President and Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Chamberlain has been President of the Foundation since 1999 and Chief Executive Officer since 1989.   From 1986 to 1989 Dr. Chamberlain was Assistant Executive Director.   He has been employed by the Foundation since 1977.  Prior to 1977, he was manager and lending officer of the Hamilton Bank in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Dr. Chamberlain attended Lehigh University’s Graduate School of Business and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Indiana University and a Doctor of Strategic Leadership degree from Regent University. 

Dr. Chamberlain serves as a facilitator in the Graduate School of Business and Leadership for Indiana Wesleyan University’s College of Adult and Professional Studies.  He served as a member of the Board of Trustees for Warsaw Community School Corporation, Warsaw Community Public Library and currently the Kosciusko County Martin Luther King Commemoration Committee.  He is a member of the Christian Business Faculty Association, Christian Leadership Alliance, American Finance Association, and National Association of Evangelicals Chaplaincy Commission.  He has served as an active member of the Warsaw Flotilla of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.  Larry and Sherlene have two grown children, Traci and Travis, and ten grandchildren.

Kenneth A. Seyfert, Vice President, Treasurer, and Executive Director of Operations

Mr. Seyfert was appointed the Foundation’s Vice President and Executive Director of Operations in August, 2004.  Since 1999 he also has served as Treasurer of the Foundation.  From June 1997 to August 2004 he was Managing Director and Officer of Operations.  He is responsible for the daily direction and supervision of the Foundation, as well as management of the investment and loan portfolios.  Mr. Seyfert has more than 30 years of experience in banking and finance, and was formerly an Investment Executive with Fahnestock & Co., Inc. with over $30,000,000 of assets under his management.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from Lebanon Valley College, Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and graduated from PBA School of Banking and Finance at Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. 

Mr. Seyfert has taken and passed the Series 63 and Series 7 examinations required of individuals who represent securities on behalf of an issuer and is licensed in all states in which such licensure is required.  He continues with additional education and conferences that relate to assisting with his management responsibilities at the Foundation and is a member of the Christian Leadership Alliance.  Mr. Seyfert served as the national moderator for the 2007 meetings of the Denominational Investment Loan Association.  He currently serves as chairman of the Retirement Investment Plan for the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.  Mr. Seyfert is an active member of the Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church, serving on an advisory committee to the Board of Overseers.

Brenda S. Byers, Corporate Secretary and Director of Finance and Administration

Mrs. Byers is Secretary and Director of Finance and Administration for the Foundation.  She has been an employee of the Foundation since 1986.  Mrs. Byers holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana, and a Master of Science degree in Management from Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion, Indiana.  Mrs. Byers also serves on the human resource committee, worship team, and as chairperson of the business commission for the Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church.

Staff (in alphabetical order)

Cindy Bushen, Bookkeeping

Cindy Bushen is the bookkeeper for the Grace Brethren Investment Foundation.  Cindy came to GBIF in 1999 from the Kosciusko Community Hospital, where she worked for 20 years filling various positions in the business office.  A native of northern Indiana, Cindy was raised in the Plymouth area and is a graduate of Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana.

Cindy and her husband, Art, have been active members of the Leesburg Grace Brethren Church since 1980, serving as Sunday School teachers, on various planning committees and as deacons.  She is currently Women of Grace USA treasurer.  Art is a graduate of Grace Seminary and is employed by CE National.  They have two daughters:  Karis and husband, Mike Miller, both graduates of Grace and now residing in Winona Lake, and Karmen and Chris Fletcher, who live in Fort Wayne, IN.
  
Susanne Kessler, Business Manager

Susanne joined the staff of Grace Brethren Investment Foundation, Inc. in 1993 as Secretary to the Director of Operations and was named as Business Manager in 1999.  She attended Grace College, where she was a member of the Alpha Chi Honor Society and graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1992.

She is married to Coach Jim Kessler, head coach of men’s basketball and a professor at Grace College since 1976.  Jim and Susanne have four married daughters, Kim Dawson, Sarah McCray, Jenny Lovette, and Janelle Meyer, all graduates of Grace College, and they are proud grandparents of eight grandchildren.  Jim and Susanne are active members of the Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church, serving on the Kids Connection Team and Care Commission.

Linda Leonard, Coordinator of Administration and Human Resources

Linda Leonard joined the staff of Grace Brethren Investment Foundation January 1, 2007, as Coordinator of Administration and Human Resources, dividing her time between GBIF and the FGBC Retirement Plan.  Prior to her position with GBIF, she served as Director of Human Resources for Grace Brethren North American Missions, where she had been employed since 1985.  Before joining GBNAM, she worked for Lake City Bank in Winona Lake, Indiana.  Linda graduated from Frostburg University, Frostburg, Maryland, with a Bachelor of Science degree in American history and a minor in elementary education.

Linda is married to John Leonard, BMH book division manager.  John and Linda have one daughter, Rebecca Dunnuck, who resides in Frankfort, Indiana, with her husband, Steve, and daughter, Katie.  They have been active members in the Grace Brethren Church since 1976 in various capacities.  Currently they attend the Warsaw Community Church in Warsaw, Indiana.

John W. Schumacher, Endorsing Agent of Chaplaincy Ministry

John reports to the chaplaincy committee of GBIF but answers to the Fellowship Council as the Chaplain Endorsing Agent.  John served as member of the GBNAM board from 1995-2004 and on the GBIF board from 2004-2005.  He previously served as a member of the Board of Grace Schools from 1986-1995.

John received his Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education from Bob Jones University and taught junior high school at the Grace Brethren Christian School in Whittier, California, for three years.  He finished Grace Theological Seminary in 1963 with an MDiv degree.  In 1973 John received a Master of Science degree in counseling from Long Island University and in 1974, completed four quarters of clinical pastoral education from the Brooklyn VA Hospital and Lutheran Medical Center and was awarded a PhD in Religion by the North Carolina College of Theology in June 2005.  He has completed the Chaplain Basic, Chaplain Advanced, Command and General Staff, and Army War College courses in his military education.

John is married to the former Martha Ann Catching and they have four children and six grandchildren.  Daughters Laurie and Julie, and son, Eric, were graduated from Grace College, and son, John, was graduated from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.  Laurie is married to Lou Huesmann, senior pastor of the Long Beach Grace Brethren Church.  Julie is on staff there as director of missions.

John serves as an instructor for the International Association of Evangelical Chaplains , a worldwide chaplain training outreach, as chairman for the Executive Committee of the National Association of Evangelicals Chaplain Commission and serves as a volunteer chaplain with the Arizona Hiway Patrol.  He has also authored a book, A Soldier of God Remembers, recounting his thirty years as an active duty Army chaplain.  Throughout his career and retirement, John has held his church membership with the Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church

Carol Soto, Customer Service/Data Processing

Carol has been with GBIF since July 2000 and serves as customer service representative. She joined the GBIF staff from Ginter Electric, Inc. where she served as receptionist and office manager.  Carol holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bible and theology with a minor in sacred music from Appalachian Bible College where she graduated in 1976. She has served as a short-term missionary to Germany with Worldwide European Fellowship, now BMW, International, where she ministered for four years.

Carol is married to Dr. Mark H. Soto, professor of biblical studies at Grace Theological Seminary and has two grown daughters and one grandson.  Rebecca, a deputy prosecuting attorney for Porter County, Indiana, lives in the county, and Naomi, a paramedic with Multi-Township EMS in Warsaw, lives with her husband, John Olesen and son, Connor, in Etna Green, Indiana.  Carol and Mark attend and serve at Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church.