OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Steve Swayne
Steve Swayne is currently Director of St. Francis Springs Prayer Center, a role he started in January 2020. He currently owns 3 businesses - a social media marketing company, a landscape company and a construction cleaning company. Before these ventures, Steve was Director of StepUp Ministry for 9 years. StepUp teaches job and life skills to unemployed people in Raleigh, Greensboro, Wilmington and Durham, NC and places over 700 adults annually in employment. In those 9 years he helped StepUp grow from a $300,000 non-profit to a $4M non-profit. Before StepUp, he ran and sold a publishing company called By Design Publishing from 2004-2008. From 2000-2004, he operated a Young Life camp in Central Oregon and from 1992-1999 he worked in the NBA as a Marketing/Community Relations Director for 2 NBA basketball teams. Steve graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 1992. Steve resides in Raleigh with his wife, Laura and their 4 children.
Todd Ussery
Todd Ussery recently joined our Board of Directors in late 2016, although he has been close to the ministry since its inception. Todd is a native of Raleigh, NC and graduated from North Carolina State University. Todd is a co-founder of Sabal Homes LLC based out of Mount Pleasant, SC. Todd and his wife Catherine have two children, Parker and Wilson, who equally share the passion and conviction for caring for orphaned children in Panamá, as well as within their own community. Todd and Catherine have previously been licensed as foster care providers and adopted Wilson through what was initially a foster care placement. Todd has made several visits to Panamá where he has seen the overwhelming and heart-breaking need for the body of Christ and Heart’s Cry Children’s Ministry to defend and care for orphaned children in Panamá.
George DeLoache
George DeLoache has served on the Board of Directors since 2020. He is the founder and principal of Church Street Company, which has provided acquisition, development, and asset management services for its investor clients since its formation in 1993. Active in his community, George has held board positions or been active with a variety of community organizations including the City of Raleigh Parks, Recreation & Greenways Board, Hope Elementary Charter School, Building Together Ministries, The Episcopal Housing Ministry, the North Carolina Theatre, and Holy Trinity Anglican Church. George graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (1983).
Daniel Gunn
Dan and his amazing wife, Marvi, were among the first people Matt and Misty (Heart's Cry Founders) met upon arriving in Panama in 2008. Dan was a missionary kid, spending part of his childhood growing up in the Panamanian jungle as his parents translated the Bible into the language of the Buglere Indians. He grew up in Panama, then went on to receive a BA in Business & Economics from Wheaton College and an MBA from the University of Southern California. After an impressive career in the aviation business, Dan is now the Senior Vice-President of Operations for Copa Airlines. Dan and Marvi are deeply committed Christians and have hosted a beautiful fellowship meeting in their house for 20 years. They have 5 beautiful children and have "parented" or discipled many others in navigating their lives with Jesus. We are blessed to have Dan serve on our board of directors.
