WE ARE

Melanie serves as our Partnership Liaison, combining her years of volunteer and vocational experience in church, parachurch, and missions ministries. Melanie and her family have had their own health journey, where they discovered that integrating faith with compassionate healthcare, brings holistic healing. That experience forms a passionate foundation from which she shares with Healthbridge Global partners. Melanie has been married to her husband Barry for 35 years. They love spending time with their 4 grown kids and their spouses and are excited for the arrival of their first granddaughter. They love God and building His kingdom. For rest and recreation they enjoy hiking, kayaking, traveling, gardening, and trying new ethnic food.

Christina and her husband Ryan have been longtime supporters of Healthbridge in many ways, but starting in 2022 she started offering her time, talent (and treasure) to help us do a better job partnering with foundations and grant opportunities.  Her attention to detail, never-quit attitude and determination have been a tremendous blessing to us and our partners.

Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska I spent my time playing soccer, fishing, cross country skiing, camping and working summers above the Arctic Circle. I knew from the time I was a freshman in high school that I wanted to be a Physical Therapist. After graduating high school, the next seven years were dedicated to just that. After graduating and meeting my amazing wife, Erin, who is also a physical therapist from Alaska... go figure... we moved from Oregon to Washington to work for a Catholic non-profit hospital system. It was this first career position that made me appreciate how Christ-centered healthcare can truly change a life. I also found how being a provider who has compassion and empathy for his patients can produce truly great results and change lives forever. With two young children, Erin and I have been dedicated to raising them to care for their world (local and global) with our family mission of "Leave the World a Better Place". Being a part of Healthbridge Global does that with unabashed attention. I am pleased to give and serve on this amazing board that I have no doubt will reach its goals and change the world.

From the time I was about 7 years old, I knew I wanted to be a nurse. Around that same time, I came to faith through vacation Bible school and wanted to use my desire to care for others, paired with my faith, to make an impact on a lost world. It’s been an amazing journey,, alongside my husband and our 3 kids, we served in South Asia for 20 years, where my little girl dream became a reality. We currently reside in Brentwood, Tennessee, where my husband, Brett, serves as the Minister of Missions at Brentwood Baptist Church. I continue to work part-time as an RN, travel with my husband and love on our 3 grandsons! We enjoy hiking, kayaking and playing games.

For over twenty years, my professional life revolved around treating patients as a clinical endodontist in the Sierra Foothills of California. While I served a broad range of patients, I sub-specialized in sedation and anesthesia and spent considerable time caring for developmentally disabled pediatric and phobic adult populations. Without a doubt, those twenty years gave me a front-row seat to the fear, anxiety, and vulnerability that many people bring to the doctor’s office. Yet I also witnessed great joy and relief once the procedure was complete and the pain was gone. Every day I saw people move from sorrow to delight. From worry to peace. From suffering to comfort. In a small way, this is a picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ! However, I am convinced that if we don’t help people see this connection, their physical disease may be cured while their spiritual ailment remains. That is why it was an easy decision to partner when I learned of Healthbridge Global’s vision of utilizing healthcare to build bridges for the gospel worldwide. My wife, Katie, and I are excited to see how God will use this ministry to bless both body and soul to the ends of the earth.