Donna K. Alexander, President & CEO of Advoxum Global Strategies, a global consulting firm, has more than three decades of experience in executive leadership roles within global, national, and regional organizations. Her expertise spans myriad areas on leadership selection and transitions, board development, corporate governance, shared governance, restructuring, strategic planning, collaboration amongst competing stakeholders, trust-building, performance improvement, and business innovations. Ms. Alexander helps leaders navigate institutional challenges and achieve the mission at non-profit and for-profit institutions in the higher education, religious, commercial business, and government sectors.

Ms. Alexander formerly served as President & CEO of a global financial services organization, practiced law and worked in the financial services sector for many years, and served in senior policy staff positions for the U.S. Congress, and at the U.S. Department of Justice. She has served on a number of boards, including as a seminary Board Chair. Ms. Alexander resides in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

Dr. Darren Dias, a member of the Order of Preachers (OP) and holder of a Ph.D., currently serves as the Executive Director of the Toronto School of Theology and holds the position of Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of St. Michael’s College. His academic research and publications focus on Christianity’s relations with other faiths, postcolonial theologies, and methodologies.

Dr. Dias has received research grants from prestigious institutions such as the American Academy of Religion (AAR), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and the Templeton Foundation. In addition to his scholarly pursuits, he has served in myriad leadership roles within his religious order at international, national, and local levels. Dr. Dias understands the critical importance of board leadership having served on boards of institutions of higher education, community care, and newcomer resettlement.

Dr. Charisse L. Gillett became the 17th president of Lexington Theological Seminary in September 2011. Her appointment is historic in the 156-year history of the seminary. She is the first woman and first African American to lead the seminary as president.  

Dr. Gillett holds a doctorate in education and educational specialist degree from Northern Illinois University and a Master’s in Education and Bachelor of Arts with a major in social work from the University of Northern Iowa. Her dissertation is Transforming Two-year Colleges into Four-Year Colleges: Critical Factors in Senior Leadership and Organizational Change. In her 12th year at Lexington, she has led the seminary through a period of transformation in its academic programs, enrollment, finances, and strategic vision. Central to this transformation was the introduction of technology into the classroom, a strategic plan to help guide the institution, and a fully engaged Board of Trustees. She has spearheaded the receipt of more than $3.5 million in grants and a successful capital campaign of $4.8 million in gifts.

She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Association of Theological Schools, with responsibilities as a member of the Finance Committee. She is the vice chair of the Board of Directors for the In Trust Center for Theological Schools, a member of the Transylvania University Board of Trustees, serving on the Student Experience Committee and Academic Affairs Committee, and a member of the Bluegrass Community and Technical College Theatre Advisory Board. Dr. Gillett is also an active member of the Kentucky African American Heritage Commission. She believes that service on boards and committees is a valuable means of supporting institutions and an important means of diversifying an organization’s governance and leadership.

Dr. Gillett received a $15,000 Reflective Leadership grant from Leadership Education at Duke Divinity in 2018 to contemplate leading in the midst of crisis. She wrote about her journey and strategies for navigating difficult moments in an essay, "Reflections on Leadership in an era of COVID-19 and in the Midst of a Reckoning on Racial Injustice," which was published in the Journal of Higher Education Management 2021 by the American Association of University Administrators. In addition, she was recognized as an ATS Woman of Influence in March 2023.

David Gyertson, Ph.D., has a diverse and extensive background in higher education, publishing, consulting, executive coaching, ministry, and media. He earned his doctorate in Higher Education Administration from Michigan State University and served as president of Regent University, Asbury University, and Taylor University. With experience in senior leadership across religious, charitable, and business sectors, including international and cross-cultural contexts, Dr. Gyertson serves as a strategic initiatives consultant and executive coach for faith-based organizations and their leaders.

Specializing in board governance training, transition planning, and on-boarding of new executives, he also conducts retreats focusing on spiritual formation for organizational leaders, ministry professionals, and others dedicated to personal and professional growth as followers of Christ. Dr. Gyertson is a frequent speaker at conferences, camps, schools, universities, and churches.

Before retiring in 2019, Mr. Bob Landrebe held several prominent positions, including serving as senior vice president and chief operating officer at Asbury Theological Seminary; executive vice president and chief financial officer at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary; and vice president of operations and chief financial officer at World Relief. He earned an MBA in accounting from DePaul University and holds dual degrees in economic and accounting from Illinois State University. He also worked as a CPA (Illinois) with Grant Thornton.

For more than twenty years, Mr. Landrebe has engaged with the In Trust Center serving as a contributing author for In Trust magazine, as well as roles as a mentor, board member, and resource consultant. He developed several online tools for the Center, including the “Financial Health Checkup,” “Institutional Health Checklist,” and the “Strategic Financial Planner.”

Mr. Landrebe has been an executive coach and project leader overseeing various initiatives. He  analyzed the pros and cons of selling a seminary’s extension site campus, resulting in a $18 million sale and new business model. Additionally, he was a project leader to successfully spin-off a seminary’s non-educational ministry into a subsidiary non-profit organization. He has also conducted executive compensation studies and played a pivotal role as a lead consultant for a non-profit’s comprehensive five-year strategic plan.

David Rowe is one of the youngest higher education CEOs to lead a financial turnaround in the wake of the Great Recession. As interim president during the global pandemic, Mr. Rowe co-facilitated the merger of Lancaster Theological Seminary with Moravian University.

An ordained United Methodist elder, Mr. Rowe earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Southwestern University in Georgetown Texas, an M.Div. from Emory University and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies from Georgia State University. He also holds a certificate in Ecumenical Studies from the University of Geneva and the World Council of Churches (Bossey).

Mr. Rowe guides boards and presidents through institutional transformations as president of The Windermere Group and helps them fund their visions as principal of The Development President.

Tom Tanner recently retired from the Association of Theological Schools after ten years as director of accreditation. During his tenure at ATS, he interacted with numerous seminary boards, drawing from his own experience serving on several nonprofit boards.

Prior to his time at ATS, Mr. Tanner spent three decades at a Christian college and seminary in central Illinois, where he served as academic dean for two decades. He holds two master's degrees and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, along with an M.Div. from Lincoln Christian Seminary.