MEDA International

Andrea Kuhl

Andrea Kuhl is the Director of Philanthropy at Southern Manitoba Potato Co. Ltd, a family farm business located in Southern Manitoba. Andrea also teaches early years music at La Salle School, specializing in musical theatre, choir, and Orff instruction.

Andrea is actively engaged in her community through volunteer roles at iDE, Winnipeg Mennonite Elementary and Middle School and as a director on the Kuhl Foundation board. 

Andrea also brings 17 years of experience serving on various boards and committees related to education, church, community outreach, and music. Andrea’s family has been a committed supporter of MEDA’s work for many years.

She has a bachelor’s degree in Church Music from Canadian Mennonite Bible College and a bachelor’s degree of music and education from the University of Manitoba.

Andrea lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with her husband, Keith, their children, Jaxon and Elsa, and their dog Jett.

Brent Gingerich

Brent is a social entrepreneur and impact investor. As Chairman and CEO of the peopleCare Group, Brent is committed to fostering a dynamic culture of excellence, innovation, and engaged people that enables the organization’s vision to change the world of senior living. Celebrating over 50 years of creating and operating exceptional senior living communities under Brent’s leadership, peopleCare is recognized as one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies and has earned Exemplary Standing with Accreditation Canada.

An active and influential health system leader, Brent is the past Chair of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Long-Term Care Association, where he led with a focus on transformative solutions that support the sector to deliver high-quality care and value within a more integrated health system.

A Visionary Circle member of MEDA, Brent is inspired by their mission to develop business solutions to address poverty and is a champion of MEDA’s role in the global effort to eliminate extreme poverty by 2040. Brent also served as a Past Board Chair and Board Director at Ontario Long-Term Care Association and has been involved with the Young Presidents’ Association Canada and Certified General Accountants Association.

Brent is a Certified Professional Accountant, a Certified General Accountant, and a Certified Administrator in Long-Term Care.

Chad Horning

Chad Horning is the SVP/CIO of Everence Financial, a financial firm committed to helping its clients integrate their faith and financial decisions to accomplish their stewardship goals. Chad is also President of Praxis Mutual Funds, which delivers socially responsible investing strategies, including screening and impact investments, shareholder advocacy, and active proxy voting to impact the world positively. In addition to his investment responsibilities, he also leads the Health Insurance division at Everence. 

Chad brings a background in board governance (both as a senior staff person and board member), oversight of endowment and institutional investments, and expertise in various forms of communication, including economic commentary, investor education, and conference addresses. Chad also serves as the Chair of the Mennonite Education Agency Investment Committee.    

He attended his first MEDA Convention in 1990 in Peoria, Illinois, while at Goshen College. He has been a member and was part of the leadership team for the Michiana MEDA hub in the early 2000s. His wife Michelle was a MEDA board member from 2004-13.

Chad has a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Maryland and is a CFA charter holder. He is the author of the book Shifting Gears, which captures the history of Horning Dodge (a second-generation family business). 

Chad lives in Goshen, Indiana, with his wife, Michelle, and their teenage children. They attend Waterford Mennonite Church.

Elke Horsch

Elke Horsch is a teacher at the Gerhardinger Schule in Schwandorf, Germany. The school has an emphasis on teaching kids with a migrant or refugee background.

Elke has a Master’s in Psychology from the University of Mannheim. She was born in Romania in a German family and emigrated in 1981 with her family to Germany. Elke is fluent in English, German, French and Romanian.

Elke has been an active member of MEDA for many years. She is thrilled by the idea of helping people to make a sustainable living, and has chosen to engage as a MEDA director out of this passion.

Elke lives with her husband Philipp in Schwandorf, Germany. They have three children. In 2005, they joined with 4 other families to establish the Mennonite church Evangelische Freikirche, Mennonitengemeinde Schwandorf where they continue to attend.

Ferdinand Rempel

Ferdinand is a highly experienced entrepreneur currently running a cattle ranch and serving on the boards of Cooperative Friesland, Saborca SA and MEDA Paraguay. Ferdinand’s first business, Casa Centro Saeca, sold household appliances, furniture, and motorcycles. He ran this business for over 25 years, selling it in 2012.

Ferdinand brings an expertise in business management to the MEDA board. His background in managing change process for improved efficiency, productivity and sustainability, a dedication to making socio-economic impact in rural communities through commercial initiatives, and his leadership in finding solutions to operational challenges are highly valued assets at the board table.

Ferdinand has a deep passion for helping others and a firm commitment to his family and faith. He is actively involved in the Anabaptist/Mennonite community, has participated on various boards and non-profit organizations, volunteered at the Johannes Gutenberg school in Paraguay, and served for five years as president of the Friesland Agricultural Cooperative.

Ferdinand and his wife, Hedwig, have two adult sons. They live in Friesland Paraguay, where they attend their local Mennonite church.

Janet Andres

Janet Andres is the co-owner and founder of Andres Homes. She founded her business with her husband, Ted, in 1987. Since then, she has provided design services to Andres Homes development projects and clients. As a recent retiree, Janet is still engaged in the business’ development projects. Janet currently runs an active Airbnb business engaging with international and local guests.

Janet is passionate about equality, inclusion, and supporting women in business internationally. She brings ten years of experience as a Human Resources generalist in the non-profit, trust company, and retail marketplace.

Over the years, she has been involved in several church committees, including coordinating and leading women’s studies and kids’ programs, serving on a support team for a migrant workers ministry, and as a care team member. Janet currently serves as a board member of the Latino Workers Society and is the lead team member for establishing a new Anabaptist church.

Janet has been actively engaged in MEDA since 1993. In the early years, she attended MEDA Conventions, hosted local MEDA events and MEDA staff, and participated in MEDA international trips. Janet served as a volunteer internal auditor for MEDA projects in Ethiopia, Jordan, and Kenya between 2014-2019. Janet’s husband, Ted, served on the MEDA Board for three terms, and both Janet and Ted continue to be involved in local MEDA hub events.

Janet graduated from Douglas College with a business degree specializing in Human Resources. She lives in Delta, B.C., with her husband, Ted.

Jim Alvarez

Jim Alvarez is Vice President of Finance at Goshen College, a nationally-ranked college in Indiana. Prior to this, Jim worked as Chief Finance Officer of Everence, a financial institution with over $3 billion dollars in assets which offers banking, insurance and financial services with community benefits. Jim joined Everence in 2006 after gaining broad industry experience in food processing and international grain markets in Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Texas. He got his start in the family grain and feed business in 1988 after earning an MBA in Marketing from Pennsylvania State University and a BA Economics from Goshen College. Jim has served as Goshen College’s Director of Family Business, and as an Assistant Professor of Business. He brings expertise in strategic planning, finance, and economics to the MEDA board.

Drawn to MEDA by its focus on business solutions to poverty, Jim appreciates MEDA’s close connection of donors, staff and board members to project clients around the world. Jim describes his involvement with MEDA as a fulfilling experience, and the interactions with clients as bringing him “tremendous joy.”

In addition to his role as a board director with MEDA, he serves as board member for the Goshen Health System in Goshen, Indiana, and Mennonite Health System in Puerto Rico.

Jim lives with his wife Diane in Indiana. They attend Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship in Goshen, Indiana.

Marianne Unruh

Marianne Unruh is a serial entrepreneur and the owner of Fresh Solutions. Fresh Solutions provides fresh fruit and vegetable quality inspections for retailers and food service customers throughout North America. Prior to starting Fresh Solutions, Marianne worked for Loblaws, as the fresh grape and tree fruit category manager. Marianne brings expertise in the agri-food sector, business planning and operations, and an entrepreneurial spirit to the MEDA board. She is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, where she studied biology.

Marianne joined the MEDA board because of its alignment with her faith values and commitment to collaboration, accountability, transparency and innovation. She lives in Selma, California, USA and attends First Mennonite in Reedley.

Patricia Erb

Patricia Erb is a partner at Erb & Associates, which she launched in 2018 following a career of over 40 years working in international development culminating in her leadership of Save the Children Canada as President and CEO.

Her career led to positions as Country Director in Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and Nicaragua and as Latin America Regional Director. For 20 years, Patricia worked with partner organizations to deliver gender transformative and sustainable projects in all sectors, including health, education, working children, economic empowerment, community development, and humanitarian response.

Having worked with the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in Bolivia for five years, Patricia coordinated with MEDA projects in that country. Patricia’s father, Delbert Erb also served with the Mennonite Board Mission in Argentina and received support through MEDA for a small business.

Patricia holds an Honorary Doctorate in Law from Vancouver Island University, has a master's degree in International Development Planning with a specialized focus on gender from Cornell University, a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Goshen College, and associate degree in Nursing from Hesston College.

Patricia lives in Toronto, ON, Canada with her husband, Omar.