Joe Kuepfer
Executive Director
Joe serves as the Executive Director. He and his wife Marilyn and their family live in Detroit, Michigan. Joe previously served as the East Africa Regional Director from 2015 - 2020. Joe transitioned into the leadership role at Open Hands upon Merle's retirement in 2022. Joe began with Open Hands in 2014.
Jason Croutch
Director of Public Relations
Jason serves as a link between Open Hands and our partners. Jason also maintains the head office accounting and office work. Jason is available to give presentations about Open Hands to your church, community, or youth group. If you wish to schedule an Open Hands presentation, you may contact Jason at [email protected] or 570-863-9080.
Lyndon Swarey
Director of Monitoring and Evaluation
Lyndon serves the organization by managing systems and platforms to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of our work, and the effectiveness of the self-run savings and credit groups. He mostly works remotely from where he is based in Virginia and makes field visits from time to time. Lyndon began serving with Open Hands at its inception in 2009. He took a break in 2018 order to pursue his degree in statistics and then rejoined in 2021.
Merle Burkholder
Founder & Staff Pastor
Merle is the founder of Open Hands. He currently provides pastoral care for the Open Hands team. Merle transitioned into this role after his retirement from leading the organization as the Administrator for 13 years. Merle and his wife Edith live in Sioux Lookout, ON, Canada.
Seth Pontbriand
Uganda Program Manager
Seth is based in Kampala, Uganda where he serves in management with the Uganda program. Seth is a student at Sattler College, and brings a variety of ideas and skills to the Open Hands organization.
Verlin Torkelson
East Africa Regional Director
Verlin and his wife Bethany and their family are based in Nakuru, Kenya. Verlin oversees the work in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia. Verlin began serving with Open Hands in 2022.
Bruce Wagler
East Africa Assistant Director
Bruce and his wife Sheila and their family are based in Nakuru, Kenya. Bruce tackles specific projects related to the management of the program and workflow in East Africa. Bruce began serving with Open Hands in 2020.
Walcus Vital
Haiti Country Director
Walcus and his wife Deb and their family are based in Cadiac, Haiti. Walcus oversees the work in Haiti. Walcus previously served as a facilitator in Haiti, and took his current position in 2019.
Delvin Zimmerman
Asia Regional Director
Delvin is based in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Delvin oversees the work in Nepal and Thailand. In 2017, Delvin began with Open Hands as a Program Liaison in Nakuru Kenya, while simultaneously launching a program in Nepal. Delvin transitioned to being based in Thailand in 2021.
Dietrich Miller
Mexico Program Manager
Dietrich resides in Choix, Mexico. He grew up in Choix where his parents served for many years with DestiNations. Dietrich works part-time with Open Hands overseeing the Mexico program.
Michael Weaver
Colombia Program Manager
Mike and his wife Amber reside in Lebanon, PA. Mike works part-time to oversee the Colombia/Venezuela program. Mike and Amber previously served in Arauca, Colombia for 2 years with Plain Compassion.
Nick Suarez
El-Salvador/Guatemala Program Manager
Nick Suarez resides in Mixcolajá, Guatemala where he serves with Mennonite Air Missions. Nick works with Open Hands part-time to oversee the Guatemala and El Salvador programs.
Paul Smucker
Communications Coordinator
Paul serves as a link between Open Hands and our partners for the western half of the United States. If you are from this region, Paul is available to give presentations about Open Hands to your church, community, or youth group. If you wish to schedule an Open Hands presentation, you may contact Paul at [email protected] or 541-520-5815.