Staff & Board - For the Nations DC

For the Nations DC Staff

Katheryn Wolfe

Operations Director

Katheryn has experience in non-profit management, project management, and instructional design. She also has a Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults. She enjoys spending time with students, either on the soccer field or at the dinner table.

Arielle Bateman

Development and Communications Director

Arielle has worked as a nonprofit storyteller for more than 12 years. As a fundraiser and communicator, she enjoys sharing stories of transformation and building relationships in the community. She loves helping people to discover their philanthropic passions and to support the work that’s closest to their heart.

Matt Kasowski

Site Lead, Alexandria and Falls Church

Matt brings more than 12 years of cross-cultural experience working in Central Asia. He has led teams both in the business and non-profit sector. Matt is happily married to Jill for 17 years and they have 4 very active children.

Ellim Wegerbauer

Co-Site Lead, Fairfax

Ellim has experience in cross-cultural ministry, career consulting, project management, and fundraising. She happily serves the students, teachers, and volunteers at our Fairfax location. She enjoys building long-lasting relationships with friends, eating good food, and talking about the transformative love of Jesus.

Justin Raymer

Discipleship Lead, Alexandria

Justin loves to meet, connect, and pray with people. He’s a farmer at heart who has experience in agricultural development, construction, and project management. He enjoys learning languages, making new friends, and tasting food from any culture.

Vera Fernandes

Kids' Club Lead

Vera brings decades of cross-cultural experience serving with women and children at-risk in nations including Ukraine, India and Afghanistan. Over the years, she has cared for child-survivors of trauma and worked towards their healing and restoration. She loves being a bridge between cultures and sharing her stories.

Danny Wegerbauer

Co-Site Lead, Fairfax / Lead Teacher, Fairfax

Danny brings 4 years of working with international students through his time with Bridges International. He has a Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults.

Kristen Raymer

Literacy Coach, Alexandria

Kristen is a former elementary education teacher who focuses on literacy with our adult language students and also coaches new literacy teachers. She has experience in several bilingual educational settings and enjoys building relationships with students and their families.

Anissa Tyler

Teacher / Special Projects

Anissa has been a teacher for 25 years in a variety of disciplines and settings. She completed her TESOL certification through the University of Georgia. Anissa enjoys engaging not only with our students but also with their children, including providing occasional homework tutoring sessions over WhatsApp. Anissa also enjoys deep conversations around the backyard fire pit.

Brenda Paniagua

Early Childhood Lead

Brenda is passionate about working with children. She is from Peru, and in her country, she began working with children at the age of 16 in an early childhood education center. She takes joy in being part of the lives of the little ones, as she loves the idea of being part of their earliest memories. She is deeply grateful that God is using the talent He gave her to serve Him at FTNDC.

Jaysen Ens

Family Services Coordinator, Alexandria

Jaysen serves as the part-time Family Services Coordinator to help families thrive in the United States. The experiences of living in the Middle East for two years (where he met his wife, Bethany) and going through the US immigration process have given him perspective on the challenges that many families have when settling into a new country and culture. He enjoys coming alongside families as they make the US their home.

Amanda Taylor

Lead Teacher, Alexandria

Amanda has 15 years of experience teaching English learners in public and private schools, churches, and at FTNDC for the past six years. She enjoys connecting with students from all over the world. As the Lead Teacher, she supports the dedicated teachers whose work is the core of FTNDC! She has been married to Cullen for 26 years and they have three children.