Our Staff
Vanessa martinez Soltero
m25 coordinator and missionary
Vanessa Martinez is passionate about community and Kingdom transformation through justice issues, particularly as it relates to immigrant rights and economic justice. Vanessa began her spiritual journey and advocacy training in 2008 through the Hunger Justice Leaders program through the faith-based organization Bread for the World in Washington D.C. as part of her youth group’s involvement; where she advocated for foreign and domestic aid for the most vulnerable. Currently, Vanessa has been serving as a board member for Templo Calvario Community Development Corporation in Orange County, California since 2010. Vanessa was born in Ensenada, Mexico and has lived in Orange County, California since the age of 12.
Luis Gonzales
family coordinator with the family network
Luis Enrique Gonzales came from Mexico City when he was 15 years old. He was the coordinator of the Guardian Angels project for the Southwest California Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for four years and is now the Family Coordinator for the Ecumenical Coalition of Asylum Seekers, a network being managed by Mattthew 25/Mateo 25. He also helps manage Guisanos Tacos and is a part-time college students
Our BOard
Jean Carlos ARCE
Jean Carlos Arce completed a bachelor's in finance at the University of Puerto Rico and a Master of Divinity with emphases in Urban Studies and Christian Ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary. JC has been a bank executive, pastor, and church planter; today he serves as a youth pastor at Iglesia del Pacto in Eagle Rock. In his free time, you can find him speaking about social justice and advocating for immigrants. Currently, He lives in Pasadena with his wife, Yaditza, and two sons, Enrique and Lucas.
Manny Arteaga
Manuel is the founding pastor of Kalēo Adventist Church, a Spanglish congregation in the San Gabriel Valley. He has a degree in Business Administration from La Sierra University, a Masters in Theological Studies from HMS Richards Divinity School, and is currently working on his Doctorate in Urban Ministry at Fuller Seminary.
As passionate as he is about ministry, he considers his greatest accomplishment to be married to Keren, the girl of his dreams, and raising three incredible children: Sophia Xareni, Karissa Bella, and Josiah Manuel.
Brad Christerson
Brad Christerson is professor of sociology at Biola University. He has written extensively about the intersection of race, inequality, justice, and religion in America, and teaches classes on inequality, justice and race, at Biola. He has been involved in Matthew 25/Mateo 25 leadership since 2016.
Rev. Heidi Worthen Gamble
Rev. Heidi Worthen Gamble is the Mission Catalyst for the Presbytery of the Pacific, regional offices of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Heidi has served as the Director of Nativity House, a drop-in center for the homeless in Tacoma, Washington; Co-Pastor of Savoonga Presbyterian Church, a Siberian Yupik Inuit congregation in Savoonga, Alaska; and Hunger Action Enabler for the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii, PC(USA). She is an appointee to Mayor Garcetti’s Interfaith Council and is published in Insights from the Underside: an Intergenerational Conversation of Ministers, and Mutual Transformation in Mission: Conversations in Liturgical/Missional Communities. She is married to Rev. Jason Gamble, pastor of Calvary Presbyterian Church in Hawthorne. They have two daughters, Hannah and Madeleine, and two sister cats, Missy and Molly. Heidi is a recent breast cancer survivor and loves hiking, biking, singing, walking along the ocean, and being a mom.
Oscar garcia-johnson
Oscar García-Johnson, associate professor of theology and Latino/a studies, assumed leadership of Fuller’s Centro Latino in October 2015 as associate dean, and in 2020 was named academic dean for the Center for the Study of Hispanic Church and Community (Centro Latino). Prior to joining the Fuller faculty in 2008, he taught for ten years as an adjunct faculty member at Fuller. He also served as a regional minister with the American Baptist Churches of Los Angeles for 11 years and planted four new churches in Southern California.
Born in Honduras, García-Johnson immigrated to the United States as a young adult to complete a degree in electrical engineering. While in college, he committed to Jesus Christ and experienced a vocational conversion into philosophical and theological studies, leading him to a life that has commuted between the academia and the church.
Amy girguis
Amy Girguis (married to Samuel Girguis) grew up in Washington state but has called Los Angeles her home since 2001. She is a Registered Nurse working at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles as a Lactation Consultant. One thing she loves about Los Angeles is it’s diversity and is thrilled to be involved with an organization dedicated to helping immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers make their home here.
Samuel m. girguis
Samuel M. Girguis, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and is currently the Director of the Doctor of Psychology program at Azusa Pacific University. Prior to working at APU, Sam worked as a Child/Adolescent Trauma Psychologist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Prior to that, he was on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Sam has conducted local and international research and training focused on trauma and resilience. Most recently, he has focused on supporting the Christian aid workers in Lebanon who are serving Syrian refugees. He is also offering consultation and training to Psychologists in Syria who are serving children impacted by the long and devastating Civil War.
Glafira Lopez
Glafira Lopez grew up in South Whittier, CA and has a Catholic background. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Chicana/o Studies and a minor in Labor and Workplace Studies. She is passionate about the work that empowers asylum seekers, immigrants, and young BIPOC to flourish spiritually and socially, and to deconstruct oppressive systems. She was also an organizer and minister for Jesus for Revolutionaries. As a student, she did work organizing students of faith and got involved with the work of Matthew 25 SoCal during its inception. She has since worked alongside the M25 Social Media Committee, the Ecumenical Collaboration for Asylum Seekers, and alongside Puentes.
Irma Suyapa Martinez
Irma Suyapa Martinez is an asylum-seeker from Honduras. In her home country, she was an organizer with farmworker women. She has five grown children, all of them in Honduras, and a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren in North Carolina. She is a devout Catholic but also loves Knox Presbyterian Church.
MICHAEL MATA
Michael currently serves as Director of Network Engagement and Leadership Development for TogetherLA. He has extensive experience in urban pastoral leadership and has taught at Fuller Theological Seminary, Claremont School of Theology and Azusa Pacific Seminary among other schools. Most recently he was appointed to the Los Angeles Mayor’s Interfaith Working Group (dealing with jobs, homelessness, climate change and immigration). Mata is an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene and holds degrees in biblical literature, religion, and urban planning.
Tina Mata
Tina and her husband, Michael, live in Central Los Angeles. A member of Beloved Everybody Church, Tina also remains in community with the First Church of the Nazarene and Immanuel Presbyterian, both in Koreatown, where she has served in various leadership positions including Facilitator of Children’s Spiritual Formation. Tina has also served on the Presbytery of the Pacific’s Commission on Ministry and the Immigration Task Force. Currently she is working with the Poor Peoples’ Campaign.
A participant in the formation of the Beverly Vermont Community Land Trust, having served as its President, a model of permanent sustainable affordable housing dedicated to low environmental impact, and as a founding board member of the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council as well as Earthworks Farm. She has engaged in a variety of roles that lean into authentic, vulnerable, radically inclusive, mutually transformative community life.
Permaculture regenerative principles, hospitality, community governance structures, sabbath economics and the Christian mystics captivate her attention. A focus of her soul work today is accompaniment of her mother in her later years
erica shepler romero
Erica Shepler Romero currently serves as a Spiritual Director for justice-minded followers of Jesus. A graduate of Purdue University and the Center for Spiritual Development, Erica has called LA home since the age of 23. Erica served with Cru Urban for 15 years until she married Dr. Robert Chao Romero and they co-founded Jesus 4 Revolutionaries, a ministry among activists. In 2016 she prayerfully conspired with Robert, J4R, Rev. Dr. Alexia Salvatierra and other local faith leaders to build the Matthew 25 Movement in Southern California. They love their local bilingual church, La Fuente Ministries, and they have two awesome kids.
Robert chao romero
Robert Chao Romero is an associate professor in the departments of Chicana/o Studies and Central America Studies, and Asian American Studies. He received his Ph.D. from UCLA in Latin American History and his Juris Doctor from U.C. Berkeley, and is also an attorney. He is the author of Brown Church: Five Centuries of Latina/o Social Justice, Theology, and Identity; The Chinese in Mexico, 1882-1940; Jesus for Revolutionaries: An Introduction to Race, Social Justice, and Christianity; and Mixed Race Student Politics. Romero is also an ordained minister and faith rooted community organizer.
Rev. Dr. Alexia Salvatierra, Madrina
Rev. Dr. Alexia Salvatierra is the author with Dr. Peter Heltzel of “Faith-Rooted Organizing: Mobilizing the Church in Service to the World” (Intervarsity Press). She is a Lutheran Pastor with over 40 years of experience in congregational (English and Spanish) and community ministry. She serves as Assistant Professor of Integral Mission and Global Transformation for the School of Intercultural Studies for Fuller Theological Seminary as well as Coordinator of a Professional Certificate program for Hispanic pastors and church leaders at Fuller’s Centro Latino.
melvin & ada valiente
Melvin and Ada Valiente are co-pastors of Primera Iglesia Bautista de Maywood. Ada Valiente is a professional social worker. The Valientes also founded and run WeCare, a ministry responding to the needs of Nicaraguan and other Central American asylum-seekers upon arrival, providing temporary housing and direct advocacy for release from detention.
Nancy Wang Yuen, Ph.D.
Nancy Wang Yuen is a sociologist and pop culture expert. She is the author of 'Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism' and co-author of 'Tokens on the Small Screen: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Prime Time and Streaming Television.' She has appeared on PBS, NPR, NBC Nightly News, BBC World TV, Dr. Phil, New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. She is a guest writer at Newsweek, Elle, HuffPost, and Self.
Spencer yuen
Spencer Yuen is a software engineering professional specializing in search engines and big data. He has built high-volume search infrastructures. He is passionate about social justice and lives in southern California He holds a M.S. in Computer Science from University of California, Los Angeles.
Grace Roberts Dyrness
advisory Board
Grace Roberts Dyrness is a community development consultant and professor. She has taught at the University of Southern California, Azusa Pacific University, and Fuller Theological Seminary, as well as institutions in Philippines, Indonesia and Kenya, with a focus on public service in an urban setting, social context of planning, community and transformational development, and sustainable tourism. Her approach has been to use advocacy planning and participatory approaches to engage people in urban communities to envision their own future and chart a path towards it. Grace has had many years of experience working in the nonprofit sector in developing nations and inner cities within the United States. Much of her research has focused on religion and immigrant women, particularly in Los Angeles, and she has written numerous articles and book chapters on these issues. She was raised in Costa Rica and considers that her heart home. Currently, she lives in Altadena, CA, with her husband, Bill, professor emeritus at Fuller Seminary, and are members of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena. They have 3 adult children and one grandchild.
terri larson
advisory board
Terri is co-president of Cities Together (along with Dr. Mary Glenn), a faith based non-profit organization committed to theory-driven and practically rooted training, facilitation and coaching that undergirds leaders with the tools, resources and support needed to lead in their neighborhoods and communities. Through her ministry, Terri coaches, leads strategic planning, facilitates spiritual formation, trains in asset based community development and builds capacity for leaders and their organizations. In addition to her role as a gifted coach, she provides facilitation in Participatory Strategic Planning and Results Based Management. Terri has worked in the community for three decades, most recently as the Co-Director of City Net, an organization focused on collaborative leadership in Southern California cities. She is certified as a coach by the Christian Coach Institute and certified as a trainer in Group Facilitation Methods with the Institute of Cultural Affairs. Terri also serves as a senior leader, coach and board member with Communities First Association.
Lexa merlo
Advisory board
Mujer, mom, wife, hija, sister, amiga, seasonal MAT student. Honduran born, crossed the border as an accompanied minor at age eight. Married to my best friend and co-adventurer Oscar Merlo. Mom of two spirited and empowered young ladies. Love to travel and learn about different cultures, especially through their gastronomy and history. Introvert, reinvigorate in solace. Love nature, especially experiencing it through gardening. I can sense God’s nurture through nature in the lessons I’ve discerned in horticulture. Earned a B.A. in Religion and Philosophy. Admissions Counselor at Fuller Seminary - Centro Latino and volunteer Mentor for Fuller Puentes student group.
Oscar Merlo, ph.d
Advisory board
Oscar Merlo is passionate about empowering the new generations with the fire of the Holy Spirit, impacting the world for Christ. In the last twenty years, he has served in executive leadership positions for profit and nonprofit multinational institutions like Target Corporation, ConAgra Foods and AMEA (Alberto Mottessi Evangelistic Association). Today, he is the Founding Director for the Center for the Study of the Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit, helping to bridge the gap between intellect and academics with the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit in vocation and student life.
Joe Roos
Advisory board
Joe Roos was a co-founder of Sojourners magazine and Publisher for 27 years. He is a retired pastor in the Mennonite Church USA. He is also privileged to host an asylum-seeking man from Honduras. Joe is married to Cheri Herrboldt and father to our daughter, Anjali.