Eric was born and raised in Virginia and has served with Cru for 25 years, including two years as Bill Bright’s traveling assistant. In addition to the U.S., he has been involved in projects to take the gospel to Venezuela, Africa, Australia, Kazakhstan, and Asia.
In 2016 Eric was named CEO of Cru Foundation. He has earned the Chartered Adviser in Philanthropy designation from the American College and enjoys helping others experience God’s pleasure in their stewardship. Eric and his wife Colleen have five children. They enjoy golf, soccer, volleyball, board games, and camping.
Bethany Ware was born in Torrance, California shortly before her family moved to Little Rock, Arkansas to join Cru staff with FamilyLife. Bethany was just 2 ½ and then at only 4 ½, Bethany repented and placed her faith in Jesus.
After graduating from high school, Bethany’s family was called by God to move to Italy to plant an evangelical church and reach Italians for Christ. After a year of cross-cultural training and ministry in Italy, both working with and ministering to Italians, Bethany moved to Orlando to join Cru in 2009 as a Donation Services Representative. Shortly thereafter, she received her bachelor’s degree in marketing. Over the years, Bethany has served on several Cru teams which has afforded her the ultimate Cru experience. Bethany now serves as Marketing Director and Donor Services Team Lead for Cru Foundation.
Bethany has been married to her husband, Kyle Ware, since 2018 and they reside together in Winter Park, Florida. Bethany is the oldest of five kids and enjoys her special bond with her family which has grown even more important since 2019, when she and her siblings lost their mom, Jeannette, to colon cancer.
Bethany enjoys serving people, but especially Cru donors. She has a heart for ministry and to see the Great Commission fulfilled. In her spare time, Bethany enjoys traveling the world, trying new restaurants, going to the beach and spending time with family.
Sully Alvarez is a native Floridian with her roots connected to the island of Puerto Rico. She was raised by a godly, amazing mom, her stepfather, and her grandparents, who were pastors for many years. Sully is newly married, she married Danny in April 2021.
Sully returned to Cru after ten years of pursuing other callings. Sully worked as a Shift Leader for a major grocery chain and as a Pre-school Teacher. At Cru, Sully also served as a Donation Verifier and Processor for almost five years before eventually returning to Cru as a Donor Relations and Gift Program Administrator for Cru Foundation. In addition to her work, Sully is a worship leader at her church.
Sully has a heart for generosity, helping donors create DAF accounts and connecting them with resources to expand their kingdom giving.
Emily is from a small town near Kalamazoo, Michigan where she grew up on a Christmas tree farm. After earning her education degree from Taylor University, she pivoted to working in the non-profit generosity space and hasn’t looked back. Her passion for walking alongside individuals to help discover where God has them giving in His kingdom is a joy birthed from her time on staff at Generous Giving. Emily has worked for nonprofits in Indiana, Michigan, and Alaska, consistently motivated by her desire for God’s people to be generous in a way that serves God’s kingdom richly and the giver joyfully.
Emily now resides in Traverse City, Michigan, with her husband Dave, daughter Anna (2021), and dog Kodak.
Emily loves fried chicken, has never met a stranger, and enjoys adventuring outside in every season (especially winter). In her free time, you can find her playing tennis, chasing a toddler, renovating her home, or watching the latest PBS Masterpiece drama. She also serves on the Leadership Collective with Women Doing Well and as Deacon of Events (party planner!) at her church.
Katie grew up in a small town in northern Indiana. After attending college at Miami University (of Ohio), she went back to the Hoosier state to complete her master’s and a law degree at Indiana University. Shortly after graduation, Katie moved to central Florida to work in the General Counsel’s Office at Cru Headquarters. She served as an in-house staff attorney and later, major gift representative with the Jesus Film Project. Katie’s passion for giving and helping others achieve their goals of generosity through the wise use of charitable tax law is what brought Katie to Cru Foundation. She loves helping donors make a difference with their Kingdom giving, both now and when leaving a legacy.
Katie is married to Matt and they have two children, Micah (2009) and Hannah (2010), and a dog named Sullivan. The Brubaker family resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Katie enjoys reading, meeting new people, playing in the woods with her kids, travel, large family gatherings, home DIY projects, dinner parties with neighbors, and jazz music. She also serves on the board of a local nonprofit that comes alongside refugee women and teen girls as they work to make their new communities home.
Heidi was born and raised in Southern California. She attended Cal Poly Pomona and received a degree in Business Management. Heidi has served with Cru since 1986. She has had the opportunity to serve in the Philippines, Russia, South Africa and New Zealand.
Heidi joined the foundation in 2001. Her degree in Business Management and training as an Estate Design Specialist have equipped her to serve ministry partners well. In her spare time, she likes to read, sew, cook and visit her niece, nephew and extended family in Southern California.
Stacey handles the office’s behind-the-scenes tasks. She manages financial transfers, keeps track of state filings, organizes calendars, and executes special projects. Her considerable administrative experience has equipped her with the tools she needs to keep the foundation running smoothly.
Stacey and her husband, Thomas, have 2 children. In her spare time, she likes to watch documentaries, partake in her husband’s cooking, and enjoy whatever her children are doing.
Keva grew up in Atlanta, GA, with six siblings. Shortly after moving to Columbus, Ohio, Keva met a friend who introduced her to a young life led by Christ. Fascinated and influenced by her Youth for Christ city life group, Keva accepted God and allowed the Father to lead her.
After high school, Keva was ambitious to work in the industry she believed the spirit was calling her to, so she moved back to Atlanta and took on college and two full-time jobs. After graduating in 2014 as a Health Information Technologist, Keva got her head start in healthcare while representing and assisting nurses, doctors, and pharmacists.
Keva always finds ways to find fellowship and community in church, no matter the city or state. Her family relocated to Orlando, Florida, in late 2020. Keva was introduced to Cru while in the midst of praying for a career change. She describes this time as her “reintroduction to the power and mercy of God.” Keva’s passion for God’s work and servant’s heart for helping others made her journey tremendously satisfying.
In the year of my 50th spiritual birthday, I have the remarkable opportunity to serve the Kingdom with Cru for a second time through the Cru Foundation! When I came to Christ through the Campus Ministry my life and career path changed, I met Ann my wife of 48 years on our first staff assignment, then over the next 27 years we raised our family of six children as supported field staff with Cru assignments including Campus, Inner City, and Executive Ministries.
The faith building experience of ministry partner development laid the foundation for an enjoyable sequence of career opportunities: development work with corporations and foundations, higher ed, major gifts, endowments and non-cash gift planning and estates. In God’s timing all have provided a lifetime of training to serve now as Senior Gift Estate and Design Specialist for the Cru family!
Janet has enjoyed more than three fruitful decades of ministry with Cru. First as an accounting student at Missouri State University, then showing the Jesus Film in remote areas of Argentina for two summers, and finally joining full-time missionary staff in 1989. After serving in the Southwestern US, East Asia, and then at the Orlando headquarters as Cru’s Retirement Plan Administrator, she found her niche with Cru Foundation. Janet serves as a Gift and Estate Design Specialist, combining her love of people with her technical skillset.
Janet is the proud mother of five children, including a set of triplets. However, one of the triplets developed profound handicaps and went from her mother’s arms to the arms of Jesus at age six. Janet’s own journey navigating loss and a special needs child has uniquely suited her to serving donors with sensitive family dynamics.
Serving her community is a passion and joy for Janet, as she leads groups at her church and neighborhood. She enjoys traveling, connecting with friends, funny memes and exercising on her rowing machine.
A native Texan and the youngest of four siblings, Melodie is a Baylor Bear who daily lives her personal mission of encouraging people, philanthropy and prayer as she joins the Cru family. She brings over 25 years of non-profit and ministry experiences to the Cru Foundation. Specifically, Melodie developed 20+ years of knowledge working at some of the nation’s most prestigious higher education and healthcare institutions in the areas of charitable gift planning, major and principal gifts. She facilitated generous givers by arranging over $250 million of outright, deferred and testamentary gift plans.
Melodie was affectionately given the nickname “Barnabas” by her church family when she lived on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC during 2000-2003. Melodie comes alongside multiple community agencies, school partners and student leaders, like Barnabas did John Mark, when she is not working with generous givers to advance the Great Commission. Barnabas later evolved into Barnaby Girl by 2012 to reflect Melodie’s passionate missions work and social media presence evangelizing, discipling and mentoring Gen Zs, or Zoomers as they like to say. Believing and living by Matthew 6:33, 28:18-20, Luke 12:48b, Ephesians 2:10, Melodie’s personal time is still devoted to Next Gen Zoomers, age 25 years and younger.