About Us

P. Wayne Musselman

Chair

Wayne Musselman joined the Board of Directors in February 2006 and is the current Board Chair. He was most recently a Senior Partner with Deloitte & Touche, Canada. He has extensive financial, business and international experience with global audit clients of Deloitte, including Royal Bank of Canada, CIBC, Prudential Insurance Company of America, and Mitsui. He was responsible for directing the Japanese Services Group of Deloitte Canada and was a Board Member of Deloitte's Global Japanese Services Group. Wayne acted as the Chief Agent for foreign fraternal benefit societies and has been active on boards of several not-for-profit corporations.

He has been an advisor to many Canadian companies establishing businesses in Asia, and to Japanese and Chinese companies establishing operations in Canada. Wayne is a member of the Institutes of Chartered Accountants of Ontario and Quebec. He was elected a fellow of the Ontario Institute in 1985. He has published financial reports and has spoken on topics related to the financial services industry. He is a Director and Treasurer of Missionary Health Institute, Community Bible Study and Canadian Fellowship Foundation.

Geoff R. Bellew

Vice-Chair

Geoff Bellew is a business executive with over 40 years' experience in the financial services, technology and consulting services industries. He has extensive business skills at senior executive levels and has served in a senior executive capacity with Scotiabank, Manulife, ING, Aegon, and Dspfactory. He is currently serving as President and CEO at Southbridge, a Waterloo Region-based investment management firm, guiding the assets of the Bridgeway Foundation.

Geoff is an active community volunteer. He has served many not-for-profit and faith-based organizations and is currently a Director on the Board of Habitat for Humanity Canada, Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region, Waterloo Public Library and Grand River Hospital. In business and in the community, Geoff has established himself as a passionate, trustworthy and responsible collaborator.

Karen C. Bjerland

President and CEO

Karen is President and CEO of FaithLife Financial. Since joining FaithLife Financial in 1980, Karen has played pivotal roles in a number of areas where she assumed increasingly senior roles including Regional Sales Manager, Fraternal Administrator, Director Field & Branch Services, as well as Vice-Presidential roles in Member Services, Field Services, Brand Development, Fraternal and Sales. She became the organization's first female President and CEO in September 20, 2010.

Karen is known for her leadership skills, her strong communication and organizational development skills, as well as her ability to manage change. She's passionate about stewardship and servant leadership, which she expresses through her work on several non-profit boards, such as Lutheran Homes Kitchener Waterloo and the Canadian Fraternal Association.

Dale E. Wilcox

Dale Wilcox is President and co-owner of WATMEC Ltd., a workplace training and development company, dedicated to increasing employee performance in organizations throughout Canada. A business entrepreneur, Dale provides expertise in marketing, human resources and organizational development and has over 20 years of boardroom experience. Dale has been a FaithLife Financial Board member since 1999.

Originally from Chesley, Ontario, Dale is past-president of the Canadian Society of Training and Development and has served on various church committees. Currently, she is on the advisory board of eLearn Campus. A founding member of the International Alliance for Learning, Dale is also a member of the Canadian Professional Sales Association and the American Society for Training and Development.

Christopher J. Kopka

Chris Kopka describes himself as a poet by passion, a lawyer by training, and a business strategist by accident. His formal title is Vice President, Strategic Development at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Chris leads a nimble, dedicated team at Thrivent Financial that develops grassroots-based initiatives with a heavy emphasis on integrating faith, financial security and community development - outside the Lutheran community.

A child of New England, Chris became a Midwestern adult, graduating from the University of Michigan in 1990 with a history degree and a law degree from the University of Minnesota. Chris serves as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota Law School and a director on the Board of FaithLife Financial. He is a frequent author and speaker on fundraising and development, law and ethics, the financial services industry and cooperative business models.

Keith W. Golem

Keith Golem has been a Board member since 2004. He served as Board Chair from February 2006 to February 2009. He is a former vice-president with Sun Life Financial who retired after 36 years of service. Between 1990 and 2004, he held senior management positions in Human Resources and Group Benefits. After retiring from Sun Life in 2004, Keith established a consulting business coordinating the development of business continuity plans within Sun Life's Group Benefits division.

A graduate of the University of Waterloo with an Honours Bachelor of Mathematics degree in Actuarial Science, he attained the designation of Associate of the Society of Actuaries. During his career he participated in numerous management training programs at Queen's University and Harvard University. Knowing first-hand about hearing impairment, Keith has volunteered extensively with the Canadian Hearing Society. Keith served on the CHS Provincial Board for eleven years, including two years as Board Chair.

Ronald W. Walter

Ron Walter was elected to the FaithLife Financial Board of Directors in 2010. He offers expertise to the FaithLife Financial Board in the areas of board governance, policy development and fiscal discipline in varying economic climates. A life-long resident of Saskatoon, Ron graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Ron worked with the Saskatoon Public School Division for 13 years gaining experience in insurance, pensions, board policy and finances. He holds an Advanced Class A certificate in local government administration. Ron is a life long member of St Paul's Lutheran Church in Saskatoon and is currently serving as President of the congregation.

Sheryl A. Teed Callum

Sheryl A. Teed Callum joined the FaithLife Financial Board in February 2011. From Toronto, Ontario, Sheryl recently retired as a partner of Ernst & Young LLP. She is a Chartered Accountant with her FCA designation, and her primary focus during her 35 year career was in the financial services sector.

Sheryl has experience as a Director on the Boards of a number of not-for-profit organizations and has provided advice to Boards in a number of industries including financial services, healthcare, universities, technology, and pharmaceuticals. Sheryl's passion is for not-for-profit companies.

Stanley W. Lee

Stan Lee has been a FaithLife Financial Board Director since 1994. A chartered accountant, Stan owns and operates an accountancy business in Vancouver, which serves over 900 individual and 250 corporate clients. Before opening his own practice, he worked for nine years with a major accounting firm in Burnaby. He received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia, and his CA designation from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC.

Stan is a member of the Department of Stewardship and Financial Ministry of the Alberta-British Columbia District of Lutheran Church-Canada and has served as the Chair of the Finance Committee and on the Audit committee. Active in his church, Stan is currently Chairman of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Vancouver. He also provides occasional simultaneous translation (into English from Cantonese) during his congregation's Sunday services.

Walter S. Rugland

Walter Rugland retired in 2002 as Executive Vice President of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Thrivent is among America's largest non-stock life insurers. In the 23 years prior to service at Thrivent he was a Consulting Actuary and Principal of Milliman, an international consulting and actuarial firm. Walter is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He holds honorary Fellowships in the actuarial associations in England and Scotland. He received a Bachelor's degree from Luther College, Iowa, and a Masters of Business Administration in Actuarial Science from the University of Michigan. He has received Luther College's Distinguished Service Award, as well as recognition for lifetime service by his profession.

Walter also serves as past-chair of the board of ThedaCare, a not-for-profit health provider, chair of the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value and vice president of the Wisconsin Historical Foundation. He has served as treasurer of the Hartford Stage Company, chairman of the Community Foundation of the Fox Valley Region and is secretary/treasurer of the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. A Rotarian, he is also past chair of the Luther Institute in Washington, D.C., and the Actuarial Foundation, and is an emeritus governing regent of Luther College.

Ronald E. George

Ron is a private consultant who specializes in the management of computing technology and commercialization. He was the founding President, CEO and Vice-Chairman of ACTC Technologies Inc., a custom software engineering company. He has served as Executive in Residence in the Faculty of Management at the University of Calgary. Previously, he was a Professor of Computer Science and Director of Academic Computing at the University of Calgary. He earned his Doctorate in Management Sciences from the University of Waterloo, and his bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Saskatchewan.

In addition to his consultation roles with governments, Crown corporations and industry, he has been active in computer societies in Canada. He served on a number of company boards in the technology sector, and was a member of the board of the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO). Active in church and community, Ron served on the board of Concordia University College, Edmonton, and has been a member of the Faculty of Management's advisory board at the University of Calgary.

Lester H. Stahlke

Les Stahlke has spent his career in leadership positions in churches and not-for-profit organizations. He received his Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri and is an ordained member of the Lutheran clergy. Les has served in many capacities throughout his career. He was a founder of the Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots (LAMP) serving remote areas in Northern Canada. He has also served as a board member, Board Chair and Vice-Chair of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) of Canada.

Les developed the Relationship Model™ of governance, leadership and management. The Relationship Model™ proved its ability to meet the governance and management needs of complex international organizations. Since 1999, Les has applied the Relationship Model to churches and not-for-profit organizations in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He travels extensively training boards in governance and strategic planning. Following his service with MAF, Les formed GovernanceMatters.com Inc. to support the governance needs of not-for-profit and church organizations.