AAFCN Leadership
Meet the dedicated volunteers who serve on the Board of Directors, as Advisors, and on specialty Committees. We welcome any member to join the leadership team by participating on a Committee.
Board of Directors
Angeline David Brauer, DrPH, MHS, RDN
Executive Director
Dr. Brauer has served as the Health Ministries Director for the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists since 2016. She holds a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree in Nutrition from Loma Linda University School of Public Health and a Master of Health Science (MHS) in Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She previously worked at the Seventh-day Adventist Guam Clinic as wellness director and dietitian, and at Johns Hopkins as a senior research assistant.
Joan Payne, BSN, RN
President
Joan graduated from Atlantic Union College with an Associate Degree in Nursing and a BS degree in Behavioral Science, from Syracuse University with a BS in Nursing, and from the State University of New York Health Science Center with her Master’s in Nursing. She worked at St Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse, NY for 31 years as a nurse and Nurse Practitioner. She became the first FCN at the Westvale Seventh-day Church in Syracuse, NY and for the New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
Kathleen Coleman, MPH, BSN, RN
Past President
Kathy is Director of the Faith Community Health program at Adventist HealthCare. She graduated from Washington Adventist University from the BSN program and gained her Masters in Public Health from Loma Linda University. She has worked at Adventist HealthCare for 30 years in home health and cardiac outreach, trained as a Faith Community Nurse in 2003 and FCN Coordinator in 2014. She is co-founder of the Association of Black Seventh-day Adventist Nurses.
Sonia Wrate
President-Elect
Sonia received all three of her nursing degrees from Southern Adventist University (SAU), including an MSN as Nurse Educator with an emphasis in Community Health Nursing in 2011. Her career experience includes: medical/surgical nursing; community health; utilization review; home health; faith community nursing; office nursing; and higher education. In 2020, she retired from SAU, where she was an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing. Sonia is an active member of AAFCN and has served on multiple boards advocating for the health of various communities. She has been a Faith Community Nurse since 2000.
Lewelyn Cariaga, MS, BSN, RN
Member Liaison
Lewelyn is a natural-born Filipino as well as a naturalized US citizen. Growing up as a “sickly child” inspired her to become a nurse. She finished her Nursing degree in the Philippines and came to the US with her husband in 2003. She currently works at the University of Maryland Medical Center reviewing surgical outcomes under the Department of Quality and Safety. She completed the Faith Community Nurse training in 2012.
Betsy Johnson, BSN, RN
Education Director
Betsy is presently serving as Elder and Faith Community Nurse at Emmanuel Brinklow Adventist Church in Ashton, Maryland and is the Washington Metro Area Health Ministry Coordinator for the Allegheny East Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Betsy also serves on the Advisory Board for the Nursing Department at Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park, Maryland and has authored four books.
Cheryl Lindeman, BSN, RN
Membership Director
Cheryl always wanted to be a missionary nurse and graduated from Walla Walla College (University) in 1970 with a BSN, RN. She worked at Walla Walla General Hospital in Walla Walla for two years while her husband finished his education at Walla Walla College. While the children were growing up, she stayed home with them and worked part time in the medical field (physician”s office, hospitals and home health/hospice). Her experience has been mostly in med-surg but includes orthopedics, emergency room and home health/hospice.
Kimberly Graham
Public Relations Director
Kimberly Graham is the Director of Nursing Practice Standards at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta, GA. In this role, she leads and supports stakeholders and multidisciplinary teams in developing evidence-based policies, protocols, and procedures across the organization. Kimberly is committed to advancing nursing practice through innovation, collaboration, and integration of emerging technologies. She earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and a Post-Master’s Certification in Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialization from the University of Detroit Mercy. Kimberly is board-certified as an Adult Health Clinical Nurse Specialist by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Advisors
David Baer
NAD Treasury Advisor
David serves as Controller for the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists
Katia Reinert, PHD, MSN, RN, CRNP, FNP-BC, PHCNS-BC
General Conference Advisor
Dr. Katia Reinert serves as Associate Health Ministries director for the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist World Headquarters. She is a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner and Public Health Clinical Nurse Specialist. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Washington Adventist University, a Master of Science in Nursing from Catholic University of America and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nursing from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Reinert has a heart for ministry, and a passion for mission and global health.
Anthony A. Medley, DMin
Pastoral Advisor
Dr. Medley is Senior Pastor of Emmanuel Brinklow Adventist Church. He received his Masters of Divinity degree and his doctoral degree from Andrews University. He is also a certified pre-marriage and marriage counselor. Pastor Medley has a rich and extensive background of over 25 years in ministry. He has served as Youth Pastor, Pastor, Conference Youth Director, College Chaplain, Vice President of Student Services, Adjunct Faculty, Police Chaplain, and Senior Pastor.
Committees
Many of the day-to-day operations of AAFCN are carried out by dedicated volunteers. We welcome involvement by all members who have an interest in gaining experience in leadership.
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