Meet Our New Interim Executive Director! • Presentamos a la nueva Directora Ejecutiva Interina de BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz
The Board of BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz is thrilled to announce that Reverend Dr. Doris García-Rivera has accepted our invitation to become the Interim Executive Director for the next two years!
Her term began last Monday, September 23, 2019, just two days before travelling to Charlotte, NC for her first board meeting.
“Perhaps you have come for such a time as this!”
About Doris
A resident of Carolina, PR, Rev. Dr. García or Doris, as she prefers, is a longstanding member of and contributor to BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz, a former member of the Board and a frequent speaker and participant in conferences and workshops on peace and justice.
“She has always related to the struggles in the street.”
Those who know her well share that Doris fights for public education, social change and conflict transformation. Her contributions in the development of training curriculum for peace and justice for missionaries and seminary students speak to concerns about identity, migrant issues and women’s rights. Becoming the first female president of the Seminary in Puerto Rico enhanced her sensitivity to women’s struggles in an ecclesial context, and her writings on the subject confirm this.
“Doris enjoys working with diversity of faith confessions, social situations, and ethnicity.”
A missionary, pastor and leader in the US, Latin America and the Caribbean with Indigenous communities, Dr. García thrives in multicultural contexts, successfully adapting materials and programs to meet specific needs. She has held leadership positions in both religious and lay institutions with extensive experience supervising staff, volunteers and processes from remote locations—an essential asset for this position.
“She has the gift of being able to convince people.”
Doris successfully launched two theological schools at the bachelor and certificate level, both in multicultural settings in Limón, CR and in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mx. As Chief Academic Officer of the Intercultural Mayan Seminary (IMS) in Chiapas, she was responsible for fundraising and proposal development.
As president of the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico, she raised over a million dollars in four years. During part of that time, she was operating in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. In spite of the difficulties involved in that disaster, she was able to build a large and diverse network of support to reopen the seminary, rebuild the school and create new projects.
Click here to find out more. • Contact Doris at doris@bpfna.org.
Our Gratitude
The current board would like to recognize the former Executive Committee of the board who worked tirelessly to bring Doris to our table: Mayra Picos-Lee, Michael Ware, Rick Harris and Fela Barrueto, as well as current executive search committee members Veronica Garibay-Bravo, Anita Peebles and staff liaison Katie Cook.
“Without your time and energy and passion, we would not be where we are today. God bless you!”
Our Time Together
In the first ten days, we defined core values to guide our work, discussed where we have been as an organization, populated our committees based on our skills and passions, considered our financial health and potential fundraising opportunities and thought through important questions about where we're heading. Oh yeah and we danced!
“We left the meeting energized, inspired and certain of great things to come for BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz”
Peace be yours from BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz!
