Background: Artists Together submission from Corey Jamison | View Full Image
About Us
Catalyst Team
Brad Lomenick leads the Catalyst team, and although his official title is executive director of Catalyst, he’s really more like the Hannibal of the Catalyst A-Team. He was once struck by lightning while installing a barbed wire fence in Colorado, and fortunately for us, he survived with supernatural powers that make him supremely attuned to the needs and desires of next generation leaders. Before leading the charge on Catalyst, he helped lead a cool magazine called Life@Work and did consulting with lots of companies. He really enjoys convening and networking with leaders, and for several years after college, he rode horses for a living in Colorado. His favorite road trip snack is diet coke, wheat thins, and original corn-nuts. Brad considers it his personal mission to ensure that everyone everywhere understands the greatness of a Joey burrito from Moe’s. And he hopes maybe someday he can be a professional golfer.
Melissa Kruse joined the Catalyst team as an intern shortly after graduating from Stetson University. Just to show how far your dreams can take you in life, she now serves on the team as the Quarterback of All Things Catalyst. She makes a wicked good cake and will absolutely be on some kind of Food Network Cake Challenge one day. Everyone who knows her loves her, and not just because of the cake thing. She also has a slight addiction to coffee. And by “slight,” we mean severe.
Chad Johnson is a Catalyst veteran, having served on the team for over five years, most recently as the head Concierge and leader of the sales team. He has an infectious personality, a funny little habit of twisting his hair, a really sweet and patient girlfriend named Kim, and a nice mom. Chad holds the record for wearing a different Catalyst t-shirt every day for consecutive days (21 days, if you’re interested in challenging him). He loves everything sports and is known as the company athletic director.
Dwayne Melton serves on the team as a Catalyst Concierge, a fitting role for a guy who loves both Catalyst and concierge-ing. He is a sports fanatic and openly, freely admits his addiction to ESPN. Growing up, Dwayne wanted to be a pro baseball player – he loves the game and couldn’t think of anything better than having Camden Yards as his office. Instead of baseball, Dwayne traded up to the Catalyst team and loves being part of a movement that has such an incredible impact on people’s lives. Dwayne and his wife Becky have a beautiful 3-year-old daughter named Norah.
LV Hanson’s name really is LV, with no periods. It’s not an abbreviation – his name is LV, and he has a brother named DR. He technically has an office on the Catalyst sales team, even though a lot of the time he’s set up in a 1985 Volkswagen Vanagon, fully wrapped with Catalyst insignia. Towering above the rest of the team at 6’ 5”, he’s a former professional volleyball player who was once mentioned on The Price Is Right by his roommate, who made it on stage with Bob Barker.
Beth Nelson loves things that are shiny and colorful, and thus serves as the chick in charge of Catalyst marketing. She is also the editor of the Catalyst GroupZine, having an unnatural affection for good grammar and punctuation usage. Beth is currently saving up to book her spot on the first commercial flight to the moon, having always wanted to be an astronaut (yes, when she was 8, but also at 29). She is married to her best buddy, Mike Nelson, and besides their living room, there’s nowhere on earth they’d rather be than Italy.
Jesse Phillips is the Catalyst Special Projects Ninja and editor of Catalyst Monthly. He loves graphic design, scavenger hunts, and creative innovation. He’s a church practice nut, and he’s always reading the latest book, magazine, or blog. Jesse’s greatest desire is to see the Body of Christ effectively loving outsiders and building itself up in love “by what every joint supplieth.”
Ben Arment recently joined Catalyst as the Innovation and Experience Director with his first big program launching on the West Coast Spring of 2009. In 1995, Ben was a White House intern with Monica Lewinsky, which fortunately kept him from pursuing a career in politics so he could eventually join the Catalyst team. Ben and his wife, Ainsley, started a church in Reston, VA in 2001 along with other endeavors such as the White Board Sessions. Since the age of 12, Ben has dreamed of one day opening an ice cream parlor named “The Cocoa Nut Hut,” but for now will hold on to that as a dream as he is fully engaged in bringing his vision for Catalyst to life. Ben and Ainsley have two boys - Wyatt, age 4, and Dylan, age 2. You can keep up with all things Ben Arment by reading his blog at www.benarment.com.
Brian Cole got his first grown-up job with Catalyst in 1999, and is still with us today as the Production Manager. One might call him a gadget guru, as he has always gravitated towards technology. His first “production” job was rewiring all the TVs and speakers at the local Radio Shack, and shortly after that, he changed his major from Math and Science to Audio/Visual Production. Brian is passionate about serving people and being part of a dynamic team, and it’s the dynamic team that he works with each year that he loves most about Catalyst. Brian did not step foot on an airplane until the ripe age of 22, when he went on a 40-day backpacking trip to Europe. Now besides traveling, Brian enjoys reading C.S. Lewis, anything outdoors, and spending time with his friends and his wife, Akemi and their two boys, Kalen and Kai.
Dustin Ahkuoi has a silky smooth voice and he enjoys using it to talk to people about Catalyst. He just recently joined the Catalyst team and he is pumped to be a part of such a great crew. As a kid Dustin once spent the night at professional wrestler Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka’s house and in that same outing went swimming with Duane “The Rock” Johnson. Dustin is a lover of music and has the uncanny ability of finding the perfect song for every Catalyst office event. He is a huge fan of all things “Old School” and enjoys the fact that the Catalyst team allows him to wear his 1980’s Air Jordan’s as business attire. Dustin is a product of an incredible church plant growing up and knows the impact that just one person can make on the lives of many. He and his beautiful and gifted wife Miriam live in Buford, GA.
Catalyst Interns
Sabrina aspires to one day be part of the West Coast Catalyst team. She is currently a senior at Georgia State, where she is pursuing her degree in Managerial Science. The creative culture and energy along with the motto of “Work hard, Play hard” are her favorite things about working at Catalyst. Her ideal place to be everyday is on the beach. She is passionate about family, music, and photography, and hopes to spend part of her life traveling around to see the world.
Ansley is a true Georgia peach, being born and raised in Augusta. Ansley will be a sophomore at Georgia Southern, where she is majoring in Public Relations. Her favorite aspect of Catalyst is how intentional relationships are built. She has an addiction to Starbucks and her adorable 2-year-old nephew. You know you are loved by Ansley when she gives you a quirky nickname, and has already nicknamed her fellow interns LaMo and SaJo.
Lara grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Divinity at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Besides meeting Ken Coleman, Lara’s favorite thing about Catalyst is the people she gets to interact with on a daily basis. Lara left a piece of her heart in Stockholm, Sweden in 2004, and believes she will one day make a home there.
Catalyst Extended Family
Kevin Sterner is passionate about storytelling and it’s ability to persuade, impact and “open the eyes” of the human heart. His company Brandpoet™ helps ministry organizations, non-profits, best-selling authors and Fortune 500 clients craft and tell remarkable stories that differentiate them in their marketplace. Kevin has lead the creative marketing and graphic design efforts behind Catalyst for the past 7 years. When he is not oozing some sort of creative brilliance, you’ll likely find him traveling with his wife and four kids, enjoying “kayak therapy”, continuing his self-sponsored tour of the world’s great steakhouses, or laboring to write a bio in the third person.
Lanny Donoho
President and Creative Director of BigStuf Productions, formerly Youth Ministry Resources, Lanny has been working with kids, producing events, and creating environments for ministry for … seems like 43 years, but probably more like since 1975.
He’s the brain behind the BigStuf Camps and has been the emcee/host guy for those events, as well as Atlanta Fest, DCLA, CHIC, Catalyst Conference, Orange Conference, his kid’s birthday parties, and KidStuf at North Point Community Church. He does some creative consulting for a bunch of Christian and secular organizations and his mom is really proud of him.
Most recently, Lanny founded the 410 Bridge. This non-profit organization is focused on partnering churches in America with churches in Kenya to help meet the specific needs of Kenyans. Since visiting Kenya in 2005, Lanny has had a passion to use the resources on this side of the world to help and equip people on the other side of the world.
He wrote this bio himself, and wondered why he typed it all in third person. He also figures that all the stuff in the paragraph really doesn’t mean a whole lot, but that his relationship with God does.
He and his talented and creative wife, Peggy, live in Alpharetta, Georgia, and are presently enjoying the challenge of raising their three sons: Landon, Andrew, and Evan.
Reggie Joiner
Reggie Joiner is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of The reThink Group (formerly known as FamilyWise), a non-profit organization providing resources to help parents and children rediscover family time. The reThink Group provides curriculum for preschool, children, families, and students over the Internet to churches throughout the US and 8 other countries.
Reggie is also one of the founders of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. In his role as Executive Director of Family Ministry, Reggie developed a new concept of relevant ministry for preschool, children, students and married adults over the course of his ten years with the church. Additionally, during his time with North Point Ministries, Reggie created KidStuf, a weekly environment where kids bring their parents to learn about God, as well as Grow Up, an international conference to encourage and equip churches to create relevant, effective environments for children, families and teenagers.
Reggie is the coauthor of The 7 Practices of Effective Ministries along with Lane Jones and Andy Stanley. He and his wife, Debbie, live in Cumming, Georgia, and have four grown children: Reggie Paul, Hannah, Sarah, and Rebekah.
Jeff Shinabarger is the co-founder of Fermi Project and has served as experience designer for all initiatives the past three years. He is gifted at creatively communicating the needs of the poor to the greater culture and is actively launching campaigns for International Justice Mission, Hope International, Rwanda Clean Water, Suffered Enough, Gift Card Giver, International Mission Board, and Mission Year. Prior to Fermi Project, Jeff spent three years as Brand Manager and Product Developer for Catalyst. Jeff is actively restoring East Atlanta Village with his wife, Andre, and boxer, Max.
Ken Coleman has been a member of the Catalyst team since 2003 and is the host of the Catalyst podcast as well as the creator and host of the Catalyst Red Carpet experience. In 2005, Ken left his full time role with INJOY to pursue his passion for broadcasting. His quick wit combined with a knowledgeable and comfortable style have earned him high praise and served him well in a variety of hosting roles. Ken has recently interviewed Hall of Fame Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski; Herman Boone, the inspiration for the film Remember the Titans; and several best-selling authors including Malcolm Gladwell, Marcus Buckingham, John Maxwell, Dave Ramsey, Kevin Carroll, and Tim Sanders.
