Executive Leadership

Mark Batterson
Lead VisionaryRead Bio
Mark Batterson serves as the Lead Visionary of National Community Church (NCC) the Dream Collective in Washington, DC. NCC owns and operates Ebenezers Coffeehouse, the Miracle Theatre, the DC Dream Center, Capital Turnaround, and Culture House. Mark holds a D.Min from Regent University and is the New York Times bestselling author of 25 books. His newest books include A Million Little Miracles and The Best Worst Day Ever, a children’s book he wrote with his daughter, Summer. Mark and his wife, Lora, have three adult children and reside in Washington, DC.

Joel Schmidgall
Lead PastorRead Bio
Joel was born and raised in Naperville, Illinois. He is an unpaid marketer for all things Chicago, especially the Cubs, Malnotti’s pizza, and Portillo’s beef-and-cheddar!
In his role as Lead Pastor, Joel oversees the pastoral staff for and pastors the DC Campus. He also provides leadership to missions and outreach initiatives, and serves on the weekend teaching team. Joel founded and now serves as President of the board of the DC Dream Center, a community center committed to inspiring and equipping youth and adults to reach their God-given potential.
Joel and his wife, Nina, are authors of Praying Circles Around Your Marriage. They live on Capitol Hill with their three kids: Eloise, Ezekiel, and Lorenza.

Heather Zempel
Executive PastorRead Bio
Heather Zempel serves as the Executive Pastor and a teaching pastor at National Community Church (NCC) in Washington, DC. With a background in biological engineering and experience as a policy advisor in the United States Senate, she brings a unique perspective to ministry, leadership, and discipleship. For twenty years, Heather led discipleship strategies and leadership development environments at NCC. Then, she leveraged those passions to build the Dream Collective, a network of pastors, church planters, artists, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders who partner together to pray for and work towards revival in the church, reformation in the Kingdom, and renaissance in culture. Now, she brings her energy and experience to stewarding team culture, equipping staff leaders, and leading experiences like the Easter Sunrise Service at the Lincoln Memorial. Heather is the author of several books including the most recent, Amazed and Confused and Big Change, Small Groups. She loves watching football, eating BBQ, and exploring National Parks, theme parks, and baseball parks with her husband, Ryan, and their fun-loving daughter, Sawyer.
Join the Team
Our staff team is a diverse blend of high-energy, creative individuals with an intense love for Jesus and a driving passion to help everyone become closer to Him. If you’re ready to roll up your sleeves to do work for the kingdom, we invite you to consider joining NCC’s growing team!
Staff

Joseph Antwine
Facilities EngineerRead Bio
Joseph was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and grew up in Fort Meade, Maryland. While in Anne Arundel County Joseph had the opportunity to learn different trades, but masonry and plumbing are some of his favorites. Joseph also enjoys martial arts, making music, and traveling. Joseph feels very grateful to have the opportunity to work at NCC and loves attending Sunday services to get the message that always seems to speak to instances pertaining to his life.

Christina Borja
TreasurerRead Bio
Christina is married to Dairo, who she met in Cuenca, Ecuador while doing a year-long missions term. The rest, as they say, is history. They live in DC and have two children, Giovanni and Cali. Christina served as our Chief Financial Officer from 2002 to 2019 and has had several different jobs over the years at NCC, including overseeing the construction of 201 F Street NE (coffeehouse, church offices, and meeting space for community events) and was our founding manager of Ebenezers Coffeehouse.

Noreen Bryant
Chief Communications Officer | Director, NCC Creative StudiosRead Bio
Noreen began her career in journalism, then worked in marketing and comms for her alma mater, the University of Michigan. She then directed comms for a nationwide bookstore chain. After she and her family moved from Michigan to Virginia, she was honored to serve as Comms Director at a venerable church in Bristow, VA. She joined the NCC team in 2016. At NCC, Noreen directs ministry, event, and strategic communications. She also leads NCC Creative Studios. She and her husband have two grown children.

Joel Buckner
NCC Learning DirectorRead Bio
Joel brings 17+ years of experience to NCC, having worked in higher education and the non-profit sector. He’s your go-to guy for career advice, creativity boosts, and just getting things done. He’s all about keeping it exciting—think accountability, inspiration, and transformation.
Beyond NCC, he’s a devoted husband and father, a coach, loves singing and photography, and loves traveling.

Rasheda Campbell
First Impressions DirectorRead Bio
Rasheda Campbell has served actively at NCC for the past four years. She is a management professional with experience in the healthcare nonprofit sector. A native Washingtonian now living in Alexandria, Rasheda enjoys exploring new destinations and savoring all things coffee (travel + coffee is her jam).

Ernest Clover
DC Dream Center Executive DirectorRead Bio
Ernest was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, before earning his BA in History from Defiance College, Ohio, and a Master’s in International Relations from the University of Denver. Starting his career in healthcare in Washington DC, he worked as Chief of Staff at National eHealth Collaborative. Ernest became a mentor at the DC Dream Center in 2009 and has served as Executive Director since 2012. As Executive Director he has overseen, developed, and helped lead the construction of the Dream Center building, the expansion of its programs and focus, as well as its role and function in the community.
In his spare time Ernest loves to read and play golf. He and his wife Rachel have been married for 15+ years and have three children: Dylan, Makenzie and Kai.

Austin Dailey
Director of DevelopmentRead Bio
Austin was born in Alpharetta, GA and raised in Southwest, FL, where he attended Southeastern University to study Organizational Leadership. Austin enjoys getting outside to enjoy the company of friends and family while staying healthy and active. He also enjoys road tripping across the country and exploring most of the country’s National Parks with his wife Summer. Austin and Summer attend NCC’s Capital Turnaround campus and enjoy doing life with their NCC small group family.

Cat Davis
Executive Assistant to the Executive PastorRead Bio
Cat was raised in St. Louis Missouri. She went to the Illinois Institute of Art- Chicago where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Interior Design. Through her in-school focus of commercial design, she transitioned into visual merchandising, styling, and window installations for large fashion retail companies. In 2018 Cat and her husband (Dustin) moved from Little Rock, Arkansas to Washington DC where they started attending NCC. She now serves as the Executive Assistant to the Executive Pastor.

Chris Douglas
Director, NCC Worship | Weekend Experience PastorRead Bio
Chris Douglas is a worship pastor and songwriter who is passionate for Jesus and His kingdom. Chris’s music is born out of the worship life of the local church.
Chris’s love for music led him to Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, VA, where he earned a BFA in Musical Theatre. Graduating in 2010, Chris left the theater stage and pursued a calling in ministry. Over the last decade of ministry, Chris fell in love with the Alpha Course, speaking locally and internationally at Alpha weekends and teaching on the gift of healing.
Chris, his beautiful wife, Kathryn, their daughter, Ryan, their son, Corbin, and puppy, Cooper, live in Northern Virginia.

Roderick Durham
Information Technology DirectorRead Bio
Rod descends from a line of engineers, carpenters, farmers, and blacksmiths and leads the Information Technology efforts at NCC where he oversees activities and resources that involve electricity and computer chips. His hometown is either Carson, CA or Springfield, VA depending on his preference but he has family roots in DC’s Ward 7. Rod is an MIT-trained engineer and has worked in positions at NeXT computer, the Naval Research Laboratory, and as a teacher at Cornerstone Community School among other consulting roles throughout the IT, defense, and intelligence industries. Rod enjoys working with driven teams to accomplish a mission. Rod has been married to his wife Taz since 2019 and they have two children, Gabrielle and Cory. As Rod feels aligned with NCC’s convictions, manifesto, and beliefs, he believes he’s at home in his role at National Community Church.

Heather Gonzales
Stewardship TeamRead Bio
Heather Gonzales has attended NCC since arriving in Washington as an intern in 1999. She and her husband, Nathan, have served as small group leaders, coaches and zone leaders. When she’s not chasing after her kids, Heather can be found at the National Association of Evangelicals, working to gather the many voices of evangelicals together to be more effective for Jesus Christ and his cause.

Britni Grellman
Dream Collective Manager of PartnershipsRead Bio
Britni is a Bay Area transplant who’s excited to call Washington, D.C. home. With roots in both Silicon Valley tech and nearly a decade in full-time ministry, she’s spent her career helping plant campuses, build teams, and create spaces where people can grow and connect.
She’s also worked with companies like Target and Apple, bringing marketplace insight and a love for strong culture and collaboration into every space she’s part of.
Now serving as Manager of Partnerships with the Dream Collective, Britni is passionate about building relationships and creating meaningful, purpose-driven partnerships.
Born and raised in San Jose, she brings her West Coast flavor (and loyal sports fandom) to the East Coast. She’s a big fan of locating the best Italian food and vanilla lattes.

Natalia Guzman
Missions CoordinatorRead Bio
Natalia was born and raised in a small town in the Caribbean coast of Colombia. She graduated from law school in her hometown in 2018. Shortly after that and pursuing God’s calling, she moved to Colorado to work on a cultural exchange program that would bring her to DC a year later. She joined NCC in mid-2019 and started serving with the first impressions team at the Lincoln campus. Later that year she would join the Living Room and learn about the Missions ministry at NCC. Natalia became a Missions Protege in 2020, and officially joined NCC Staff in 2022 as the NoVA Campus Missions Lead. Natalia is very passionate about people and creating relationships, she believes that Jesus’s perfect love is beautifully manifested through community. Her favorite things include outdoor activities, learning languages, and bringing people together.

Jillian Hays
Operations Project ManagerRead Bio
Jillian moved to DC in 2016 and began at NCC shortly after arriving. She is originally from Minnesota, the land of lakes, long winters, and nice people. She has a degree in Public Relations from the University of Northwestern – St. Paul. Out of college she did communications and development for a non-profit that focused on anti-trafficking and urban outreach. On NCC’s Operations Team, she coordinates the staff events, and works with our COO on development initiatives, organizational operations, and property management, putting together her love for details and spreadsheets with creativity and hospitality.
She is wife to Cameron, and mom to Rowan. They are often found in their kitchen, on a hiking trail, at a favorite bakery, or in their garden. So really anything involving food or nature.

Brian Hill
Stewardship TeamRead Bio
Brian Hill has been attending NCC since 1998. He and his family have been faithful shareholders throughout NCC’s journey. He, and his wife Kim, have served as small group leaders, coaches, and zone leaders. Brian is a practicing attorney at a law firm in D.C. and has faithfully served on our Stewardship Team since 2004.

Steffen Humbert
Missions PastorRead Bio
Steffen is a South Florida native and is committed to reclaiming the unfortunate “Florida man” headline. Formerly the lead youth pastor here at NCC, Steffen has committed over 10 years to various ministry roles all centered around missions imagination and spiritual formation. He is equally drawn to both the needs of the city and the contemplative offerings of the wilderness. Steffen, and his brilliant wife Celeste, are boy-parents to Theo and Jude and reside together in SE DC. When not in office, you’ll likely find Steffen somewhere going off trail, tinkering on a project, reading half a book, rambling about something geeky or trying to make friends with your dog.

Dee Jackson
Office ManagerRead Bio
Dee is a “southern girl” originally from San Antonio, Texas. She moved the DC area in 2003 when she made a job transition and it was, by far, the best decision she’s ever made. Her love of food and culture was part of the main reasons she loves living here, although, she still can’t find tex-mex as great as it is in San Antonio! She loves spending time with friends over a great meal and just being in community. You can also find her with a cup of coffee in her hand with a great book. Serving and loving God’s people are her passion. Dee has been a member of NCC since 2016 and joined the team January 2020. She is humbled and honored to serve, and also excited to see what God will do through her.

Jay Jay Janes
Production Director & Senior Production EngineerRead Bio
Jay Jay grew up all over as a Navy kid. He started touring as a guitar tech and production manager at age 16. This continued until his two daughters, Eva & Sierra, were born. Jay Jay toured with MXPX and Blink 182, but since 1999 has been working in production in ministry contexts. In his spare time, he loves working on guitars, hanging with his family and eating Thai food.

Matthew Johnson
Chief Operating OfficerRead Bio
Matt grew up in the southern tier of New York where he also served as Executive Administrator of a local church for more than seven years prior to coming to NCC.
Having graduated from Susquehanna University with a degree in Business Administration/Micro-Economics, Matt’s service in ministry found its origins over the course of a decade in fields as varied as law enforcement, commercial sales, and construction—experiences he draws from daily in the most unexpected ways. Prior to his current role at NCC, he served as our Interim CFO and Business & Operations Director.
Along with wife, Nicole, and sons – Gabe, Sam, and Nate, the family settled into the Washington, DC, area in 2013 and have a shared passion for authentic New York-style pizza.
On weekends, Matt’s love for anything mechanical, adventure activities, and being outdoors, makes mountain biking his favorite “leisure” activity. He can most commonly be found building something, fixing something, or planning how to build or fix something.

Caroline Kim
Graphic DesignerRead Bio
Caroline grew up in a lot of places—most notably, North Carolina, Colorado, and southwestern Germany. She moved to the DMV in 2021 after completing her undergraduate and a MA in Visual Communication Design. A lifelong artist-type, Caroline is especially interested in the space where creativity and theology overlap. She studied these connections in Fuller Seminary’s Master of Divinity program, from which she graduated in 2024.
Caroline supports NCC Creative Studios in stewarding the visual brand and communication of the church through graphic design. When she’s not designing, she enjoys reading and writing, exploring the city, conversing over coffee, making candles, or spending a quiet evening at home in Capitol Hill with her husband, Steve, and their cats, George and Metalord.

Lauren Loudan
DC Children’s PastorRead Bio
Pastor Lauren was born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley. She graduated from North Central University, in Minneapolis, MN, with a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Intercultural Studies and Children’s Ministries. She has spoken to a variety of audiences within the US, as well as internationally. It is her mission in life to show others the love of Christ while helping them discover their purpose and potential. Previously, Lauren was a kid’s pastor for 9 years and served as a missionary in Dakar, Senegal, working among the Wolof people from 2014-2016. She is a dedicated mother to her daughter, Lyla. In her free time, Lauren enjoys spending quality time with Lyla, listening to audiobooks, practicing yoga and Pilates, and being a karaoke superstar while driving in her car.

Juliet Main
8th Day Productions DirectorRead Bio
Juliet Main manages NCC’s marketplace ventures, The Miracle Theatre (a second-run movie theatre and live performance venue) and Capital Turnaround (a multi-use event venue in the historic building first known as the Navy Yard Car Barn).
Originally from Belle Fourche, SD, Juliet went to the University of Wyoming on a rodeo scholarship where she studied Communications and International Relations and Comparative Government. Upon graduation she moved to Washington, DC to work for a US Congresswoman. After five years on Capitol Hill, she escaped the Beltway and did a stint with Youth with a Mission (YWAM) in Townsville, Queensland Australia where she was part of an event management team that coordinated events in Australia, New Zealand and Greece.
Juliet began attending NCC when it was one church, one location, and Pastor Mark wore a suit.

Steve Martin
Senior AccountantRead Bio
Steve joined the NCC staff in 2017 and for a short time had the fringe benefit of working at the same place as his two daughters, Bethany Strumpell and Tiffany Dukes, before they moved on to other adventures. Although he no longer sees them every day at work, hanging out with them and their families is still one of the best things in his life.
Steve grew up in New Holland, PA, and loves to return to visit family amidst the picturesque farmland there. He likes rooting for Pennsylvania teams particularly the Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Steelers. Before joining the NCC Finance team Steve taught high school math for 26 years including 6 in Hong Kong and 18 in Clinton, MD. He now lives in a condo very near the Mount Vernon bike path in Alexandria, VA. Biking and running and walking on that trail are some of his favorite activities.

Nick Montgomery
Middle School Youth DirectorRead Bio
Nick is a DMV native who grew up in Loudoun County, Virginia. In college he studied Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science, and after that he worked a nine-year career in software engineering. Nick started in youth ministry as a volunteer in September 2017. After serving for many years as a small group leader, in the summer of 2023 he felt a specific conviction to go into full-time youth ministry, and he’s thrilled to officially join the youth ministry team in 2024.
Nick and his family are excited to be a part of NCC. They’re compelled by what the Lord is doing in our church, our community, and our city.
Outside the office, you’ll typically find Nick homeschooling his children, playing pick-up sports, nerding out about BibleProject’s podcast, and strumming his guitar.

Carmelle Norice
Stewardship TeamRead Bio
Carmelle was planted at NCC in 2022. She has served as a local missions team leader and on the NCC Worship team. A compassionate advocate for the vulnerable and marginalized, Carmelle serves as a Justice Ambassador for Prison Fellowship and a member of the Board of Directors for Christian Legal Aid of DC and The Frederick Douglass Project for Justice. Professionally, Carmelle works as a physician scientist at a global biopharmaceutical company.

Isis Pree
Kids Creative CoordinatorRead Bio
Isis is a Washington DC native. She has always had a heart for children. In 2016 she rededicated her life to Christ and was baptized in 2017. Since then, she felt a calling to work in ministry with children, but had no idea how that would happen. In April 2022, she and her husband joined NCC to build a faith-filled community. She started serving at NCC Kids at the DC campus and soon after became a kid’s ministry protégé. She desires to help children and youth develop, sustain and nurture their own relationship with God. When she is not dancing around with NCC Kids or playing games with NCC Youth, she is at home with her two little ones and husband.

Ramon Santiago
Business and Operations DirectorRead Bio
Ramon brings over 16 years of professional experience in non-profit and trade association strategic planning and project management to NCC’s Central Support Team. Key responsibilities as a member of this team focus on HR, Lease Management, Project Management, and insurance & Compliance. He holds a Masters degree in Tourism Administration- Event and Meeting Management from GWU and is a certified meeting professional and digital event strategist. He’s lived in the DMV for more than 24 years and has been part of the NCC community since 2007. In his spare time, he enjoys training in martial arts, traveling, watching adventure and sci-fi shows and films, and most importantly, spending time with family and loved ones.

Collin Savage
Youth PastorRead Bio
Collin was born in DC and grew up in PG County Maryland. Collin went to the University of Maryland College Park, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. It was during those years in college where Collin felt the Lord calling him to full-time ministry. He would go on to earn a Masters’s degree in Biblical Studies from Trinity Theological Seminary. After three years of teaching Bible in a school setting, Collin and his family joined the team at National Community Church. Collin and his wife, Rachael, have three amazing kids, Jedi, Kylo, and Mace. The Savage family enjoys Chick-Fil-A, sports, good books, and some good music.

Nina Schmidgall
Dream Collective Executive DirectorRead Bio
Nina was raised in northern California, in the heart of the Silicon Valley. She originally moved to the nation’s capital to work for the United States Congress which she did for just under a decade. After many years as the NCC Family Ministry Pastor, Nina now serves as the Executive Director of the Dream Collective – a network of church leaders, artists, and entrepreneurs. Check it out at thedreamcollective.com.
Growing up in California, Nina attended a performing arts high school which is possibly where she caught her flair for overly expressing emotions! She is a graduate of Westmont College in beautiful Santa Barbara. She received her Master’s in Ministerial Leadership from Southeastern University in Lakeland Florida. Nina is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Missiology through Southeastern University.
Nina and her husband, Joel, are the authors of Praying Circles Around Your Marriage. They are raising their three incredible kids on Capitol Hill, just steps from the United States Capitol and around the corner from at least five great coffee shops.

Robb Schmidgall
Online Campus PastorRead Bio
Robb and his wife, Nicole, and their kids, Noah, Sam Bert, Trudy, and Rosabelle, live in Gainesville (the one in Virginia). Robb, originally from the Chicago suburb of Naperville, is a fan of most things Chicago: food, sports, the skyline, but NOT the weather. A foodie, a sports fan, a hiker, a camper, a boater, a handy-man, and his kid’s favorite motivational speaker (cue Matt Foley).
Robb has participated in or led international mission trips to Kenya, Germany, Ethiopia, Argentina (2x), Mexico, Jamaica (2x), the Bahamas, and Haiti. He also has a strong commitment to mission here in our own country, and spent 2 years working in the Cabrini Green & Robert Taylor housing projects in inner-city Chicago.
Robb has lived in Gainesville for 10+ years, and remembers when Linton Hall Rd was single lane each direction, and Giant was the only shopping in town.

Maggie Seagren
Executive Assistant to Mark BattersonRead Bio
Maggie was born and raised on a farm in the Chicago suburbs but moved to Florida in 2018 to play college volleyball and get her undergrad in Organizational leadership and Missions/Evangelism at Southeastern University. While at SEU she served on missions teams to both Brazil and Dominican Republic and was able to do a study tour in DC during the height of the pandemic, where her love for DC began. After graduating, she continued to serve at SEU while being a graduate assistant for the Department of Spiritual Formation and getting her Masters in Ministerial Leadership. She joined the NCC team shortly after finishing her master’s and now serves as Executive Assistant to the Teaching and Vision Pastor.

Stephanie Smith
NCC Kids CoordinatorRead Bio
Stephanie loves helping kids discover just how much God loves them. As the Kids Coordinator at National Community Church, she’s passionate about creating safe, joy-filled spaces where children can grow in faith and wonder.
After spending 20 years moving from place to place around the country as a military family, Stephanie, her husband and their two children planted roots in Washington, D.C. when her husband retired from active duty military service. They found community at NCC and instantly felt at home. Before joining the team, she served as a Ministry Coordinator in New Mexico, and is currently earning her bachelor’s degree in Christian Ministries at Liberty University.
Outside of work, Stephanie enjoys going for runs, reading good books, and making memories with her family.

Paige Spence
Dream Collective Project ManagerRead Bio
Paige brings a love for creativity and innovation to the Dream Collective team, where she gets to merge her passion for people with her background in science and problem-solving. Before joining NCC, she worked in pediatric cardiac research at Children’s National and medical device regulation with the FDA and earned degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Illinois Tech and Johns Hopkins. Originally from Minooka, Illinois, Paige now lives in Maryland with her husband, Dustin, their son, Judah. And two kitties, Callie and Lucy. Paige is an avid waterskier, board game player, and is always up for a challenge.

Anthony Stewart
Facilities EngineerRead Bio
Growing up in the DMV area playing sports and going to school, Anthony has always had a love of working with his hands. He went to Towson University to become a business student realizing that wasn’t the fit for him. He saw the chance to work in IT after college. Being in that field and able to help others was such a blessing. He saw how much joy that brought him. His wife and he started in a small group and fell in love with NCC. Now, being able to work in the church while doing something he loves, he couldn’t pass. It’s a great chance to grow in spirit and talent.

Kiersten Telzerow
Pastor of GrowthRead Bio
Kiersten was born in Michigan but grew up in Pennsylvania. Found her love for traveling early on. She holds a Master of Divinity degree and a Doctorate of Ministry degree studying Discipleship in Urban Ministry. She’s married to her husband Matt and they have 2 sweet goldendoodles, Luna and Kala. They moved to DC in 2015 and have loved it ever since!
In her spare time, you’ll find her trying new coffee shops and sightseeing all over!

Andre Toney
Facilities ManagerRead Bio
A native of South Carolina, Andre joins the NCC Team as the Facilities Manager having more than 30 years combined professional experience in security, facilities operations, management, maintenance and construction in government and commercial buildings. A proud veteran of the U.S. Navy where he served in various construction battalions known as The Seabees, Andre also has a passion for coaching youth football ages 8 to 18 across leagues and programs in the DMV. Andre and his family are happy, grateful and proud to have joined the NCC Family.

David Tress
Lead CreativeRead Bio
Dave is the Lead Creative at NCC, overseeing All Things Video.
Dave grew up near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He went on to graduate from The Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio with a BFA specializing in Film and Video. He became a Videographer and Editor working at ID8 Creative in Vestal, NY, as well as with their sister company Favorite Color in NYC, creating many corporate and commercial productions. While in Vestal, he was very involved with his local church on their media team, as well as serving in the young adult ministry. Most recently, he spent a year in Lancaster, PA, doing freelance video work.
Dave believes that he was “created to be creative”, so when Pastor Mark said that “the church should be the most creative place on the planet”, he knew this was the place for him. He loves to spend time with friends, as well as create through drawing, writing, and making films. He currently resides on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Suzanne Vel
Executive Assistant to Lead PastorRead Bio
Suzanne came to NCC in 2019 from Northern VA. She is originally from Connecticut. She has a degree in Marketing and Statistics from Babson College in Wellesley, MA. Her career began as a data analyst, followed by marriage, kids, volunteering at school, being an administrative assistant to the Care Ministries department of a church, and most recently the Digital Experience Specialist for an elementary school in Loudoun County. In her free time she has trained for and successfully completed 8 full marathons and also spent over 1000 days seeking God’s direction for her life. From that experience she wrote a self-published book, sharing her passion to lead others to their best life possible too. She is always willing to give an encouraging word, be a cheerleader, or offer a smile. Suzanne and her family began attending NCC in 2016. Suzanne is honored to work at NCC as an Executive Assistant to Pastor Joel Schmidgall, and looks forward to fulfilling God-sized dreams every day, simply by coming to work.

Luke Waldenstrom
Production EngineerRead Bio
Luke serves as a Production Engineer at NCC and has been serving in church production or playing in a worship band since he was 15 years old. Luke grew up in southwestern Virginia, but found a passion for live audio and music production during his education in Audio Engineering Technology at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Luke also served in the Protégé Program with NCC in 2022 and was developed both technically and spiritually through that experience.
After college, Luke worked at live production facilities in Nashville and served as a Residence Director for two years at Belmont University before feeling called to move to Washington, D.C to begin his role at NCC.
In his free time, Luke loves to collect records and movies, read, and practice guitar.

Alexus Wilcox
Digital StorytellerRead Bio
Alexus is NCC’s Digital Storyteller, savvy in all things social media.
Alexus grew up in Raleigh, NC before joining the U.S. Air Force as a Public Affairs Specialist. She excelled at developing and implementing communication strategies and multimedia projects. Alexus believes that quality storytelling, told at the right time, in the right way, can inspire generations and make a lasting impact.
As the sole content producer for a 3-country deployment, she was awarded for superior performance during an effort to enhance U.S. relations with South America. She’s also worked as a Program Manager with the Department of Commerce to promote impactful partnerships between businesses, community-and-faith based organizations focused on equity, job creation, and economic growth.
Alexus holds multiple certifications in photojournalism, mass communication and project management. She played a dual role as actor and advisor for a 48-hour short film competition and won a 1st place team award in Denver, Colorado.
When she’s not crafting communication strategies, Alexus can be found at a coffee shop or restaurant around the city with a book in her hand or somewhere engaging in a physically adventurous activity.

Ryan Zempel
Pastor of Recovery & CareRead Bio
Ryan hails from the great state of Oregon, where he grew up in a log house his family built. He graduated from George Fox University in 1998 with a Computer Science degree and moved to Washington, DC to put his skills to use managing websites and social media.
At that time, Ryan started attending National Community Church and began dealing with issues of brokenness in his life. He recommitted himself to Christ and felt called to help others understand the truth about God’s love for them and grow into the fullness of who He created them to be.
He married the incomparable Heather Sawyer (who he met in 1999 on his first visit to an NCC small group) in 2004. In 2015, their extremely energetic daughter Sawyer Elizabeth joined the family and they haven’t had a moment’s rest since.
Ryan received an M.A. in Practical Theology from Regent University in 2011 and joined the NCC staff in September 2012. He serves as the ministry leader for NCC’s Celebrate Recovery program, coordinates NCC’s pastoral care team, and facilitates connections to professional therapists.

