Alumni Board of Directors
2011 Alumni Board

David Bender graduated from ORU with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education/K-12. He is currently in sales with Crane Merchandising System in Bridgeton, Mo. He and his wife, Beth (Huser-77), have three children.

Joanne Crain was a member of ORU's inaugural nursing class, in 1977. Her student activities included membership in Sigma Theta Tau (Nursing Honor Society), serving as an officer in the student nurses organization, and being highly involved in intramurals. Post-graduation, she organized the 10-, 20-, and 30-year reunions for the Nursing Class of 1977, and has served as an Admissions Recruiting Association recruiter. She has completed one term on the ORU Alumni Board and is currently serving her second term. Joanne is a nurse at Northwest Oklahoma Cardiology. She and her husband, Bruce, have four children and reside in Enid, Okla.

Greg Berg graduated in 1985 with a BA cum laude in New Testament theology and a minor in business administration. He is currently an assistant vice president for Merrill Lynch in Houston, Tex., a Chartered Retirement Planning Consultant®, a Certified Special Needs Advisor®, a Kingdom Advisor charter member, and an instructor for the Biblical Stewardship Series for the Timothy Funds. He has served on missions teams to England, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Trinidad, and the U.S.. He was a member of the Alumni Recruiters Association, is a member of the Admissions Recruiting Association, participated in a Summer Spruce up week, spoke at the 20-year class reunion and organized the 25-year class reunion. Locally, Greg serves on the boards of Action Ministries - Houston and Max Man Houston - Somebody Cares International, and is a past chapter president for Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International. He is a member of The Worship Center where he serves as a men's ministry leader, Sunday School teacher, Sunday School superintendant, a small group leader and a prayer partner. Greg is married to Romelia, has a daughter, Lonnie, and a granddaughter, Alexis.

Holly is the vice president of Growing Leaders, a nonprofit organization founded by Dr. Tim Elmore that provides leadership training for the next generation. She is responsible for all operations and marketing initiatives, including resource sales, events and donor development. Holly has over 5 years of executive experience with nonprofit organizations. Previously, she enjoyed a career in the health care industry founded on her nursing degree. Her most recent corporate position was vice president for a national pharmacy company. At ORU, Holly was in the RA program for three years and served on the university's medical missions team in Jamaica after graduation.

John Croyle earned a degree in finance from ORU. He went on to work in the audit department of The Williams Companies and then owned a local Tulsa business, Auto Trim Design, for several years. John has a CPA and in 2001 completed his finance MBA at Georgia State University. For the past 14 years he has been working with Enterprise Holdings (Rent-A-Car) as a Regional Controller. John is married to Naomi (Brisson-attended 1995); they have two children attending North Cobb Christian. They live in Atlanta and attend North Metro Church. John has served the church through facilitating community groups, assisting in children's ministry, and in a leadership role as deacon. While at ORU John was an Academic Director and actively involved with the Administrative Management Society, Entrepreneur Club, Christian Service Council, and Teen Mania missions. More recently he has recruited for ORU and helped organize local Atlanta ORU alumni events.

Mike Meleen graduated from ORU in 1993 with a degree in biology and received a law degree in 1998 from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Mike is a shareholder at Commercial Law Group, P.C. in Oklahoma City where he practices in business acquisitions, venture capital investments and real estate. He currently serves on the board of directors of Petra Field Camps, Inc., a nonprofit corporation founded by his father, Dr. Nathan Meleen, which provides spiritual and educational support to ORU students and others in the Tulsa community. Mike and his wife, Shiloh (Tyler-ORU 1996), have three daughters and are active in church at Lakeside Assembly of God in Oklahoma City.

Joey Odom graduated in 2003 with a degree in marketing. He is a commercial real estate broker with Stan Johnson Company in Tulsa. As a student, Joey was responsible for founding the Mabee Maniacs in 2001. Currently, he serves as the chairperson of the Student-Alumni Relations Committee on the Alumni Board, which helps him connect with current students and assist them in their life at ORU and beyond. He and his wife, Cristin (Lombardo 03), and their two children, Harrison and Gianna, live in Jenks and are actively involved at First United Methodist Church in Tulsa. Joey and Cristin currently serve in the Wingbackers program as Wingbackers to Youngblood.

Rob Thompson received his bachelor's degree in organizational/interpersonal communications and is now a master of management candidate. As an ORU student, he served as an Outreach Assistant, missions team leader, wing chaplain, and Spiritual Life Dorm Director. Post-graduation, Rob worked as a territory manager in the ORU Undergraduate Admissions office, recruiting students to the university from the southeastern part of the United States. Rob is currently a development officer with the Hospitality House of Tulsa. He is also very involved in the young adult ministry at his church (www.3Dtulsa.com) and serves on the board of the Eastern Oklahoma Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Rob lives in Tulsa with his beautiful 3-year-old daughter, Harmonee.

With her degree in organizational/interpersonal communication, Anna (Grothe) Zarlengo is the ninth member of her immediate family to graduate from ORU. During her time as a student, Anna worked with the sports marketing department as Eli the Golden Eagle, served in Music Ministries, and led Worship Mission teams to New Zealand, the Philippines, and the East Coast. She also enjoyed participating in ORU Theatre Arts as a drama/theatre minor. Anna and her husband, Stephen, live in Tulsa where he is finishing his M.A. in the ORU College of Theology and Ministry, and she is employed at The Vintage Pearl.

Camella (Barnhill) Binkley graduated from ORU in 1980 with a B.A. in psychology. While at ORU, she was an RA and Head RA, involved with Music Ministries, and on staff. She is currently the owner and chief operating officer of Express Employment Professionals in Waxahachie, Tex., a franchise staffing company with over 600 offices nationwide. Camella is also the vice president of New Name Mission Society International, a nonprofit organization that she and her husband founded to offer hope to the hopeless. Their charitable outreaches and programs have helped thousands of disadvantaged people, especially orphans, in Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mexico, Belize, Rwanda and Nicaragua. Camella is involved in leadership both in the community and in her church, Trinity of Cedar Hill, Tex., where her focus remains helping those in need. Camella and her husband, Bruce, reside in Ovilla, Tex. They have two adult children, Jessica and BJ, and three grandsons: Jackson, Noah and Bradley.

Chris Busch (73) wed Linda Salisbury (74) following his graduation from ORU. He was elected Student Association president his senior year and served as vice president for Business Affairs during his stint on staff at ORU. A member of the founding Alumni Board, Chris served as its chairman for two years. All the Busch children are ORU graduates: Christina Cook (00), Kim Mohaupt (03), and Ryan (07). During the recent transition at ORU, Chris was asked by Trustees Board Chair Mart Green to serve as a member of the newly formed Board of Reference. Chris is the founder and president of LightQuest Media, Inc., a Christian media agency.

William T. Everette, Jr., earned his juris doctorate from ORU's O.W. Coburn School of Law. As a student, he was a member of the Student Bar Association, a class officer, and a law school research assistant. He also served as an alumni recruiter. Today he is an attorney in the U.S. Air Force, working out of Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss. He is a member of the Knights of Peter Claver, a pastoral council member, and has served as a youth minister and director of Religious Education. He and his wife, Anna, have three children.

Max James received his bachelor of science in business administration from ORU in 1975. While at ORU he was a manager for the basketball team and was heavily involved in intramural sports. Max has also been involved with the ORU Alumni Association for several years. He has owned his own computer software company since 1978. In addition to his software company, in 1991, he and his family helped organize the ministry "March for Jesus" in the United States, and have been the exclusive national distributor for their products. They have lived in Austin, Tex., since graduation, where they have served in various church positions. He and his wife, Carol, also an ORU alumnus, have been married for 32 years and have three children, a daughter-in-law, a son-in-law, and three wonderful grandchildren.

Joel LaCourse graduated in 1984 with a degree in accounting and received a juris doctorate in 1996 from Regent University (formerly ORU's O.W. Coburn School of Law). He is the founding partner at the law firm of Stoops & LaCourse, PLLC, a successful litigation firm in Tulsa. He currently serves as president of the board of trustees at Metro Christian Academy and is a member of several other nonprofit organizations. He just finished a term on the board of the ORU Golden Eagle Club and currently supports ORU Athletics as a Champions Club member. Joel served as adjunct faculty in the ORU School of Business, teaching classes in nonprofit finance and accounting, and also was ORU's financial controller from 1986 to 1992. As a student, Joel was a member of the Accounting Honor Society and was an RA. He and his wife, Kirsten (90), have three children and are active in church at The Life Connection.

McLane Layton has a B.A. (1979) and a JD (1982) from ORU, and an M.A. (psychology, 1992) from George Mason University. At ORU, she was an RA, Student Association senator, and women's basketball team member. She served as the first president of the ORU Law School Alumni Association and was on the Alumni Board. Her career path has included the Solicitor's Office in Washington, D.C., U.S. Senator Don Nickles' office, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the government relations firm of TCH, and her own consulting firm, Layton Consulting. She also founded Equality for Adopted Children (EACH), an organization that advocates for adoptive families and their adopted children (www.equalityforadoptedchildren.org). McLane and her husband adopted three siblings from Eastern Europe in 1995. Since then, McLane has been actively involved in adoption policy and legislation including writing the first draft of the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 which provides automatic U.S. citizenship to internationally adopted children of American citizens. The Laytons have five children; one is currently an ORU student. The family attends Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, Va., where McLane is working with other church members to start an orphan ministry.

Joleen Minyard attended ORU from 1969 to 1973 and returned to complete her bachelor's degree in business administration and communications in 1989. She is now an MBA candidate. As an ORU student, she served as editor of Promethia, on the executive board for the American Association of Evangelical Students, in Student Senate, and as vice president of the MBA Association. Post-graduation she has been a Wing Backer and served on the board of directors of the Golden Eagle Club. She is serving her third term on the ORU Alumni Board. Joleen and her husband, Ray, have one son, Mike (Class of 2006), who has also served on the Alumni Board and is the director of Marketing (ticket sales) for ORU Athletics. Joleen and Ray reside in Broken Arrow, Okla., where they are both sales associates with Prudential Detrick Realty. Joleen is the past president of UniFlex Communications, LLC and Corporate Communication Consultants, Inc.

Patricia (McHale) Apy graduated from ORU with a bachelor's degree in social work. She earned her master's degree in social work from the University of Missouri-Columbia and her juris doctorate from Case Western Reserve School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio. She began her career as a County Prosecutor and then went into private practice. She is currently a partner at the law firm of Paras, Apy & Reiss, PC in Red Bank, N.J., where she practices International and Interstate Family Law. She also serves as a consultant to the United States Department of Defense, Department of State and the United Nations on issues of treaty law, particularly those involving families and children. She twice served as a delegate of the United States of America, to the Hague Conference on Private International Law. She serves as guest faculty at several law schools. She has kept in touch with many classmates and professors, and has returned to ORU for a number of Homecomings, including her 30-year reunion in February 2008. She and her husband, David, have three children: Daniel, Emily and David Jr. They live in New Jersey.

Terry Blain graduated from ORU in 1983 with a degree in accounting and received his CPA certificate in 1991. He is currently a senior vice president for The F&M Bank & Trust in Tulsa, Okla., where he is an energy banker. Terry serves on several boards including Goodwill of Tulsa, Cornerstone Tutorial Center, and the ORU Golden Eagle Club (past president). He is also a Junior Achievement volunteer in area schools. He lives in Broken Arrow, Okla., with his wife, Erin (Watt), and their children; they attend Believers' Church. Three of their children, Joel, Kara, and Ethan, are ORU graduates.

Guy Chism graduated from ORU in 1984 with a degree in church ministries and completed his juris doctorate at NCOC School of Law in 2004. He currently practices law in Los Gatos, Calif., in the area of Bankruptcy and Disability. Guy also teaches contract law and has served as an assistant dean at Silicon Valley Law School. He serves the community by volunteering for the United States Coast Guard JAG Pac Area. Guy is currently working on his first of four CDs of worship and hymns and is preparing a church-based program for worship instruction, introducing wonderful hymns and contemporary praise mixed with rich church tradition and new revelations from mighty moves of God that are now happening in Jerusalem. He says, "I am extremely humbled to serve as a co-laborer in Christ with other members of the board and look forward to the many miracles God has for the ORU community."

Martha (MacWherter) Cole graduated summa cum laude from ORU with a B.S. in accounting in 1984. At ORU, she served as an RA, Accounting Honor Society secretary, Academic Chairman, ORU Honors Society secretary, and Teacher's Assistant in the Natural Sciences biology labs; traveled to Australia with ORU Summer Missions; and was named to Who's Who. After graduation, she moved to Denver, Colo., to work for Deloitte and earned her CPA certificate. Martha met and married her husband, James, in 1987. After several years in public accounting, she worked as the Commercial Credit Analyst in banking until leaving to start her family. Today, as a homeschooling mother of 15 years, she has graduated two students into the Honors Program as Fellows at ORU -- including one who received the Whole Person Scholarship. While continuing to home-educate their youngest daughter (age 13), Martha serves as treasurer, secretary, and administrative director for Colorado's largest home schooling organization. As the administrative director, she manages and oversees the accounting, human resources, registration, communications, and information systems functions. Martha, James, and their youngest daughter live in Monument, Colo.

Brent Coussens graduated in 1983 with a degree in marketing and received his MBA in 1985. He has served on the Alumni Board for the past three years, chairing the Alumni of the Year Committee for two years. He is information technology director for Williams Company in Tulsa. He is also a U.S. Patent author for a software design. Brent has been a sponsor for numerous spring break Mexico missions trips for middle school and high school students. As an ORU student, Brent was an RA, was active in intramurals, and was listed in Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities. He lives in Tulsa with his wife, Caroline (Powell-84), and their three children, Jonathan (junior at ORU), Stephanie (freshman at ORU), and Catherine. Brent has been appointed to a two-year term on the ORU Alumni Board.

Taci Darnell graduated in 1988 with a double major in history and business administration, received a juris doctorate in 1992 from New England School of Law, and received an LLM-Taxation from Boston University School of Law in 1994. She is a vice president of Corporate Tax at Fidelity Investments in Boston, Mass. Taci is also an active member of her church, New Hope Assembly, in Saugus, Mass. She has been appointed to a three-year term on the ORU Alumni Board. She has one daughter who is a sophomore at ORU and a niece who is a senior at ORU.

Carol McLeod is a 1977 ORU graduate (music and English). She has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers. Today, she is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. She also hosts Just Joy! outreaches, encouraging and empowering women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. Carol has written two books, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart," won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol is married to her college sweetheart, Craig (77), senior pastor of Life Church in Buffalo, N.Y. They have five children, ages 15 to 28. Two sons and both daughters-in-law are ORU graduates; one daughter is an ORU sophomore. Carol has been appointed to a three-year term on the ORU Alumni Board.

Sandy Price earned a B.A. in special education at ORU, an M.A. in learning disabilities and school administration from the University of Tulsa, and completed doctoral coursework in policy and administration at the University of Kansas. She serves as senior vice president of Human Resources for Sprint Nextel. Immediately prior to this role, she served as senior vice president for the Human Resources, Communications and Brand Management organization of Sprint Nextel's Local Telephone Division (LTD). She joined Sprint in 1993 as manager - Career Development and has since served as director - Executive Development and vice president - Human Resources Development, a position in which she led the Sprint University of Excellence. From 2004 to 2005, Sandy led the human resources function for Sprint's local telecommunications division, which led to her role as senior vice president of this organization following Sprint's merger with Nextel in August 2005. Before coming to Sprint, Sandy was a principal in the Blue Valley School District in Overland Park, Kan., and the Jenks Public Schools District in Tulsa. She is president of the Johnson County Community College Foundation and served as the executive sponsor for the 2007 Sprint United Way Campaign.

Matt Rearden graduated in 1997 with a degree in finance, and received his law degree from Florida State University in 2001. He is Associate General Counsel at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment in Orlando, Fla., and is a member of the American, Florida, and Orange and Volusia County Bar associations. Matt also serves as the school board president of Calvary Christian Academy and is involved with his church and various other organizations. As a student, Matt was an Academic Peer Advisor and was also highly involved with the Student Association, serving as a wing representative, senator, executive vice president, and, in his senior year, as president. He and his wife, Amanda, live in Windermere, Fla., and have three children: Mackenzie, Ava, and Austin. Matt has been appointed to a two-year term on the ORU Alumni Board and was elected Board Chair in 2010.