Board Member Bios
Newlin Wollaston, Chair - Newlin serves as Executive Pastor of the Mt. Carmel Children of God Baptist Church in Chicago, IL where he’s been a member for over 25 years. He served in the US Marine Corp Reserves for 6 years and currently works at JP Morgan Chase as a Private Client Advisor with over 20 years of banking experience. He enjoys traveling to new places and helping others.
Pam White, Vice Chair - Pam is a member of The Ridge Church in Carbondale. She is a Sunday School teacher with a heart for local and international missions. A retired music teacher, Pam enjoys playing clarinet in her local community college band and orchestra. She is the widowed mother of three adults, and grandmother to four children. She views her main contributions to BFI as communication, addressing policy matters, and prayer.
Mihaela Sexton, Secretary - Mihaela is a member of Petersburg First Baptist Church where she serves as a Sunday School teacher and a Ladies Bible Study facilitator. She was born and raised in the mountains of Transylvania, Romania and she was a young adult when the Lord opened her eyes to His wondrous Beauty and Truth to which she could only say Yes! She is currently a staff educator at Springfield Memorial Hospital. She is married to Dean who grew up in central IL and had to cross an ocean to meet her. She would marry him again despite now knowing what it means to have an intercontinental marriage. Dean and she are the proud parents of two daughters. She serves at BFI in the scholarship committee where she has the privilege to witness the happy intersection of the generosity of faithful donors with the gratitude of faith-filled recipients!
Ron Knox - Ron is a lifelong member if Royalton Baptist Church. He was saved there, served as a trustee, then deacon, and then pastor for 12 years. Ron currently serves as an elder, Bible teacher, and mission team leader. Ron and his wife, Patricia are both retired educators. Ron was a science teacher and a school administrator. Ron has served multiple terms on the Baptist Foundation Board. BFI helped Ron and Patricia develop a Christian estate plan and establish a charitable endowment fund.
Dennis Fulkerson - Dennis is a member of Woodland Baptist Church in Peoria where he serves as the Administrative team facilitator and as Chairman of the Finance team. Dennis is a Certified Financial Planner with a Masters degree in Financial Planning. I spent a number of years developing a Wealth Management practice for a major accounting firm and their clients in the central Illinois area. Currently Dennis and his wife, run a Registered Investment Advisory practice.
DeWanna Oliver - DeWanna is a member of First Baptist Church of Crystal Lake. She is a retired educator who continues to serve as a substitute teacher. DeWanna's husband, Joe is retired Pastor who served churches in Iowa, New York and Illinois. DeWanna has a deep passion for education and is excited to serve on the Scholarship Committee of BFI's Board.
Brent Cloyd - Brent is a member of Northside Baptist Church in Fairfield. He has been a pastor in Illinois for most of his 43-year ministry. For the past six years he has served as the Associational Missions Strategist (AMS) for the Greater Wabash Baptist Association. He remembers his grandfather saying “If the Lord gives us the land, then we ought to leave it in better shape than it was when we found it”. Brent has held those words in his heart as a guiding principle of stewardship. He hopes his legacy is that he leaves something behind that others can build upon rather than something that others must repair or discard.
Julian Williams - Julian and his wife, Diana are members of Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church in Chicago, where Julian serves as a trustee and business manager. Julian grew up in St. Thomas, US Virgin Island where he attended Ebenezer Memorial Baptist Church and accepted Christ at 17. A few years ago, Julian had the opportunity to meet BFI Executive Director Doug Morrow while he was leading a revival service Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church and the two have formed a true friendship. Julian is employed with a beverage company as an area sales manager. and serves on BFI's Investment Committee.
Greg Kyrouac – Greg and his wife, Nancy are members of New Beginnings Christian Fellowship in Ashland, where Greg serves as Deacon, treasurer, missions team leader, adult Sunday school teacher and assists in Awana. Greg and Nancy have had the opportunity to serve on mission trips to Mexico, Haiti, and China. He is retired after 27 years from the SIU School of Medicine Center for Alzheimer Disease & Related Disorders as Director of Outreach and Education. Greg serves on the Scholarship Committee of BFI's Board.
