minister of reconciliation in the marketplace

Christeen Rico is a daughter of the Most High King, committed to following Jesus and intent on pursuing a vision found in Proverbs 11:10 (NIV) “When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices.”

Currently, she’s on assignment as a minister of reconciliation in the marketplace, starting at her place of work: a major tech company in Silicon Valley where she works in strategy and operations, while co-leading the company’s Christian employee resource group. Christeen is passionate about equipping men and women in the marketplace to pursue an intentional journey of faith and work integration, thereby amplifying their impact in the world in partnership with God.

Christeen is an active steward of the Silicon Valley Faith & Work Movement as a speaker, mentor and co-host of various cross-company, cross-church initiatives including the first ever Silicon Valley Work & Faith Workshop which empowered 70+ faith-driven leaders with tools to launch faith-based employee resource groups to positively impact their company.

LINKS

• LinkedIn

• Website

• Work and Faith Workshop

• Faith and Work Movement

CEO of Foundations for Farming

Craig Deall serves as CEO of Foundations for Farming—an initiative aimed at bringing transformation to individuals, communities and nations through faithful and productive use of land.

Foundations for Farming is based in Zimbabwe, where burning and deep soil inversion are common practice on farms causing terrible sheet erosion to occur, which results in loss of seed and water. Craig and the team at Foundations for Farming are working to encourage local farmers to use more productive and sustainable practices, thus improving productivity and sustainability all throughout the region.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN ENTREPRENEUR

author of First15

Craig Denison is the author of First15, a daily devotional guiding over 600,000 of believers into a fresh experience with God’s presence every day. He writes, speaks, and he and his wife, Rachel lead worship to help believers establish a more tangible, meaningful connection with God. You can check out his work by signing up to receive First15 every morning for free, and by engaging with First15 on social media.

Craig started First15 in 2015, out of a desire to guide believers of all backgrounds into a daily experience with God’s presence. Craig sensed a longing in God’s heart for his people to be about relationship – real, restored relationship with him – that above all else, he simply wanted the hearts of his people.

So Craig started praying, dreaming, and writing. And the idea of helping people spend the first fifteen minutes of their day focusing on nothing else but growing in their relationship with God was born. That if we as a people would worship, read, and pray at the beginning of every day, everything could change for the better.

LINKS

• First15

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN ENTREPRENEUR

Entrepreneur & Investor

Cris Zimmermann is an entrepreneur and business owner who has set up more than 20 companies in 5 different countries. He was born and raised in Frankfurt, Germany, and currently lives with his wife Andrea and their three teenage sons between Germany and the island of Mallorca, Spain.

Cris built his portfolio in real estate buying apartment complexes, hotels and commercial spaces predominantly in the Rhein Main area of Germany. His passion for ministry lead him to start an urban mission organization.

Cris studied law and theology and is currently pursuing a degree in art history. His love for Italy and the Renaissance has lead him to become an expert on the Medici family and develop a personal & business development company.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN ENTREPRENEUR

founder and CEO of Consulting Within Reach (CWR)

Curtis Chang is the founder and CEO of Consulting Within Reach (CWR), a team of experts from both corporate and nonprofit backgrounds that uses professional skills to serve social entrepreneurs. Curtis’s own diverse vocational path has included teaching public policy at Harvard, doing development work in Africa, and running a family foundation. Curtis has won a White House award for his work as a social innovator and is an Adjunct Professor in the School of International Service at American University, Washington DC.

President and partner of Acumen

Dan Cooper co-founded ej4, a video-based online training company, in 2003, and was its CEO until selling in 2012. During his time with ej4, he grew the company from a startup to a nationally-recognized firm, serving Fortune 500 clients. As of the 2012, ej4 was serving 1,000+ customers, delivering millions of program views, was highly profitable and debt-free.

 Dan took his leadership and technology experience to work on and in the Sparklab startup business accelerator as well as lead change management and profit building initiatives for mid-market companies.

 Today, he is the President and partner of Acumen, an accelerator community experience built for CEOs and Owners of strong and growing companies. Dan is also a certified Executive Coach credentialed through the International Coaching Federation.

He and his wife, Ali, have been married for 19 years, have three children and attend Cure of Ars church in Leawood, KS. Dan enjoys all things soccer, snowboarding, and burning meat on the backyard barbecue grill.

LINKS

• Acumen Impact

• LinkedIn

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN ENTREPRENEUR