Board Of Directors
Rick Romano | Founder & President
Rick grew up in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada. He started attending Cranbrook Alliance Church in his early teen years. It was there where God grabbed a hold of his heart, and gave him a passion for missions. Rick attended Canadian Bible College and graduated with a Bachelor of Religious Education with an emphasis on missions.
Rick and Tammie met at college and were married in 1990. Rick and Tammie have four children; Jonathon 23, Rebekah 19, Abby and Moriah 17. Rick served in four churches over 13 years; Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada, Mt. View Alliance Church in Shelton, Washington, Owen Sound Alliance Church in Canada, and East Hills Alliance Church in Kelso, Washington. In the summer of 2004, Rick had the opportunity to help out at LIFE Youth Conference in Phoenix, AZ. At that point, he stepped out in faith to start the first short-term site with the C&MA in Ensenada, Mexico.
In 2005 moved to Ensenada, Mexico serving there for 6 and a half years. In 2011 the C&MA asked if he would be willing to start a new site in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Rick has been in the Dominican Republic since 2012, serving with Envision through 2014 in the DR. In the winter of 2014 he moved from Envision to Marketplace Ministries within the C&MA…at that same time he started his own non-profit organization called Mission 2535.
M25/35 is situated on 10 acres of land in the Cibao region where he has spent the last 2 years working: we have planted plantains and yuca, built a furniture/plastic recycling factory, aquaponics greenhouse, chicken coup, and purchased several goats. His desire is to reach the least of these through job training, food/water, education, and medical. Using these four foundations as ways to share the gospel, and meet the needs of people in remote areas of the DR.
Scott Himes | Chairman of the Board
Scott Himes was born December 24, 1960 and raised in York Pennsylvania, self-employed,
owner of Controlled Environment Technologies since 1992. Was employed in 1985 as a field service technician before purchasing the company in 1992.
Controlled Environment
Technologies provides Design / Build solutions, service and installation of HVAC equipment and building automation control systems serving the industrial and commercial markets. He has been married to his wonderful wife Pam for (27) years and cherishes the time he can spend with his children, Matthew and Lauren. Scott is a member of ValleyView Alliance Church and currently serves on the Elder Board.
Since his time at ValleyView GOD has allowed him to serve in different ministries, Treasurer, Blessings-O-Hope, Team leader for missions to Africa and the Dominican Republic. He enjoys camping with his family and spending time with friends. He is excited to serve on the Mission 2535 board and is looking forward to building new relationships and expanding GOD’s vision in the Dominican Republic.
Terry McCormick | Vice Chairman of the Board
Terry was born and raised in Glenside, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Penn State University he successfully pursued a career in the Fashion Industry in NYC. Terry and his wife Adele settled in the Princeton, N.J. area with their children Megan and Matt. They are enjoying their new role as Grandparents.
Terry is most passionate about using his gifts and creative abilities building God’s kingdom. That journey has allowed Terry to serve on the boards of Princeton Alliance Church (6 years), Windsor Chapel (5 years) and now Mission 25/35 (3 years plus).
It is both exciting and rewarding to serve on the Mission 2535 board. The Godly leadership of Rick and Tammie Romano is inspiring. Their heart for missions and the desire to reach the less fortunate is evident through job training, food/water, education and supplying medical needs. Our desire is to use these four foundations as ways to share the word of God, while meeting the needs of people in remote areas of the Dominican Republic.
Corina Schoenke | Treasurer
Cori Schoenke lives in Waukesha, WI, a suburb of Milwaukee, and has been married to her loving husband Paul for 26 years. Cori is a CPA and an audit partner with Wipfli LLP, a national CPA firm. Cori’s passion for missions came about by a trip to China and Vietnam. Cori and Paul have always been weekend warriors, but after talking with a pastor on that trip, thought about putting those skills to use for God’s kingdom instead of our own. We started a fund at our church to see if anyone was interesting in helping to fund mission trips to members/friends of Our Shepherd Lutheran Church in Greendale, WI. A mission was born called God’s Work Today. Paul, myself, and our pastor are co-leaders of God’s Work Today. We have been on 13 international short-term mission trips over 11 years and have about 15 to 20 dedicated people that come with us on the trips. The fund helps to cover about half of the cost of the trips to anyone who wants to go.
We met Rick and Tammie while on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic back in 2018 where we helped build the furniture factory and school at the Community of Hope. We were so impressed by the far-reaching ministry and how God is working through Mission2535 to reach the “least of these” in the Dominican Republic. I’m honored to be a part of Mission2535 and pray that God continues to use this mission to reach many for His kingdom.
Brad Farrow | Board Member
I was born in Canada into a Christian home and attended the Owen Sound Alliance Church throughout my childhood where I had the pleasure of having Rick Romano as my Youth Pastor. I was ONE LUCKY GUY! For school, I moved to Rochester, NY to attend Roberts Wesleyan College and obtained a Business Administration degree. Shortly after graduating I married my wife, Heather, and moved to Philadelphia, PA. I began my finance career at Campbell Soup Company where I held various roles within the company. I also gained an MBA degree from Villanova University while living in Philadelphia. Heather and I recently moved to New York City, where we had our first child, Mya. I now work at Coty, a global consumer goods company, supporting the global cosmetics sales function.
I have had the opportunity to travel for missions many times in my life, mostly with Rick and Tammie. I traveled with them to Mexico three times and West Virginia. Separately, I performed missions work at an orphanage in Guatemala. I am excited and honored to be a part of this team supporting two of my life-long friends/mentors and most importantly expanding the Kingdom of God!
Matthew Hall | Board Member
My name is Matthew Hall, I am 55 years old and married to Michelle for 32 years. I am a father of (2); Derek (30) and Alexis (27). I am a U.S.M.C. veteran, Sheet Metal worker and licensed firearms instructor. I currently work for myself as a computer draftsman for mechanical contractors.
We have been involved in leadership roles for home ministries, men’s/women’s groups, student ministries, Elder Board, Advisory Team, missions, etc. While the kids were in high school I served as an adult leader; attending all camps, events and mission trips. This is where we first met the Romano’s way back in the Ensenada, Mexico days. We developed a solid friendship with the Romano’s and have led several teams to Ensenada, Mexicali and the DR. After visiting the DR and understanding the mission of Mission 2535 we were sold on the model of sustainable communities; clean water, food, health care and job training.
We currently attend HOPE Church Boulder City and I am actively involved in leadership for facilities maintenance, safety team and greeting team.
Michael C. Zachariades | Board Member
Michael C. Zachariades , married to Georgene, for 33 years. We have 2 sons, olderst Ian, married to Kristen and one grand daughter Sophia ( 2 and a half years old). Ian is very successful in full service landscaping business, Kristen is a marketing analyst. Second son, Christos( Nyack Graduate) is engaged & will marry to Samantha this coming April. Christos is a Children Pastor within the CMA and is in between Pastoral jobs.
We attend Princeton Alliance Church since 1999. Georgene works with K-4 year olds. I am long time Senior High Leader. I have been on more than a dozen various missions trips. Throw in Life Conferences and Lake Champion events and I have lost count on the various trips over the years. Georgene is Special Ed teacher, deals with Autistic Children thru Rutgers University and works in home programs with parents. I am a VP Marketing-Global Account Manager for Hoyer-Global USA. ( 28 years this summer) . We are specialized liquid bulk logistics provider, we ship chemicals and various other products in bulk on board vessels. I travel quite a bit thru out the USA, Europe and other places.
Steve Wylie | Board Member
Steve Wylie has spent the majority of his life living in Ohio and discovered his love for international mission work back in 2012 when he took his first trip to Peru. Since then, Steve, often accompanied by his wife Stephanie, has made trips to work with a number of different missionaries in various locations around the world. In 2018 Steve first visited the Dominican Republic and was introduced to the Community of Hope Project as well as the Romano family. Since then, after falling in love with the ministry in the Dominican Republic, he has largely devoted his mission work to supporting Mission 2535.
Steve and Stephanie Wylie live in Columbus, OH (Go Buckeyes!) with their four children and are members of Worthington Christian Church.
To support Steve’s love for mission work, he spends his work days running the business for the eastern part of the United States for a technology consulting company called Trace3.
Jeff Brettell | Board Member
Jeff Brettell was born and raised in and around Toronto, Ontario. He has been married to his loving wife Yvette for 24 years. Their children are Tyler, Austin, Kent and Madison, all of whom are now adults living in the Toronto area (save for Austin who currently lives in Manchester, England.)
Jeff came to faith in Georgetown while attending Living Hope church, where he remains a member. It was while working with the youth of Living Hope that Jeff first participated on a mission trip and met Rick and Tammie. Over the course of multiple missions trips their relationship grew and Jeff developed a strong passion for the work being done through Mission 25/35. After prayer and thoughtful consideration (and an invitation from Rick) Jeff joined the Mission 25/35 board in 2019. He has hosted the Mission 25/35 Podcast since its creation in early 2020.
Jeff’s daily work life is a confluence of sales, technology, coaching and speaking engagements all of which he performs as a member of the CoreLogic team.
Brie Lucas | Board Member
Brie Lucas and her husband, Drew, live in her hometown of Colorado Springs, CO with their four young children – McKinley (age 10), Grant (age 8), Joshua (age 6), and Naomi (age 6 months). As a family, they are active members at Village Seven Presbyterian Church (PCA), and enjoy spending time remodeling their fixer-upper, being involved with school activities, hiking, reading, working on Drew’s parents’ farm in NJ, and traveling. In addition to being a full-time mom, Brie works part-time as the Admissions Coordinator for Evangelical Christian Academy and runs her own social media-based small business. She has been a supporter of Mission 2535 since May 2013 when she and Drew went to the Dominican Republic on a mission trip with their church while living in New Jersey. Brie joined the board in January 2019, and is excited to be a part of this ministry because of the tangible impact it has, in the name of Jesus, on the day-to-day lives of the people in the DR.
Sharon Rossman-Ralph | Board Member
Sharon Rossman-Ralph was born and raised in New Jersey. She has had a variety of careers including 30 years in the dental field, home healthcare and currently Assistant to the Executive Director of Fairview Cemetery.
Sharon has two children, three step-children, and seven grandchildren, who keep her busy but blessed. Sharon and her husband Richard reside in Westfield, NJ. Sharon is currently on the Missions Committee of Newbridge Church in Morristown, NJ and has previously served on the Missions Committee at other churches.
She has served on 15 years of mission trips with the Romanos, both in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. She is excited about this new role with the Mission 2535 board appointment. Sharon's passion is one of service and through Mission 2535 this passion is being fulfilled.