Meet the Board

Alan MacDonald has over 30 years of experience working with global faith-based non-governmental organizations (including Wycliffe and SIL International) on efforts to promote Bible translation and on the role of language and culture in education and development. He spent 15 years in field assignments in Mexico, Philippines and China and served as the director of SIL’s work in China from 1987 to 1995.  He has served on numerous boards including those of Wycliffe USA, Stone Forest Leadership Alliance, All Kids Can Learn International, and Marketplace Development and Enterprises. Alan served for 11 years on the staff of Fairfax Community Church in Fairfax, VA where he served as the pastor of global engagement.  His responsibilities involved reaching out to those “outside the walls,” both locally and globally, in need of compassion, justice and the Good News of the Gospel. Alan lives with his wife, Doris, in Fairfax, Virginia.  They have been married for 41 years and we have three adult children.

Amy Papanu began volunteering at The Lamb Center in 2025 after retiring from the Central Intelligence Agency with 28+ years of U.S. government service. Having worked in multiple U.S. diplomatic missions around the globe, Amy returned to the area wanting to serve the local community. Amy has leadership and national security experience, as well as a track record of engagement and collaboration with U.S. government partners and foreign government allies. Amy earned an undergraduate degree in criminal justice and Spanish from Stonehill College, a graduate degree in political science/international relations from Northeastern University, and completed a congressional fellowship with the American Political Science Association in 2022. Amy lives in Fairfax with her husband and two sons and volunteers as a Small Business Commissioner-at-Large for Fairfax County.

Brian Collins began volunteering at The Lamb Center in June 2022 as a call to continue service in the community in which he and his family live, the City of Fairfax. He is the Chief Security Officer at BDO USA, LLP where he is responsible for delivering crisis and risk management solutions within the firm and for clients globally. A former combat-decorated infantry officer in the US Marine Corps, Brian possesses 28+ years of commercial and governmental risk experience. He earned an undergraduate degree in history from the Virginia Military Institute, a graduate degree in security studies from Georgetown University, and completed the senior executive fellows’ program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Brian is a member of Fairfax Presbyterian Church where he served on the Board of Deacons, and he is a volunteer with the Veterans for Smart Power initiative at the US Global Leadership Coalition. Brian and his wife, Mary, are proud parents to two wonderful children.

Chuck Balch started at The Lamb Center serving breakfast to the team that heads to Fairfax County work sites.  This has provided an opportunity to serve a consistent group of Lamb Center guests, to know and be encouraged by them.  Chuck grew up in Chicago and Atlanta, graduated from William and Mary, and moved to northern Virginia following college.  He met his wife, Carolyn, at McLean Presbyterian Church (MPC), they have two adult children, and attend MPC today.  Chuck has had the opportunity to serve on two other non-profit boards with good friends, and thinks of those as great joys and deep learning experiences.  Professionally, Chuck is an IT consultant who previously worked at Accenture and is currently with Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Cindy Pivik and her husband Keith have been long-time friends of The Lamb Center. Prior to COVID, Cindy was a dedicated volunteer with our Jobs Club mentoring program for job seekers. She is an active member of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Vienna and has spent her career in healthcare growth, most recently with Radiology Partners as the Vice President of Physician Partnerships. She is also the proud mother of three adult children and two grandchildren. Cindy is delighted for this opportunity to return to active volunteer work at The Lamb Center.

Denise Lee is a chef and restaurant entrepreneur who owns and manages Social Burger in Vienna. From its inception, Denise’s vision for Social Burger has been to give back to the community and to focus on providing great food. She is a generous supporter of the Lamb Center, providing meals once a week for our guests who are experiencing homelessness. Denise immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines in 1998 and is a graduate of De La Salle University and L’Academie de Cuisine. She and her husband and two sons live in Vienna, VA  where she is a member of Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church.

Dr. Walton, a native of Jersey City, New Jersey, has served as Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Vienna since February, 2014. Dr. Walton’s primary mission is to “make a difference in our community and be a light of hope for the World.”  During his tenure at First Baptist, Dr. Walton has focused much of his ministry efforts on missions, cultural awareness, and social justice. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology & Criminal Justice from Virginia Union University (1993); his Master of Divinity Degree from New York Theological Seminary (1997) and a Doctorate of Ministry Degree in Preaching and Leadership from United Theological Seminary of Dayton, Ohio in December 2003. Most recently, he has served on the Chairman’s Task Force on Equity and Opportunity in Fairfax County, chairing the Public Safety Committee, and is a founding member of Voices of Black Fairfax. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the board for the Leland Center for Theological Studies and on the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. He also serves on Fairfax County’s Affordable Housing Advisory Council, the Police Reform Task Force, and the Fairfax County Public Schools Strategic Planning Team.

Julian Purvis, a native of Jacksonville, North Carolina, is a Space Systems Architect for Northrop Grumman, whose mission is to launch satellite constellations into orbit to keep our nation, families, friends, and allies safe both domestically and abroad.  Julian has 30+ years of core engineering experience within the Defense & Aerospace industry.  Over those 30+ years, Julian has gained valuable experience in program management, risk analysis, process development, business continuity planning, and successful delivery of customer mission solutions.  Julian earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University (1994); his Master of Science in Communications Technology from Strayer University (2005), and most recently a Master of Arts in Religious Studies with a concentration in Christian Ethics & Social Justice from Howard University School of Divinity (2025).  Julian is an active member of First Baptist Church of Vienna (FBCV), where he is an ordained Deacon and an active member of the FBCV Diaconate.  Julian and his wife, Shawn, are the proud parents of three amazing young men and the family dog (Jo-Jo).  Julian’s primary focus is to be a voice for the voiceless, empower the disenfranchised, and, along this journey called life, to know without successful contradiction that I helped the least of thee along the way.

Karen Kershenstein has been an active Lamb Center volunteer since December 2013. She serves as a regular kitchen volunteer and as the coordinator of the kitchen volunteers. Karen has been an active member of St. Mary of Sorrows Catholic Church since 1958. She serves as a Eucharistic Minister and coordinates bringing Communion to the sick and homebound members of the parish. In addition, she sings in several parish and diocesan choirs. She also serves as docent for St. Mary’s Historic Church. Karen earned her Ph.D. in physics from Georgetown University. She taught physics at Trinity College (now Trinity Washington University) for several years before becoming a member of the administration at Trinity, first serving as Registrar and Director of Institutional Research and then as Academic Dean. Karen worked at the U.S. Department of Education in higher education accreditation and runs a small consulting business that focuses on helping accrediting agencies improve their effectiveness.

Lesley Hatch spent over 30 years in healthcare business and strategic planning. Through her participation in the Outreach Committee at St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church in 2012, she became interested in issues of homelessness and affordable housing. This led to her late career shift where she joined the staff of Good Shepherd Housing (GSH) as the Chief Operating Officer. She spent eight years at GSH helping to increase affordable housing in southeastern Fairfax County and provide property management and case management services for GSH residents. She has supported The Lamb Center over the years through the outreach of St. Stephen’s where she worships and, more recently, has assisted The Lamb Center with preparing grants for its permanent supportive housing project. Lesley has business degrees from the University of Virginia and Northwestern University. She and her husband, Kurt, are enjoying retirement and spending time with family.

Mark has over 16 years of experience as a certified public accountant. He is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ASI Government and has extensive experience as a financial auditor. Mark and his wife volunteer at the Lamb Center along with fellow congregants from St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church. Mark graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2005 with a degree in business administration. He lives in Fairfax County with his wife Rita and two children.