JCLC Leadership

Our Team

Staff

Amy Mitchell

Operations Director

amy@joshuacalebleaders.org

Bio +

Rev. Jerry Mitchell

Executive Director

jerry@joshuacalebleaders.org

Bio +

Katherine Koopman

Director of Learning and Development

katherine@joshuacalebleaders.org

Bio +

Kathie McNeilly

Family Connection Coordinator

kathie@joshuacalebleaders.org

Bio +

Russ Bauman

Provision Partner Consultant

russ@joshuacalebleaders.org

Bio +

Josh Campbell

Male Ministry Developer

josh@joshuacalebleaders.org

Bio +

Vellmari Calderon

Female Ministry Developer

vell@joshuacalebleaders.org

Bio +

Kari O'Hara

Bookkeeper

Amy Mitchell

Director of Operations

Amy Mitchell is a licensed social worker certified in Child and Adolescent Trauma receiving both her BSW and MSW from Cleveland State University. Amy is extremely passionate about bringing hope to children and families in crisis, focusing specifically on trauma, grief, poverty, refugee resettlement, parenting, marriage, anxiety, ADHD, suicide, and depression. In addition to seeing individual clients, Amy served as the School, Camp, and Support Group Coordinator for Cornerstone of Hope before joining her husband in leading Joshua and Caleb Leadership Center. In addition to individual counseling, she has provided support groups in schools, churches, and counseling facilities, and is a former member of the Western Cuyahoga County Schools Crisis Counseling Team. Amy brings over thirty years of ministry experience with children and families to her JCLC role, having served with a number of churches and nonprofit organizations in Cleveland, Indiana, and Ontario, Canada.

Rev. Jerry Mitchell

Founder & Executive Director

After graduating from Michigan State University, Jerry earned his Masters of Divinity Degree from Concordia Theological Seminary in 1990. As an Ordained Minister, he served congregations in Ontario, Canada, Fort Wayne, Indiana and Cleveland, Ohio. Following a unique career path, he then spent fifteen years in the medical device industry. In 2015, in response to his passion for unfathered and at-risk children, Jerry launched Joshua and Caleb Leadership Center to serve at-risk boys and girls and their moms. Jerry loves spending the best hours of his day helping young people embrace the fact that they are not a mistake, but were uniquely created by God for a Divine purpose and plan.

Katherine Koopman

Director of Learning and Development

Katherine is a founding member of the JCLC staff, having been the catalyst for expanding JCLC’s services to include girls. Katherine holds a degree in Business from Wheaton College and a Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Management from Cleveland State University. After a brief stint in the corporate world, Katherine followed her heart for underdogs and joined the JCLC staff as Program Director. She has used her administrative and ministry talents to serve and love the preteen and teen girls in the JCLC ministry and has been a key leader in the development and expansion of JCLC’s nine-year discipleship curriculum. In her current role as Director of Learning and Development, Katherine continues to develop and hone JCLC’s services and materials, while also investing her time in discipling and mentoring teen girls.

Kathie McNeilly

Event Coordinator

Kathie brings a long history of serving children and families through education, ministry, and volunteer management. Having earned her Master’s degree in Education, she spent twelve years in the classroom followed by five years working with preservice teachers at a local university. In addition, Kathie served her home congregation for seven years as the Director of Children’s and Family Ministry. For the last eight years, Kathie has served area non-profit organizations by coordinating and managing volunteers. Kathie has been gifted with an incredible servant heart and infuses the love of Christ into all that she does.

Russ Bauman

Provision Partner Consultant

Russ Bauman is a retired financial planner with over 40+ years of service experience in helping people manage their finances and charitable giving. Russ’ heart for the underdog is evident in his years of service to not only the children and families of JCLC, but also his work with newly arriving refugees. Russ has been an active mentor with Joshua and Caleb Leadership Center for over six years and has invested countless hours in the unfathered and at risk boys and girls JCLC serves.

Vellmari Calderon

Female Ministry Developer

Vell is a purpose driven follower of Christ who has a profound passion for working with children. She has served the local church in numerous ministry roles throughout the last two decades including over five years as Director of Children’s Ministries. Additionally, she spent 9 years assisting people of all ages in the medical field. Vell is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Biblical Studies and Theology with a minor in Psychology at Ohio Christian University. She is the mother of four boys, ranging from elementary school through high school. She began her journey with JCLC in 2024 as a mentor, alongside her husband Misraim, before joining the staff as Female Developer in 2025. Vell’s purpose is to bring a smile to every child’s face as she works tirelessly to help them develop their gifts to the fullest extent possible through Christ.

Josh Campbell

Male Ministry Developer

Josh brings more than twenty years of leadership and educational experience as a teacher, coach, and academic advisor to his role as Male Ministry Developer. He is a devoted husband to his wife, Nicole, and proud father of three—Cort (18), Chloe (17), and Kennedy (10). Coach Campbell is deeply rooted in family and ministry, also volunteering within the community as a coach and St. Paul Westlake Church’s Comfort Dog Ministry. He is dedicated to modeling Christ-centered values and fostering meaningful relationships that encourage young men and women to grow as disciples and leaders. With a deep commitment to equipping the next generation, Josh seeks to create opportunities for students to strengthen their faith, build authentic connections, and use their gifts in service to increase Christ’s kingdom.