National Staff

Rev. Michael W. Salemink
msalemink@lutheransforlife.org

Executive Director
765.418.2342

Rev. Michael W. Salemink began serving as executive director-elect of Lutherans For Life in August 2015 and became executive director on January 1, 2016. He received a BA in theology from Concordia University Chicago, River Forest, Illinois, in 1999 and a Master of Divinity from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 2003. He has served as pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Webster, Minnesota, (2003-2005) and as associate pastor of St. James Lutheran Church and School in Lafayette, Indiana (2005-2015). Pastor Salemink and his wife, Heather, have been married since 2000 and reside in St. Louis, Missouri, where they attend Immanuel Lutheran Church, Olivette, with their three sons: Christian, Nathan, and Luke.

Rev. Scott Licht
slicht@lutheransforlife.org

CFO/COO

Scott grew up in New Ulm, Minnesota, and was raised in the Wisconsin Synod. He graduated from Martin Luther Preparatory School, Northwestern College (the WELS pastor-training college), and attended Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary for a short time. In 2005, he earned an MBA and a Master of Science in Information Systems from Iowa State University. Scott worked in the corporate world for 30 years before combining his business and theological education and experience at Lutherans For Life beginning in 2012.  Scott satisfied the requirements and was ordained in the Lutheran Congregations in Mission to Christ (LCMC) in 2014.  In addition to his service at Lutherans For Life, he serves as pastor of Shepherd of the Prairie Lutheran Church in Huxley, Iowa—a congregation rostered with the LCMC and the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). Scott has an adult daughter in the Des Moines area and a daughter, son-in-law, and two grandsons near Colfax, Iowa. He and his wife, Sue, live near Huxley, Iowa, with three horses. Sue also has three adult daughters. Scott says, “There is never a lack of things to do, and I give thanks for how richly God has blessed me. I enjoy serving Him through the mission of Lutherans For Life, and I would ask for your prayers as we continue to ‘equip Lutherans and their neighbors to be Gospel-motivated voices For Life.’”

Lowell Highby
lhighby@lutheransforlife.org

Director of Communications
507.626.6163

Lowell joined the staff of LFL in January of 1998. Before accepting this position, he served as general manager of KNGN Good News Radio in McCook, Nebraska, from 1992 through 1997. Prior to 1992, Lowell worked in various capacities at radio stations in Marshall, Minnesota; Antigo, Wisconsin; and Redwood Falls, Minnesota, having received his broadcast training at Brown Institute of Broadcasting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has been active in local congregations, serving as Sunday school and VBS teacher, LYF advisor, Lifelight group leader, local LLL president, and choir member. In addition, he has held various church council positions (board of education, president, secretary, and adult and youth discipleship), was a member of the Clemons Lutheran School Board, and was past president and secretary of the McCook Sertoma Club. He is currently the treasurer for the Lamberton Lions Club, and, as of March 2019, he serves on the board of directors for Choices Pregnancy Center in Redwood Falls, Minnesota. He is a volunteer with Redwood County Restorative Justice. Lowell has also been involved in community theater and local historical societies in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, and Nevada, Iowa, and is currently on the committee for the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant in Walnut Grove. Until Russia closed down international adoptions in 2012, he had been involved for several years with Camp Hope which worked to find adoptive homes for older Russian orphans. Lowell has four children (Alex, Kierra, Callie, Eva) and resides in his hometown of Lamberton, Minnesota. The Highbys are members of St. John Lutheran Church.

Michelle Bauman
mbauman@lutheransforlife.org

Director of Y4Life
812.350.2732
Snapchat: lfly4life
Instagram: lfly4life

Michelle Bauman joined the Lutherans for Life team on June 1, 2019. She earned her Lutheran Teaching Degree in secondary education from Concordia Nebraska (1998) and a master’s degree in English from the University of Indianapolis (2011). Before joining Lutherans For Life, Michelle taught middle school English at Holy Cross Lutheran School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, (1998-2002) and English, Drama, and Speech at Trinity Lutheran High School in Seymour, Indiana (2002-2019). Michelle also served as the Trinity’s Recruitment Director (2004-2017). She lives in Columbus, Indiana, with her husband, Doug, who serves as pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church. Together they have two sons and one daughter-in-love.

Cori Meier
cori@y4life.org

Y4Life Assistant

Cori Meier joined Lutherans for Life in May 2022. She grew up in York, Nebraska, and graduated from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in 2018 with a degree in business management and marketing. Before joining Lutherans for Life, Cori worked a variety of jobs, including as a telephone interviewer for Gallup, sales intern with the Lincoln Saltdogs, and as an administrative assistant at Saint Luke’s Hospital pharmacy in Kansas City. She lives in Columbus, Nebraska, with her husband, Alex, and her son, Dean.

Diana Ladislas
diana@y4life.org

Y4Life Media Resource Assistant

Diana joined the Y4Life team in October of 2023 with a background in Lutheran education. Before joining the Y4Life team, Diana was the youth and extended care director at St. John’s Lutheran Lansing, Illinois, and taught preschool in Chicago at St. James Lutheran and St. Philip Lutheran. Diana also teaches at Trinity Lutheran Tinley Park, where she is a member. Diana earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communication from Concordia University Ann Arbor in 2007 and her Master’s in Education from Concordia University Nebraska in 2016. She enjoys spending time outside with her family, cooking what her husband grows in the garden, and crafting. Diana resides in Northwest Indiana with her husband and daughter.

Dave Probst
dprobst@lutheransforlife.org

Director of Development
812.603.7970

Dave Probst joined the Lutherans For Life team as the Development Director on January 17, 2022. He received a BS in Financial Management from Southwest Missouri State University in 1993, and a DCE Specialist Certificate from Concordia Nebraska in 1998. Dave worked two years as a Commercial Appraiser in St. Louis, Missouri, two years as a Youth Director at Oak Road Lutheran Church in Lilburn, Georgia, and sixteen years as a Youth Director at St. James Lutheran Church in Lafayette, Indiana. Dave left youth ministry in the summer of 2016 to begin serving as the Development Director at Trinity Lutheran High School in Seymour, Indiana. He and his wife, Jennifer, have been married since 1998 and are blessed with two sons, Josiah and Caleb. The Probst family are members of St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Columbus, Indiana, where Jennifer serves as Pre-School Teacher and the Early Childhood Ministry Director.

Kevin Nessa
kevinnessa@lutheransforlife.org

Assistant Director of Development
515.291.6030

Kevin joined Lutherans for Life in January of 2023. Before coming to LFL, he and his father owned and operated two meat processing facilities in central Iowa. During that time, he also worked part-time for the United States Postal Service as a clerk. In 1990, Kevin was promoted to the position of Postmaster, a position he held for 30 years in six different towns and cities before retiring in 2020. After retiring from the USPS, he began praying that the Lord would bring a ministry into his life that he could be directly involved in. Jesus answered that prayer with Lutherans For Life. Kevin says, “I am so happy to be working for Jesus and helping to defend those who can’t help themselves. My lovely wife, Kim, and I have been married for 45 years. Kim also works for LFL in the accounting department. Kim and I attend Stavanger Free Lutheran Church in Garden City, Iowa. We have been involved in church ministry for 40 years as Sunday school teachers, I as a board member, as well as Fellowship of Christian Athletes leaders for our school. We have three children who, along with their spouses, have been involved in youth ministry in the churches they attend. Kim and I also have nine grandchildren which keeps us on the move!”

Virginia Flo
vflo@lutheransforlife.org

Director of Volunteer Relations
651.333.0337

Virginia joined Lutherans For Life in September 2013 and currently resides in Eagan, Minnesota, where she is a member of Trinity Lone Oak Lutheran Church and School. She has spent her life in a dual career both in business management, working for several major corporations in the Twin Cities area, as well as making a career in church work. She has worked extensively in the areas of Christian education, stewardship, and evangelism, while also serving as a choir director where she is able to share her love of Christian music with both adults and children. In her business experience she has worked in management, marketing, technology, and the graphic and visual arts. Her strong conviction For Life has given her the opportunity to speak on all the life issues, with a particular emphasis in the area of physician assisted suicide, which is being addressed in many states today. She grew up in a family that welcomed foster children who found a safe home with them in the country. She has authored a Christian fiction novel capturing some of those foster care experiences. Virginia has served as an LFL life chapter president and is now working across the United States helping equip Lutherans to be Gospel-motivated voices For Life.

Barbara Lane Geistfeld, DVM
bgeistfeld@lutheransforlife.org

Volunteer Relations Associate
830.935.3415 (H)
830-388-8640 (C)

Dr. Barbara Lane Geistfeld, Volunteer Relations Associate, as of April 1, 2024, and her husband, Dr. James Geistfeld, are “Texans by Choice” after retiring to the Hill Country in 2008. Barb retired from owning a small-animal veterinary hospital and Jim retired from his job as a board-certified laboratory animal veterinarian for Taconic Biosciences. They have a son and daughter-in-law, a daughter and son-in-law, and four adorable granddaughters. She has taught adult Bible studies for many years, sung in multiple choirs, and has been a voice For Life in the various congregations she has attended. Raised in the First Church of God (Anderson, Indiana), confirmed by faith into the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), active in an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) congregation in New York, and now a member of a Christ-centered Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) congregation, Barb believes these different church bodies have shaped her faith and reaffirmed her profound desire to be a voice For Life. She values life at all stages and ages and wants to share that commitment to life with others. Barb accepted the position of Lutherans For Life Regional Director of Texas in July of 2015, and in that role gave LFL presentations to Lutheran churches, schools, and conferences all over Texas. In March 2022, she received the title of Assistant Director of Volunteer Relations and expanded her outreach to the other 49 states. She is a certified Life Team Leader at the church she attends. Barb believes her medical background and her conviction that we are to be “Gospel-motivated voices For Life” equips her to help others become Gospel-motivated voices For Life. In her new role as a Volunteer Relations Associate, she will continue to help the Frontline be those voices.

Michele Hartshorn
mhartshorn@lutheransforlife.org

Assistant Director of Volunteer Relations
612.816.6194

Michele Hartshorn joined the Lutherans For Life Volunteer Relations Team on November 8, 2023. Before joining LFL, Michele was the center administrator at Amnion Pregnancy Center in Burnsville, Minnesota, for eight years. Prior to that, she served as communication coordinator at Messiah Lutheran Church in Lakeville, Minnesota, where she is a member. Throughout Michele’s career, she has served in ministry and non-profit organizations overseeing administration, communications, fundraising, special events, and volunteer management.

Michele grew up in Mosinee in central Wisconsin. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Emphasis in Public Relations) and a minor in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. After college graduation, she moved to Minnesota. Michele lives in Lakeville with her husband, Jim, and their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Dakota Marie. They have two adult sons, Patrick and Nicholas.

Michele enjoys spending time outdoors, traveling, and relaxing on Lake Dubay in Wisconsin. She is a prayer warrior. She feels blessed to be called by God to be a part of the Volunteer Relations Team to work nationwide to help equip Lutherans to be “Gospel-motivated voices For Life.”

Jerilyn Richard
jrichard@lutheransforlife.org

Donor Relations Director

Jeri joined Lutherans For Life in January of 2006. She received an Associates Degree from the Association Free Lutheran Bible School in Plymouth, Minnesota. She continued her education at Northwestern Bible College in St. Paul, Minnesota, earning a Bachelors Degree in Business. Jerilyn was a stay-at-home mom prior to working at Lutherans For Life. She has three children and attends Stavanger Free Lutheran Church in Garden City.

Jan Nessa
jnessa@lutheransforlife.org

Administrative Assistant

Jan joined Lutherans For Life in May 2020. She grew up in Minnesota and attended the Association Free Lutheran Bible School. She worked for Mercy and Unity Medical Centers as a phlebotomist until 2001 when she was married and moved to Iowa. Jan was blessed to stay home with her kids until her youngest started preschool. She went on to be a Special Education Paraprofessional for the middle school in Hubbard Iowa. She and her husband made the decision to homeschool their children. She is married to Mark, they have three children and attend Stavanger Free Lutheran Church in Garden City, Iowa.

Katie Friedrich
kfriedrich@lutheransforlife.org

Gift Entry Specialist

Katie joined the Lutherans For Life staff in April of 2005 as a part-time data processor. She also works part-time at the Ames Public Library. She received an office assistant’s certificate from Des Moines Area Community College in 2000 and her associate of arts degree from Waldorf College in 2002. She has two brothers, two sisters-in-law, and four nieces and three nephews. Katie lives in Ames, Iowa, and is a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church where she substitute taught in pre-school, taught VBS, and currently teaches Sunday school and sings in the choir and plays on the church softball team.

Deaconess Chrissie Gillet, PsyD
cgillet@lutheransforlife.org

Word of Hope Director
888.217.8679

Frequently seen in boots and jeans, Chrissie reveals her Texan upbringing and love for country living. She particularly enjoys time with her family in the garden or at the lake. Down-to-earth and modest, she prefers genuine conversation on a first-name basis over haughty titles related to her education or vocation. Chrissie is married to her best friend, Steph Gillet, who is a pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Tomahawk, WI. They enjoy working side by side in the ministry as a husband-wife and pastor-deaconess team. Together they have seven children, but only their youngest still resides at home, along with Phoebe, their Labradoodle in therapy dog training.

Chrissie earned a doctorate in clinical psychology from Spalding University and completed her psychology residency as an officer in the United States Air Force. She served four years active duty and another four as inactive reserve. God blessed her with a range of counseling experiences in settings such as: a domestic violence shelter, the suicide crisis hotline, military mental health clinics, and a Christian counseling agency. Transitioning from an emphasis on psychology to theology, Chrissie attended the Distance Deaconess Program at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. She graduated in October 2018 and was commissioned as a deaconess with Lutherans For Life.

In her position as the Word of Hope Director, Chrissie answers the hotline calls and emails. Understanding both the secular worldview and the Christ-centered perspective, she listens without personal judgment while also responding in Christian truth and love. Motivated by compassion, she often goes above and beyond to connect people with local services and natural supports. Beyond her typical hotline responsibilities, Chrissie writes articles, publicly speaks, and leads Bible studies on a range of topics related to life issues.

Valuing a Christ-centered lifestyle, Chrissie serves her neighbor through acts of mercy. Each year, she opens her heart and home to exchange students from around the world. Amongst her church family, she regularly visits folks who are hospitalized or shut-in, and enjoys the fellowship while creating crafts with members in her home. Within the rural and small-town community, she gifts numerous people with produce from her garden, home-cooked dishes, or crocheted newborn-baby blankets. Truly, to know Chrissie is to know her as your loving sister in Christ.

Deaconess Janet Nicol
janet@word-of-hope.org

Word of Hope Phone Counselor
888.217.8679

Deaconess Janet Nicol lives in the Central Ohio area northwest of Columbus. Her husband of 39 years is a farmer, and they live on land that has been in her husband’s family for four generations. They have raised four children—all grown (two boys and two girls)—and have four grandchildren (three boys and one girl.) Janet received her Bachelor of Music degree in 1984 and has been active as a piano teacher, classroom music teacher at our local Lutheran day school, and choir director at church for many years. She also helps the farm some as well as with the business that goes along with for children. In 2014, she was led by the nudging of her pastor to become a deaconess through the distance program at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 2016, she was called by her home congregation in Ohio, and has been serving as a deaconess there for the past seven years. Janet enjoys reading, art, music, and camping, along with many other things because she is a constant learner and tends to be eclectic in activities and tastes. She is passionate about Lutheran doctrine, theology, and life and feels very blessed to be on the Word of Hope and LFL team. She says, “I pray that the Lord of Life will give me the ability to serve my neighbors in need and proclaim His mercy to all.”

Lorelei Humphrey
lorelei@word-of-hope.org

Word of Hope Assistant
888.217.8679

Lorelei Humphrey joined Lutherans For Life in April 2023 as Word of Hope assistant. She has been blessed to be born in a large family that taught her the value of life and to recognize how beautifully and uniquely God created each individual. They inspire her every day to be kind, work hard, and be herself. She has had opportunities to serve others through her church by participating in choir, helping with children’s programs, and any task where she can put her big sister skills to work. She’s a midwestern girl who loves wild winds, books, writing, and caring for both wildlife and her spoiled pets. She’s excited for the opportunity to use her talents to help others at Lutherans for Life/Word of Hope and hopes you have a wonderful day.

Julie Kyrola
jkyrola@lutheransforlife.org

Data Assistant

Julie comes from the land of 10,000 lakes–Minnesota. Julie and her husband John moved to Iowa six years ago to be closer to some of their children and grandchildren and now reside in Story City, Iowa. They are mom and dad to four children: Joel, Jerilyn, Jan, and Jay, and have eleven grandchildren. Before joining Lutherans For Life, Julie worked as a licensed insurance assistant, receptionist and payroll for a car dealership, and at McDonalds for fun and exercise. But her greatest profession was as a mom and grandma. Her work for the Lord has included: Sunday school teacher, superintendent, president of Ladies Of Hope, chair of Christian Women’s Club and youth leader along with John for 17 years. She now gets her spiritual nourishment at Stavanger Free Lutheran Church, Garden City, Iowa.

Erika Peterson
epeterson@lutheransforlife.org

Events Coordinator

Erika joins the LFL team after many years in both non-profit executive leadership and ministry work around the U.S. and in Europe. She led a local Boys & Girls Club chapter for over eight years, helping them expand their reach in their local community. Prior to her work with Boys & Girls Clubs she taught middle school Spanish and led youth groups in both Colorado and Minnesota. She did mission work organizing retreats and international tours with the Beatitudes Community in Denver and southern France. An Iowa native, Erika is grateful to be back “home.” Her husband Jesse is Pastor at Bethany Lutheran Church in Kelley, Iowa, where she also serves in a volunteer capacity leading a women’s Bible study and playing the djembe during Sunday service. Together Jesse and Erika own a small hobby farm with hair sheep and many dozen chickens. She feels blessed to participate in the work For Life amongst a team of fellow Christians seeking to follow the Lord faithfully.