Faustina Nillan
Faustina Nillan is the National Director for Women and Children in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT). Her work empowers women and children, who are marginalized and susceptible within the church and community. Her passion is building capacity for women and girls economically, politically, technologically, legally, and socially to accomplish their dreams. She works closely with the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Women in Church and Society. Ms. Nillan also leads Task Force 5 on the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls under the Act Forum Waking the Giant in Tanzania. She is also the Global Steering Committee member of the Side by Side Faith Movement for Gender Justice and the National Coordinator of the Side by Side Tanzania Chapter, and she is the Advisor of the Christian Council of Tanzania Women, Arusha Region. She is a Gender and Development personnel, currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Gender Studies (MAGS) at the Open University of Tanzania (OUT). She will lead the workshop, Just Love: Connecting Women
Maryn Olson
As director, Maryn oversees the LDR global (international and domestic) grants and programs. Internationally, she collaborates closely with the ELCA area desks in responding to disasters; domestically, Maryn collaborates closely with synods and nonprofits, and community-based organizations. She also represents the ELCA in various settings with ecumenical partners.
Prior to this position, Maryn worked in a variety of disaster-related roles. She served as the director for two FEMA Disaster Case Management Program grants in response to widespread flooding in Missouri (2016-2019); worked with Camp Noah, a program serving children in disaster-impacted communities across the U.S.; coordinated long-term recovery in a small Iowa community after a massive immigration raid and the subsequent economic fallout; and served with HIV/AIDS programs of local Lutheran churches in South Africa and Namibia. Most recently, Maryn served as Program Director for Pathways to Progress at St. Francis Community Services; the program provides long-term, intensive case management and wraparound services for families experiencing poverty in North St. Louis County and North St. Louis City.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Valparaiso University and a Master of Science (MSc) in Public Health in Developing Countries from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Maryn and her wife, Angela, live in St. Louis, Missouri.
She will lead the workshop, Showing God’s love by showing up: the Ministry of Lutheran Disaster Response.
