Team – California Southern Baptist Convention

The California Southern Baptist Convention staff team is available to assist member congregations in every way possible. Our team consists of specialists and assistants who work to help churches in reaching their communities for Christ. Don’t hesitate to contact us for assistance.

Pete Ramirez
Executive Director

Pete Ramirez is the CSBC executive director. Elected in May 2022, Ramirez is responsible for leading staff in the ministry areas of church planting, church revitalization, evangelism and missions. He also leads the area related to business services and communications.
His passion is for local churches to reach their communities and win people to Jesus. His primary goal is to work with California Southern Baptist churches to push back the darkness for 35 million Californians who don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus.
He served as leader of the CSBC Evangelism and Missions Team and as associate executive director before being elected chief executive officer of CSBC.
Pete is married to Anabella. They have two daughters and one grandson.

Mike Bivins
Director, Office of Disaster Relief and Camping Ministries

Mike Bivins is volunteer mobilization and Disaster Relief coordinator for the California Southern Baptist Convention. His primary responsibility is to assist churches and individuals to engage in missions and Disaster Relief ministries. Bivins challenges CSBC congregations to be “disaster ready” for when calamity strikes their community.

Jason Blankenship
Leader, Evangelism Initiatives Team

Jason Blankenship is the leader of the Evangelism and Missions Initiatives Team for California Southern Baptist Convention. As team leader, Jason is an evangelism advocate for CSBC congregations responsible for developing and implementing a plan to assist churches with ministries to evangelize the unchurched in communities throughout the state.

Rick Brady
Evangelism Initiatives Team
Matt Brower
Marketing Coordinator, Communications
Tarah Browning
Church Planter’s Wives Specialist
Will Browning
Director of Send Network California
Roger Byrd
Church Matters Initiatives Team

Roger Byrd is a member of the CSBC Church Revitalization Initiatives Team. His primary responsibility is to work with churches in the Count the Cost ministry for new churches and those in need of revitalization. Roger also supports the ministry of music and worship for CSBC congregations, as well as prayer ministry.

Sally Cook
Controller, Business Services Team
Francis Chung
Missions Initiatives Team Leader

Francis Chung is a life-long California Southern Baptists who will bring cultural, secular work and church leadership experience to the newly developed Missions Initiatives Team for California Southern Baptists.
Francis grew up as part of the Mandarin Baptist Church of Los Angeles in Alhambra, a leading church in missions involvement and giving among California Southern Baptists. The church for many years has been the top giver to special mission offerings – state, national and international – among California Southern Baptist churches.
Because of his leadership position in the Mandarin congregation, Francis also has been active in state and national fellowships of Chinese Baptists.
He is an honors graduate of Brandeis University in Massachusetts with a bachelor of arts degree in biochemistry. He attended Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (now Gateway Seminary) and received a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

Ann Ehrlich
Ministry Assistant, Church Planting Initiatives Team
Karen Ehrlich
Ministry Assistant, Business Services Team
Steve Foss
Applications Data Specialist, Business Services Team
Sarah M. Graham
Director, Office of Communications

Sarah Graham was saved at a young age in a Southern Baptist church in La Habra, and has served several CSBC congregations, most notably 18 years at Green Hills Baptist, where she served first as the Worship Leader and then later as Director of Family Ministries and Church Administrator. Her experience in managing the day-to-day operations of the church and her abilities to plan large scale events are some of her greatest assets for the role of Director of Communications for CSBC. She has a Bachelors from Azusa Pacific University and a Masters of Leadership and Management Studies from California Baptist University.

Laura Hamilton
Executive Assistant, Business Services Team
Audrey Hernandez
Executive Assistant, Business Services Team
Laura Johnson
Disaster Relief Operations Coordinator
Beth Ketcheside
Executive Assistant, Executive Director
Lisa Kooiman
Executive Assistant, Communications
Veronica Morales
Specialist, Church Planting Initiatives Team
Kendrick Neal
Disaster Relief Director
Janessa Paez-Carrillo
Ministry Assistant, Evangelism Initiatives Team
Beverly Regensberg
Ministry Assistant, Church Matters Initiatives Team
Jason Robertson
Church Matters Team Leader
Oscar Sanchez
Evangelism and Missions Intiatives Team

Oscar Sanchez is migrant ministries field specialist for California Southern Baptist Convention. His primary responsibility is to develop plans to train and enlist churches to adopt a California migrant community or center as part of the Convention’s Feeding Those Who Feed Us ministry.

Cathie Smith
Missions Initiatives Team Member

Cathie most recently served as ministry wives coordinator for the Great Commission Association. She will serve primarily in the areas of women’s ministry and ministers’ wives for California Southern Baptist Convention. She also will assist in the International Mission Board Partnership with the East Asia Peoples Affinity Group.

For 10 years, Cathie and her husband served the International Mission Board, primarily in Spain. However, Cathie’s international missions service also includes Ecuador, Japan and Guatemala. She also has served as a director of special needs for a local church, is bilingual and served as an
ESL teacher. Cathie holds a bachelor’s degree in family development from Oklahoma Baptist University. She also earned master of divinity and doctor of educational ministry degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

Michael Solorio
Content Developer, Communications
Marc Tempesta
CFO and Leader, Business Services Team

Marc Tempesta, a Certified Public Accountant, is the chief financial officer for California Southern Baptist Convention. He also is the leader for the CSBC Business Services Team and provides oversight of risk management, human resources, data management, mail services and facilities management.

Katheryn Vana
Ministry Assistant, Church Matters Initiatives Team
Deanna Villegas
Executive Assistant, Associate Executive Director