Team Member Bio's

North America
August 7th 2012

Published: August 7th 2012

2012 Team Romania

Team Member Bio’s

Becky -- I have been working in Thrivent’s Annuity Interaction Center for 5 years, and have been telecommuting for the last 3 years, which I absolutely love. I live in New London, WI with my husband, 7-yr old son, 5-yr old daughter, and our black lab. I enjoy reading, listening to music, pretending to garden, and mostly just playing with my kids. I am very excited that this is my first Thrivent Builds trip and I look forward to a wonderful, rewarding experience!

Britt -- I am originally from a small town in Pennsylvania called Eighty Four. It’s a rural farming type community about 25 miles south of Pittsburgh. I moved to Wisconsin 10 years ago taking a role at Schneider National. I’ve now worked for Thrivent for 21 months. My role here is the Information Security Officer. My teams help ensure that our data and systems are secure. I live in West De Pere with my wife and our 4 children. I am very active with my children which consumes all of my free time. I have been blessed with the opportunity to travel internationally in the past and love being exposed to other cultures. I am truly looking forward to our time in Romania to both learn their culture and provide something in return. This is my first Thrivent Builds trip.

Carrie -- I have been married to my husband for 33 years. We have 2 daughters and 6 wonderful grandchildren I will be with Thrivent for 10 years in November, I started in the Annuity call center, than worked a few of years in the Contracting, Licensing and Registration department and the last 5 years I have been in the Suitability department. My hobbies are scrapbooking and sewing. My previous experience on a Thrivent World Wide Builds trip was to El Salvador. I am very excited about participating on this trip to Romania and the new friends and experiences I will be making along the way. I am so thankful to be working for a company that allows their employees this great opportunity.

Deb -- I have been married for 25 years to my husband. We have one son who just turned 23. We have two dogs, Lola and Lucy and a cat named Marley. I enjoy walking the dogs, working in the yard and planning new trips. I have been lucky to have gone to Romania in 2007 and am looking forward to going again.

Dennis -- I was born and raised in the Green Bay area for the first 20 years of my life and have been working for Thrivent for 20 years since. This year marks my 15 year wedding anniversary and I have 3 wonderful children. I’ve enjoyed several Thrivent Build trips to many locations including Romania, El Salvador, and Biloxi. I spend my free time volunteering at the fire department, playing with my kids, and playing the guitar.

Don -- I am an IT Director of Enterprise Client Computing Services. My team supports PC provisioning and delivery, mobile technologies, email, Lync, field and corporate desktop engineering and support. I have been at Thrivent for 13 years, starting my career as an FR in 1997.

I am married to my wife of 24 years. We have 4 children. We live in Black Creek, WI, where I love to ride motorcycle, do home improvement projects, flower gardening, landscaping, and travel (anywhere and often).

I have been on Thrivent Build trips to Romania, Costa Rica, twice to Biloxi, and now my second trip to Romania is coming up. I value the opportunity to participate in such an impactful and important mission experience.

Heather -- I was raised in Minocqua, WI. I moved to the Fox Valley to attend college at UW Oshkosh. My husband and I live in Neenah with our 3 year old black lab, Lucy. I like to stay active and have completed several sprint triathlon and half marathon races since 2008. In my free time, I enjoy cooking, gardening, camping, hiking and volunteering. I have worked at Thrivent Financial for 9 years. I am currently a Field Compensation Specialist. Two years ago I traveled to El Salvador on a Thrivent Builds Worldwide trip. I am excited for the opportunity help build homes with the people of Romania!

Noreen -- I am a Lead Customer Service Professional in the Member Connection Center. I have been with Thrivent Financial for 20 years. I have been married for 33 years and we have 3 daughters and 2 grandsons that we adore. We also have a black lab named Tank and a black lab/Rottweiler named Sid. I grew up in Kimberly WI and I love doing yard work, cook-outs with our family and the Packers. This will be my first time outside the country and I am excited about this amazing opportunity.

Pam -- I was born and raised in Appleton, Wi. I now live in Hortonville, Wi. With the help of my husband of 20 years we are raising two children, a 17 old daughter and a 15 year old son. We share our home with an 11 year old yellow lab (Hannah), and a 13 year old cat (Abby). We own a grilling supply store called BBQ’s Pits n Spits for the past 6 years. As a family 4 KCBS Barbecue competitions this summer! I have a strong passion for volunteering for a variety of non-profits, but my true passion lies with Thrivent Builds. I feel so incredibly blessed to work for an organization that I am encouraged and enabled to provide my time to help others in need, for the past 22 years! This will be my third World Wide trip and my second time to Romania, my other trip was to El Salvador.

Karin -- My name is Karin Vukich, I have been with Thrivent Financial for 25 years and currently work in BD and IA Services. I grew up in rural Minnesota, but had the awesome opportunity to live in WI and work in the Appleton office for five years right after the merge. I have 3 kids, but would argue that number should probably be 4 to include my husband. Our oldest is currently a freshman attending UWLAX. Our daughter is a junior and our second son is a freshman at Chisago Lake High school. We also have Maggie our seven year old border collie, two cats, M-Cow and Cow pi and our new addition, a twelve week old border collie, Zorua (Maggie has been asking for a puppy for years!).

This will be my 9th Thrivent Builds adventure. My husband and I have lead 5 member trips in the past, and I enjoy the member trips, because it has given me the opportunity to bring my children on several of the trips. (In most countries, kids as young as 14 can come, as long as a parent is along). Our oldest child has been to Poland, Portugal, Costa Rica and Chile, our daughter has been to Costa Rica, Chile and El Salvador, and our youngest was finally old enough to go on his first trip last year with us to El Salvador. Besides traveling and making my children work (it’s much more exciting to work on other people’s homes.) we love to camp, run, go mountain climbing and volunteer.

Mike -- I grew up near Hutchinson, in central MN. I attended Gustavus Adolphus College majoring in Math and Political Science, playing college football for the Gusties. Graduating on a Saturday, I started at Lutheran Brotherhood 2 days later and has been with Thrivent ever since (19+ years). I had intended to be an actuary, but started out in IT and never left; starting as a programmer, moving to an IT lead role, then on to architecture, and for the last 6 years serving as a Project Manager. I am currently ‘on loan’ to Investments for 2 years serving as a PM on their major initiatives. I have been remarried for 3 years and is actively involved in my children’s (16, 14, and 11) sports pursuits, serving as fast pitch softball coach, Little League board member, and statistician for all 3 kids basketball teams. I also squeeze in time for multiple volunteer commitments, weekly volleyball league, summer demolition derbies, and follow the Vikings and Twins closely.

Paul -- I am Thrivent’s Vice President & Deputy General Counsel of Member Services Law. In this position, I lead the legal & compliance support for numerous corporate services. In my free time, I enjoy travel (especially to NYC), running, music and time with my family and friends. This is my first World Wide trip and I am looking forward to immersing myself in the culture!

Mary Jo -- I’ve been with Thrivent Financial for 35 years. Currently I’m a Lead Business Analyst in Field and Member Solutions working with the Field Platform. I’ve been married to my husband for 34 years. We have 3 grown sons. My husband and sons have a family construction business. I also have 3 adorable grandchildren (2 boys and a girl). We’re looking forward to the arrival of our 4th grandchild which should be shortly after my return from Romania. My hobbies include spending time with our grandchildren, escaping to our cabin in Townsend, reading, walking and biking……just about anything outdoors. This is my 2nd Thrivent Builds trip. The first one was 6 years ago to Guatemala. This is an amazing opportunity to make a difference! I’m looking forward to learning more about the people and culture of Romania and making new friends!

Ray -- I grew up in rural northern CO, and received my degree (Agribusiness Finance) from Colorado State U in Ft Collins, where I met my wife (32 years). We have 2 children: daughter-25 (graduate from Univ. of Northern Colorado), and son-21 (senior @ University of Colorado). We are “empty-nesters” with a dog named “Tara.” No in-laws or grandchildren at this time.

I was a partner & manager for several small businesses for many years, mostly ag-related, largest being dairy farm equipment and supplies. I sold out my ownership shares in 2007 and I have now been with Thrivent since April 2009, working with the “Fraternal” group and with financial reps, partners, and member leaders in northern CO, southern WY.

We like to travel, hike, bike, camp, backpack, mtn. climb, snowshoe, and ski. I have had a private pilot license since I was 20, and we also like to fly to various destinations for fun. We also are involved with our church and a number of non-profits in various capacities in our community.

I am looking forward to teaming with this corporate group in a Thrivent/Habitat Build in Romania. This will be my second Thrivent Global Build.

Wende -- I am a senior business process analyst in the field compensation area. I’ve been with Thrivent for 26 years. I’ve been in the compensation area for almost my entire career. I have 2 daughters, ages 16 and 21. I also have a 2 year old grandson. I enjoy reading and spending time with my kids and grandson. I also love watching my daughter play soccer and can’t wait for my grandson to start playing too. This is my first Thrivent World Wide Builds trip and I’m so excited to be going to Romania.

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