M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust

PEER Cohorts

Meet the Team

Peer Cohorts Facilitators

Alec Hill
Excelling Beyond the Beginning Facilitator
Alec Hill is president emeritus of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA. He has also served as dean of the School of Business and Economics at Seattle Pacific University and as a Regional Director for World Relief. He hold a law degree from the University of Washington and has served on numerous boards, including Christianity Today, the World Affairs Council, and the Union Gospel Mission. Alec teaches part-time at Regent College (Canada), mentors rising leaders, and is the author of two books, Just Business: Christian Ethics in the Marketplace and Living in Bonus Time: Surviving Cancer, Finding New Purpose. He lives with his wife, Mary, in the Seattle area and is the blessed survivor of a bone marrow transplant.
Martha Newsome
Excelling Beyond the Beginning Facilitator
Martha Holley Newsome is the majority owner of Envision Golf, a golf simulation and recreation business in Tualatin, Oregon. She is the former President & CEO of Medical Teams International, a global health and humanitarian organization. She has spent the last 30 years of her life dedicated to serving the health needs of others. During her tenure at Medical Teams, the organization’s cash programming from $26 to $60 million, enabling three million people in crisis to be reached with urgent and lifesaving medical care, disaster response, humanitarian aid, community health programs, and mobile medical and dental care in the U.S. Medical Teams International also distributed an additional $20 million in medical products worldwide. Considered an authoritative global leader in international public health, Martha has a deep understanding of grassroots operations as she worked her way to senior leadership from the front-line realities of local community health. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wheaton College and a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. Martha lived in southern Africa for 15 years, and at the age of 33, was elevated to Country Director for World Vision in post-war Mozambique. Prior to joining Medical Teams International in 2016, she led World Vision International’s Global Sustainable Health team representing three sectors, over 3,000 employees and a budget of $700M. Martha is the former Chair of the Integral Alliance Board of Directors, an international alliance of 21 faith-based relief and development agencies and is published in public health journals including the Journal of Mobile Technology in Medicine and Human Resources of Health. Martha and her husband live in Portland, Oregon and have two grown children and a goldendoodle named Nugget.
Jessica Taylor
Leaders of Color Facilitator
Dr. Jessica Taylor is the CEO and Founder of Leadership Training Initiative, a boutique leadership development consulting firm specializing in inclusive and equitable strategy. She is passionate about empowering others to transform their organizations and leadership legacy. She credits this passion to her deep faith. Known for her empathy, pragmatism, and humor, Jessica equips and builds organizations where everyone can courageously be themselves without bias, discrimination, or barriers determining their success. With a lifetime of perspective as a biracial, woman of color, years of executive experience, and a background in human development, Jessica coaches executive leaders and guides organizations through equitable leadership strategies through nuanced and comprehensive methods centered around empathy and holistic practice. She currently serves as the President of Multnomah University, in Oregon and has previously worked as the Executive Director of Youth For Christ Portland. She is also an ordained pastor in the Church of God and holds a PhD in Christian Counseling and a Master of Arts in Human Services.
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