On the Front Lines Webinar
On the Front Lines
Our Guests
Valarie Grimes
alarie Grimes is a Pastor of the future church plant Radiant Church Savannah, in Savannah Georgia. Radiant’s vision is to be “A church without walls bringing the hope of Jesus to everyone.” She is an international speaker, and Kingdom builder. Her passion is inspiring believers to reach their God-given potential in order to change the world. Pastor Valarie is a compassionate leader that has impacted the lives of countless people through domestic and international initiatives. She traveled to Ganta City, Liberia and to Dahli, China as a speaker, teacher, and humanitarian. Valarie is a Registered Nurse and is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Ministry from South University. Her most important roles, however, are the ones she hold in her family as a wife, mother, sister, and grandmother. She is married toRahman Grimes and they will celebrate 33 years of matrimony this June. She is the mother of two children, David Grimes that has gone to be with the Lord and Courtney Grimes. She is also the grandmother of the sweetest little girl in the world, Cairo Olivia Johnson and the most handsome little boy in the world, Zen Alexander Johnson. Her goal is to influence others to become Christ followers and to lead Radiant lives as they reflect the love of God in the earth!
Dr. Tom Wood, ScD
Since coming to Samaritan’s Purse in 2010, Dr. Wood, serving out of SP’s International Headquarters as an Epidemiologist, has worked in the area of Emerging Infectious Disease Intervention and Control.
Dr. Wood completed his doctoral studies through the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health went on to serve as Director of Manpower for U.S. Naval Medical Research where he assured the professional staffing for eight medical research facilities located world-wide with greater than 1,200 research and administrative personnel. Returning to his first love, professionally speaking, he supported an intervention which led to the control of a major malaria epidemic among 250,000 refugees in seven Somali camps in Northern Kenya. His broad background includes assignments in training medical professionals in disease diagnosis and control, research in tropical medicine, control of vector borne and communicable diseases, public health, and epidemiology. He has enjoyed assignments in diverse environments around the world serving in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Philippines, and the Caribbean. He has led efforts in the intervention and control of diarrheal disease among orphan children, trained physicians in Panama in tropical disease recognition and in tropical survival, and worked through the diagnosis, intervention, and control of major disease outbreaks including Cholera in Haiti and Ebola in Liberia. He brings over 50 years of experience to Samaritan’s Purse.
Tom and his wife Betsy live in Texas and actively serve in a local church they helped plant over 15 years ago.
Kasey Dillon
Kasey Dillon and her husband, Wes, are working with Stadia to lead the launch of a new church called The Four Rivers Project in the seacoast area of New Hampshire.
Kasey has been working as a Physician Assistant in Emergency Medicine since 2005. She is also a professor in the Physician Assistant Program at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences University and is earning her doctorate in Physician Assistant Studies with a focus in global health, graduating this December. She has worked at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Catholic Medical Center in Manchester NH, and is currently at Wentworth Douglas Hospital in Dover NH.
Kasey is a native New Englander, has been married to Wes for 19 years and they have 3 amazing, fun, and active children. They have lived in the area of their church plant for 14 years. Kasey and Wes’ passion is to see Jesus’ church transform not just lives, but entire communities with the hope of the Gospel. This, and the relationships built over the past years, is at the heart of starting The Four Rivers Project in their community.