Leadership
Executive Director
Dan is the Executive Director of Earth Mission, overseeing the work in Southeast Asia. Dan enjoys setting up the structure for organizations and empowering people to carry out the mission. His background in business has been helpful in the building of Earth Mission.
Dan first began working with Earth Mission alongside his father, LD Ryan—Earth Mission’s founder—in high school, when he helped build churches in Mexico, building windmills, and other appropriate technology fabrication. After graduating from LeTourneau University with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Dan worked for 11 years in engineering and then built a successful structural engineering firm for the following 13 years.
In a major life course change, Dan felt God pulling him away from growing businesses to pursue the things of God’s kingdom full-time. In 2013, Dan joined Earth Mission and moved with his family to northern Thailand. He considers the great honor of working with Karen people a way to share the love of Jesus while helping people in lasting and practical ways.
Senior Program Director
A former USAF Major and ER physician, Mitch is a visionary who has spent most of his professional career working internationally alongside his wife Caryl, a licensed nurse. Together they have launched initiatives focused on providing excellent healthcare in regions of the world where quality medical care is limited. From 1995 - 2005, he founded and operated the Gilgit Eye Hospital in Northern Pakistan, supported a medic training program for the Karen people in Myanmar from 2005 - 2015, and in 2015 established the Earth Mission Physician Associate training program in southeast Myanmar.
He enjoys working with a team of professionals dedicated to serving people and teaching others how to do the same. He co-authored a medical textbook that is utilized in Earth Mission’s Physician Associate training program. Mitch has a Bachelor of Science in Biology and received his MD from Wayne State School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Family Medicine and received a certificate in Tropical Ophthalmology from the International Center for Eye Health in London. He maintains active U.S. medical licenses in Arkansas and Oklahoma. In 2023, Mitch received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Ulster University in Northern Ireland.
Ultimately, Mitch is driven by his faith in Jesus Christ, in the spirit of Isaiah 58:6: “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?” To be a Christian is to be the hands and feet of Jesus. To love is to sacrifice.
Donor Relations Director
Caryl has over 40 years of experience in both nursing and healthcare program administration. Early on, she worked as an ICU nurse in the US, and then later as the medical administrator at Gilgit Eye Hospital in Pakistan from 1995 - 2002. After moving to Thailand, she took on managerial roles in support of Earth Mission’s Physician Associate training program. Serving first as Earth Mission’s Program Administrative Director in the areas of finance, project reporting, communication, human resources, and the management of local and international staff from 2002 - 2024, she now has the role of Donor Relations Director. She serves as a board member for Chiang Mai International School and is the chairman of the Earth Mission Asia Foundation.
Associate Executive Director
Jill has over 25 years of experience serving in non-profit leadership roles, including higher education, campus ministry, missions, pastoral leadership, community development organizations and non-profits. She holds Bachelor's degrees in Accounting and Business Administration and a Master’s degree in Christian Education/Student Services. She has been heavily involved in training and equipping others for ministry, creating and managing financial budgets, developing organizational systems, and implementing new software and programming. She also served on the board of the Fellowship of Short-Term Mission Leaders and helped with the writing of the Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Missions.
Finance Director
Dao has served as Earth Mission’s Finance Director since 2022. She provides vital financial oversight in the Earth Mission Asia Foundation (EMAF), our Thailand-based entity that enables the distribution of Earth Mission’s program funding into Myanmar. Her educational background includes: Master of Christian Ministry Administration, Bangkok Bible Seminary, Bangkok, Thailand (2011); Bachelor of Accountancy, Payap University, Chiang Mai, Thailand (1995); and Diploma of Higher Vocational Education. Before joining Earth Mission, Dao held previous roles at Compassion International as Manager of Accounting, Account and Operation Specialist, Regional Office Manager, and Ministry Services Manager. Outside of Earth Mission, Dao serves on the Board of Directors for the Darunathorn Foundation and the Borirak Foundation.
Board of Directors
The board of Earth Mission, Inc., a U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) organization, meets quarterly and holds the organization accountable in governance, legal requirements, and finance. The board’s Financial Advisory subcommittee, along with an outside CPA, reviews financial statements quarterly. Our board members are professionals in core aspects of our mission—medicine, engineering, education, and ministry—who contribute their expertise to the development and execution of organization initiatives.
Mark Davis
PRESIDENT
Dennis Bergthold
VICE PRESIDENT
Stefan Siems
TREASURER
Jim Caldwell
SECRETARY
Cathy Reimer
MEMBER
Cindy Frieze
MEMBER