Doulos Family Q&A with Tim

To get to know Doulos' next Executive Director, we thought it'd be nice to open it up to you, the Doulos Family, to see what questions or curiosities you have. Below are your questions and Tim's responses.

How are things coming with the new land and all that?

Things continue to move forward with the new property. Over the past few weeks, I have been diving into the first edition of our master plan and recently met with our architect to provide staff and leadership feedback on that plan. It's so exciting to see the concepts for future Doulos! Connected to the new land project, we've also been having conversations around the desired future enrollment of Doulos. Making key decisions around that number will help us to better understand our needs at the future campus. I was so grateful for how thoughtful the staff were as they considered what that might look like for Doulos 5, 10, 15, and 20 years from now.

What kind of systems or people are in place to help support you in your role?

I'm so grateful that I'm not on my own as Executive Director of Doulos. We have wonderful directors, managers, and staff that are faithful to their responsibilities. That is a wonderful support-- not just for me but for Doulos as a whole. I know that there will be times when a decision will need to be made for Doulos, and I will be the deciding factor, but I'd prefer that we lead as a team as much as we can. Some especially important parts of my team are Megan (School Director), Jonathan (Finance Director), and Amber (Operations Director). In addition to those three, I have been blessed with a board that has been extremely helpful in this transition. They have cared immensely for both me and Doulos in these early days of my new role.

Were you born in Minnesota?

Minnesota will always be a place that we call home, but I was not born there. I was born in Austin, TX while my dad was serving in the Air Force at Bergstrom Air Force Base (which I'm told is now Austin Airport!). Most of my childhood was spent growing up in the small town of Akron, NY (near Buffalo, NY), which was close to where my dad grew up in NY. That means I'm a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan and still recovering from yet another painful loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

What has you most inspired as you look at the next year or so?

Two things immediately come to mind: our staff and the future land project. The staff inspires me because they work so incredibly hard to help further the mission of Doulos. They realize the importance of the work that we're called to here in Jarabacoa and they're invested in that. They disciple students at every turn, they give needed hugs throughout the day, they have hard conversations, and they spend countless hours prepping outside of the classroom. It's an amazing team!

The land project is a big inspiration for me as I look to the next year. I know we might be a few years out from breaking ground (we're praying for sooner rather than later!), but the fact that Doulos has a big open piece of land on the side of a mountain to build a future school... that's amazing! That future campus will be a place where we will be even better equipped to live out our mission statement, and it will mean a greater impact for Doulos for many years to come!

January's Highlights

A Second Copier

With our staff and student body growing we are so grateful to have a second copier!

100th Day of School

We dressed up as 100-year-olds or with 100 items on our shirts to have some fun and celebrate.

Enrollment

We were humbled yet again by the number of parents who came early and waited in line to give their children a chance to study at Doulos. Click Here to learn all about our enrolment process.

Impromptu Service Trip

Teachers and students took a Saturday to help a school on the North Coast as they recovered from floods.

Please join us in praying for...

Enrolment Selection - Now that we have all the applications, we have the challenging job of discerning which students will be offered a spot. Please join the team as we pray for wisdom and guidance for each step of the way.

Recruitment - Pray that God would call and guide each person that He'd like to serve for the next school year at Doulos. You can click here to see and pray over our specific job openings.

Independence Day Program - Each year, guided by our Dominican social studies teachers, our students present an "Independence Day Program." Please pray that God uses the process and presentation to foster in our students a sense of ownership, responsibility, and a calling to use their skills to shape the future of the DR.

January 2025