Board members move our ministries forward with experience and expertise.

Ms. Lisa Behr serves as Chair of National Lutheran Communities & Services' (NLCS') Board of Trustees, and has been a Realtor with ERA OakCrest Realty, Inc. in Winchester, Va. since 2001.  Ms. Behr is also an owner/manager of both residential and commercial real estate. From 2004 through 2009, Ms. Behr has earned the BRAR President’s Award and ERA Leadership Team Award.  In 2009, she was named First in Service by ERA Real Estate, earning the prestigious Jim Jackson Memorial Award.  Her certifications include, Accredited Buyers Representative, Cartus/Affinity Certification and Senior Real Estate Specialist.

She is a member of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Women’s Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO), supporter of the Winchester Royals Baseball Team and the Blue Ridge Association of Realtors Educational Committee.

Ms. Behr received a B.A. in Administration Management from the University of Northern Iowa in 1980.

Dr. Robinson is the Director of the Scottish Rite Center for Childhood Language Disorders in the Hearing and Speech Center at Children’s National Health System, and is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C. He joined National Lutheran Communities & Services’ (NLCS') Board in January of 2013 bringing with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in attending to those with special needs from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Dr. Robinson’s accomplishments are many and he is widely acclaimed for his work in speech and language disorders, having served as president of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the District of Columbia Speech-Language-Hearing Association; Thomas A. Crowe Alumni Award from The University of Mississippi, School of Applied Sciences; Establishment of the Tommie L. Robinson Jr. Excellence Award by the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) Chapter in the Department of Communicative Disorders at the University of Mississippi; and other distinguished awards and recognitions. He is an adjunct professor at Howard University, University of the District of Columbia among other schools and universities. Dr. Robinson has served, and continues to serve on various boards, presented and lectured nationally and internationally, and is a published author.

Dr. Robinson holds a B.A. in Communicative Disorders from The University of Mississippi, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Speech-Language Pathology from Howard University.

Rev. Dukes joined National Lutheran Communities & Services' (NLCS') Board in 2015. She is currently serving as pastor at Mt. Zion Lutheran Church in New Market, Va. Her heart for ministry centers very much around outreach to the “least of these” and that is much of the focus at Mt. Zion, as this little country church is very active in the local, and extended, community responding to meet the needs of many. Since Pastor Dukes’ service with Mt. Zion, the ministry there has spent more than $100,000 helping others and this does not include the time, effort and giving that is not attached to money.

Prior to God’s call to seminary, Rev. Dukes worked in administration at the Medical University of South Carolina, as Executive Director of Storm Eye Institute reporting directly to the chairmen of the Department of Ophthalmology. During her tenure there, she was blessed to be able to turn a $400,000 deficit into a $1.2 million surplus within nine months. With a strong Director of Development, three floors of basic science research and patient care were added with a $9 million capital campaign, purchase of a $2 million laser, and a satellite office and surgery center were established. Also at Medical University, Rev. Dukes worked as an internal consultant reporting to the President, Dean and CEO solving problems between the academic departments.

Currently, she is serving as a member of the Board of Trustees for Lutheran Family Services of Virginia and the Extension Leadership Council for Shenandoah County.

Rev. Dukes graduated from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in 2008 with an M.Div. degree and was ordained in August 2008.

Larry Bradshaw joined National Lutheran Communities & Services (NLCS) in October of 2009 as President & CEO. He brings more than 30 years of experience in the not-for-profit senior living industry. From 1987-2006, he was Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President for Strategic Growth with Asbury Communities, a not-for-profit, multi-site, senior living organization. In 2006, Larry took on the role of President for Asbury’s for-profit company, The Asbury Group, offering consulting services to other Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). Larry was also the principal of Bradshaw Insights Group, providing consulting services to CCRCs in everything from strategic planning and board development to financial analysis and capital structure development.

As the President & CEO at NLCS, Larry’s focus is strategically growing and furthering the organization’s 126-year mission and ministry of providing lifestyle, residential and health care options for seniors. He leads a team of dedicated professionals whose collective goal is to meet the ever-changing needs of seniors, while providing excellent care and innovative services that preserve seniors’ independence and dignity. Under his leadership, NLCS has become a multi-site organization offering a wide range of services including home health care and community clinics.

Larry is an active member of LeadingAge and LeadingAge Maryland, has served as a CCAC (now CARF) Commissioner, and as Chair of CCAC’s Financial Advisory Panel. He is a frequent presenter at numerous national meetings, including LeadingAge, the National Investment Conference, and Ziegler’s Senior Living CFO Workshop.

Larry has a B.S. in Accounting from Emporia State University and an M.B.A. in Technology Management from The University of Phoenix.

Ms. Duss joined National Lutheran Communities & Services' (NLCS') Board of Trustees in 2014. She is a registered professional nurse with forty years of experience in health care with a focus on home care nursing, long term care management and clinical and regulatory management consulting. Ms. Duss is the founder and owner of Duss Healthcare Consulting, LLC, based in Alexandria, Va. since 2003. Through this company, she provides consulting services in clinical, regulatory and management, professional coaching, and educational services to long term care providers. She has also served as Director of Health Care Services at Vinson Hall Retirement and as Director of Nursing in other communities and health care systems throughout her career.

Ms. Duss has served on many panels and boards as well as making presentations and lectures at several conferences in the health care industry. She is the recipient of the James G. Dunton Distinguished Service Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Virginia Health Care Association; Trustee of the Year from Florida Association for Homes and Services for the Aging; and is a Sigma Theta Tau Inductee, Zeta Omega Chapter, Pace University, Pleasantville, N.Y.

Having attended multiple higher education facilities in New York, Ms. Duss has earned a B.S. in Elementary Education from Nyack College; Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) degree from Rockland Community College; and Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree from Pace University, Lienhard School of Nursing.

Dr. Classie G. Hoyle, Ph.D., was elected to the NLCS Board of Trustees in July 2016 bringing expertise in education and many years of experience of serving on the Annapolis City Council. While serving on the Annapolis City Council, she was on the Finance Committee for nine years and chaired the committee for three of those years. In addition, she chaired the Housing and Human Development Committee along with the Housing and Human Welfare Committee. During her term in office, she introduced or co-sponsored 37 pieces of legislation including a Charter amendment to title Council members and a bill to require moderately priced dwelling units to be included in all new City developments.

Dr. Hoyle’s civic responsibilities include, in addition to the CA Board, Board membership on the YWCA of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County; Annapolis Area Ministries; A Tribute to Women of Color; Annapolis Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; the Har-Pearl Spruill Foundation and the appointment to the Maryland Commission on Women. She is an active member of Mount Olive AME Church and serves on its Community Development Corporation Board.

Dr. Hoyle has Bachelor and Master’s degrees from Morgan State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa.

Pastor Ickert serves on National Lutheran Communities & Services' (NLCS') Board of Trustees, as well as The Village at Rockville's Board. He has been the Senior Pastor of Resurrection since 1995, having previously served parishes in Richmond and Leesburg, Va.

Early in his career, he was a full-time graduate student at The Catholic University of America, earning his Ph.D. in Church History in 1985. In 1990 he was called by the Lutheran World Federation to a research and teaching position at Mansfield College, Oxford, as well as a part-time teaching position at Ripon College Cuddesdon. Five years later Rev. Ickert left those positions to accept the call to Resurrection.

He has been active in ecumenical and inter-religious work for most of his ministry, having served a term on the U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialog (Round #10); was appointed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Church Council to serve as observer/participant for two consecutive rounds of the U.S. Catholic-Reformed Dialog; was appointed to serve a term on the Theological Commission of the Reformed Church in America; is a founding member of the Lutheran Episcopal Coordinating Committee; a member of a Lutheran-Catholic Dialog; and is Lutheran convener of a Lutheran-Jewish Dialog.

The Rev. Dr. Wollom “Wally” A. Jensen joined National Lutheran Communities & Services' (NLCS') Board of Trustees in November of 2013 as an appointee by the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA's) Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod. He is a member of Resurrection Lutheran Church in Arlington, Va.

Dr. Jensen is a native of North Dakota, and is a retired Captain, U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps, an ordained Pastor of the ELCA and served as the Executive Officer to Bishop Suffragan for Armed Forces and Federal Ministries of The Episcopal Church.

Dr. Jensen is a published author who has served the church as a parish pastor, seminary executive, and college professor. He is a member of the Conference of Diocesan Executives, The American Academy of Religion and North American Academy of Ecumenists.

Dr. Jensen holds a B.A. in English from The University of North Dakota,  Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M.) degrees from Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, Pa., and his D.A. from George Mason University, Washington, D.C.

Rev. Joseph P. Lettrich joined National Lutheran Communities & Services' (NLCS') Board in January of 2013. He is the Delaware-Maryland Synod Bishop's designee. Ordained 45 years ago, he is now a retired Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) clergy, currently serving the Delaware-Maryland Synod as a supply pastor.  

Rev. Lettrich’s call to ministry came during his work with Lutheran Campus Ministry both locally and nationally. He has served four congregations in the Delaware-Maryland Synod: St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in Wilmington, Del., Second English Lutheran Church in Baltimore, St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Silver Spring, Md., and St. John’s Lutheran Church and Christian Day School in Brooklyn, Md. Rev. Lettrich also served as an interim minister for six parishes, supervising three interns.

He continues to serve on the Global Mission Task Force assigned to Estonia since 1994 and formerly served as Dean of the Baltimore South (LCA) Conference. He was also on the Church Vocations Committee and the Worship and Music Task Force during the introduction of the Lutheran Book of Worship in 1978.

Always on a quest for knowledge, he has participated in numerous seminars and studies at St. Andrews in Scotland and The Alban Institute. Rev. Lettrich currently helps with Meals on Wheels, various Campus Ministry projects, and Global Mission work in Estonia.

Rev. Lettrich received his B.A. in History from Indiana State University of Pennsylvania in 1963 and a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree from The Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia in 1967. He has taken additional studies at Bethel Theological School in Bielefeld, Germany.

Michael F. Rodgers was elected to National Lutheran Communities & Services' (NLCS') Board of Trustees in January of 2015, and brings a wealth of experience in senior health care. He is currently senior vice president for public policy and advocacy for the Catholic Health Association (CHA) of the United States . He is based at the association’s Washington, D.C. office.

As senior vice president, Mr. Rodgers represents CHA and its members on health-related issues before Congress, the White House, and a variety of health-related federal agencies. In addition, Mr. Rodgers contributes to the development and implementation of the public policy and advocacy component of the association’s strategic plan.

Prior to joining CHA in October of 2000, Mr. Rodgers served as senior vice president for the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA), now known as LeadingAge, in Washington, D.C. In that role, he oversaw operations and directed staff functions of the Government Relations Department. During his 14 years with AAHSA, Mr. Rodgers was known for developing successful legislative strategies, including efforts to restore federal funding for nursing facilities as a result of the Medicare reductions in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. He also was responsible for implementing the policy and advocacy component of AAHSA’s strategic plan.

In addition to his professional experience, Mr. Rodgers has been serving as professional faculty/advisor at Johns Hopkins University, School of Professional Studies in Business and Education in Baltimore. He previously served on the faculty of the University of Scranton, College of Human Resources, Graduate School of Rehabilitation Counseling in Scranton, Pa. He has also served as a professional mentor for Georgetown University in their Health Administration program.

Mr. Rodgers holds an M.A. in Rehabilitation Counseling and Psychology from the University of Scranton and a B.S. in Psychology from Mount Saint Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, Md.

Julie Swanson was elected to serve on National Lutheran Communities & Services' (NLCS') Board of Trustees in January of 2016.  Since 2005, she is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Lutheran Family Services of Virginia (LFSVA). Under her leadership, LFSVA has expanded its services, staff and reach, creating a $30 million agency that employs more than 440 people in 23 locations. The agency offers a network of care that includes adoption and foster care, education for children with complex needs, supports for individuals with disabilities, and an array of services in the community to strengthen families.

Throughout her career, Ms. Swanson has been an ardent advocate and thought leader, using her broad experience to create programs and policies that help children, families, refugees and the elderly find the fullest and most complete life. She currently serves as treasurer and board member for the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy and is a founding member, and past chair, for the Virginia Nonprofit Leadership Council. She also serves on the Board of Lutheran Services in America (LSA) and is the past chair of the LSA Disabilities Network.

Pastor Wertz, M.Div. has served as the pastor of St. Michael Lutheran Church in Blacksburg, Va. since 2004. A graduate of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C., Pastor Wertz was ordained by the South Carolina Synod in 1997 and served his first call at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Walterboro, S.C., from 1997 until 2004.

Pastor Wertz has a passion for putting God’s Word into action. While at Good Shepherd, he helped launch Shepherd’s Care—an Alzheimer’s Respite program—and expanded a food pantry. At St. Michael, Pastor Wertz helped create Micah’s Caring Initiative (www.micahci.org), a community partnership sponsored by St. Michael, which works with more than 200 partner organizations to provide weekend meals for hungry students, monthly meals to low income senior adults and fresh food in the summer to local food pantries. Pastor Wertz currently serves on the Council of the Virginia Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), on the Synod Finance Committee and is the President of the Lutheran Partners in Mission Board.

In addition to his work in the parish, Pastor Wertz oversees the Mission Leaders Network and is a partner in D647.com, which has produced an iPhone application entitled 66 People of the Bible.