Board of Directors
Our faithful Board of Directors leads Life Network through stewarding our organization’s vision, mission and resources. This gifted group of individuals represent a variety of backgrounds and areas of our community, from pastoral care at local churches to national ministries and more. To get to know our Board, hover over each individual’s photo to read a short bio.
Derek Hanson
Chairman
Derek Hanson’s greatest joy is to see God’s hope coming to a broken world, and his life purpose is to serve Christ in that work. Derek has served at Focus on the Family for over 20 years in various capacities, including marketing, program development, strategic planning, business intelligence and global ministry outreach. In addition to his work at Focus, Derek serves as the Strategy Fellow at the Tandon Institute, a consulting team that brings strategic coaching and advice to Christian non-profits around the globe. Derek lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado with his wife and three children. Derek joined the Life Network board in November 2017.
Linda Gould
Vice Chairman
Linda Gould is an attorney in Colorado Springs. Her law practice includes Business Planning, Probate, Estate Planning, Real Estate, and Trademark Prosecution. She is trained by Peacemaker Ministries to provide counsel and mediation in conflict situations. Linda and her husband Bob are members of First Evangelical Free Church of Colorado Springs, where they serve on the marriage mentoring team. Linda has served on the Life Network board since 2016.
Thomas G. Sistare, CPA
Treasurer
Tom Sistare is a certified public accountant and has served as treasurer on the board of directors for Life Network since November 2002, overseeing the financial direction of the ministry. Tom has worked in public accounting in Colorado Springs for more than two decades and specializes in local government, non-profit, and federal grant compliance auditing as an Audit Shareholder for Hoelting & Company Certified Public Accountants. Tom is a member of Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Tom received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Connecticut, where he met his wife, Cheryl. They have two college-aged sons, Jacob and Nathan.
Maura Nordberg
Secretary
Maura Nordberg, a native of Colorado, loves living in Colorado Springs, CO with her husband, two daughters and one son. She has served as the Secretary of the board of Life Network for several years. Professionally, Maura worked as a School Psychologist for six years, providing universal mental health for students preschool through fifth grade in Falcon School District 49. Currently, Maura enjoys staying home with her children, whom she is homeschooling, supporting her husband Dan, a former State Representative in Colorado House District 14, and enjoying a variety of activities outdoors in beautiful Colorado.
Pastor Eric Cartier
Eric realized at a young age that the Lord was calling him to reach those without Christ. Through teachings at Applegate Christian Fellowship and Calvary Bible College, God began to equip him for a life of ministry. He began serving at Rocky Mountain Calvary in 2000 and has been the senior pastor at RMC since 2005. He and his beautiful wife, Amber, both share a heart for the sanctity of human life. They have four children, Hannah, Adelyn, Ileanne and Wyatt.
Chris Odell
Chris Odell has been a successful executive in corporate and start-up environments in the network communications industry and has been a board-level contributor to local high-tech startups. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors for Goodwill of Colorado, as well as an active elder in his church since 1992.
Chris and his wife, Molly, have been Colorado Springs residents since 1982. They have been Life Network supporters for almost thirty years and have a deep commitment to the sanctity and dignity of life. Chris and Molly have four married children and twelve grandchildren. Chris enjoys spending time with his grandkids, family, and friends, and in the great outdoors of Colorado.
Ellie Haddad
Ellie is passionate about Life Network's desire to advocate for the unborn and bring wholeness through life in Christ. She has worked as an Occupational Therapist for over 30 years and currently works as an Early Interventionist, providing support and therapy to children with developmental delays or disabilities from 0 – 3 years old and their families. She is also a certified infant massage instructor and teaches parents, who have babies with physical challenges, how to apply a variety of massage techniques to encourage bonding and development.
Ellie has volunteered with Young Life for more than 25 years, serving on the local Young Life Committee and volunteering with teenagers. Ellie and John have been married for over 30 years and are the parents of four adult children.
Debbi Rayburn
Debbi grew up in a military family and after moving from coast to coast, settled in Colorado Springs where she attended Mitchell High School (colors: blue and orange). She graduated from Wheaton College (colors: blue and orange) with a degree in Physical Education. That year she married Bentley Rayburn in the Air Force Academy chapel. Bentley was a commander numerous times in the three decades to follow, and Debbi enjoyed her role as a commander’s wife where she says she “was stretched and out of my comfort zone but God always provided the strength and guidance I needed.”
Debbi and Bentley returned to Colorado Springs after Bentley retired in 2006. She likes the Broncos (colors: blue and orange), and loves living in Colorado Springs near her parents. She and Bentley have 4 married children and 5 grandchildren.
Chris Banta
Chris is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a member of the AICPA. He is an Audit Manager at Hoelting and Company Inc. Outside of his career, Chris and his wife, Gillian, are privileged to raise two sons. Chris and Gillian met playing music and serve as worship leaders at Woodmen Valley Chapel. They also enjoy hiking and camping adventures that bring them closer to nature's beauty. Chris is passionate about giving back to the community and has contributed his financial expertise to numerous non-profit organizations, both through accounting and consulting services and as a board member. Chris’ life revolves around the balance of professional excellence, family bonds, outdoor exploration, and heartfelt service to our community and faith.
Dave York
Dave joined the Board of Directors in 2022 after he and his wife, Mary, had been long-time supporters of Life Network. They are passionate about protecting the preborn, building marriages, and preserving families. Dave has served in a variety of leadership roles in the high-tech industry and also in various volunteer roles (elder, deacon, teaching) in the evangelical churches he and Mary have attended over the past 30+ years in the Colorado Springs area. Dave and Mary met and married in 1984 after Dave graduated from the US Air Force Academy. They moved back to the Colorado Springs area in 1990 and remained here after Dave left the Air Force in 1992. They have three adult children and six grandchildren and enjoy traveling, spending time with family and friends, and exploring the beautiful year-round activities in Colorado.
Bridget Lee
Bridget Lee joined the Board of Directors in 2021, and she is passionate about our life-affirming ministry. Bridget was born and raised in Ohio and has called Colorado her home since 2009. She is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and she has over 10 years of experience caring for patients in southern Colorado. Bridget and her husband Bryan have been members at Austin Bluffs Evangelical Free Church for 12 years and are very involved in ministry. They have four children and together enjoy hobby farming, hosting and enjoying the outdoors.
Rich Bennett
President/CEO, non-voting board member
After serving on Life Network’s Board of Directors for five years, Rich became President & CEO in January 2017. He has more than two decades of leadership experience in the corporate and non-profit sector, most recently as a member of Focus on the Family's executive team, where he led Family Ministries, Marketing and Strategy. Prior to that, he served in leadership roles at Sprint Corp. and Honeywell. Rich is passionate about championing the value of life, helping parents “do family” well and live out an active Christian faith. He and his wife, Stephanie, have been married more than 25 years and have two college-aged young adults, Parker and Macy.
