Natasha Reimer
Executive Director
Natasha Reimer was born and raised in Ukraine. She moved to the U.S. in 1997 and now lives in Louisville, KY with her husband and two children, where they are members of Southeast Christian Church. She has been serving with Mulberry International for fifteen years. She holds a Bachelor Degree from Kentucky Christian University and a Master’s Degree from the University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce.
Our Board
Deborah Harbin
Board President
Deborah graduated from Abilene Christian University and began her teaching career as a Kindergarten teacher in a private Christian school. During her 36 year teaching career, she also worked as an elementary school principal, serving children and families of poverty. It’s no surprise then, that when she visited Mariupol in 2018, she fell in love with the children and families in Ukraine, and began a commitment to Mulberry’s work there. When she retired from education, Deborah began work as the Assistant to the Lead Pastor at her church, Current Christian Church, in Katy, Texas, where she continues to serve today. In 2023 Deborah directed a camp in Germany for the children of Good Samaritan Children’s Home who’ve been displaced from Mariupol by the war.
Laura Wood
Board Member
Laura Wood lives in Papillion, Nebraska, where she works as a hospital chaplain and freelance writer. She served as a teacher for American missionary children in Ukraine from 1995-2000, and she has maintained a love for the country and its people ever since. She writes for the Christian Standard focusing on intercultural ministry and updating readers on the war in Ukraine. Laura is the mom to three nearly grown children. She and her husband, Andrew, met in Ukraine when they served as missionaries there and have been married for more than 20 years.
Dr. Keith P. Keeran
Board Member
For the past 24 years Dr. Keeran has been involved in Ukraine as the founder of Commonwealth International University in Simferopol, and as an advisor to its president and board of trustees. He also served as the President of Kentucky Christian University for 22 years, and now continues as the Chancellor of the University. Dr. Keeran has traveled to Ukraine multiple times and has tremendous experience in missions and international partnerships. Keith and his wife Topsy are members of the Oak Grove Church of Christ in Grayson, Kentucky.
Georges Carillet
Board Member
Dr. Georges Carillet is president of Teaching Ministries International, currently based in Melbourne, FL, teaching in Ukraine and Cuba. Over a period of 37 years he has directed missions in Austria (working in East Europe in the 70s), Papua New Guinea (Bible translation, literacy and church development) and Crimea (higher education). He teaches Bible, Cultural Anthropology, Missions, Counseling, Christian Leadership and Apologetics for seminaries in Ukraine. Georges served and taught at Crimean-American College, later Commonwealth International University, Crimea, for 25 years.
Nathan Fay
Board Member
Nathan and his wife, Dawn, live in northern Kentucky with five of their six children. Nathan has been to Ukraine three times, establishing indigenous churches in Kharkiv and Kherson. Nathan is a graduate of Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary, a registered nurse, and owner of Ashantee Music, Inc. He and his family have a passion for missions, and especially for Mulberry’s ministry to at-risk families in Ukraine.
Don Olson
Board Member
Don has been married to Cely for 37 years. They have three children, 3 grand children and 2 on the way. Missions has always been at Don’s heart. The Olsons have been blessed to be able to take their children on mission trips as they were growing up. Mulberry has been a supported mission by Don’s church: Fertile Church of Christ (IA) for many years. Don has been the Missions leader for the last 10 years and a member of the Missions team for 7 years prior to that.
Amy Shved
Board Member
Amy and her husband Yevgeniy Shved have been serving in ministry in Ukraine for over 25 years. After graduating from seminary, they moved to Crimea to serve among the Crimean Tatar people in 1999. God has blessed Yevgeniy and Amy with 3 sons and 1 daughter and a great love for all the peoples of Ukraine. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine closed doors for the Shved family in Crimea, but God opened new ones as the Shved family moved to Knoxville, TN in 2016. Yevgeniy now works as a consultant for Pioneer Bible Translators with the Roma peoples of Ukraine. Amy has been working for South College as an administrator and enjoys serving in the local church. With extended family, many friends and co-workers still living in Ukraine, its people are never far from Amy’s thoughts or prayers each day. Since 2022, God has allowed the Shved family to work with local pastors and ministries in Ukraine to help get needed supplies to displaced families and aid to war ravaged areas. The Shveds attend Farragut Christian Church in Farragut, TN.
Starleen Barnes
Board Member
Starleen has been a “preacher’s kid” her entire life so missions have been an important part of her family for as long as she can remember. She retired after nearly 40 years with the federal government and now lives in North Iowa with her husband Greg. Star was introduced to the work in Ukraine through a cousin and his wife who served as missionaries there and currently works alongside her parents and the Fertile, IA, Church of Christ as they support Mulberry’s mission. She attends Clear Lake Christian Church in Clear Lake, IA.
