ACC Board
Lyubov Slashcheva
Lyubov was raised in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia after her family emigrated from Kazakhstan. After completing undergraduate training at Eastern Mennonite University and dental training at Virginia Commonwealth University, she pursued residency training in Dental Public Health and a fellowship in Geriatric & Special Needs Dentistry at the University of Iowa. As a National Health Service Corps Scholar, she has served the oral health needs of underserved communities in safety net clinical settings in Iowa, Minnesota and Virginia. She is also Clinical Consultant to the Virginia Health Catalyst and Research Director for Apple Tree Dental. For about a decade, she served on the Board of the Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship, which engaged as a Strategic Partner with the Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions, for which Lyubov served as Board of Reference Chairperson. Lyubov, her husband and their three children live in Fergus Falls, MN on an urban homestead. They enjoy family cycling trips, tending to their small flock of hens, growing and preserving food, and sharing seasonal bounty through their market garden.
Lorraine Stoltzfus
Lorraine Stoltzfus grew up on a Mennonite farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, surrounded by and appreciative of the natural world. After attending Eastern Mennonite College and Messiah College, and working for several years against nuclear proliferation with Mobilization for Survival, she moved to Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School. She then served for 33 years as an Assistant Attorney General in the Environmental Protection Unit, Wisconsin Department of Justice, handling a broad range of cases that covered almost all aspects of environmental law from air pollution and conservation easements through the alphabet to wetland preservation and floodplain zoning. She sings in various musical groups as an enjoyable balance to the stress of the attorney world. Lorraine is a member of Madison Mennonite Church. She looks forward to drawing on both her Mennonite values and lessons learned as an environmental lawyer, while serving on the board of Anabaptist Climate Collaborative.
Harrison Horst
Harrison is an urban planner and data analyst with degrees in sociology (EMU ’18) and sustainable urban development (DePaul ’22), where he researched the relationship between urban food systems, gentrification, and equity. In 2018, Harrison worked for CSCS as part of a Climate Futures Fellow team co-producing a podcast on climate change and Anabaptist faith called Shifting Climates. Harrison is also a founding member of the Sustainability Alumni Network, which connects recent graduates from Mennonite colleges and universities interested in sustainability and leverages its collective resources to make positive change related to climate change and environmental issues. In his free time, Harrison enjoys doing crossword puzzles, practicing Mandarin, and biking around Chicago.
Deirdre Longacher Smeltzer
A mathematician by training, Deirdre worked for 20 years at Eastern Mennonite University as a faculty member, department chair, and academic dean. In 2019, Deirdre spent six months as a visiting faculty member at the Oregon Extension in southern Oregon before beginning her current Senior Director position with the Mathematical Association of America in 2020. During her tenure as EMU’s Undergraduate Dean, Deirdre participated in the establishment of the Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions and served on the CSCS Oversight Board for three years. Currently, Deirdre serves as Vice Chair of Harrisonburg’s Environmental Performance Standards Advisory Committee, is a member of the Bridge of Hope – Harrisonburg/Rockingham Board, and holds several roles within her church congregation. Deirdre loves hiking, cooking, and spending quality time with family and friends.
Eric Kurtz
Eric Kurtz is executive director of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Great Lakes. He has an MS in Land Resources from the Institute for Environmental Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to working for MCC, he was stormwater manager with the Elkhart County (Indiana) Soil and Water Conservation District. He has also worked with rural indigenous communities in Northern Argentina, documenting land use in support of a land rights claim. Eric lives in Goshen, Indiana, with his wife, Carmen Horst, and daughters Elisa and Nayli. His family attends Walnut Hill Mennonite Church, where Carmen is co-pastor.
Andrew Yoder
Andrew is the CFO of a start-up renewable energy technology company based in Harrisonburg Virginia. Andrew has worked in the renewable energy space since 2015 with experience in solar development, facility operations, and renewable energy finance. He has undergraduate degrees in Economics and Environmental Sustainability (EMU ‘16) and his MBA (EMU ‘20). Andrew is passionate about climate related dialogue and expanding access to renewable energy. In his free time Andrew enjoys running, board games, musicals, gardening, and spending time outdoors. Andrew lives in Harrisonburg Virginia with his wife Alena and their six chickens.
Sibonokuhle Ncube
Dr. Sibonokuhle Ncube is Regional Co-director for Africa and Europe with Mennonite Mission Network. She is a mother, social justice advocate and development expert. Licensed for ministry in Mennonite Church USA, she was a deaconess in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. A recent graduate of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, she is a student at Bakke Graduate University. She previously earned a doctorate in development. Known for her passionate speaking, intergenerational, and cross-cultural insights, she has two decades of experience working with climate change responses, climate finance governance, and disaster preparedness in southern Africa. She has long experience with Anabaptist Climate Collaborative and our predecessor Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions, being part of our first Global South Voices tour in 2018. She continues to teach and write on climate and discipleship in a global context. She serves as the Africa representative on the Mennonite World Conference Creation Care Task Force. A member of the Brethren in Christ Church of Zimbabwe, she was for many years the National Coordinator of their Compassionate Development Services. She currently attends Eighth Street Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana, with her family.