Leadership Team
Staff
We are a small staff of dedicated people who are passionate about the global mission of Jesus Christ and helping Christians work together to fulfill that mission. “Synergy” means that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and that is what we seek for our ourselves as we blend our individual strengths into a high-performance team.
Kärin Primuth
CEO
In 2011, Kärin became CEO of VisionSynergy, succeeding her father (and VisionSynergy’s founder), Phill Butler. According to MissioNexus, Kärin is one of only a handful of women in North America who currently lead internationally-focused mission organizations. Kärin’s vision for collaboration has grown out of a wealth of international ministry experience, having worked in South Africa, India and China, and traveled to more than 25 countries. As coordinator of a cross-cultural mentoring program for eight years, Kärin has developed a passion for equipping mission leaders with effective ministry skills. Prior to that, Kärin spent eight years working in the inner city of Los Angeles. Kärin has an M.A. in Urban Planning from the University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA), and a B.S. in Human Development and Social Policy from Northwestern University. She is married with three young adult children.
David Thoresen
Senior Director of Operations
David’s passion for learning about and experiencing other cultures began in high school through his friendships with many exchange students from around the world. He’s traveled to over 30 countries as a student and while working in international business and missions.
In his role at VisionSynergy David gets to use his skills and experience from both the business and missions worlds. He has worked in banking, international operations management, consulting, finance, and quality management. On the ministry side, David volunteered in missions at Pantano Christian Church for six years before he joined the staff and served as Outreach Pastor for 13 years, learning missions strategies and best practices while gaining valuable experience developing partnerships with indigenous ministries around the world.
David has a B.A. in Economics and Management from DePauw University and a Masters in International Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management. He and his wife Lisa have three children: Amelia, Luke and Nate. David enjoys hiking, running, playing games with the family and serving teens through Tucson Refugee Ministry.
Kevin Mason
Senior Director of Global Programs
Kevin has been the senior director of global programs for VisionSynergy since 2019. In recent years, Kevin’s leadership approach has shifted from a highly-driven, task-oriented person to a more open, inclusive, developmental leader with a desire to help other leaders realize their God-given potential. A key factor in this shift was the result of facilitating two peer-discipling groups with Battle for Hearts in 2017. In January 2019, Kevin participated in Freedom to Lead leadership development training of trainers for story-centric learners. Kevin is also a trained coach through the COACH Model developed by Keith Webb for ministry leaders. He received his professional coaching certificate (ACC) from the International Coaching Federation in 2020. Kevin met his wife, Wendy, while at university. Sensing a call to incarnational, cross-cultural ministry, they undertook preparation and training alongside their academic studies. Kevin and Wendy then lived in Estonia and served European church planters and leaders from 1996 to 2010. During their ministry, they saw a half dozen new congregations planted in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. They initiated partnerships in Sweden to establish a ministry to unreached university students. Kevin served in a number of roles for United World Mission, including as area director in Northern Europe and East Africa, global partnerships director, and director for strategic partnerships in Europe and Asia from 2010-2019. Kevin holds an MDiv in missions from Columbia International University, South Carolina, and a BS in non-Western history from Appalachian State University, North Carolina. Kevin and Wendy have four children: Chelsea, Cameron, Caroline, and Chad. After 24 years in Estonia and Hungary, the Masons relocated to Pennsylvania in the U.S. to continue their international role of equipping network leaders in visionSynergy’s target areas: MENA, S. Asia, and E. Asia.
Michael Kaspar
Director, Global Initiatives
Michael serves as Director of Global Initiatives for VisionSynergy, Lausanne Catalyst for Ministry Partnerships and Networks, and Catalyst for the Vision 5:9 Network. Following his completion of a BS in Business Systems at Taylor University in 2003, Michael was based in London with Operation Mobilization International as Travel Assistant for George Verwer, traveling and ministering in 26 countries on 6 continents, handling logistics, and coordinating local volunteers. Following that, he served for nine years with Operation Mobilization USA as Director of College Mobilization, then as Vice President of Mobilization, and later as Senior Director, sending over 800 short-term and 80-100 long term workers each year in partnership with over 2,000 churches. Since 2014, he has chaired the board of directors for Mission Data International, which partners with 115 organizations and mobilizes believers through the internet through the following sites: shorttermmissions.com, askamissionary.com and preparingtogo.com. Since 2015, he has served as Catalyst for the Vision 5:9 Network, comprised of 180 global, Christ-centered mission organizations, denominations, and churches focused on disciple-making movements among Muslim peoples. In 2017 he began serving the Lausanne Movement as Catalyst for Ministry Partnerships and Networks. Michael enjoys strategically serving others with his skills and experience in strategic planning, communication, networking, facilitating, coaching, and developing collaborations and partnerships.
Daniel Dow
Director, Leadership Learning Communities
Dan’s passion for mobilizing and resourcing people through transformational learning experiences came into focus during college while teaching business English in Sri Lanka for a year as part of a mission team. He has a B.A. in Liberal Studies (Psychology, Mass Communications) and a Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) from the University of Washington. From there, his career moved into web development, web team management, and eBusiness in the biotech, pharmaceutical, and insurance sectors. In 2006, Dan put his IT career on hold after he and his wife Shellie adopted a six year old boy with significant needs. During this time, Dan had the opportunity to join the Perspectives team as the Northwest Regional Director from 2007 to 2013. This opportunity combined his passion for mission mobilization, networking, and transformational learning. In 2010, Dan earned his coaching certificate with the International Coach Federation (ICF) and started New Territories Consulting to leverage his passion for catalyzing transformational learning and change. In this capacity, he provided strengths-based leadership and clean coaching, facilitated board retreats, and conducted training workshops for small business leaders and work teams. Dan joined VisionSynergy in 2015 as the Online Community Manager for the Synergy Commons, a global learning community of network leaders engaged in world mission. In what can only be called a God-fit, his role allows him to integrate his passion for creating transformational learning experiences with his technical, training, coaching, and graphic facilitation skills.
Matt Owens
Regional Director, East Asia
Matt spent the last twenty years serving the Lord in various parts of East Asia. Matt learned the value of gospel partnership early in his ministry career. After getting his start in ministry with college students, the Lord gave Matt a vision for a broader ministry work beyond the university gates. The Lord opened multiple opportunities for Matt to meet people from all walks of life in a city of millions, and quickly began to connect him with local pastors from diverse backgrounds who were also working in the city. Though they were all focused on the same target of reaching an unreached city, Matt discovered that there was tremendous disunity and distrust among church leaders in his city, and yet they all trusted and worked with Matt. With this realization in mind, Matt sought to bring these pastors together first simply to pray for the city and for each other, and later to build a strategic partnership. Once developed, this partnership led to pastors and churches co-laboring to reach the city. This included coordinated evangelistic outreaches, pastoral training programs, and eventually a lasting partnership that even led to the adoption of an unreached, unengaged people group.
Eventually, Matt and his family had to leave the city and began a new ministry working specifically in the area of training. The Covid-19 pandemic forced the closure of a cross-cultural training center Matt had developed with some local partners, so the entire program migrated to an online format. Throughout the pandemic, East Asian cross-cultural workers and those who hoped to move into cross-cultural work continued to receive training online.
Board of Directors
VisionSynergy’s Board of Directors is an engaged and energetic group who provide oversight and strategic direction for the ministry. Each member of the Board brings a wealth of experience to our team and a strong commitment to our central purpose – accelerating the mission of Jesus Christ through the development and strengthening of strategic Christian networks.
Dan Voetmann
President
Destination Marketing
Dan Voetmann’s passion is effective communication. Since 1984, his company Destination Marketing has helped launch 63 startups and partnered with hundreds of companies to strengthen brands and develop effective growth strategies. Companies like Mattress Firm, Sono Bello, Car Toys, and ListenUP! Canada have achieved dramatic growth via reinvention of their identity, positioning, messaging, and lead gen strategies. As a “Missionary Kid” who grew up in Africa and remains involved in international missions, Dan also brings personal enthusiasm and experience to the board.
Debbie Slavin
Global Facilities Director
Bluebeam
Debbie Slavin brings a wealth of experience from both major corporations and tech startups, and currently serves as the Senior Director of Employee Experience at Bluebeam Inc. She was recently elected Board Chair of VisionSynergy and also serves on the board of San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity.
A devoted follower of Jesus, Debbie believes faith should permeate every aspect of life, seamlessly integrating with work, relationships, and daily rhythms. She is passionate about serving others, especially through mentoring women in the business world, where she offers guidance and encouragement to help them thrive both professionally and personally.
Debbie has held a wide variety of ministry roles, currently serves on the welcome team at Christian Assembly Church, and leads Novo’s Activating Prayer Cohort, equipping others to grow in prayer and spiritual impact. In her downtime, Debbie enjoys relaxing with her two beloved dogs, Snickers and Skylar.
Milo Arkema
Consultant
Chima Consulting, LLC
Milo Arkema is an independent business consultant who advises CEOs and shareholders of emerging and family-owned companies around business and growth issues including succession and exit planning. He is a former partner with Baker Tilly and has served on several corporate and non-profit organization boards during his career. Milo is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and earned a B.S. from Dordt University. He and his wife Jentine live in Minneapolis, MN and in Bend, OR. Milo is active in BAM (Business as Mission) as a board member, consultant, and investor.
Doug Gamble
Pastor of Mission Partnerships
Crossroads Fellowship
N. Doug Gamble began ministry in 1978 and is currently City Reaching Pastor at Crossroads Fellowship in Raleigh, NC. Doug has traveled over two million miles nationally and globally while working with multiracial and international groups. Since 2008, he has held a popular yearly partnership event where government agencies, churches, schools, and nonprofits collaborate on solutions for diverse needs in the Raleigh/Wake County area. Doug and his wife, Kathy, have two adult children and five grandkids.
Holly Kirkpatrick
Territory Business Manager
Intercept
Holly Kirkpatrick has built a successful biopharmaceutical career, consistently ranking as a top performer with companies such as Lilly, Roche, Genentech, and multiple startups. She currently serves as a business manager supporting patients with rare liver diseases. Beyond her professional achievements, Holly is deeply committed to seeing unreached people groups come to know Jesus – a passion that was ignited during a post-graduate ethnographic research trip with the Joshua Project in North India.
Holly has served on the board of Mbeya International Ministries and her local homeowners association. She has also mentored Haggard International Scholars at Azusa Pacific University, taught English as a second language, and led a class for new believers at her church. Holly holds a B.S. in Christian Education from Biola University and an M.A. in Social Science with a focus on Higher Education Administration from Azusa Pacific University.
Want to leverage the power of partnership?
We believe that God is always at work around the world, moving His people toward community and collaboration. That’s why we so often find that the dreams stirring in one person’s heart are the same dreams stirring in another person’s heart. If you want to learn more about how to leverage the power of partnership in your own ministry context, or how to get involved in the work of bringing others together to advance the Gospel, contact us!