Board of Directors
Emily Yocum (Wilkinson)
PRESIDENT & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Emily has been active in the pro-life movement since she was a teenager. Her diverse involvement has included pregnancy center ministry, sidewalk advocacy, youth education, and community outreach. As the former West Coast Regional Coordinator for Students for Life of America, she trained hundreds of students to effectively bring the pro-life message to their colleges and high schools. Emily holds over a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector and helped to revive Orthodox Christians for Life in 2020. She lives in Washington state with her husband and infant son.
John Shannon
TREASURER
John converted to Orthodoxy as a child along with his family during the large-scale conversion of the Evangelical Orthodox Church in 1987. He holds a Business Degree in Finance and Marketing from the University of Colorado. After working in commercial real estate for 8 years, John moved into technology sales and is now a Senior Sales Executive with Titan Telecom International. He is married with seven children, and is active in his parish, where he serves on the parish council and as co-chair of the Greek Festival committee.
Tamela Yelland
SECRETARY
Tamela Yelland joined the Orthodox Church with her three children in 1996. An active member of her parish, Tamela has led its Sunday school program and currently serves on the parish council. She also serves on the board of St. Barbara Monastery in Santa Paula, California. Tamela holds an M.A. in Theology from Fuller Seminary and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Fuller Seminary School of Psychology. She works in cancer research for a university health system.
Fr. Josiah Trenham
SPIRITUAL ADVISOR
Father Josiah is the pastor of St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Riverside, CA. An acclaimed speaker, writer, and leader on family issues within the Orthodox community, he has authored books including Marriage and Virginity According to St. John Chrysostom. He is the founder of Patristic Nectar Publications, a company dedicated to “nourishing the spiritually thirsty with the sweet teachings of the Holy Fathers” through audio lectures and video content. Fr. Josiah’s homilies and theological reflections can be heard on the Arena podcast at PatristicNectar.org or on the Patristic Nectar app.
Mat. Valerie Protopapas
FOUNDING MEMBER
Matushka Valerie was a founding member of Orthodox Christians for Life when it was originally started in 1986 by her husband, the late Dn. John Protopapas. At that time she served in the role of Educational Director, giving parish talks and writing numerous articles for the organization’s newsletter along with pieces featured in Orthodox publications. Mat. Valerie is also an independent historian of the civil war era and author of A Thousand Points of Truth: The History and Humanity of Col. John Singleton Mosby in Newsprint.
STAFF
Emily Yocum (Wilkinson)
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Emily has been active in the pro-life movement since she was a teenager. Her diverse involvement has included pregnancy center ministry, sidewalk advocacy, youth education, and community outreach. As the former West Coast Regional Coordinator for Students for Life of America, she trained hundreds of students to effectively bring the pro-life message to their colleges and high schools. Emily holds over a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector and helped to revive Orthodox Christians for Life in 2020. She lives in Washington state with her husband and son.
Elyse Apel
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Growing up in Oklahoma, Elyse converted to Orthodoxy as a child with her family. She now lives in Michigan with her husband, where they both attend Hillsdale College. In addition to pro-life involvement ranging from volunteering at pregnancy resource centers to participating in a pro-life fellowship program, she brings both nonprofit and journalism experience to OCLife. Elyse manages the Parish Ministry Program and coordinates organizational initiatives. She is excited to work for Orthodox Christians for Life and have a small part in helping to equip the Orthodox community to become more active in the pro-life movement.
Emilia Swehla
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Emilia’s involvement in the pro-life movement began through attending the Walk for Life in San Francisco while in high school. In the spring of 2022, she interned for OCLife and discovered a passion for pro-life work — especially in the context of the Orthodox community. Emilia is currently a student at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, NM, studying philosophy and the classics. She attends Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Santa Fe. She is grateful to be a part of such a meaningful ministry.
Advisory Board
Khouria Frederica Mathewes-Green
SPEAKER AND AUTHOR
Kh. Frederica Mathewes-Green is a wide-ranging author who has published 10 books and 800 essays, in such diverse publications as the Washington Post, Christianity Today, Smithsonian, and the Wall Street Journal. She has been a regular commentator for NPR, a columnist for Christian news outlets, and a podcaster for Ancient Faith Radio. She has spoken at places like Yale, Harvard, and Princeton, and has been interviewed on venues from PrimeTime Live to the New York Times. She is married to the Rev. Gregory Mathewes-Green, and has three children and 14 grandchildren.
Wesley J. Smith
CHAIR AND SENIOR FELLOW, CENTER ON HUMAN EXCEPTIONALISM
Wesley J. Smith is Chair and Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism. Wesley is a contributor to National Review and is the author of 14 books, in recent years focusing on human dignity, liberty, and equality. Wesley has been recognized as one of America’s premier public intellectuals on bioethics by National Journal and has been honored by the Human Life Foundation as a “Great Defender of Life” for his work against suicide and euthanasia. Wesley’s most recent book is Culture of Death: The Age of “Do Harm” Medicine.
Fr. Chad Hatfield
PRESIDENT, ST. VLADIMIR'S ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Father Chad was ordained to the diaconate and the priesthood by His Grace Bishop Basil of Wichita. Prior to coming to SVOTS, he served in the role of Dean at St. Herman Seminary in Alaska. Fr. Chad's experience in various pastoral, teaching and administrative roles, spread over some 41 years of ordained ministry, are now blended into his ministry of seminarian formation at SVOTS. His wife, Matushka Thekla, is an integral part of seminary life where she is the Coordinator for the St. Juliana Society. Fr. Chad and Mat. Thekla have two sons, Jason and Sean.
Virginia Nieuwsma
WRITER AND EDITOR
Virginia grew up in the Philippines with her missionary parents, and later graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois. Since 1981, she has worked in Christian media as an editor, writer, and podcaster. Twenty-six years ago she was chrismated into the Orthodox Christian faith, and has since served in various roles (as an editor, project manager, and advancement associate) for the Orthodox Church in America, St. Vlad's Seminary, the Antiochian Archdiocese, and Ancient Faith Ministries. Ginny and her husband Tim have six children and eight grandchildren.