Glenn Mahnken

Glenn lives in St. Charles, Missouri, where he and his wife, Laura, attend Our Savior Lutheran Church. Glenn spent the first half of his career in Marketing/Senior Brand Management for national consumer packaged goods companies, and the second half in Executive Marketing and Communications for The Lutheran Church Extension Fund and Concordia Plan Services of the LCMS. A 3-year member of the LBW Board, he was inspired to learn more about LBW when his uncle commented, “I support the ministry of LBW because I can’t imagine not being able to read the Word of God myself.” Knowing that LBW makes it possible for blind and visually impaired individuals around the world to “read the Word of God themselves,” free of charge, in 40 languages and over 150 countries around the world, inspires his service to the Board. His favorite Bible verse is his Confirmation verse, “. . . be thou faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.”

Gregory Moffitt

Priscilla (Allado) Newton

• Name:  Priscilla Newton
• Where you live / home congregation:  Frankfort, MI; Trinity Lutheran, Arcadia, MI
• Professional experience, specifically related to your role with LBW:  retired teacher, missionary, pastor’s wife, seminary professor wife and District President wife
• How long you have been on the board:  5 years
• Why you decide to join the board and/or what drew you to LBW:  When asked, I prayed about what I could offer.  My mother was totally blind so I was raised by an extremely competent and professionally acclaimed woman.  Blindness was not what defined her so I saw blindness as “opportunity” not regret.  I see LBW as offering that same message.
• What you like most about LBW”:  The fact that giving the Word of God for FREE to people who are not only underserved but often “unseen” by the world is a huge drawing card.

Ken Loeber

Ken serves on the Board of Directors of Lutheran Braille Workers (LBW), a non-profit ministry organization whose mission is to freely share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people who are blind or visually-impaired.  God has richly blessed the efforts of faithful volunteers for over 80 years as the organization has grown to be the largest single producer of Christian Braille and Specialized Large Print materials serving people throughout the United States and the world.

Ken is particularly focused on supporting LBW's mission and values, volunteers, ministry production centers, and operational initiatives.

His commitment to the LBW ministry is an extension of his family's involvement throughout its history.  Family members have served as founder and executive director, presidents, chief engineer, board members, ambassadors, and production center volunteers.

Although they are native Californians, Ken and his wife, Kathy, have called Oklahoma home since 1977.  They are members of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Edmond where they have been richly blessed and are privileged to serve in a variety of ministries.  They also volunteer in Holy Trinity's Braille Production Center (a partnership with LBW).  They daily enjoy the abundant blessings of three children and their spouses, and nine grandchildren – all of whom call Oklahoma home.  Ken is retired from a forty-one year career in the petroleum industry as a geologist and executive.

Bible references:

2 Corinthians 5:7 “We walk by faith, not by sight.”

2 Corinthians 4:18  “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Contact information

Email: kkloeber107@gmail.com

Cell phone: 405-620-3201

Rev. Aurelio Magarino

Leslie Jaseph

Pam Bishop

Pam is a member of Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church in Livonia, Michigan. Since retiring in 2020, Pam spends much of her time serving several nonprofits. In addition to serving on the LBW Board since 2023, she serves on the boards of Mission Opportunities Short Term (MOST Ministries) and Council of Lutheran Women, a federation of Detroit metropolitan area Lutheran women’s organizations. Pam is also actively involved with Bible Faith Lutheran Ministries to India and The Luke Clinic in Detroit. Pam spent her career as a bank regulator and banking executive with the last 15 years as a Consultant focusing on risk management and strategic solutions, including corporate turnarounds, process enhancement, and resource optimization.

Throughout Pam’s childhood, her great-aunt volunteered at LBW’s Ministry Production Center in Monroe, Michigan. Her aunt’s commitment and joy in serving left a life-long impression on Pam, who is grateful that the Lord led her to serve on the LBW board and has allowed her to witness first-hand the wonderful work being accomplished globally.

All the Bible verses are Pam’s favorite, but for LBW, she chose 1 John 4:7 as her favorite Bible verse: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God”.

Gayle Trupiano

Gayle lives in St. Charles, Missouri, where she and her husband Tony, attend Our Savoir Lutheran Church. She served as the President and CEO of Ascension Living and has a passion for ensuring great care and service for senior living centers. She also spent many years as the Vice President Performance Excellence for Ascension Health, successfully leading the deployment of Ascension's Veterans Choice Program.  After retirement she served on the House of Hope Board orphanage and school in Tabarre, Haiti and serves on the Leadership Board of Our Savoir Lutheran Church as the secretary. Gayle joined LBW board in 2024 after a wonderful introduction to the ministry which serves the visually impaired.  My mother needed large print in order to read her bible in her later years, this ministry which provides the ability to read the Bible both through Braille and large print speaks to the great commission of our Lord.

My favorite verse is Isaiah 40:31 – Those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint.  The Lord gives us the strength to meet the needs of those whom desire the word of God through the work of LBW.

Lawrence Vescera

Home Congregation: Christ Lutheran Church – Costa Mesa, Calif. I live in Borrego Springs, CA; which is about 180 miles away from the church – so I probably hold the record for the longest commute in the LCMS.

Professional Experience: I hold Dr’s degrees in Policy Analysis from Stanford University and Political Economy from the Claremont Colleges Graduate University.

I have worked as a Policy Analyst at the international, national and state levels including The US Commissioner of Education, California State Assembly Ways and Means Committee, The Royal Family of Bahrain and The Education Commission of the States.

I have publications in Apologetics, Paleontology, Archaeology, Psychology, Economics, Defense Policy, Education Policy, Tax Policy, and several other areas.

I am a new member of the LBW Board of Directors only coming on the Board in 2024. However, I have served on several Boards of Directors of the over the years including, The Vandenberg NASA Space Camp, Various Church Boards including the LCMS/PSW District Communications Board. I currently serve as the board Vice President of the Friends of the Borrego Springs Library Foundation (which has been nationally recognized twice since 2012 once as the National Library Associations Library of the Year and this year as a Finalist for the National Medal for Museum and Library Service).

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to serve on the LBW Board and work with the LBW to get The Word out to the visually impaired. I know of no other group who wants this more and is more deserving of this help. My primary ambition now is to help grow the LBW in the performance of its mission.

Given the current state of the world my current favorite Bible verse is Galatians 6:7.