Ron L. Braund, Chairman
Dr. Ron L. Braund is the founder and president of Transitional Family Services, Inc. and Mission Specialties, Inc.. He has over 20 years experience as a marriage & family therapist and providing leadership to organizations that address the needs of children at risk. Ron has authored and co-authored several books, including Understanding How Others Misunderstand You, The InStep Student Bible, and The Strong-willed Child or Dreamer?…Understanding the Creative/Sensitive Child. For 14 years he hosted a daily radio program, Marriage and Family Today, produced in association with Moody Broadcasting in Atlanta.
From 1992-97, Ron served as an executive director with The CoMission, providing counseling services to missionaries ministering in Eastern Europe. In 1999 he was invited to be chairman of the CoMission for Children at Risk, a collaborative network of western mission organizations. Ron feels called to encourage innovation, within the mission community, that focuses on excellence through integration of social services with a faith-based foundation.
Transitional Family Services (TFS) is a family preservation company providing social services to neglected and abused children in partnership with the Georgia Department of Human Resources. TFS offers early intervention/prevention services, parenting groups, in-home parenting instruction and individual/group counseling to children and families at risk. With over 80 professional staff, they provide counseling and assessments to youth transitioning to and from state custody and foster home settings.
Mission Specialties, Inc. (MSi) is a faith-based NGO serving orphans and street children in Russia and Eastern Europe. They specialize in developing transition programs for orphanage “graduates” to train them in acquiring independent living skills. MSi is the sponsoring organization for The CoMission For Children At Risk (CCR), a network of over 250 Christian organizations committed to coordinating efforts to improve the plight of orphans in Russia.
Karmen Friesen, Director
Karmen's initial connection to Russia came in 1994-95 when he taught economics and English in the Moscow public school system as part of a short-term mission team. In subsequent years, he made numerous ministry trips to Russia. It was there that Karmen met his wife, who was working in a state-run boarding school, and was introduced to the needs of orphans and street children.
Karmen's wife, Kristen, first traveled to Russia in January 1992 with a group from her college. During that trip, she was burdened by the plight of street children. God gave her a strong desire to return to Russia and share Christ's hope and love with children at risk. The following two years, Kristen participated in short-term mission trips aimed at addressing the needs of orphans. For five years (1994-99), she served full-time in Moscow, teaching English and Bible in a government-run internat for children from impoverished and dysfunctional families.
In the summer of 2000, Karmen and Kristen responded to God's call to serve with The CoMission for Children at Risk. After helping to organize the National Summit for Children at Risk in Atlanta, they spent a year in Moscow building the foundation for the work of the CoMission. Having returned to the States at the end of 2001, Karmen continues the day-to-day work of facilitating partnerships among mission agencies and churches. He is responsible for gathering and sharing information, much of which is available on this website, on the work of more than 300 Christian organizations.
Kristen's primary focus is on the Friesens' children, Luka and Anya, although Kristen remains involved in the ministry of The CoMission in an administrative support role. The Friesens live in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania.
Cristi Hillis, Project Coordinator
Cristi Hillis is the Project Coordinator for The CoMission for Children at Risk. She first became connected to Russia in 1997, when her parents, Brian and Susan Hillis, adopted two Russian orphans. Since then, her family has adopted six additional Russian children, making her the oldest of ten children. She began to learn rudimentary Russian from her siblings, and upon entering Davidson College in 2002, decided to major in Russian Studies. In 2004, she took a semester off of college to live in St. Petersburg and serve with an organization ministering primarily to drug addicts.
In the summer of 2005, Cristi returned to Russia to research what happens to orphans once they age-out of the orphanage system. That fall she continued her research at Davidson College. In the spring of 2006, Cristi wrote her senior thesis on the fate of adolescent orphans. The findings she discovered inspired and challenged her to work with Russian orphans long-term. She is currently working on behalf of orphans with the CoMission for Children at Risk, participating in the day-to-day work of networking and conference organizing.
Angela Baker, Network Coordinator
Angela first became interested in Russia while still in high school. She pursued that interest in college as she majored in Russian language at the University of Texas at Arlington. During her junior year, she traveled to Russia as a part of her academic program to study for three months. While in Moscow in addition to her studies, she worked with the Russian youth ministry at Moscow Bible Church. It was at this time, Angela felt called to serve in Russia with youth. She returned to Texas and graduated from the UTA with a BA in Russia in 1998. One year later, Angela moved to Russia after graduating to serve as a missionary at Moscow Bible Church with the Russian youth ministry. She served in that position for 3 years before returning to Texas in 2003.
It was during her time working as a youth leader that she had her first experience working with Russian orphans when she volunteered to serve at a camp for orphans. God used this experience to burden her heart for this specific group of children. Angela's desire to minister to children at risk in Russia has continued to increase leading her to join The CoMission for Children at Risk.
