Meet The Team
Jim and Susie Horne
President
​Jim and Susie Horne have served in Kenya for over 40 years. They raised their family there and began many different ministries that are still flourishing today. Their three children are now grown and have given them the added blessing of grandchildren.
In their early twenties, Jim and Susie responded to God’s call on their lives to reach unreached people in Kenya. They have done this through starting various ministries such as churches, a Bible Institute, primary schools (grades 1-8), feeding centers (with MANNA WORLDWIDE) and a medical clinic. Wells have been dug in many communities that were lacking water. Through God’s help, Jim and Susie have been profoundly instrumental in touching thousands of Kenyan lives!
Carrie Reichartz
Secretary
A native of Wisconsin, Carrie fell in love with Kenya at a school when Ruse, a little girl, came to sit on her lap.
Inspired by the faith of her church (Fox River Christian Church) and missionaries (Jim and Susie Horne), Carrie quickly developed a deep passion for the women of Vipingo, Kenya.
This resolve stuck with her through many years of ups and down of ministry life. She is an award-winning lawyer with a BS in psychology and criminal justice from UW-Whitewater.
Over the last 16 years later, Carrie provides various support for the organization and travels to Kenya many times per year. She is happy spending her focus on ending poverty for women and children in Vipingo, Kenya through small business development.
Dennis Clark
Board Member
A native of Elberton, Georgia, Dennis been a friend with Jim Horne for years. He went to Kindergarten with Jim, played Little League Baseball, umpired Little League games, and they graduated from the same High School. While attending separate Colleges, Jim and Dennis both came to Christ. God then led them to Bible College calling them into Ministry.
At Tennessee Temple Dennis met his wife Mona and they we married in June of 1995. Shortly after, Jim and his wife Susie headed off to Kenya to begin their phenomenal work. Dennis and Mona have been privileged to give financially to them monthly since they began in Kenya.
Through the years the churches Dennis served in have supported the Horne’s many endeavors in Kenya. It has been a joy to see all that God has done and is doing. Their hearts have been blessed by lives that have been radically changed by the amazing work there.
Dennis is honored to serve on the OGH Board. His passion and what he oversees on behalf of OGH at Southside Baptist Church is child sponsorship for TIWI Academy. Once a year Southside has Operation Give Hope Sunday in an effort to build the child sponsor base.
Steve Hamilton
Board Member
Steve lives in the mountains of North Carolina, near Asheville. He is most comfortable outside in nature, by a stream, waterfall or on a hiking trail.
Steve’s Christian life and work with Operation Give Hope got jump started in a tragic way …
Jessica Hamilton, his beloved daughter, traveled to Kenya in the summer of 2006 to do an internship with missionaries, Jim and Susie Horne with Operation Give Hope. She had early in life felt the call to be a missionary and when she returned home from that trip to Mombasa, her calling intensified and she became extremely focused on accomplishing that goal. Unfortunately, a year later she lost her life in a tragic car accident.
In 2016, Steve and family felt the need to seek some closure with Jessica’s death. It was in the village of Tiwi that he was able to let go and find the peace he was seeking. He also knew after being amongst the people there, where Jessica had been years before, that he needed to help in this ministry and make sure that it continued.
Steve now serves on the board of OGH and works diligently to assist them to raise the support they need to keep all the ministries working, with children fed, educated with Christian doctrine and shown the love of Jesus.
Kristen Pettigrew
Treasurer
Kristen Pettigrew lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two children, who attend a Christian school where she also teaches art.
Kristen’s involvement with Operation Give Hope began in 2008 when she joined a life-changing mission trip to Kenya with her church. That experience ignited a deep calling to serve God by helping children in need—especially those living in poverty and who have yet to know Jesus. In 2010, Kristen moved to Kenya for a year, where she helped build stronger connections between sponsored children and their supporters in the U.S., offering sponsors a firsthand look into the lives they were impacting.
Upon returning home, Kristen joined the board of Operation Give Hope and now serves as treasurer. She continues to support the mission by giving her time, skills, and heart to bring hope and lasting change to children in Kenya.
Elise
Bookkeeper / Administrator
Born and raised in Wisconsin, this is where Elise calls home. She enjoys spending time with her family, drinking coffee and finding any chance she can to be near a lake, or even an ocean! Elise loves to brighten someone's day through creativity... whether with clay, art, baking or flowers!
With 10+ years of experience in bookkeeping, she has found a meaningful way to use her skill to make a difference in working with Operation Give Hope since 2020.
To Elise, processing the financial aspects of this ministry is about much more than just numbers. It's about the lives of children and adults who are being supported and transformed in Kenya through OGH.
So, for her, she is grateful for the ability to support OGH from the US in any way possible, helping to further the message of Jesus across the world!
Denise Conn
Board Member
Bio coming soon
Jason Horne
Board Member
Bio coming soon
Jon Schmidt
Board Member
Jon grew up in New England and moved to Florida to attend Florida State University and work on his doctorate in marine ecology. Steeped in the evolutionary ecology swirling through academia, Jon, raised catholic, became an atheist during his doctoral studies. He met his future wife, Denise, in Tallahassee, and they were married in 1990. While raising their two sons in a Baptist church, Denise never missed an opportunity to invite her husband to any activity related to the church. At a meeting between their youngest son, Joshua, and their pastor to discuss his salvation, the Lord got hold of Jon's heart, and he too prayed to receive Christ when Joshua did.
Several years later, Jon met Jim at a missions conference at Jon's church in Tallahassee, Florida, in 2010. Jon was the lay leader for missions at the church. Jim and Jon built an instant friendship that grew to include Jon joining the OGH board in 2012. Jon and his wife, Denise, then traveled to Kenya in 2013 to solidify their involvement with OGH and its related ministries, as well as to support Jim and Susie.