Leadership
Covenant Office Leadership Team
Tammy Swanson-Draheim
President
Swanson-Draheim serves as the first female president in the denomination’s history. She has held a variety of roles within the denomination for more than 23 years and most recently has served as superintendent of the Midwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church since 2011.
Vice Presidents
Heather Hernandez
Vice President Mission Services
Heather Hernandez brings over 15 years of human resources leadership to her role as Covenant’s new Vice President of Mission Services. As a Senior Certified HR Professional, she will drive strategic advancement in marketing, communications, HR, technology, and facilities, partnering with leadership to implement impactful ministry initiatives.
Cyndi Hoffman
vice president of finance
Cynthia “Cyndi” Hoffman serves as vice president of finance and corporate treasurer of the Evangelical Covenant Church. Previously Cyndi served as interim vice president of finance for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Executive Ministers and Directors
Herb Frost
Executive Minister of Serve Clergy
Rev. Frost has served in the Covenant as a credentialed pastor for 22 years in three different conferences as a lead pastor and church planter. He also served on the Committee of Ministerial Standing in the Midwest Conference, East Coast Conference, and the Northwest Conference.
Gayle Gilreath
Executive Director of Advancement
Gayle previously served at Minnehaha Academy as the director of development. She has many years of executive experience with boards and senior management teams, leading organizational and advancement initiatives at the highest level with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Jennifer McIntyre
Executive Director of Marketing and Communications
Jennifer brings more than 25 years of experience in ministry, civic, corporate, and nonprofit engagements. She has led communications strategies and overseen teams at Urban Ministries, Feeding America, and AT&T.
Debra Mitchell
Interim Executive Director of Operations
Since 2006, Mitchell has served as president of DLM Group LLC, a full-service human resource and business consulting company working with organizations in energy, healthcare, financial services, architecture, and education. She specializes in organizational design and change management, leadership development and training, succession planning, and career transition.
Paul Robinson
Executive Minister of Serve Locally
Paul served as lead church planter of Grace Outreach Covenant Church in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, and as a senior community leadership consultant with Amherst H. Wilder Foundation of St. Paul, Minnesota. He is the former director of the James P. Shannon Leadership Institute.
Grace Shim
Executive Minister of Serve Globally
Shim has served in the Covenant since 2003. Her home church is Christ Covenant Church in Villa Park, Illinois. She holds a bachelor of arts in math education from Virginia Polytechnic and State University and a master of arts in counseling psychology from Trinity International University. She is a licensed clinical professional counselor.
