About | Board

  • Sue Baumgarten • President

    bio

    Sue Baumgarten has been involved with LifeHouse since the early 90’s. She first served on the board in 1992 then moved onto staff to serve as the housemother from 1995-1997. She has served as President of the LifeHouse board since 2005. She has served on the boards of Carolina Creek Christian Camp, The Forge for Families, Inc. and the Refuge Community Development Center. She participates in the College of Biblical Studies Women’s Guild. She and her husband Gil have three children. They attend First Presbyterian Church of Houston where Sue co-leads W.O.W. – Women of the Word Bible Study and volunteers in the youth department.

  • Brock C. Akers • Secretary

    bio

    Brock C. Akers has been involved with LifeHouse for many years and served as the President of its board of directors. He is on the board of directors of Texas Right to Life, an advocacy group. He has volunteered and provided professional advice for various other pro-life organizations. He and his wife Colleen, also a board member, are members of St. Michael Catholic Church in Houston. They have three children. He is a lawyer with Phillips & Akers in Houston. Brock is the president of Houston’s Catholic lawyer organization, St. Thomas More Society of Galveston-Houston, and president of Legatus, an organization dedicated to enhancing the ability of Catholic business leaders at the highest levels enhance and spread their faith.

  • Jane Costello • Treasurer

    bio

    Jane Costello is serving on the LifeHouse board for a second time, having been part of the board in the initial years of LifeHouse. Jane is a CPA by profession and works with the Finance Committee.

    She has a heart for ministry and has served various ministries over the years including Professional Women's Fellowship, Mission Houston and the Executive Committee of CityFest Houston. In addition to the LifeHouse board, Jane currently serves on the board of Pathways for Little Feet. She is a member of First Presbyterian Church.

  • Bill Donovan

    bio

    Bill Donovan and his wife, Karen, moved from Dallas to Houston in 1979. He owned his own his own physical distribution business operating in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio until 1993 when He sold it to a multi-national corporation. A life-long Episcopalian, Bill is an active member of Saint John the Divine Episcopal Church where he has served on the Associate Vestry, is currently on the Foreign Missions Committee and is chairman of the Maintenance Guild. He has also been a participant in Bible Study Fellowship since 1989 and is at this time a children’s leader.
    Bill and Karen lost a son in 1989 but have a daughter, son-in-law, and three granddaughters, all residing in Houston. Bill sees LifeHouse as a wonderful opportunity to serve the Lord by helping brave young ladies who are in great need.

  • Buzz Baker

    bio


    Greg “Buzz” Baker has served as President since he co-founded Network Funding in 1998. With more than 20 years experience in the Mortgage industry, Baker has expanded Network Funding into one of the fastest growing mortgage companies in the nation, employing over 500 originators in 38 states with licenses to do business in 47 states. Previously, Baker served as a loan officer and then a producing manager for North American Mortgage Company. He has also served as the production manager and wholesale manager for Irwin Mortgage Corporation. Baker holds a degree in Finance from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.

    Buzz and his wife, Lisa, resided in Houston with their children and attend Christ Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

  • Dr. Carolyn Clansy Miller

    bio

    Dr. Carolyn Clansy Miller, psychologist, speaker and life coach, skillfully combines psychological, inspirational and strategic approaches to encourage, instruct and motivate.

    For nearly 20 years, Dr. Miller has provided consultation both nationally and internationally in her
    work with businesses, government, non-profits, churches, and universities. Her dynamic yet relevant and relational manner has propelled her to the national stage as a featured guest on syndicated radio and television programs such as Fox News, Texas Justice, Trinity Broadcasting Network, and The Doctor’s In.

    In her former role as the Senior Director of Education and Pastoral Care at the 47,000-member Lakewood Church, Dr. Miller led over 1000 staff and volunteers in 16 ministries who annually reached more than 250,000 people per year.

    Dr. Miller has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston and Houston Baptist University in Houston, Texas and at the West Africa Theological Seminary in Lagos, Nigeria. She was recently invited to participate in the Oxford Round Table on Business Ethics at Oxford University.

    Dr. Miller’s life work in the areas of recovery, education and personal and organizational development reflects her commitment to making an impact at both the micro and macro levels. Her style is refreshing, practical and real—making her expert advice powerful and life transforming.

    She is the co-owner of Charis Psychological Associates, in Houston, Texas.

  • Dr. Celeste Garbarino

    bio

    Dr. Celeste Garbarino is a pediatrician who practices in Pearland. She has practiced in the Houston area on and off for 20 years. She has 3 children and is married to Richard, an engineer. Their family has lived in 3 states and Canada. She has served on the deacon board of her church, Christ Evangelical Presbyterian Church. She currently serves on the board of Veritas Christian Academy. Celeste is a native of Lafayette, Louisiana. She received her medical degree and did her residency training at Baylor College of Medicine. She enjoys cooking, needlework and walking.

  • Jim Weatherall

    bio

    Jim Weatherall and his wife, Ruth, are long-time residents of Houston. Jim has enjoyed a long term career as an business information technology consultant. Ruth is a speech-language pathologist. They worship at Grace Presbyterian Church and both are Presbyterian elders and deacons. Jim has served on the missions committee and is very interested in local and foreign ministries to make God’s love known in His world.
    The Weatherall’s have four adult children and ten grand-children ages 1 to 15. The blessing of all these babies is the source of so much joy in Jim and Ruth’s lives. It follows naturally that they have a strong interest in ensuring the lives of babies to grow up in strong, loving families and seeing young mothers grow into successful adults. Jim proclaims, “God has a perfect plan for children to grow and prosper in a family setting. Lifehouse’s program is very effective in breaking the cycle of poverty, dependence and lack of effective parenting in our community. Lifehouse is also teaching the love of Christ in such a compelling way it will be in the hearts of these young women into eternity.”

  • Sherron Watkins

    bio

    Sherron Watkins, better known as “the Enron Whistleblower,” is currently a leading advocate for Christian ethics in today’s capitalist system and our lives. Sherron is a native Houstonian, she is an independent consultant and speaker on the subject of Enron and its leadership lessons. In 2002, Sherron, along with two other “whistle-blowers,” were honored as TIME magazine’s Persons of the Year. She has received numerous other honors, including Court TV’s Scales of Justice Award, the National Academy of Management’s Distinguished Executive Award, and the Women’s Economic Round Table’s Rolfe Award for Educating the Public about Business and Finance. A Certified Public Accountant, Sherron previously worked as the portfolio manager of MG Trade Finance Corp’s commodity-backed financial assets in New York City and in the auditing group of both the New York and Houston offices of Arthur Andersen. Sherron and her family are members of St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, and she serves on the board of Professional Women’s Fellowship of Houston, Texas.