Management Team

Dale Brantner was appointed CEO and President of CURE International in May 2012 after serving for many years as Senior Vice President, responsible for leading the organization’s spiritual ministry and development efforts.

Dale has significant international professional and pastoral experience, including serving as department head of biblical studies, professor of Old Testament and Hebrew and then president of Theological College of Zimbabwe from 1996 to 2002. His work has also taken him to Israel and the West Bank, where he studied archaeology and the culture of the ancient Near East for three years.

Prior to coming to CURE, Dale was an associate pastor at West Shore Evangelical Free Church in Mechanicsburg, PA. He also served as adjunct faculty member of biblical studies at Messiah College in Grantham, PA.

Dale has a master’s degree from the Evangelical School of Theology and a bachelor’s degree from Messiah College. He has done both undergraduate and graduate work in Israel as well as Ph.D. work at the University of Pretoria in South Africa.

Dale is an outdoorsman who enjoys hiking, camping, hunting and fly fishing. He loves to travel and experience other cultures, as well as lead small study treks in Israel. He is passionate about integrity in biblical studies, spreading the gospel holistically and working among the poor in underserved regions of the world. Dale lives in Lewisberry, PA with his wife Dianne and their 3 children, Jordan, Shirah, and Taliah.

Jeff Newman joins CURE International as their Chief Operating Officer. He is responsible for the daily operations throughout the organization, both in the United States and in the hospitals abroad.

Prior to joining CURE, Jeff served as Managing Partner of Colorado Business Associates. This entity worked with medical practices and independent physicians to improve performance in their business models. He has also negotiated physician contracts with many of the major hospital corporations in the US. He brings over 25 years of medical experience with him to CURE both clinically as a physical therapist, and by having held C-level positions in hospitals and medical businesses.

Jeff has a B.A. in Biology from The University of Texas at Austin as well as a B.S. in Physical Therapy from University of Texas Health Science Center in Dallas. He and his wife Barbie have two grown, daughters and three grandchildren.

Mark Knecht serves as the Chief Financial Officer of CURE International and is responsible for the financial operations of the organization. Prior to joining CURE, Mark served as Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis of a publicly traded senior care company. He also served in various accounting and finance functions at Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, a national health insurance company and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Mark is a Certified Management Accountant. He graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor's degree in Accounting. Mark and his wife Deb have two children, Kaitlyn and Anna.

Chris Lavy is an orthopedic surgeon in Oxford, England and holds honorary professorships at Oxford University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Chris serves on the leadership council of the College of Surgeons of Eastern, Central, and Southern Africa (COSECSA). He was also elected to the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Professor Lavy attended University College London and St. Bartholomew’s Medical School studying anthropology and then medicine. Lavy then pursued postgraduate training first as a general practitioner, then in orthopedics in Oxford, Norwich, Cambridge, Bath, Cape Town, London and Paris. He was appointed consultant orthopedic surgeon at University College Hospital and the Middlesex hospitals in 1992 and had a private practice in the West End of London.

He left London in 1996 to work with CBM International to set up orthopedic services in Malawi. There he was appointed professor at the University of Malawi College of Medicine and worked closely with CURE International to build the Beit CURE Children’s Hospital of Malawi in Blantyre, serving as the hospital's first Medical Director. He was a Hunterian Professor at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 2002 and is an advisor in orthopedics to many organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO). He was involved with setting up orthopedic training in the East and Central region of Africa and received the rank of member of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for this in 2007.

Jim serves as Senior Vice President of Specialty Programs providing executive direction for CURE Clubfoot Worldwide (CCW), CURE Hydrocephalus, and CURE Smiles partnerships. From 1983 to 1997, Jim held various positions with US-based for-profit specialty hospital chains, leading their information services as technologies emerged from stand alone PCs to inter-connected networked systems. In 1997, he and his family moved to Kenya to help start and run the first CURE hospital, serving as its Executive Director. For three years he also served as Africa regional director as CURE built other African specialty pediatric hospitals. Returning to the US in 2000, Jim oversaw hospital operations for the growing network and began CURE Clubfoot Worldwide, and as part of that participated on the Medical Rehabilitation Guidelines Expert Committee in October 2005, hosted in Geneva, Switzerland, by the Disability and Rehabilitation Office of the WHO. Between 2005-2010, Cohick served as hospital administrator for Shriners Hospitals for Children - Chicago, involved with a number of initiatives for the 22-hospital system based in North America, and served as a director on the board of the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council and a member on the advocacy council of Illinois Hospital Association. He is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

Lisa Wolf is Vice President of Donor Relations for CURE International. In this role, Lisa is responsible for CURE's events and donor communication strategy.

Prior to joining CURE, Lisa served as a marketing consultant to small and medium-sized businesses and non-profits. She has also held numerous fundraising positions for political candidates including Governor Tom Ridge (PA) during his first gubernatorial campaign. Following the campaign, she served in the Governor's office as a liaison to the cabinet and later directed economic development marketing for the Commonwealth.

Lisa holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Muhlenberg College. She serves as co-chair of the board of Jump Street, a regional arts council, and is an active member of the Camp Hill United Methodist Church. She and her husband Michael live in Enola, PA and have two children, Campbell and Carly.

Stephen Miller is a graduate of Letourneau University in Longview, Texas and a Licensed Professional Engineer by the State of Oregon. He and his wife Audrey have four children, Miriam, Matt, Mike and Jake.

Stephen spent over 10 years working outside of the United States, mainly in Africa and Brazil, doing rural construction projects and design and installation of water and micro-hydro electrical systems.

While in Africa, Stephen joined CURE to manage the start up and construction of CURE's first two hospitals, Kenya and Uganda. In 2001, Stephen returned to the United States to work at the CURE headquarters. He now serves as Vice President of International Operations, managing all of CURE's hospital construction projects, overseeing the Gift In Kind program and assisting in other areas.

Andy serves as Vice President of Operations. In that role, he oversees the opening and transition of new CURE hospitals from construction to the first 24 months of operations. He also provides oversight to CURE’s hospitals in Kenya, Niger and Ethiopia. Andy played a key role in the successful commissioning of CURE’s hospitals in Ethiopia, Honduras and Niger.

Prior to joining CURE, he worked in construction project management and as a sales engineer for a medical equipment company. Andy has bachelor’s degrees in both psychology and Biblical studies from Gordon College.

He is married with 2 adult children and lives in the scenic foothills of Dillsburg, PA. For rest and recreation, Andy enjoys family camping and ocean fishing when the opportunity allows.

Erin started with CURE International in 2004 and has served both in the US, as a consultant and a Resource Development Director; and at CURE’s Kabul facility as Patient Services Manager, Finance Director and Interim Executive Director. She currently serves as Vice President of Operations, partnering with the COO to oversee CURE's network of hospitals.

Erin’s work prior to CURE includes serving as an International Program Coordinator for The Salvation Army in Blantyre, Malawi; and years of experience in working in case management in the US social service sector. She holds her BA in Sociology from Wheaton College. Erin lives in Madison and enjoys playing Ultimate Frisbee in any country where she can find a team.

Rick Klein Joined CURE in 2004 and serves in the role as a Vice President on the development team. He has the pleasure of sharing the CURE mission with current and potential partners. He works closely with the operational team to identify funding opportunities that will help our hospitals become more sustainable. He recently earned the designation of Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP) from the American College, which he uses to assist friends of CURE with their stewardship to make a greater impact for the Kingdom.

Prior to CURE he served at his alma mater, Gordon College as the Director of Planned Gifts. He has a BA in Accounting and Business Administration from Gordon College. Rick serves on the board of Christian Ministries Foundation as well as the Generosity Counsel for the National Christian Foundation of North Texas. Rick enjoys traveling, reading, training and coaching the aspiring young athletes in his household. He and his wife, Sherrie live in Frisco, TX with their two sons, Isaac and Matthew. They are currently in the process of adopting an infant daughter, Marliese from the Caribbean.

Tim Erickson joined CURE in 2006 and serves in a dual role as a VP of Development and the Operations Director for the CURE Hydrocephalus Program. Tim helps lead the development team and is responsible for building relationships with individuals, families, and foundations who are graciously supporting CURE’s mission. As the Operations Director for CURE Hydrocephalus, Tim has been responsible for partnering with the SVP of Specialty Programs to implement and oversee CURE’s growing network of Hydrocephalus Care Coordinators and partnering Hydrocephalus Treatment Locations currently in 10 countries around the world.

Tim is passionate about international ministry and spent a two year stint living in Honduras while working at an international school. He also spent three months working in Zambia and Zimbabwe doing economic development projects. Tim has a BA in Economics and Accounting from Gordon College and an MBA from Penn State University. He is an avid water skier, golfer, and guitar player. Tim and his wife Kiera live in New Cumberland, PA and are blessed with three energetic young kids – Isaiah, Isabel, and Micah.

As the Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Marketing, Joel leads CURE's technology, marketing, and creative teams including the CUREkids program.

Since 1999, he has been working with Internet-based technology - delivering, supporting, and selling software solutions as a software architect, executive, and consultant. From 2006 through 2009, Joel served as technical management and VP of Engineering for a SaaS software company with offices in the U.S. and India focused on social and learning solutions for international businesses. Before that, he operated a software consulting firm, architecting Internet solutions for clients such as the Comcast Corporation.

Joel holds a bachelor's in computer science from Messiah College and is a pursuing a Master's of Religion in Old Testament from Evangelical Theological Seminary. He, his wife Cre, and his two daughters reside in Mechanicsburg, PA.