Ep 92: The Village Around Every Leader – Jo Saxton & Tom De Vries

Jo Saxton

Ezer Collective

Born to Nigerian parents and raised in London, England, Jo Saxton brings a multicultural and international perspective to leadership. She has served on staff teams in churches in the UK and the U.S. and is the founder of the Ezer Collective, an initiative that equips and invests in women leaders. Saxton co-hosts the podcast Lead Stories: Tales of Leadership and Life with Steph O’Brien and has authored three books, including The Dream of You.

Tom De Vries

Global Leadership Network

Tom joined the Global Leadership Network (GLN) in 2017 as President and CEO. He brings a wealth of expertise to the GLN’s year-round leadership development efforts and the leadership of producing The Global Leadership Summit (GLS), the premier leadership event of the year. Prior to joining the GLN, Tom was the General Secretary of the Reformed Church in America (RCA), the oldest continuing Protestant denomination in the United States with over 200,000 members and 100 missionaries serving in 40 countries around the world. Tom has a B.A. in Sociology from Wheaton College, a Master of Divinity from Fuller Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry in Leadership from Western Seminary. He has provided leadership in both the ministry and nonprofit environments serving as a church planter, large church lead pastor and multisite pastor. He served on the central committee of the World Council of Churches and the governing board of the National Council of Churches. Additionally, Tom served on the Board of Trustees for New Brunswick Theological Seminary and Western Theological Seminary and has also taught as an adjunct professor at Western Theological Seminary. Tom played a key leadership role in the launching of a nonprofit focused on food insufficiency in young children and today Hand2Hand feeds more than 8,000 children each weekend through school-church partnerships. He has been a featured guest on NPR, the Salem Radio Network, Life Today Live, Newsmax TV, Moody Radio, the WOW Factor, and Common Good.

Ashlyn Ochoa

The Global Leadership Podcast

Ashlyn Ochoa has served in a variety of roles at the Global Leadership Network since 2016. The product of her talented work, strategic creativity, and valuable leadership has been experienced in the production of The Global Leadership Podcast, as well as many of the GLN’s leadership events and videos that have been translated and contextualized in more than 123 countries. As a valuable leader with a voice of positive influence, she is the host of The Global Leadership Podcast, one of the most popular leadership podcasts in the world. As of 2022, in addition to hosting the podcast, Ashlyn leads national event strategy and production at Bethany Christian Services, where she works in her passion to serve children and families. Beyond her professional roles, her greatest joy is found in being a wife and mom. Experience her positive energy, inquisitive mind, and wisdom as you tune in to The Global Leadership Podcast!