Executive Advisory Council
Jobst and Charlotte Bittner
Jobst and Charlotte Bittner are the visionary leaders and faces of the March of Life worldwide. Pastor Bittner is Senior Pastor of TOS, a non-denominational Charismatic church and ministry founded by Jobst and Charlotte in Tübingen, Germany 1987. Jobst is a three-time top Christian Allies of Israel award winner . Allies Foundation selects the 50 most important Christian allies of Israel.
Jobst and Charlotte believe that recognizing and honoring the Hebrew roots of the church is the key for revival and have developed a special relationship with Israel and the Jewish Community through many personal friendships, conferences and events like the March of Life.
Christine Ege
Christine developed a love of travel and other cultures early in life. By the time she was 14, she had lived in numerous U.S. locations and connected with friends from different cultural backgrounds. This experience motivated her to pursue degrees in Russian, German, and French Languages and Literatures with a year of post-graduate work in interpreting and translation at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. After living in Norway for several years, she and her husband Steve settled in Texas, where they have served in various volunteer capacities.
A leader with the March of Remembrance Texas since 2013, Christine is passionate about taking a stand against modern-day antisemitism. She also serves as executive director for a local anti-trafficking organization, where she leverages her baking experience to distribute thousands of cookies each year to grateful recipients.
Martin Fein
Martin Fein is President of Martin Fein Interests, Ltd., a development and acquisition company of more than 30,000
units of class A multi-family garden apartments; and Westchase Construction Limited, a company constructing high-end apartment developments.
Mr. Fein is a long-term, generous supporter of the Holocaust Garden of Hope and an active member of the Executive Advisory Council.
Steve Finkelman
Steve Finkelman, Holocaust survivor descendant, is a co-chair of Houston New Leadership and past co-chair of AABGU’s Greater Texas Region. Mr. Finkelman is on the Executive Committee of Texas Hillel, which serves The University of Texas at Austin campus.
Mr. Finkelman is a long-term, generous supporter of the Holocaust Garden of Hope and an active member of the Executive Advisory Council.
Brad Freels
Brad Freels is the Chairman and CEO of Houston-based Midway, a privately owned, fully integrated, real estate investment and development firm.
Midway is the developer of Kings Harbor Waterfront Village, the location of the Holocaust Garden of Hope, in Kingwood, Texas.
Midway generously donated the Holocaust Garden of Hope land site in 2017.
Holly Ham
Holly Ham is a business and technology executive serving federal government clients as VP, Customer Success at Macannie, Inc. headquartered in Virginia. Service runs deep for Ms. Ham, having served the American people for 4 years as a Presidential appointee in education, commerce, housing and civil rights. As the Executive Director for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders under President Donald J. Trump, Ms. Ham honored five living World War II Chinese-Americans veterans in Washington, D.C. as part of the Chinese-American World War II Veteran Congressional Gold Medal Act that was signed into law on December 20, 2018.
Since that special event in January 2019, hundreds of World War II Chinese-Americans veterans or their descendants across the United States have been honored and recognized for their dedicated service to our country in spite of laws prohibiting immigration and employment of Chinese nationals for decades prior.
Ms. Ham’s family fled war-torn, communist Vietnam in 1979 and settled in Texas where she received her elementary to postgraduate education and where she and her husband are raising their family today.
Susan Myers
Susan Myers is president of the Association of Holocaust Organizations. Prior to this role, Ms. Myers worked in various capacities at the Holocaust Museum Houston for more than 10 years and has studied the Holocaust with historians in Poland, Israel and the United States.
Myers was the recipient of the Ina and Jack Polak Outstanding Educator Award given by the Anne Frank Center USA during the center’s “Anne Frank’s 75th Birthday Tribute” in New York City, for her efforts in heading what the center called “one of the most respected Holocaust museums in the nation.”
Dr. Victoria Sarvadi
Dr. Victoria Sarvadi is an author, speaker and Hebraic Christian minister.
Dr. Sarvadi received her Th.D. in 2005 from the former Center for the Study of Biblical Research in Glendora, California, and is a featured guest on national and international radio and television programs including TCT, Daystar and Upliftv Networks.
Dr. Sarvadi is a long-term, generous supporter of the Holocaust Garden of Hope and an active member of the Executive Advisory Council.
Rabbi Brian Strauss
Rabbi Brian Strauss is the senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Yeshurun, the largest synagogue in Houston, Texas.
Rabbi Strauss is passionate about social action, which is a major focus of his senior rabbinate and believes very strongly that citizens can and should do more for the greater Houston community.
Rabbi Strauss is a long-term, generous supporter of the Holocaust Garden of Hope and an active member of the Executive Advisory Council.
Doug & Lisa Stringer
Doug Stringer is the founder of Somebody Cares America and Somebody Cares International and an internationally known author and communicator who speaks to thousands of leaders annually on topics such as compassion evangelism, persevering, courageous and transformational leadership, and community transformation. Mr. Stringer is a long-term, generous supporter of the Holocaust Garden of Hope and an active member of the Executive Advisory Council.
Lisa Stringer is the wife of Doug Stringer, founder and president of Somebody Cares America/International. After extensive experience in the radio and music industry, Lisa became the first female program director of a top-40 radio station in a major market in the United States prior to serving as vice-president of programming and promotions of a radio group. She has received numerous awards, including gold and platinum records for her contribution to the success of many highly recognizable recording artists and entertainers.
Lisa and Doug travel internationally to serve members of the persecuted church and to assist those suffering in the aftermath of human tragedy, such as the Haitian earthquake, the tsunami in Japan, and Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas.
Janice Sturkie
Janice Sturkie serves on the Board of the Institute for Hebraic Christian Studies and taught for several years at the campuses in Houston and Brenham. Janice has a passion for introducing Christians to the Hebraic Roots of their faith and connecting them to God’s purposes for Israel – to become “A Light to the Nations”.
Mrs. Sturkie is a US Representative for the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem (ICEJ), with Aliyah projects and other humanitarian needs in Israel.