Lutheran Braille Workers has been blessed with a talented staff of men and women dedicated to this ministry and mission.
Executive Team
Vice President of Operations & Finance
Nate Paredes
Director of Large Print Ministry
Cynthia Keh
Director of Strategic Partnerships and Ministry Relations
Rachel Potts
My name is Rachel Potts and I am blessed to serve with Lutheran Braille Workers as the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Ministry Relations. I am deployed to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where I live there with my husband and three children. My husband and I met in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship while undergraduates at Western Michigan University, and we then attended graduate school together at Michigan State University. I was a speech-language pathologist for five years in a public school district in Tucson, Arizona. When our family moved to Ann Arbor, I became the Director of Admissions and Enrichment Programs at St. Paul Lutheran School. I served at St. Paul Ann Arbor for 11 years until God called me to the ministry at LBW in August of 2023. I am honored to share the good news of Jesus and the mission of LBW with churches and individuals as I travel throughout the eastern part of the country.
Everyone in my family are devoted (i.e., crazy) University of Michigan fans. (Yes, we went to graduate school at Michigan State but we try not to talk about that.) My family and I love music, and I play the violin for worship when I have the opportunity. I also love to garden, coach robotics, lead Girl Scouts, do graphic design, work on websites, read, and knit. In our spare time, our family loves to travel and play games.
My favorite bible verse is from Psalm 46. “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Core Staff
Director Of Outreach
Brooke Pernice
My name is Brooke Pernice; I have been with Lutheran Braille Workers since August of 2023, and am deployed to Louisville Kentucky. I am blind from birth, received my first Braille Bible from Lutheran Braille Workers at four years of age, and am resolved to spread the Gospel to all who have not yet beheld it, whether with eyes, ears, or finger-tips. I hold a Master of Divinity with a worship emphasis from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, an undergraduate degree in theology and the arts with a writing minor from Belmont University, and am currently a Doctor of Ministry student at Knox Seminary. I am a singer, musician, songwriter, educator, and host of the weekly podcast "Good Books; True Stories; Beautiful Songs". When not traveling, I am the worship leader at Midlane Park Presbyterian Church In Louisville. One of my favorite Scriptures is Habakkuk 3:2:
"O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy."
Director of Production & IT
Sky Ervin
A/P & Donor Relations
Deanna Cobb
I have been with LBW since February, 2013. I first volunteered at Lutheran Braille Workers a few months before being hired as Donor Relations where I posted donations and maintained volunteer records. My current position has revolved into Volunteer Relations Coordinator & Accounting Technician, where I post donations, maintain volunteer records, pay invoices, maintain Estates, and process Payroll. I love working with a Christian staff and that we’re able to read God’s Word and pray throughout the day without conviction. I love that LBW cares about all the people that we serve and that we’re able to give all our materials, free of charge. I enjoy seeing pictures of those who have received our materials and the smiles and joy that flow out of them when they are reading God’s Word in Braille!
I have 4 amazing grown children (2 boys and 2 girls) and currently have 8 grandchildren (5 boys and 3 girls), who are all local and keep me very busy. My dad recently taught me silversmithing and love making jewelry for family and friends in my spare time.
"4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away." -- 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Director Of Operations
Heather Farkas
Hello, my name is Heather Farkas, I am the Director of Operations here at LBW. I truly believe that God has placed me into this organization to fulfill a higher purpose, to help and serve others. To be an essential hand in getting his word to the blind and visually impaired.
My favorite Bible verse is Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you. ‘declares the lord.’ Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
This verse reminds me to always, threw every situation, have faith in God and his plans for me.
Warehouse Manager
Jermaine Fortune
Large Print Production
Carlos Fierro
