TFL Team

Bob Vander Plaats, President and CEO
His passionate leadership for the betterment of America’s family has earned TFL the 2010 “Family Champion” award presented by CitizenLink, an affiliation of Focus on the Family. His leadership and voice for the family is … read more…
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Darla_TFLDarla Vander Plaats, Director, If 7:14
Darla Vander Plaats is a farm girl from northwest Iowa. She received a degree from Northwestern College in Orange City and worked for several years as a CPA before taking the opportunity to stay home with the four sons she and Bob raised together. She joined Bob at TFL in 2015 and… read more
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Chuck_TFLChuck Hurley, Vice President and Chief Counsel
Chuck Hurley has been a Christian since 1977, and a licensed attorney since 1983.  He spent 15 years in private practice, and now uses his legal experience to defend religious liberties, family values, and the sanctity of life. He ran for the Iowa Legislature for the first time in 1988, in part on … read more
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Greg_TFLGreg Baker, Vice President of Church Engagement
Greg grew up in Earlham, Iowa, and is a 2009 graduate of the University of Iowa. His inspiration to make a difference in government began in his high school years. His passion stemmed from the strategy necessary to pass legislation and to win elections. But Greg’s pursuits in government were transformedread more
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Nick Bal, Vice President of Advancement
Nick Bal lives in Ames, Iowa, with his wife, Carol, and daughters Ava and Amelia. Bal graduated from Iowa State with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Communication and a Masters in Public Administration from Drake. Bal enjoys playing tennis and being involved at his church, Crossroad Baptist in Amesread more


Danny_TFLDanny Carroll, Family Advocate
Danny has been married for 38 years to Joy. They have three grown children who all live in Ankeny with their families. Danny worked as Director of Community Relations for Iowa Telecom in Newton from 1999 through 2009 when theread more
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Nathan_TFLDr. Nathan Oppman                                                         Nathan Oppman joined The FAMiLY LEADER in 2015. He developed his interest in public policy through active involvement in campaigns, caucuses, and his local church in his home state of Iowa. Nathan received a B.A. in political science, an M.A. in history, and read more
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Drew Zahn, Director of Communications
Drew Zahn grew up in northeastern Iowa, a Mississippi “River Rat” from McGregor. Later he would serve as solo pastor of two Evangelical Free churches in the rural cornfields of northern Iowa and as youth pastor of a Baptist church in central Iowa. His guest preaching has taken him all over the state. A graduate of Bethel read more
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Ashley Baker, Event Coordinator & Executive Assistant
Ashley graduated from Drake University in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and history. In 2008 a friend of Ashley’s at Drake shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with her, and, according to Ashley, “I was able to really see the love of God for the first time.”read more


David Barnett, Director of Database Management
David is originally from Creston, Iowa, and now lives in Kansas City, Missouri. David and his wife, Leah, have one daughter, Ellie. David graduated from Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary with a degree in pastoral ministry and double emphasis in Greek and counseling. read more


Katie Bentley, Administrative Assistant
Katie Bentley, a graduate of Rhema Bible Training Center, lives in West Des Moines and is engaged to Tyler LaFollette, with plans to become Mrs. Katie LaFollette in October 2019. Bentley enjoys kayaking, spending time with her friends,read more


Denise Bubeck, Deputy Director of Church Ambassador Network
In her role with The FAMiLY Leader, Denise Bubeck provides for pastors and clergy to engage with elected officials at the state and federal level. Her career is marked by devoted volunteerism at numerous other organizations includingread more


Glen Cornell, Multi-Media Director
After graduating from the University of Northern Iowa with a BA in Creative Media Arts, Glen studied performance and composition at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He became Assistant Director and Graphic Artist at KCCI-TV and then worked at Wells Fargoread more


Leo Lazarini, Church Ambassador Network and Community Outreach
Leonardo, also known around the office as “Leo,” is originally from São Paulo, Brazil. Lazarini made the move to America in 2010, where he pursued his love for soccer at Roosevelt High School. Later, he continued to play soccer at AIB and graduated with a degreeread more


Duane Nordquist, Advancement Specialist
Duane Nordquist of Panora, Iowa, graduated from Buena Vista with a degree in Business Administration and a minor in Psychology. Nordquist has six children and four grandchildren and has been married to his wife, Eileen, for 22 yearsread more


Terry Pollard, Church Ambassador Network
Terry Pollard graduated from Kansas Christian College in Overland Park, Kansas, in 1980 with a B.A. in Religion and has continued his graduate studies at Nazarene Theological Seminary and Moody Theological Seminary. He has served for over 39 years in varied full-time Christian ministry responsibilitiesread more


Daniel Sunne, Policy Liaison
A native Iowan, Daniel grew up in Backbone State Park in Northeast Iowa. His fascination with government led him to study politics at Hillsdale College in Michigan and intern for Sen. Chuck Grassley in Washington, D.C. After graduationread more


Kathy Van Soelen, If 7:14 Prayer Ambassador
Kathy Van Soelen lives in Waukee, Iowa, with her husband, Greg. Together, they have four children and two grandchildren. Prior to working at The FAMiLY LEADER, Kathy graduated from Dordt College with a degree in biologyread more