It takes a team of good people to keep the Mission running, and here are a few of their names and faces.
There are so many amazing people behind the scenes and many hearts shining the light of Jesus to our clients. Not all their pictures are on this page but we want to acknowledge their hard work and dedication to the Yakima Union Gospel Mission. Our leadership staff rely on their incredible teams for so much. We will continue working for the good of the Yakima community thanks to everyone on staff.
From maintenance crew to the cooks in the kitchen; from the outreach team on the streets to the medical personnel in the clinics; from the administration office to the shelter staff – YUGM succeeds because of those that believe in making a difference.
Mike Johnson
Chief Executive Officer | mike.johnson@yugm.org
Mike and his wife Dena have been married 30 years and have 7 adopted children. Former Army Ranger and former pastor, Mike was most recently CEO of the Tacoma Rescue Mission. Over 14 years in 3 missions, Mike has been a national voice for fusing faith, love, professionalism, and measuring outcomes.
Scott Thielen
VP of Client Services | Scott.thielen@yugm.org
Scott is a seasoned pastoral leader and coach who absolutely loves the amazing people and work of YUGM. Married for 42 years to Patti, they also enjoy the imperfect, beautiful and loving family God has placed them in. Scott enjoys open-country rides on a motorcycle, long walks with golf clubs, chill time with family and friends, study trips in the ancient world and sharing the joy of God’s miraculous redemption of a human life.
Open Position
VP of Community Engagement | ce@yugm.org
Open Position. Click the button below to apply.
Autumn Bernier
VP of Operations and Enterprise | autumn.bernier@yugm.org
Autumn has always felt God’s calling to ministry work, however working as an IT professional for 20 years, that call felt out of grasp. As only God can, He combined all of Autumns life work with her love for real estate and home remodeling, her work running the bids and books for her husband’s construction business, and her heart for the hurting, into a beautiful career move into full-time Ministry work at YUGM. Autumn has been married to her high school sweet heart, Jason, since 2000. They have four children and a grand baby. After the tragic death of her 2 1/2 year old nephew, Autumn is dedicated to keeping his memory alive and aspires to write a book one day on finding God’s peace through loss and adversity.
Eva Lounsbury
VP of Finance & Administration | eva.lounsbury@yugm.org
For 20+ years, Eva worked various professional roles throughout the Yakima Valley, but always felt the tug on her heart for ministry – for her “day job” to provide opportunities for her work to make a lasting difference in the world, for individuals and for the kingdom of God. God heard her heart’s cry and brought her to YUGM. When she is not participating in various forms of ministry and volunteerism, Eva is mom to two dogs and a turtle and loves spending time with her extended family and friends. One of the greatest joys in her life is her opportunity to be an auntie to many children, only some of whom she’s biologically related to, and invest in their futures.
