About Us
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Director
Dr. Ron Sanders lives in California with his wife Bonnie and has served on staff with Cru for 32 years. Ron has a Ph.D. in Theology with an emphasis on Christian Ethics and leads strategy implementation and fund development for the project. Bonnie helps to tell the story of the Villa through her photography.
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Shandra Galloway lived and served in Italy with her family for 11 years.
Shandra leads our key partnerships with Italy and in fundraising. She is conversant in Italian language and culture and has been on staff with Cru for 34 years. She lives in Luca, Italy, and Portland with her husband Sean.
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Charmaine Lillestrand live in California with her husband Greg and has been with Cru for more than 35 years. Together, they pioneered ministry throughout the countries of the former Soviet Union and Europe, including as national leaders of Agape Italia for several years in country.
Charmaine has a master's degree in organizational management and leads the project in strategy management and team development. Greg champions the project with European leaders.
Thank you so much for your interest in Villa di Vorno and our work around the world. Find us also on the Camino de Santiago in Spain and at this retreat house in Portugal.
We are a group of friends on a spiritual journey who have a combined 200+ years of leadership experience in the faith-based, non-profit space, working with students, professionals, athletes, artists and the “quartet of the vulnerable“ —as staff of Cru. A few of us have lived in Italy and have helped to give leadership to Agape Italia.
We have many shared values. We also care deeply about love: real, gritty, tangible acts of love that might help someone flourish in their own journey.
We care about justice: doing what is within our power to stop injustice, resist oppression, and raise awareness for those who might not have the strength or a voice themselves—we try to start small and see where it might go and enjoy a healthy partnership with International Justice Mission in Ghana and India.
We care about spirituality: the sacred, faith, mystery, wonder, prayer—great questions about God and our own place in the world.
We care about community: connecting with one another, learning from each other, being together—meeting as strangers and leaving as friends.
We pray that the Villa di Vorno would be “a sacred space on an ancient path” where all these things are possible.
The image we use is of a table, where everyone is invited—the vulnerable CEO and the vulnerable refugee; and we all have something meaningful to contribute to the world.