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Our Leadership
After many years in senior management in the corporate sales and marketing Stuart and his wife Laura, hearing the voice of the Lord, refocused their lives to serve the Lord in better ways. Stuart has been on the mission’s board for two years serving as the secretary for the past year. From his perspective on the board he was able to see first hand the blessed work the mission performs daily. Stuart hails from Boston, Mass. having been relocated to Buffalo in 1994. Stuart and Laura and their two sons, Stuart Jr. and Macuen live in Elma, NY and attend Crossroads Christian Church where they both sit on the Senior Management Board. A graduate of Babson College with a BS degree in business, he holds certificates in Risk Management and Statistical Process Control from The University of Pennsylvania and Worcester Polytechnic Institute respectively. He has written several courses in Professional Salesmanship and Sales Management for the American Management Association. In 2004, Stuart was honored with the Morris R. Poummit Creative Sales & Marketing Award from the Buffalo Niagara Sales and Marketing Executives for his work in marketing. Stuart says he has the greatest job in the world. He is able to spread the word about what the Mission does every day. Stuart finds basic guiding truth and protection in Psalm 23:1-4 “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness. For His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me...”
Mike Smith brings 36 years of experience in the retail business arena to his job as associate executive director of Buffalo City Mission. As a member of our executive management team, Mike leads a dedicated senior staff and oversees the Mission’s retail and warehouse operations, including Buffalo City Mission Thrift Store and Mission Motors. Mike and his wife, Elizabeth, are natives to Buffalo. The couple has two children and a son-in-law, all of whom reside in Western New York. The family is active in their church, CrossPoint, in Amherst. Mike says he counts it a privilege to serve a sovereign God of love and mercy. He draws strength and encouragement from Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Michael A. Robinson is an ordained Minister at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church where he humbly serves as the assistant to Sr. Pastor William A. Bunton Jr. He is a native of Buffalo, NY and has an extensive history of service in the fields of Human Service, Ministry, and Community Activism. He and his wife Joyce are blessed to be the parents of four wonderful children, Michael, Eric, Kathryn, and Esther. Michael Jr. is currently serving our nation as a United States Marine, Eric, Kathryn, and Esther are all active members of Antioch. Pastor Mike has served on the boards of several local agencies, held executive management positions for profit and not for profit entities, and has been active in the various capacities in the Buffalo Public School system where he has been instrumental in the establishment of several parent teacher organizations. In the community he has been active in outreach ministry to gang affiliated and “at risk” youth for over ten years. He has coordinated these efforts with local organizations like the Stop the Violence Coalition, “PEACE,” and the Mad Dads, and national organizations such as the “Amer I Can” program. “Service to those who need another’s voice to be lifted in advocacy has been an integral part of my life since early childhood.” My parents have always taught by example the application of the scripture which states that the “….strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak,” Romans 15:1a, My service to our residents here at the Buffalo City Mission, to the overall community, and most of all to God, provide me with a daily challenge to live up to this mandate as articulated in the following scripture; “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19
Lora Warkentin has served as director of Cornerstone Manor, Buffalo City Mission’s shelter for women and children, since August 1994. Born in war-torn Crimea in the Ukraine, Lora's own family was homeless for many years. “We made our ‘home’ in whatever barns and buildings offered shelter from the cold,” she recalls. These experiences give her a unique passion for the plight of homeless women and families. A member of the Mission’s executive management team, Lora holds a bachelor’s degree from Goshen College, a master’s degree from Ohio State University and a doctorate from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Under her leadership, Cornerstone Manor has evolved from a 28-day housing program into a comprehensive shelter, offering long-term, life-changing programming for homeless women and children. Lora's professional achievements include assisting a Kansas hospital with obtaining national accreditation; advancing the care of handicapped youth in Toledo, Ohio, and for persons relocated from mental hospitals in Ontario. She served eight years as director of nursing at the Hotel Due Hospital in St. Catharines, Ontario, and seven years as a teacher of baccalaureate nursing at Goshen College and D’Youville College. She is co-founder and facilitator of One Step at a Time, a grief-healing program. Lora is a 2002 Leadership Buffalo graduate and the recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Building a Beloved Community Award. She is a member of the Buffalo Business and Professional Women, Sigma Theta Tau, District #2 New York State Nurses Association and the Zonta Club of Buffalo. Currently she serves on the Erie County Commission for Homelessness, the Erie County Commission for Women, HELP Buffalo Advisory Committee, and Homespace Program Board.
As a member of the executive management team at Buffalo City Mission, Rod uses his 32 years of experience in financial services to lead dedicated staff responsible for managing the Mission’s income, expenses and financial integrity. Rod and his wife, Kim, have four sons; the youngest two currently attend Bob Jones University in South Carolina. The Sargeant family attends Berean Free Presbyterian Church in Boston, New York. “We truly serve an awesome and sovereign God. As long as we remain humble and submitted to the authority He places us under, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish. With God, all things are possible!” Sargeant says.
Aubrey Calhoun brings more than 11 years of experience in corporate development to her position as director of community relations at Buffalo City Mission. As a member of Mission’s executive management team, Calhoun is responsible for generating awareness of Buffalo City Mission, developing key corporate partners, and educating the community about homelessness, and how individuals, churches, schools, service groups and others can become involved. Aubrey and her husband, Rick, have two daughters, Cassandra and Amanda. The family resides in Niagara County and attends Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church. “I am thankful to be part of Buffalo City Mission and I am blessed to help those in need. II Corinthians 5:20 says, ‘We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.’ In Christ, we are called to be ambassadors for the Kingdom of God. As followers of Christ we are also asked to care for the needs of the poor.”
Peggy Johnson has been a key part of Buffalo City Mission’s staff for more than 15 years. As executive secretary, and later office manager, at Cornerstone Manor, the Mission’s shelter for women and children, Johnson developed strong organizational and communication skills. With the assistance of a volunteer committee, Peggy developed and implemented a volunteer program model at this facility. As our new director of volunteers, Peggy will utilize her past experience coordinating volunteers at our women and children’s shelter to develop a strong volunteer program for the entire organization. Working alongside staff members, volunteers enable Buffalo City Mission to provide the vast array of services for the less fortunate men, women and children in our community. Peggy lives on Grand Island with Gary, her husband of 37 years. They have three children and eight grandchildren. Johnson is a member of the Symphony Bible Church, where she serves as secretary to the treasurer.
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