Brian Dejewski

Co-Founder / Executive Director

​Brian has been engaged in the work of ministry and serving in community for over 25 years. He has a variety of vocational experiences including corporate project management, creating and running nonprofits, church pastoral roles, software implementation, and executive positions at a national foundation. These roles have given him an understanding of the varied cultures and required tasks of the marketplace, faith-based organizations, and the nonprofit sector. Brian has served to bring community nonprofits together in a coordinated approach toward effective human service delivery. Brian currently serves as the Executive Director for Mobile Hope. He has served on the boards of various nonprofits including Hope For The City (now Matter); Twin Cities Workplace Ministries; R3 Collaborative for Reentry, Recovery, and Renewal; and Hammers of Hope, among others. He and his family have lived within the community where they serve for the last 6 years. He has a BA in psychology from Cortland University in New York
and a M.Div from Bethel Seminary in Arden Hills, MN.

Jill Dejewski

Co-Founder / Director of Programs

​Jill serves as the champion and Director of Programs for the community development work happening at Mobile Hope.  She began this work over 24 years ago while serving as the middle school youth pastor for Wayzata Free Church.  Her work has enabled it to grow to where it is today, providing access to needed food, ELL programs, Homework Help, educational after school activities, mentoring, and more.   She has also secured partnership in this work with the city, local teachers, nonprofits, and law enforcement.  She served as a board member for Teens Alone for 2 years and also works as a Personal Care Attendant for adults with special needs.  Jill received her B.A. in Communications from Sioux Falls College and a Masters in Christian Education from Bethel Seminary.  

​Ashley Xitumul

TreeHouse Program Director

​Ashley jumped at the opportunity to do mission work right after graduating high school.  She trained with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and served as a missionary with them for 12 years.  While serving in Guatemala for 5 years she lead an after school program called Dreamers for children in extreme poverty, providing food, full sponsorship of their school expenses, tutoring, and mentoring.  She also started an English class at a local school. Her service in missions has helped her expand her worldview and cultural competence and she is fluent in Spanish.   She and her husband have lived in the community they serve for the past five years. Her training in YWAM included Discipleship Training School, Intro to Primary Healthcare, and School of Ministry Development.  Ashley now serves as the director of our TreeHouse program at Mobile Hope, working with teens grades 7-12 to provide youth programming, peer support groups, and mentoring programs to these amazing kids.

Gama Xitumul

Program Support Specialist

​Gama grew up in Guatemala and trained with Youth With a Mission after graduating high school. He served with them for 10 years, helping with logistical needs of receiving international teams, leading outreaches to different countries, assisting with the Dreamers after school program, and training Latino youth pastors.  He graduated with a teaching certificate and taught in an elementary school in Guatemala.  He has been involved with youth ministry and mentoring for 10 years.  Gama is fluent in both Spanish and English.  His training with Youth With A Mission included: Discipleship Training School and School of Ministry Development.  He serves alongside Ashley and Jill to execute the TreeHouse and Resource programs at Mobile Hope.  

Cathy Walker

Dayton Site Director

​Cathy has been investing in the Dayton mobile home community for over 6 years prior to joining us as the Dayton Site Director.  Throughout that time, she has invested heavily in building relationships with residents and children throughout the park.  She has served to bring a coordinated and strategic approach to the work of Mobile Hope through structured programs and collaborative partner agencies such as the Elk River School District Community Education, Anoka Hennepin School District, Hennepin County, the University of MN, Three Rivers Parks, The Red Cross, and over 10 local churches.  Cathy is motivated by her passion to serve God and reach out to others.  She has served as a volunteer with her local church, schools, and through athletic coaching.  She has a B.A. from Northwestern in Business Administration. 

Vandella Niemi

Community Engagement Specialist

​Vandella serves as our Community Engagement Specialist for Mobile Hope, reaching out to community members and residents, and serving with the children and teens through Homework Help and TreeHouse.  She brings a valuable perspective to Mobile Hope as someone who grew up in the community and now is a single mother raising three kids of her own within the mobile home park.  She has long-term relationships and history with the community and is able to connect, relate, and communicate with residents most effectively.  Vandella has shown tremendous resilience and determination in her commitments to her future and that of her kids and has stepped into leadership to help improve her neighborhood.  

Lauren Larson

Program Support Assistant

​Lauren began her work serving marginalized communities as a high school student while connecting with residents at homeless shelters in Washington D.C. While in college volunteered as a Charge EMT for two years and gained valuable insight into effectively serving community members in crisis. She continued this work as an intern during her last year in college, volunteering for Victim Witness services and helping people who were also in crisis. Her first professional job included providing early intervention services on a home-based basis for low-income, pregnant teens and young families. For the last several years Lauren has continued to serve her community through volunteering at church and connecting with children on a one-on-one basis. She has excellent organization skills that currently serve her in her position as Program Support Assistant at Mobile Hope. Lauren earned a B.S. in Criminal Justice and Minors in Social Work and Psychology at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. 

Jeff Siewert

Finance Manager

​Jeff serves as the Finance Manager for Mobile Hope.  Prior to joining Mobile Hope, he worked a 37+ year career in various private industry financial accounting and management roles.  The first 34 years at General Mills and the last 3+ at Agspring, LLC.  His diverse finance experiences include accounting controls, setting annual budgets, tracking and reporting expenses to budget and analyzing and explaining variances to budget.  He has leveraged his extensive financial experience having served as the financial treasurer for Ascension Evangelical Lutheran Church, Plymouth, Minnesota and currently is the Congregation President at Ascension.  Jeff and his family live in Plymouth, MN, a community just east of Mobile Hope's home city of Corcoran.  Jeff has a B.S. in Finance from St. Cloud State University.

Key Volunteers

Ariel Johnson

Hope House Resident and Social Worker

​Ariel has been connected to Mobile Hope for the past year, and moved into the community as part of the Hope House immersion program.  Ariel has been a social worker for over 4 years with a desire to build deeper relationships within her community, which led her to moving into the Hope House at Maple Hill Estates. Ariel works closely with families who have been impacted by addiction and understands the importance of a community. Her passion is to support youth with opportunities that allow them to thrive. To that end, she is a volunteer leader and mentor with Mobile Hope’s TreeHouse program. Ariel served on the board of directors for RiverWorks for three years, which is a partner agency providing adult programming on site. Ariel has a BSW from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Hilary Laing

Early Childhood Expert

Hilary has been an early childhood teacher and special ed teacher for 25 years, having taught in both public and private schools as well as in a psychiatric hospital. She is currently teaching pre-K and holds the position of curriculum specialist in the Orono Early Learning Program.  She brings a career's worth of knowledge of children and learning to her volunteer work at Mobile Hope, where she has been volunteering for 4 years. Hilary serves as a teacher to the Kindergarten children at Homework Help, where she serves Mon-Thursday afternoons. She has also been a volunteer teacher at Mobile Hope's summer school program for the past 2 summers.  Hilary has also been active as a mentor to children and parents of young children whom she knows through her work with Mobile Hope. In the past, Hilary volunteered as a coordinator and teacher for the children's education program for All Saints' Episcopal Church in Belmont, MA.  While there, she was trained as a Godly Play teacher.  She has also served as a spiritual guide at Highrock Church in Arlington, MA. In this role, she was trained under pastoral care to provide individualized spiritual care to members of the church community. Hilary earned both her B.A. in Child Study and her Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education from Tufts University in Medford, MA.