Zollikon Institute Board

Norita Yoder serves as the President/Executive Director of Zollikon Institute.  She holds an M.A. in the History of Christianity from Yale University, and a B.A. in History from The Ohio State University.  She has served in educational and ministry roles throughout her lifetime, including work through the Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center as a lecturer at various universities.  She has a passion to equip young adults to spread an authentic Gospel of Christ that is peaceful, lifegiving, and powerful.  Her aim is to invite others to the tables of conversation in the same gracious ways others have invited her.  She lives with her husband in Millersburg, Ohio.

Bill Mullet lives in Sugarcreek, Ohio.  He is the founder and chairman of the board of ProVia.  He is also a retired pastor.  He and his wife, Ellen, attend Bethel Fellowship Church.  His lifetime of work includes serving on educational boards both stateside and internationally.  His experience involves preaching and teaching at churches and seminars around the world.

Helen Byler-Buckwalter is a doctoral student at the University of Virginia, studying Judaism and Christianity in antiquity, with a focus on the Hebrew Bible.  She received an MTS in Jewish Studies from Harvard and a B.A. in Liberal Arts from New Saint Andrews.  She lives in Dayton, Virginia, with her husband Caleb.  They are expectant parents, fostering a nine-year-old boy with hopes to adopt him, as well as expecting a baby this fall.  She is passionate about bringing accessible teaching on the Bible, especially the Old Testament, to Anabaptist communities.

Jay Conn  – Vice president of the Board, serves as the lead pastor of Martins Creek Mennonite Church, near Millersburg, Ohio.  He holds a Doctor’s in Divinity from Liberty University in 2020, a MDiv from Ashland Theological Seminary, and a B.A. in Mathematics and Secondary Education from EMU.  He is passionate about church ministry and Christian education and knows the Zollikon Institute will provide an avenue for individuals to fulfill both.

Jim Smucker is President of Keim, a building supply company in Charm, Ohio.  He holds both Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Management.  Prior to his work at Keim, Jim served for twenty-seven years as a partner and President of the Bird-in-Hand Corporation, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in business and organizational management at several universities.  His research interests include empowerment in the workplace, developing authentic leaders, and the contribution of the Believers Church to governance and leadership models.  He has embraced Anabaptism as a foundation on which to build a model of serving leadership throughout his adult life.  He lives near Sugarcreek, Ohio, with his wife Anna and has three adult children and two grandchildren.

Joshua Good lives in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where he is the principal of Ephrata Mennonite School.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in History, a master’s degree in Teaching Secondary Social Studies, and an MS in Educational Leadership.  He and his wife, Tonya, have three school-aged children.  They attend Cornerstone Mennonite.

Marcus Yoder is the Executive Director of the Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center and the Ohio Amish Library, located in Berlin, Ohio.  He graduated with his master’s degree in the History of Christianity from Yale University in 2015.  He earned his bachelor’s degree in History from The Ohio State University.  Marcus was born to an Amish family in the heart of Holmes County, Ohio.  His family moved to the Mennonite church where Marcus has had active roles in teaching, pastoring, preaching, and writing over the past twenty-five years.  His heart and study have centered around all things concerning Anabaptist history and theology.  He and his wife Norita currently live in Millersburg, Ohio.

Paul A Miller – Secretary Treasurer of the Board, lives in Walnut Creek, Ohio, with his wife Barbara Ann.  He has a lifetime commitment to Anabaptist theology, history, and education and is currently employed as the Executive Officer of Anabaptist Financial, a faith-based investment and loans organization.  His vocations have provided him with a broad range of business experience.  He has served on multiple nonprofit boards, including educational boards for the Amish-Mennonite constituency around the U.S.  As a pastor, he has a particular heart for training of bi-vocational pastors, as well as education for young adults.  Paul and Barbara Ann attend Crosspointe Mennonite Church in Baltic, Ohio, where he serves as a pastor.