Chad and Christy Helmer
Chad came to know Jesus in 1997 through the ministry of Cru. In 2005 he graduated from Ohio University with a B.S. in Computer Science and married his wife, Christy. Chad worked in the information technology industry for three years before he and Christy joined the staff of Cru at Ohio University in 2007 and began directing the ministry in 2011. He has an M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Durham University, UK, and is the author of The LORD Who Listens (Brill, 2024). He enjoys reading, reading, and when he’s not doing that, he also does a little reading.
Christy is a native of Dublin, OH. As the daughter of a pastor, she placed her trust in Christ when she was very young. She also graduated from Ohio University in 2005 with a B.A. in Journalism. She loves traveling, especially to the beach, as well as event planning, listening to audiobooks, getting good deals, and spending time with friends. She and Chad met through their involvement in Cru as students at Ohio University. Together, they like to pedal Athens’ scenic bike path, exercise, and host Cru staff and students in their home. Their daughter, Lydia, was born in February of 2018.
Jason and Kacey Hoffman
Jason Hoffman joined the staff team at Ohio University in 2004. Jason serves with the men at Ohio University and leads the Ocean City Summer Mission with Cru. He loves getting to know students personally, seeing their lives transformed by Christ, and then seeing them go to the ends of the earth to help fulfill the Great Commission. He enjoys playing basketball and soccer, games with the kids, and reading.
Kacey joined Cru staff in 2005 after going on a summer mission with Cru where she learned how to share her faith, study the Bible, and walk more closely with Jesus. Growing up she had questions about God, but didn’t know where to turn. Heading to college she found others in Cru who loved the Lord and loved each other, and talked about God! She co-leads Cru in Southeast Ohio and serves the women’s ministry. She has a love for studying the Bible and learning about others’ lives. She enjoys laughing and being surrounded by her kids, family, and friends. Jason and Kacey have four beautiful children: Maddy, Caleb, Gabby and Julia.
Clay and Emily Selway
Clay joined the staff team at Ohio University in 2016. He considers it an incredible privilege to help students come closer to Jesus at his alma mater. He is originally from New Philadelphia, Ohio, and graduated from OU in 2012 with a degree in education. Clay is passionate about helping others know Jesus, keep him as the main thing, and avoid getting bogged down by the rest. He is a Cleveland sports lifer who loves spending time with his kids, hiking, playing basketball or disc golf, and can quote The Office at length. An avid runner, you can probably find him somewhere on the bike path during his downtime.
Emily graduated from Ohio University in 2013 with a degree in commercial photography. She primarily does video editing and shooting for Cru’s national design team. Emily loves Jesus, loves college students, and wants everyone to have an opportunity to know who Jesus is. She and Clay both believe that college students will be a huge part of seeing people all over the world know and experience the goodness of God. She enjoys hiking, running, camping, reading, and recently, gardening! Emily and Clay also love spending time with their sons: Elliott (age 7), Judah (age 5), and Wesley (1 year).
Jeffrey and Carlie Barner
Carlie joined with Cru in 2017 and works with the students on South Green at Ohio University and women in sororities. God used Carlie’s time as a student at Ohio University to give her a passion to share her faith with others, and now she gets to spend her life coming alongside young women and showing them the beauty of the gospel. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, hosting parties, hand embroidery, watching documentaries with her husband and sweets.
Jeffrey interned with Cru at Ohio University in 2016 and joined staff with his wife in 2017. He works with the students on South Green and also works with fraternity men. He graduated from Cal State Fullerton and joined with Cru at Ohio University because he wants to mobilize college students to live their lives on mission. When he’s not hanging with college students, he enjoys world history, writing stories, reading with his wife and shredding on his American Fender Stratocaster HSS.
Jacob and Gabrielle Newton
Jake started walking with the Lord in 2015, his junior year of college through the ministry of Cru in Southeast Ohio. He played baseball at Marietta College and graduated in 2017 with a B.S. in Land and Energy Systems Management and joined the staff of Cru at Ohio University. He knew at the time of graduation that he couldn’t see himself doing anything other than participating in the work that God is doing through the ministry of Cru in Southeast Ohio, and around the world. Jake enjoys reading, working out and eating.
Gabrielle is from Worthington, Ohio and came to know the Lord at the age of five. She played tennis and graduated from Grace College in 2017 with a B.S. in Marketing and Masters of Business Administration. She worked at Grange Insurance until she felt called to join staff with Cru at Ohio University. She enjoys hiking, walking and anything outdoors. Jake and Gabrielle met through mutual friends at an annual Cru Winter Conference in Indianapolis. They were married in April 2019 and have a son, Brooks, who was born in August 2023.
Joe Godinez
Joe grew up in a family that valued a relationship with God and became involved with Cru at OU as a freshmen. It was through his time at OU that God led him to pursue college ministry after he graduated in 2017. Joe joined the team as part-time staff in the fall of 2019. He has a passion to come alongside young men and help them grow in their relationship with God. Joe enjoys playing sports (mainly basketball), spending quality time with friends, and is always down for a good road trip.
Erin Loper
Erin Loper joined Cru staff in 2019 after graduating from Moody Bible Institute with a degree in Ministry Leadership and an emphasis in Ministry to Women. Her passion for ministry deepened during her freshman year at Ohio University Lancaster, when she watched a classmate place her faith in Christ and had the joy of helping her grow spiritually. That experience stirred a desire to spend her life walking alongside others in their faith journeys. Erin enjoys laughter, meaningful conversations, and a wide variety of hobbies that help her stay curious and connected to others.
Amber Myers
Amber came to know Jesus when she was around 6 years old. She was super excited to read the entire Bible shortly after but was soon disappointed to learn that there was actually more to it than the picture-book “Beginner’s Bible” that she had read. Nevertheless, she has always had a passion for God’s Word and sharing the hope of Christ with others. Amber graduated from Ohio University Lancaster in 2020 with a degree in social work. She got involved with Cru at OUL and got to see firsthand how impactful being involved in a college ministry can be. She is so excited to come alongside students in their walk with God and give them the opportunity to grow in their faith in the way that she did through Cru. Amber loves reading, writing, spending time with others, and watching Phineas and Ferb in her free time.
Bill Hauschild
Bill joined the staff team at Ohio University in 2011. He works with Cru’s Valor Military Ministry. Bill retired from the Army in December of 2010 after 21 years of service and has had the privilege of leveraging his military experiences to help lead the Valor Military Ministry on campus at Ohio University. As a former officer, Bill loves the opportunity to connect with military students and point them toward Christ. Bill is married to his incredible wife Catherine, with whom he has four great kids — family is one of his greatest passions. Fitness is also a passion of Bill’s. He stays connected to this by serving as a fitness instructor and triathlon coach through Ohio University’s Staff and Faculty fitness center, WellWorks. Bill also serves as the faculty advisor and race director for the OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital Race for a Reason.
Leah and Cody Petitt
Leah and Cody both graduated from Ohio University. Leah played for the Ohio University Women’s soccer team and Cody played for the Ohio University Men’s Ultimate Frisbee team. Leah graduated with an accounting degree and Cody with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering. The two of them met on a mission trip to Puerto Rico while they were both students. After working in their industries, Leah and Cody felt called back to Ohio University for ministry. Leah joined part-time staff with Athletes in Action at Ohio University in 2018, and Cody volunteered while pursuing a career at Ohio University as an instructor in Mechanical Engineering. Together they built their own house in Athens, Ohio and grew their family. Leah pursued further education and graduated from Ohio University again with a Masters in Clinical Mental Health and Rehabilitation Counseling. Leah and Cody transitioned to the Southeast Ohio Cru team in 2022. Leah works as a counselor and continues to be part-time staff with Cru, and Cody works as faculty in the Mechanical Engineering department at Ohio University and volunteers with Cru. They also serve as representatives of Cru’s Lifelines ministry and work with Faculty Commons, the faculty ministry of Cru. They enjoy adventuring and spending time together as a family.
Mitchell Shadwick
Mitchell came to know the Lord just before he finished high school. Soon after he graduated, his high school math teacher (shoutout Mr. Mac!) took him to breakfast and told him about the ministry of Cru at Ohio University, and the rest is history! Mitchell found a home with Cru at OU and developed a passion for sharing the gospel and mobilizing others to do so. Mitchell sees college campuses as hotbeds for potential missionaries and desires to raise up college students to reach the world with the name of Jesus, starting in Athens. In his free time, Mitchell enjoys reading, exercising, riding roller coasters, and eating way too much food, and he can always be found with a Coke Zero in hand.
Matthew Boyd
Matthew became involved with Cru at OU as a freshman. Through Cru, he had the opportunity to lead Bible studies, disciple underclassmen, and go on a summer mission trip to Bratislava, Slovakia. After graduating from OU in 2023, Matthew interned with Cru in Bratislava for the 2023–2024 school year. He then returned to OU to intern with Cru for the 2024–2025 school year. Now, Matthew is excited to continue serving the team as an associate volunteer staff while working full-time as a 5th grade teacher. He looks forward to sharing the gospel with college students, walking alongside them in their faith, and sending them out to spread the good news around the world. In his free time, Matthew enjoys spending time with friends, hiking, and watching or playing any kind of sport.
Sydney Jones
Syd came to know Jesus during her freshman year at Ohio University and joined Cru shortly after returning to campus for her sophomore year. After spending her college summers serving in Children’s Ministries at her hometown church, and her time on campus leading Bible studies with Cru and in her sorority, she knew she wanted to continue pursuing ministry. Syd is excited to be joining the team as an affiliate staff member and can’t wait to continue sharing the joy she has found in Christ with others. She also loves all things outdoors, baking, and spending time with her sweet niece, Eleanor!
Sophia Marshall
Sophia entrusted her life to Christ the summer before high school and got involved with Cru at OU her freshman year. She started taking her faith seriously, and got the opportunity to lead a Bible study for upperclassmen women and be part of the student-led worship team. She also just finished a 10 week summer mission in Ocean City, New Jersey. She has a love for college ministry, and she is excited to be a volunteer staff member at her alma mater where Cru most impacted her life. She enjoys asking questions, getting to know people, and sharing the gospel. She also enjoys cafes, the gym, and the outdoors.
Evan Dozer
Evan started walking with the Lord the summer after graduating from high school. He was told about the ministry of Cru at OU and got involved his freshman year. Since then, he has seen Jesus transform the lives of people all around campus and has made friendships that will live long past his college years. He just graduated from OU with a B.S. in Aviation Flight. This year, he will be a Flight Instructor at Ohio University’s Airport and will also be volunteering with Cru at OU! Evan enjoys reading, playing hoops and pickleball, good food, and spending time with family and friends.