CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

Steven Valencsin is Chairman of the Board and one of the founding parents of The Harvest Academy. A United States Navy Veteran and graduate of NC State, Steven has founded and run several businesses, mostly focused within the agriculture industry. He loves Jesus, his family, boating, and western big-game hunting.

Launching Harvest Academy intersects with Steven’s passions of faith, family, and community. He is married to his lovely wife Alex Valencsin and they have two children that attend Harvest Academy.

BOARD MEMBER

Roger is one of the founding parents of Harvest Academy. He is built with a heart for people and a love for entrepreneurship. After attending NC State University, Roger began a small business and has enjoyed being a part of leadership training & development programs. He has been a business owner in the Triad for over 20 years and is grateful for the long-lasting relationships he has developed in the community. Roger is passionate about teaching children to know God, His Word, and His creation, and believes God will use Harvest Academy to grow up the next generation for His Kingdom.

Roger and his wife, Melissa, have two children. He enjoys being outdoors, growing at church, attending BSF, and connecting with friends over a good pizza.

BOARD MEMBER

Constance Harris is a lifelong resident of Greensboro, North Carolina. Constance attended the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and Elon University Law School. After graduation and successful completion of the North Carolina Bar Exam, Constance joined a local law firm where she formed lifelong relationships and took on numerous leadership roles within the legal community. Constance continues to practice law in Greensboro. Constance is also actively involved in the Greensboro community. She is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Greensboro and serves as a Sunday School teacher at her church.

She enjoys spending time with her husband, Daniel, and their three rambunctious boys. Constance also enjoys traveling, volunteering at her church, and cheering her children on at various sporting events. She is honored to be a part of the Harvest family.

BOARD MEMBER

Rick was born and raised in Seymour, Indiana and attended Purdue University where he studied Organizational Leadership.  Since graduation Rick has held multiple leadership roles in the automotive, defense, and pharmaceutical industries, with his most recent role as Vice President of Operations.  Rick was selected as a member of the 2014 Leadership Mississippi cohort and graduated from an Executive Leadership program at MIT.  In 2020, Rick and his wife started serving the community by becoming real estate investors.  Rick has also held leadership roles for his church as Chairman of the Deacons and Community Group Leader.  Rick and his wife Natalie have two children who both attend Harvest Academy.  Rick enjoys traveling, the outdoors, pickleball, and spending time with his family.

BOARD MEMBER

Harlie Miller served as a science teacher, coach, and athletic director in a local Christian school for 13 years. This was followed by a secondary school principal position at another area Christian school. After five years, he became a professor of education at Piedmont International University, a position he held for 16 years, including the last ten as Dean of the School of Education. His undergraduate degree is from Guilford College, with graduate degrees in education from Liberty University. He has been a conference speaker throughout the southeast, a member of several school accreditation teams, and has taught, preached, and led teacher training at various locations inside and outside the US, including the Dominican Republic, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, and China.

He is a life-long resident of northern Guilford County. Throughout his years in education, he also served a part-time pastor’s role at Gospel Baptist Church (Greensboro) and taught at the Greensboro Bible Institute. He stepped away from higher education in 2020 and currently serves as the executive pastor of the Gospel Baptist Church, where duties include teaching an adult Bible class, preaching as needed, and overseeing partner relationships with various ministries to local schools. He and Kellie were married in 1990. They were involved in homeschooling with their two children for many years. Their family now includes a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren.

BOARD MEMBER

Alex Swem is the Director of China Projects for the Chinese Education Freedom Fund, a 501(c)3 founded in 2014 to serve Christian families and educators in mainland China by developing Christ-centered, Classical K-12 curriculum and teacher training resources. Alex and his wife Jenny are North Carolina natives but have lived in China for over 20 years (Jenny currently serves as Harvest's Director of Teaching and Learning). In 2011, Alex became the founding principal of Guangqi Academy (光启书院), Shanghai's first Christian, Classical school. Although religious persecution has forced the school to go completely "underground," GQA remains one of mainland China's largest Christian educational institutions. Alex graduated from Hillsdale College in 1999 and holds a Master's Degree from Reformed Theological Seminary. The Swems and their six children currently reside in Browns Summit and Harvest families are welcome to stop by for a visit at any time!

BOARD MEMBER

Pastor Ryan Crowder has been serving in Christian ministry since his conversion and call to ministry in 2006. He currently serves as Pastor of Northern Baptist Church, a role he has faithfully held since 2021.  Ryan is committed to expositional preaching, seeking to faithfully proclaim God’s Word verse by verse, and he has a deep appreciation for the rich theology found in the historic hymns of the faith.

His love for God and His Word shapes every area of his life and leadership. Ryan is passionate about helping believers finish their race well, firmly convinced that Scripture is fully sufficient for every season and circumstance of life.

He has been joyfully married to the love of his life since 2009, and together they are blessed with two children who attend Harvest. When he is not reading (which is his favorite), Ryan enjoys servicing/riding motorcycles, working on whatever needs fixing and cherishes spending quality time with his family no matter the activity.

Pastor Ryan is grateful for the opportunity to serve and is committed to supporting families and students of Harvest with integrity, conviction, and care that one would expect from a shepherd of God’s flock.

BOARD MEMBER

Mary Kate White was born and raised in Wallace, North Carolina. She is a graduate of UNC-Greensboro, where she earned a degree in Recreation and Parks Management with a concentration in Event Planning and Marketing, and she previously worked in Sports Marketing for the Atlantic Coast Conference.

She and her husband, Andrew, are raising four daughters - three of whom currently attend Harvest Academy, with one “little Lion” excited to follow soon. She has been a stay-at-home mom for the past twelve years, where the daily juggling of schedules, homework, carpools, and missing shoes remains a continuing and sanctifying process. She serves the community as a Bible Study Fellowship substitute teaching leader, and has previously served on the Family Advisory Boards at UNC Children's Hospital and March of Dimes. Her family owns a local Chick-fil-A, and “it’s her pleasure” to assist with marketing efforts and support her husband in his role as Owner/ Operator. 

Mary Kate is deeply committed to training the next generation to love and know Jesus while supporting educational environments where students can thrive academically, socially, and spiritually. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling with her family, cooking, reading a good book, and antiquing and thrifting.

BOARD MEMBER

Tommy Ozbolt is a dedicated husband, father of three, and a practicing attorney. Born in Pennsylvania and raised in Michigan and North Carolina, Tommy earned his undergraduate degree from NC State before graduating from Emory University School of Law. 

After college, he spent two years serving with AmeriCorps in Boston, working with City Year and Sports4Kids in inner-city Boston Public Schools, supporting elementary and middle school students. He went on to spend over a decade in Boston, where he met his wife, Kelly, and served as both a prosecutor and defense attorney, gaining broad courtroom experience and a deep appreciation for doing justice, loving mercy, and trying to walk humbly with our God.  Outside of work and community involvement, Tommy enjoys playing with his kids, cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs, and spending time with his wife.