Maria and Gilberto Melgarejo
Founder and President / Vice President
Maria and Gilberto serve as President/founder and Vice President of GLOW International, respectively. Both have been intricately involved in the design and creation of GLOW since 2016. Maria’s many years of ministry experience have uniquely qualified her to lead the day-to-day operations of the ministry. Gil’s management expertise with Herzog Transit Services spans two decades and has been instrumental in establishing GLOW as a new non-profit organization. Maria and Gil live in Kansas City, have two children, three grandchildren, and have been married since 1989.
Baxter Starnes
Finance Director
Baxter is a lifelong resident of Union County, North Carolina, and grew up in the Prospect community. He attended Parkwood High School and graduated from UNCC with an accounting degree. He is a Certified Public Accountant with a practice in Monroe, N.C. Baxter is a longtime runner and both He and his wife Gwen run several races each year. They have 2 children, 6 grandchildren, and have been married for 46 years.
Rob Starnes
Legal Advisory Director
Rob serves as GLOW’s Legal Advisory Director and works as an attorney in Charlotte, North Carolina. He started participating in short-term mission trips through the local church in 2005 and has traveled to Alaska, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras. Rob has served in various ministry roles in the local church and is currently involved in a new church plant in Monroe, North Carolina. He and his wife, Kiersten, have been married for eighteen years and have four children.
Mary Padgett
Mission Teams Director
Mary has a background in church ministry and non-profit leadership and lives in Waxhaw, North Carolina. She serves as the mission trip coordinator and has been serving in Honduras since 2014. Mary enjoys watching people find their “sweet spot” on the mission field as they use their God-given gifts to serve people of different cultures. Mary has been married to her husband, Sam, for 40+ years and they have 4 children and 4 grandchildren.
Edward Concepcion
IT Director
Edward serves as GLOW's IT Director with a background in internet technology serving the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for several years. He served as a Military Police Officer in the United States Army for 20+ years and has been an assistant Scoutmaster with the Boy Scouts for 10 years. Ed's latest adventure involves owning a local restaurant serving the best Puerto Rican fare in the area. Ed lives in Indian Trail, North Carolina, and has 4 amazing sons and an extended family that could fill a football stadium.
Blake Spivey
Blake is an investment manager with 25 years of experience having held leadership positions with Truist Financial and BlackRock. Blake has served on numerous GLOW International trips and he and his wife Jennifer are active within their local church. They reside in Waxhaw, NC along with their two daughters.