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 has uniquely qualified her to lead the day to day operations of the ministry. Gil’s management expertise with Herzog Transit Services spans two decades has been instrumental in establishing GLOW as a new non-profit organization. Maria and Gil live in Kansas City, have two children, two grandchildren, and have been married since 1989.
Baxter Starnes
Finance Director
Baxter is a lifelong resident of Union County 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 located 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. He started participating in short-term missions’ trips through the local church in 2005 and has participated in short-term mission trips to Alaska, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras. Rob has served, as a lay person, in various ministry roles in the local church and he and his family are currently serving in a new church plant in Monroe, North Carolina. Rob works as an attorney in Charlotte, North Carolina. He and his wife, Kiersten, have been married for eighteen years and have four children.
Mary Padgett
Mission Teams Director
Mary serves as the mission teams director and has been serving in Honduras since 2014. She has been involved in nonprofit ministries for over 20 years and has served internationally for 8 years. Mary enjoys watching people find their “sweet spot” on the mission field as they use their God-given gifts serving different cultures. Mary has been married to her husband, Sam, for 40 years and they have 4 children and 3 grandchildren.
Edward Concepcion
IT Director
Edward serves as IT Director. He has been involved in ministries since 2013. He served as Internet Technology Manager at Billy Graham Evangelistic Association before leaving in 2018. He has served his country as a Military Police Officer in the United States Army for over 20 years. He has been involved in scouting as an Assistant Scoutmaster for 10 years. Edward has 4 amazing sons and an extended family that could fill a football stadium.
Dustin DeMaio
Community Partnerships Director
Dustin serves as GLOW’s Community Projects Director and has participated in several short-term mission trips to El Eden, Honduras. He is an advocate for creating opportunities for local Honduran leadership to be supported and encouraged. Dustin’s background is in financial investments and he is head equity trader for Wedge Capital Management. His varied financial experience has allowed him to serve as financial advisor in the local church and within a parachurch sports ministry. Dustin and his wife Heidi, have 4 children and live in Wesley Chapel, North Carolina.