Our Team

Meet some of the faces behind Take Heart’s work.

Meet the Team

Chris Bolton

Co-Founder & Board Chairman

Chris has 25 years of performance-driven, value-based leadership, focused on exalting Christ and advancing His Kingdom. Ultimately, he loves to help build organizations that do good. Currently, Chris is the chief operational officer of Mission to North America which exists to help flourish church planting, church renewal, and missional partnerships in North America and Canada.

Aida Samir

Co-Founder & Executive Director

Aida is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Take Heart. Between pharmaceutical companies, church missions, and international nonprofit organizations, she has 26 years of experience in strategic planning, hospital administration, managing HIV treatment, networking, and mentoring others at a global level between the US and African countries.

Jake Stansell

Founding Board Member, Treasurer

Mr. Stansell is currently the president of C&D Safety Company, LLC. He has also been the Vice President of Stansell Electric Co. Inc. for the past 18 years.

Ayman Soliman

Board Member, Secretary

Ayman is a partner at Abrams, Fensterman, Eisman, Formato, Ferrara & Wolf, LLP. Mr. Soliman focuses his practice on health care transactional, compliance and regulatory matters. Ayman also frequently lectures on various healthcare issues before hospitals, medical groups, and medical associations.

Mark Girguis

Board Member

Mark, first and foremost, is a servant of the Kingdom of God. His heart breaks for the persecuted Church and he has been supporting organizations that help target these suffering members of the body of Christ for years. He has been on a few short mission trips to Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. One day God tugged on his heart and called him to be a member of the Take Heart Board. His desire is to inspire others to listen to their hearts and see where God is leading them. He has sat on the board of several churches, and speaks regularly at youth meetings and retreats, men’s ministry, adult Bible study, and church revival meetings.

On the side, Mark has practiced as a radiologist for over 15 years and is a managing partner in Global Imaging Services, a teleradiology group that aims to provide excellent radiology services in multiple states.

Catherine Makar

Executive Assistant

Catherine graduated with a BA in English Literature and has worked with nonprofits for almost 10 years. She has gone on many mission trips including Ethiopia and South Africa. Catherine is passionate about understanding people’s needs and working with them in finding solutions and resources. Her role in Take Heart utilizes this passion as she reaches out to donors and organizations with stories from the field about persecuted siblings.

Lindsey Snyder

Communications Coordinator

Lindsey graduated with a BA in Film and Media Production from Taylor University in 2014 and her Master’s in Social Work from The University of Tennessee in December, 2021. Lindsey is passionate about combining her love of stories and people with Take Heart’s holistic development model. She feels honored to stand with her persecuted siblings in Christ by communicating to donors and prayer supporters through multimedia.

Letters from the Founders

A hero is a brave man or woman who joins a fight that does not concern them. That person’s heart is burdened with the needs of others, compelling them to leave the comfort of their home and even mobilize others around them to understand their call, all for the sake of bringing healing to a broken world. They are fearless. They are sacrificial. They take risks. They take action. They are encouragers. They are motivated by none other, but the love of God. This is a hero.

Having been in the nonprofit field for the past 18 years and lived most of my life in a developing country, I’ve been exposed to many of the overwhelming challenges of local heroes: their dependency on donors, lack of funds and sustainable models, lack of human resources and qualified staff and their inability to measure success and show impact. Moved by these challenges and my personal experiences, I felt compelled to offer support to struggling nonprofits and help them overcome their limitations and achieve their goals.

Take Heart comes around groups of Christians that God has raised up, to empower them spiritually, technically, and financially so they in turn can continue to change lives and bring healing to a broken world.

– Aida Samir

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” -John 16:33 (emphasis added)

Peace, that deep shalom that only Christ can give, is a treasure for which we all long. As Christians, that peace comes as we walk in faith in obedience to our Lord’s commands in hope of His coming. We literally “take heart” as we believe in the great truths of scripture and stand in the face of trials and opposition.

Our dream at Take Heart is to help the body of Christ around the globe experience that peace and stand firm with great hope as the darkness presses in. Today, Christians are being marginalized, put down, ostracized, and even killed for standing for their faith in ever increasing measures. As they seek to bring faith, hope, and love to others in their communities, they are hated and persecuted. We must reach out and help … and in turn, be saved ourselves.

Over the last 21 years, God has taken me on a journey down this path of peace. He has continually allowed me to take heart as I’ve stumbled and fallen in light of various trials and troubles myself. In so doing, He has shown me what is the height, depth, width, and breadth of His love and has compelled me forward and into His arms. This is what I want to share with others. This is the fountain from which I want to drink deeply. This is truly what it means to take heart.

Come join us in this journey towards peace … and be forever changed … as we help our brothers and sisters around the globe stand firm.

– Chris Bolton