Our Team

Chris first traveled to Guinea-Bissau in 2008, shortly after WAVS opened up its first vocational school in the country. On that two-week trip, he saw how WAVS was equipping students with the job skills they need to provide for their families for the rest of their lives. In December 2010, he became the first full-time executive director of WAVS. Prior to joining WAVS, Chris was a journalist in Fresno, California for five years and received several national and regional awards for investigative reporting. He spent six weeks covering the war in Iraq in late summer 2007 for McClatchy Newspapers. Chris was born in Boston, grew up near Seattle and graduated from Whitworth University in Spokane in 2005 with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and political studies.

Crystal grew up in Palmdale, California and moved to Fresno in 2001 to attend Fresno State. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Business Administration, specializing in marketing, and received a minor in interior design. While at Fresno State, Crystal met the love of her life, Luke, who would become her husband. Crystal later served as the Event Manager for The Grand 1401, a historic building in downtown Fresno. Crystal next worked as the Marketing Manager at STAR Fine Foods and helped build the company’s social media presence, expand its existing product lines, and manage its media campaigns. In the meantime, Crystal also volunteered with WAVS to coordinate the décor at its annual dinner banquets in Fresno. In 2017, she joined WAVS as its Director of Marketing and Events. Crystal has always been impressed with how WAVS focuses on gospel-centered and long-term development in Guinea-Bissau and its drive to build relationships with the students and community while empowering them to rise out of poverty through vocational training.

Alyssa comes to WAVS with an eclectic life resume. Some of her most important titles include wife, mother of four, cancer mom, writer, serial entrepreneur, and Make a Wish fundraiser. She was deeply impacted by the phrase “blessed to be a blessing” when she was much younger, and that core value is what drew her to WAVS. Alyssa is passionate about family, movement, mental health, travel and intentional connection. She is living proof that life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful and spends her days chasing the mundane joys this imperfect world has to offer. She believes vulnerability is a superpower and gratitude can change the world. She looks forward to seeing how God uses her unique experiences, personality, and giftings to be a blessing to the people of Guinea Bissau.