Concordia Elects New Board Members

From left: Rob Wilshire, Rev. Dr. Edward Grimenstein, Jennifer Ciccone and James Wolf. Not pictured: Russell Lucas

Concordia Lutheran Ministries President and CEO Keith E. Frndak announced the election of five parent board of director members at the organization’s annual delegate meeting on Sunday, Nov. 13 on the Concordia at Cabot campus.

Seventeen board members comprise Concordia’s governing body and represent 28 member churches – all part of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS). Installed by Rev. Jack Hartman, Director of Chaplaincy Services at Concordia, the newly elected members follow. Each will serve a 3-year term.

Jennifer Ciccone
Vice President and Chief HR Officer at Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc., Ciccone graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with an M.B.A. She is a current member of the Pastoral Review Committee at Ascension Lutheran Church in McCandless Twp., and previously served as congregation president, Board of Stewardship and Evangelism member and held several other volunteer positions. She and her husband Carl have two children, Adriana and Connor.

Rev. Dr. Edward Grimenstein
Pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Bridgeville since 2017, Rev. Grimenstein was Associate Executive Director for the LCMS Office of International Missions prior to his arrival at Zion as well as a chaplain in the U.S. Army serving in Afghanistan/Qatar and Belgium. He earned his M.Div. at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne and a Th.D. from the University of Toronto. He has been married to his wife Tevia for 25 years, and the couple has eight children ranging in ages 24 all the way down to five years old. He currently also serves on the CLM of Pittsburgh Board.

Russell Lucas
Lucas, an attorney in private practice with Andrews & Price LLC, served on the Concordia Board of Directors for 11 years. Former congregational president of Ascension Lutheran Church in McCandless Twp., he has also served as a member of the Board of Directors for Redeemer Lutheran School. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He is blessed with four daughters.

Rob Wilshire
Current tax director at Giant Eagle, Wilshire graduated from Duquesne University with an M.B.A. He is a member of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Oakmont, Pa., and previously served as Deacon from 2009 – 2021. He and his wife Jean have three children and two grandchildren.

James Wolf
Wolf has had a long career in national and international banking and previously served as executive vice president for Mellon Bank and vice chairman for The Americas, Standard Chartered Bank. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Journalism and from St. Louis University with an M.B.A. He is a member of Peace Lutheran Church in McMurray, Pa., and served on the Board for International Mission of the LCMS. He and his wife Mary have two children.

Two outgoing board members were presented with thank-you plaques for their service: Rande Casaday and Katie Straszheim. Fifty-four delegates represented a total of 21 churches at the annual meeting.

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