As President and Chief Executive Officer of East-West Ministries International, Donald “Kurt” Nelson provides leadership and oversight to all worldwide ministry endeavors in the 50+ countries in which East-West currently operates. After serving with East-West for 15 years, Nelson became President and CEO in June 2010 and has served with East-West for a total of 21 years. He assisted in launching the Institutes for Emerging Itinerant Evangelists in Russia, Central Asia, and India, and he currently serves on the Board of Directors, the Executive Leadership Team, and the StratOps Team. Nelson also personally leads East-West short-term trips to Russia, Latin America, South Asia, Central Asia, and East Asia. Prior to East-West, he served as Vice President of Global Missions Fellowship (GMF - now E3 Partners), where he directed the Russia Field and the Marketing / Communications Department. Also while at GMF, he led evangelism teams to many countries including Russia, Haiti, the Ukraine, Latvia, Japan, and Latin America. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina, his Master’s degree of Theology in World Missions from Dallas Theological Seminary, and his Doctor of Ministry degree in Missions Leadership from Columbia International University. Nelson and his wife, Pat, have been married for 30 years and have nine children (three of whom were adopted from Russia), six grandsons and one granddaughter.