Adventist Education – Building Our Future One Child at a Time

Bio: Dr. John Wesley Taylor V was born in Puerto Rico and has served as teacher and administrator in various institutions, including Montemorelos University (Mexico), the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (Philippines), and Andrews University and Southern Adventist University (USA). He has taught at the elementary through graduate levels, in a dozen different countries. He holds bachelor’s degrees in health science and in religion, master’s degrees in educational administration and in instructional technology, and doctorates in curriculum and instruction (Andrews University) and in educational psychology and research (University of Virginia).
Over the years, Dr. Taylor has made presentations at international conferences, written articles in various professional publications, chaired master’s and doctoral theses and dissertations, and served at a national research center and on evaluation and accreditation teams.
He is a frequent speaker at youth events, educational seminars and workshops, and graduations. Areas of professional interest include the philosophy of Christian education, data-driven decision-making, quantitative and qualitative research methods, spiritual leadership, and strategies for high-level thinking and for nurturing faith.
Since 2010, Dr. Taylor has served as an Associate Director of Education at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, as well as an editor of College and University Dialogue and chair of the Board for The Journal of Adventist Education. Special interests include camping, hiking, snorkeling, gardening, music, and the study of people and cultures. His wife, Miriam, is a certified meeting specialist and HRMD professional, and together they have a daughter, Carolyn, statistician and senior software engineer for Oracle, and a son, John Wesley, physical therapist for the Adventist Health System. Dr. Taylor describes himself as “a friend of young people and a partner with teachers.”

Bio: Dr. Lisa Beardsley-Hardy completed two years of theology at Newbold College, England, and graduated with a Bachelor of Theology from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Far East (now Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies) in the Philippines. She earned graduate degrees in public health (MPH, Loma Linda University), educational psychology (PhD, University of Hawai’i at Manoa), and management (MBA, Claremont Graduate University, California).
Beardsley-Hardy held faculty positions at the University of Hawaii Manoa, the University of Illinois, Andrews University and Loma Linda University. Her administrative experience includes department chair of health education at Toivonlinnanseminaari, Finland; assistant dean for medical education & evaluation, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria; associate vice president for academic affairs, Andrews University; and vice chancellor for academic affairs, Loma Linda University. She served as a chaplain at Methodist Medical Center of Illinois and Lakeland Medical Center, Michigan and holds ecclesiastical endorsement as an educational chaplain and an associate healthcare chaplain.
Born in England, Dr. Beardsley-Hardy holds UK, Finnish and US citizenships. She and her husband Dr. Frank Hardy have a daughter and two grandchildren. Her special interests include mushroom hunting, cross-country skiing and music.

Bio: Dr. Ward is currently an Assistant Professor at the Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. Prior to this appointment, he was the Coordinator for Public High School Campus Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. He earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Andrews University in Discipleship and Biblical Spirituality in 2014.  He holds and MA in Youth Ministry, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.  He has a passion for maximizing ministry in church and school settings. He shares his life with his beautiful wife Sarah.

BIO: Gordon Bietz is a graduate of LaSierra University, where he and his wife Cynthia, were recently chosen as alumni of the year. He began his career in Northern California, and since has served as a teacher, pastor, president of the Georgia Cumberland Conference, and recently retired after 19 years as president of Southern Adventist University. In “retirement” he serves the North American Division of SDA as a part-time Associate Director for Higher Education and the Director of the Association of Adventist Colleges and Universities, a consortium of 13 Seventh-day Adventist institutions which collaborate on marketing and enrollment projects.
He has master’s and doctorate degrees from Andrews University, received a Merrill Fellowship from Harvard University where he attended classes at Harvard Divinity and Law Schools, and the J.F. Kennedy School of Government. Dr. Bietz sees himself primarily as a pastor in whatever position he has held and enjoys sharing the love of God with people. He and Cynthia have twin daughters who each have three children with whom they enjoy spending what time they can find in a busy retirement.