Russ Jacobs
ASJ-US Board President
Association for a More Just Society (ASJ-US)
Announcement: ASJ-US Leadership Transition
July 18, 2023
Dear supporter,
My name is Russ Jacobs and I bring you greetings from the board of directors of ASJ-US. I started my term as president of the board in August 2022 and have served on the board for twenty years.
I share with you that Jill Stoltzfus will end her tenure as ASJ-US Executive Director later this year. She and Kyle will become parents this spring and that life event has prompted her to consider her professional path. She plans to continue to work after the birth and to bring her skills to a new opportunity—as yet unknown.
I received this news with mixed emotions. It brings sadness because I have known Jill as an ASJ employee for all fourteen of her years with the organization. Once she leaves I will not have the opportunity to engage with her in the same way. She has met the challenges of the moment for ASJ-US—not just once, but repeatedly—and we will miss her leadership. But at the same time, I receive this news with joy because Jill will bring her gifts elsewhere. As I have talked about this news with ASJ co-founders Kurt Ver Beek and JoAnn Van Engen, they have shared that they know ASJ-US would not have gotten where we are today without Jill, but they also know that Jill has set us up for success even after she leaves. We celebrate her tenure at ASJ-US and support her decision to take on a new challenge. At the time of her departure we will take more time to honor her service to the work of ASJ-US.
With grace and integrity, Jill has given the board ample notice to plan for her transition. For personal and professional reasons, she wants to return to work following her maternity leave and will help to transition her successor. Our hope is that this individual will be identified and hired by the end of the summer, allowing for several months of overlap of these leaders in the fall. Jill's last day of employment with ASJ-US will depend on the timing for her next job. We expect that she will transition away before December 2023.
A committee on the ASJ-US board has already started identifying the leadership needs for ASJ-US. We feel gratitude that Jill and the board had already engaged in long-term planning and started succession planning as part of their regular board activities. The leadership transition happens at a time of strength for the organization, with a committed board and staff, established systems and processes, and a deep relationship with ASJ-Honduras.
As we move through this season of transition, I ask you to join me in prayer. Prayer for blessings on Jill and Kyle as they welcome a new member to their family. Prayer for Jill to move successfully into her next job. Prayer for ASJ-US staff as they navigate change. Prayer for the ASJ-US board to have wisdom and discernment as they identify the next leader for ASJ-US. And prayer for the work of justice to which we have committed ourselves in partnership with ASJ-Honduras and ASJ-Canada.
Hondurans cast their ballots during the November 30, 2025, general election, which saw historic voter turnout and a peaceful process supported by more than 12,000 national and international election observers working to safeguard transparency.
ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US Congratulate the Honduran People, Call for Full and Transparent Results As sister organizations committed to justice, peace and hope in Honduras, ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US extend our deepest congratulations to the people of Honduras on the peaceful conduct of their national elections on November 30, 2025. With the initial tally showing an extraordinarily close vote, we call on election authorities to do what is necessary to ensure a transparent count of the remaining ballots in order to guarantee public trust in the final outcome. We commend the Honduran voters for their dedication to democratic participation and their commitment to shaping the future of their country through civic engagement. We also recognize the efforts of electoral authorities, civil society organizations, the international community and the thousands of volunteer observers who worked to ensure a transparent, orderly, and secure process. We are especially proud of our sister organization, ASJ-Honduras, for their unwavering commitment to democracy demonstrated through their electoral observation efforts, their analysis activities, and their consistent call for a fair and orderly process. Now that such a process has been achieved, the work turns to counting the votes with accuracy and transparency. The results remain close, increasing the possibility of a contested result. We support the work of the election officials at the National Electoral Council to give Hondurans confidence in the final results by conducting their count with rigor and transparency. We remain hopeful that the spirit of peaceful participation in the democratic process embraced by the electorate will carry forward into the post-election period to come. We look forward to continued collaboration with ASJ-Honduras as we all work together toward a just and hopeful future for all Hondurans. Matthew Van Geest President, Board of Directors ASJ-Canada Russ Jacobs President, Board of Directors ASJ-US
A call to action for Honduras
The Association for a More Justice Society-US Supports the Network to Defend Democracy; Calls for Free and Fair Elections in Honduras November 25, 2025
Honduras’s Institutional Crisis Deepens Ahead of the 2025 Elections
Dear friend, I couldn’t stop looking at the picture. Of course, there had been plenty of inspiring photos from this summer’s Prayer Walk for Peace and Democracy. The sea of blue and white rising and falling as hundreds of thousands walked the Honduran hills through Tegucigalpa, flowing like a never-ending stream. Catholic nuns praying their rosaries alongside Pentecostals dancing in the streets. But the picture that still knocks me flat is the closeup. The one of the two men standing side by side (picture enclosed). They are exhausted, and the shorter collapses into the taller. The tears mostly hold joy and relief, but they are mingled with something darker. After all, there had been threats—promises of harm done to themselves and their loved ones if they led their followers through the streets of Honduras in prayer. Despite the fear and intimidation, Pastor Gerardo Irías and Monsignor José Vicente Nácher forged ahead. They knew Honduras needed unity and, above all, prayer before the looming November 2025 presidential elections. As an ASJ supporter, you know that these kinds of threats aren’t out of the ordinary, and your support has helped slow and reverse violence in Honduras. Today, I am writing to share a way you can continue standing with brave Hondurans like Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José in hope. The Evangelical pastor and the Catholic archbishop put the word out as widely as they could to their churches, hoping to mobilize 20,000 to walk and pray. Instead, an estimated 230,000 walked in the capital of Tegucigalpa alone. It was a historic moment. And without your past support for ASJ, it may have never happened. After all, two years prior, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José didn’t even know each other’s names. They first met in 2023 at ASJ’s offices. They were two of many civil society leaders convened by ASJ to discuss safeguarding democracy– especially before the election in 2025. It was at that meeting that they shook each other’s hand and learned each other’s name. It was at that meeting–and many subsequent meetings–where old religious prejudices began to be replaced by trust and mutual affection. So, when the moment came this summer to act, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José knew what they had to do. And they knew that they had to do it together.
Calvin alums turn faith into action through nonprofit
MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Thank You for Moving Forward With Us this Summer!
When Policies Shift, Families Pay the Price * by Jo Ann Van Engen
