Bios
Celestia G. Tracy, M.A., L.P.C.
Mending the Soul Ministries
-President & Founder
Global Hope Resources
-Author, Trainer & Speaker
-Licensed Professional Counselor
-Clinical Supervisor & Consultant
Celestia has a background in early childhood education from Arizona State University and worked as an elementary teacher for many years. She received an M.A. in Counseling/Psychology from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon in 1994. Celestia and Steve have three grown children who are partners with them in ministries of justice and mercy. Celestia enjoys a thriving private counseling practice of sixteen years and is the founder of Professional Counseling Associates in Mesa, Arizona, where she is a Clinical Supervisor and does professional development.
Celestia has many years of experience and expertise with children, trauma, marriage, intimacy, and sexuality. She teaches, lectures, and speaks nationally and internationally on ministry to the abused, soul care, children and abuse, a theology of intimacy, healthy sexuality, and clinical counseling. She is available for consultation to churches, counseling clinics, and secular organizations. Celestia develops and supervises a team of writers, professional artists, and mental health professionals that creatively collaborate on curricula and other resources.
For the past decade Steve and Celestia have spoken and written together on abuse and sexuality. They have assisted various domestic and international ministries including: Food for the Hungry, PASCH (Peace and Safety in the Christian Home), Congo Initiative, Radio Bible Class, Overseas Council, and Frontiers. For the past two years Steve and Celestia have conducted abuse and sexuality seminars in the Democratic Republic of Congo for rape survivors, abuse care givers, prostituted women, and pastors. They also partner with their daughter Abby Tracy, who is a missionary to street children in Uganda, by providing professional training and resources on trauma and healing.
Celestia has authored various works on abuse, marriage, and trauma healing. She assisted her husband Steve in writing Mending the Soul: Understanding and Healing Abuse (Zondervan). Recently she and Steve co-authored Marriage at the Crossroads (forthcoming, InterVarsity) and Forever and Always: The Art of Bonding (forthcoming, House of Prisca and Aquila). Celestia has also written four workbooks, including: Mending the Soul Workbook, a comprehensive curriculum to guide abused adults through a Christ-centered healing process; (2) Free to Live, a healing workbook for prostituted women in Africa; (3) Mending the Soul Healing Art Handbook, a handbook for rape survivors and care givers in Africa; (4) Standing Tall: A PTSD Meditative Devotional, a devotional book for traumatized populations of Christian women and trauma care givers.
Steven R. Tracy, M.Div., Th.M., Ph.D.
Mending the Soul Ministries--Author, Trainer & Consultant
Phoenix Seminary--Professor of Theology & Ethics
Global Hope Resources--Trauma Research, Curriculum Design & Training
Steve founded Mending the Soul Ministries and serves on its board of directors. MTS (MendingtheSoulMinistries.org) is an evangelical non-profit that serves, educates, and supports the faith-based community at large in a gospel driven response to abuse and trauma. He directs the theological and social science research for Global Hope Resources and partners with his wife Celestia, in the production of curriculum and healing resources to assist the local church in abuse ministry. Steve and Celestia are also on staff with Global Training Network, an evangelical non-profit organization with a mission to equip and train Christian leaders in the majority world. He uses his training and expertise to insure that the curriculum and services are biblically grounded and scientifically sound. He received a B.A. from Arizona State, a M.Div. and Th.M. from Western Baptist Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from the University of Sheffield (England) with a research focus on New Testament ethics.
Steve brings unique theological, ecclesiastical, and community expertise to his ministry. He served for almost eight years as the Vice President of Academic Affairs at Phoenix Seminary, where he has taught since 1995. He is currently professor of theology and ethics at Phoenix Seminary. Steve is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society where he serves on the Executive Committee of the Gender Study Group. He is also a member of the Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect and the Society for Biblical Literature. Steve is the author of Mending the Soul: Understanding and Healing Abuse (Zondervan), editor of Mending the Soul Workbook, and co-author with his wife Celestia, of Marriage at the Crossroads (InterVarsity) and Forever and Always: The Art of Bonding (forthcoming, House of Prisca and Aquila). He has also authored a dozen academic book chapters and journal articles as well as numerous articles and booklets on physical and sexual abuse, healing, marriage, and sexuality.
Steve served as a pastor for fifteen years and has extensive pastoral counseling experience with victims and perpetrators of abuse. Steve uses his abuse expertise extensively in the broader community. In 2005 he was appointed by Janet Napolitano to The Governor’s Commission for the Prevention of Violence against Women. He has also served on The Fatality Review Team for the City of Phoenix. Steve has conducted extensive abuse seminars in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He enjoys conducting much of his sexuality and abuse/trauma work with Celestia, his wife of thirty years. Steve and Celestia are grateful for their three grown children, Elizabeth, Luke, and Abby, who share their passion for the broken, abandoned, and abused.
Abigail Marie Tracy
Abigail Marie Tracy graduated from Azusa Pacific University/Arizona State University with a degree in multi-cultural social work in June, 2008. She is on staff with Global Training Network as is currently ministering in Kampala, Uganda. She has a heart for street children and feels passionately, that God has called her to devote her life to serving them. Abby believes that God has created each street child in His own image, with incredible potential to change the world!
She has been traveling internationally on missions trips since the age of thirteen when she traveled with Teen Missions to Honduras for six weeks. Since then, Abigail has spent over 2 years ministering in developing countries all over the world serving with numerous organizations including Food for the Hungry, Teen Mania, Mending the Soul, Teen Missions, PHARP, Congo Initiative, Neighborhood Ministries, The Lost Boys and Girls Center, and many indigenous churches. Since 2007, Abigail has served African Hearts Community Organization as their International Coordinator supervising short-term teams, volunteers, raising awareness, fundraising, and helping to design and structure programs.
Abby currently lives in Ssenge Children's Home in Kampala, Uganda. She helped to envision and build this safe home for street children and currently has brought 13 children there. While living and serving as a caregiver and mother in the home she also is involved with coordinating and running street children outreach programs in Kampala, Uganda and starting another half-way house for the local street children, where they can sleep safely, receive an education, counseling, and learn about a God that loves them! The goal of the half-way house will be to reform the street children living there with the intent of resettling them back into their families, boarding school, or into a permanent childen's home.
Abigail sells magazine beads and jewelry purchased from four different organizations that she is partnered with in Uganda to help raise money for the programs she is running. This jewelry can be bought from Global Hope Resources.
Kathy A. Scott, PhD, RN, FACHE
Kathy is a senior healthcare executive with a career that spans over 30 years in healthcare. Kathy began her career as a critical care nurse and has progressively served in multiple clinical and leadership capacities to include her current role as system vice president for a large healthcare system. In this capacity, Kathy has responsibility for standardization and innovation of clinical delivery across multiple facilities and states. Kathy also serves as a consultant, researcher, writer, adjunct faculty and speaker with expertise and a proven track record in managing complexity and change through a team approach.
Kathy graduated with a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) in 1975, masters in public health administration (MPA) in 1990 and doctor of philosophy (PhD) in healthcare administration and organization systems in 2004.
Kathy has a heart and ministry for the development of women as individuals and leaders, to live a life of abundance through discovery of God’s grace and life purpose.
Dan Hoffman
Dan is Global Hope Resources’ Administrative Assistant and has worked with Steve and Celestia Tracy in ministry for over two years. Dan spent five years in the U.S. Marine Corps as a tactical intelligence specialist. After five years in the military including one combat tour to Iraq, Dan moved to Phoenix, Arizona to pursue his university education. At this same time, by God’s calling, he started doing mission work in Africa working with orphaned children in Malawi and street children and refugees in Uganda. In the summer of 2008 Dan traveled with Mending the Soul to Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo as the team’s assistant team leader and team photographer. There, Dan spoke with youth about healthy sexuality and with Congolese soldiers about ethical treatment of women, developing a deeper passion for Africa and the plight of oppressed populations there. In the summer of 2009 Dan worked for International Justice Mission in Washington, DC as a Human Rights intern working on issues such as slavery and commercial sexual exploitation of children.
Dan is a senior at Arizona State University and studies Social Justice and Women’s Issues and plans to go to law school in the future. He is also currently is involved with homeless ministry and immigrant advocacy in the Phoenix area and speaking/advocating on behalf of Global Hope Resources on topics ranging from missions to abuse. Dan has a passion for humanity to see the Kingdom of God through His people meeting local and global needs in the name of Christ’s redemptive love.
Beth Rehm
Beth is Global Hope Resources’ coordinator of necklace sales for GHR’s Hope Market that go to benefit Abby’s ministry to street children in Uganda. She has a number of women who help her sell necklaces as well who comprise GHR's necklace "task force": Janice Parks, Beth Beatty, and Lana Hugo. Beth is an Arizona State University grad and has been involved in ministry for a many years. She has a passion for showing Christ’s love to the hurting both locally and globally.
Peggy Bilsten
Peggy Bilsten is a passionate and caring person who has been advocating on behalf of many human rights issues, both locally and internationally, since she was appointed to the Phoenix City Council in 1994. After Peggy was appointed, she served the constituents of District 3 for 14 years before reaching the allotted term limit. While on the Phoenix City Council Peggy served on many different boards and committees, as well as serving as Vice Mayor twice.
Peggy has always been outspoken regarding community safety and all of the components that accompany it. These issues include working to establish the Graffiti Hotline in 1995, opening her districts’ first senior center (Shadow Mountain), serving on the Mayor’s Commission for Disabilities, and the Family Advocacy Center, a project that was created while Peggy was the chair of the Mayor’s Ad Hoc Committee on Domestic Violence. The center provides medical aid, counseling, prevention, education and other assistance to victims of domestic violence under one roof. Peggy was also the chair for Governor Napolitano’s Commission to prevent Domestic Violence against Women. Peggy also has represented the citizens of Phoenix and the city council on rescue trips to the post tsunami regions in Indonesia, earthquake regions in China, and war torn regions in Central Africa including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Peggy recently received the 1st U.S. Attorney's Annual Award for the Prevention of Violence Against Women.
Since the end of her time on the Phoenix City Council, Peggy has been focusing almost all of her attention on the issue of eradicating Child Rape for Profit. This is an issue that is very close to her heart as it deals with the abuse and violence of young women. She has facilitated the collaboration of agencies and groups from across the Phoenix area to work together to fight this injustice. These groups include vice departments, churches, universities, businesses, government offices, non-profits as well as many concerned parents. Peggy believes first and foremost in the safety of these young girls. She believes that a safe house is needed as a place for them to go to escape the life that they have been forced into and the terrors that they have to face every day. She believes that anyone who is properly informed about these issues will want to get involved and do whatever they can to help stop this horrible crime against our children. This is why she believes in and is working with “Streetlight Phx.”
Dagny Mallory
As a staff member of Mending the Soul and contributor to Global Hope Resources, Dagny adds her gift of administration through the day to day operations of the ministry. She previously worked as an administrator in the corporate world for over 12 years. She took several years off to spend at home while her children were young. Once they all started school, she took on a part-time position within her church. In addition to being on staff with MTS, Dagny is also one of our trained facilitators. Her heart for Mending the Soul comes out of her own healing from abuse as the Lord guided her through a MTS Small Group.
Dagny is grateful for the healing that has taken place in her life which, among many other things, allows her to be a better wife and mother. She loves spending time with her husband Shawn and their three children. She also enjoys the quiet moments provided for her to read, write poetry, and be with the Lord.
Roxane R. Thorstad, PsyD
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Roxane has worked and studied in the mental health field for over 14 years, gaining experience across the continuum of psychological care. She received her undergraduate degree from Arizona State University and went on to pursue graduate work in clinical psychology at Biola University, Rosemead School of Psychology in southern California. She completed her internship at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego and served as a Navy psychologist for three additional years, gaining an expertise in post-traumatic responses and treatment. The culmination of these experiences and her desire to follow the heart of God has fostered a deep passion to work with those who have experienced trauma or abuse. Roxane and her husband, Terry, are co-founders of Journeys Counseling Center in Mesa, Arizona, a growing center dedicated to holistic mental health care. Roxane works primarily with adolescents, adults, and families who have experienced trauma and abuse. Roxane and Terry have three energetic young children and are active members of Central Christian Church of the East Valley.
In addition, Roxane has worked with Mending the Soul Ministries in implementing professional support groups, providing compassion fatigue training to the Congo team, and assisting in various writing projects, including a workbook on Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Roxane also currently serves as co-director of the clinical arm of Mending the Soul Ministries, the MTS Partnership for Professional Development. Roxane is dedicated to assisting the Global Hope Resources team in preparing healing curriculum for traumatized populations.
