Arrive Ministries staff and board are excited to announce the hiring of Annie Perdue-Olson as our new Executive Director.
Annie brings a wealth of leadership and ministry experience to this role, having worked in non-profit and pastoral leadership for the past 30 years. She is a Certified Leadership Coach with a Master’s in Human Resources and Change Leadership from University of St. Thomas.
Annie has intersected with Arrive Ministries as a consultant over the last several years and joined Arrive Ministries as interim managing director in January 2023 to bring stability to the organization and build the capacity of staff to mobilize the church and serve newly arriving refugees. In that interim period Annie was drawn to the mission of Arrive Ministries as an expression of her own calling to develop leaders and strengthen organizations to make a difference in the world.
The board saw in Annie important skills and abilities that aligned with our key priorities: quickly embracing and articulating our vision, empowering and caring for staff, and obvious skills at organizational development needed by Arrive Ministries.”
-Carl Nelson, President of Transform Minnesota
Meet Annie Perdue-Olson
Watching Arrive Ministries from the sidelines over the years has built a sense of awe for the inspiring and sometimes difficult work we do. As my relationship with Arrive Ministries has deepened over the last year, my awe grows in witnessing the impact of working alongside the church to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the Twin Cities and our locations in greater Minnesota.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to the journey of being discipled and living out our faith while humbly learning from our refugee neighbors.
Our new neighbors have much to teach us about faith, culture and the world. Together we are welcomed into new learning and new experiences while seeing hope restored by the love of Jesus expressed in our actions toward one another.
Lack of friendship and relational networks that many immigrants experience can lead to isolation and directly contribute to the indicators of poverty.
Our work at Arrive Ministries is directed at creating opportunity for access to resources, friendship and services that open the door for refugees and immigrants to thrive.
Join with me in a few of the things I am really excited about …
- Befriending our refugee arrivals and restoring hope in their future
- Expanding our programs for refugees to accelerate toward self-sufficiency
- Engaging the church in meaningful ways to deepen our faith alongside our new neighbors
The transformational impact of the work of Arrive Ministries with the powerful contribution of staff, volunteers and churches are compelling reasons for me to lead us forward in this important work.
Annie's Background and Experience
- Masters in Human Resources and Change Leadership from University of St. Thomas
- Certified Leadership Coach (CLC) through Center for Coaching Excellence
- In 2009 Annie Perdue-Olson launched Olson and Associates which became Leading Better Together in 2017. In her work as a coach and trainer she has served faith-based leaders in churches and nonprofits with strategic planning, executive coaching and facilitating leadership trainings.
- Annie has worked as a non-profit leader since 1993 with mental health organizations, community agencies and churches, and was in a pastoral leadership role for 13 of those years.
- Annie is certified to administer Myers Briggs Type Indicator and trained in other assessment tools such as Work Behaviors Inventory, CliftonStrengths and Working Genius.