Board of Advisors

Rev. Calvin A. Birch
Pastor, African Christian Community Church
C/o Hatcher Memorial Baptist Church
2000 Dumbarton Road
Richmond, Virginia 23227

Rev. Calvin A. Birch is the latest person elected to the Board of Advisors of the Liberian Association of Virginia (LAVA). Rev. Calvin Birch was born in Liberia in 19? His elementary and high school education was in Liberia. Rev. Birch came to the United States as a result of the war in Liberia.

He is a believer of the Lord Jesus Christ. Along with his wife Joan, he has since served as Religious Counselor, Evangelist and Church Planter for Providence Baptist Church of Monrovia, Liberia. Through partnership with Bible League, the couple started three churches in Monrovia, one of which is Pagos Island Baptist Church, Congo Town, Monrovia.

In 2000, Rev. Birch received scholarship to do seminary studies at Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Virginia Union University, Richmond. He and his family travelled to the USA, and in 2003, he received the Master of Divinity from Virginia Union University.

In the same year, 2003, Rev. Birch and Joan established the African Christian Community Church (ACCC). The ACCC is an outreach to African immigrants. Through his visionary leadership the church gave birth to the Barnabas Project, Inc., a non-profit portion of the ministry of the ACCC. The Barnabas Project operates an After School tutoring program, a food pantry, and other activities geared toward social and spiritual fulfillment for adults, the youth, and children.

Rev. Calvin and Joan were married in 1995. They have seven children: Olive, Esther, Calvina, Joel, Calvin, Jr., Precious, and Lydia.

Mr. Edward F. Bates,
Former President,
Liberian Association of Virginia
Richmond, Virginia

Mr. Francis Bates is the latest person elected to the Board of the Liberian Association of Virginia (LAVA).

He was born in Careysburg City, Montserrado County, Liberia. He attended elementary school in Careysburg, before matriculating to Lott Carey Baptist Mission for his high school education. He is also a trained teacher, obtaining a teaching certificate, with emphasis in Agriculture, from the Kakata Rural Teachers' Training Institute, KRTTI.

Mr. Bates is a professional police. He is a graduate of the Liberia National Police Academy. In addition, he has advanced his studies in Law Enforcement from Central Piedmont Community College, as well as a certificate in Criminology from Johnson C. Smith University, both schools located in Charlotte, North Carolina. In his quest for additional knowledge, Mr. Bates studied Information Systems, at ECPI, in Richmond, Virginia.

Mr. Bates has experience in several other areas because of his function in these capacities. He has held, among other positions, the following: Class president, while enrolled at the National Police Academy; and Founding Member of Federation of Liberian youths, FLY [GIVE YEAR]. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Liberian Association of Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the now defunct Highland Park United Methodist Church.

Mr. Bates is a family man. He is married to Georgia Thompson - Bates, Financial Secretary of LAVA. They have several children. He is Christian, a dedicated and determined United Methodist from Liberia. He served as President of the Community when it was the Liberian Auxiliary Association (LAA). Mr. Bates paved the way for the creation of the current Liberian Association of Virginia (LAVA). His commitment to the community is marvelous, and the Association depends on his experience and expertise.

We are proud to have him on the Board of Advisors of LAVA, because with his expertise and experience, we are confident that he will work for the development of LAVA.

Garway A.D. Bright
President, LAVA and Secretary of the Board of Advisors

Garway A.D. Bright is a Compliance Manager for insurance products and sales within the Corporate Compliance department of Genworth Financial (“Genworth”). Genworth is a publicly traded global financial security company with more than $100 billion in assets and a presence in more than 25 countries. Genworth is recognized in Standard & Poor's 500 Index of Leading U.S. companies and ranked in the Fortune 500.

Garway joined Genworth in August 1999 and has held various roles in Audit, Product Management and Operations/Quality.

Garway holds Bachelor of Business Administration (Finance and International Business – magna cum laude) from Howard University in Washington, DC and a Master of Public Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. He is also a graduate of General Electric’s (GE) industry acclaimed Leadership Development Program.

Garway is a native of Liberia, West Africa and currently resides in Richmond, VA with his wife Doris and their lovely daughters, Mee-Shan Julia and Marway Elizabeth.