Board of directors
Ralph Thompson
Executive Director, President, & Treasurer
In addition to serving as the Executive Director and Lead Chaplain for Emergency Chaplains, Ralph also works with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina seeking to increase participation in the area of Public Safety Chaplaincy.
​
Prior to establishing the ministry of Emergency Chaplains in 2008, Ralph served for ten years as Pastor of Administration and Discipleship at Bethesda Baptist Church in Durham.
​
He is a graduate of Danville (VA) Community College, Southeastern College at Wake Forest, Louisiana Baptist University and received his Master’s Degree in Biblical Counseling from Master’s International School of Divinity.
​
Ralph has been married to Carter since 1986. They live in Durham with their son, Carl, and an amazing dog named Gracie.
​​
Carter Thompson
Board Member
Carter is from Danville, Virginia but has lived in Durham for over 30 years. She is married to Ralph and they have a son, Carl.
​
While working as an Administrative Assistant at Duke, she felt the Lord leading her to become a Christian Counselor. She enrolled in an online program at Louisiana Baptist University, where she completed both her undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Psychology and Christian Counseling.
Ralph and Carter founded Emergency Chaplains in 2008 and she has served as our in-office Counselor since that time. Carter has also been a volunteer counselor for Pregnancy Support Services in Durham, North Raleigh Ministries and 2nd Mile Ministry at Grey Stone Church. Carter has been married to Ralph since 1986. They live in Durham with their son, Carl, and an amazing dog named Gracie.
Michael Perra
Board Secretary
Michael is co-owner of Cakes By Faith in Durham. He is currently working on an Associates Degree in Biblical Studies through Masters International School of Divinity. He is married to Edie and they have two daughters, Morgan and Skylar.
​
​His desire is to live a life that is pleasing to God and to introduce others to the life changing power of Jesus Christ. Some of Michael’s favorite Bible verses are Numbers 6:24-26, Hebrews 11:6, Matthew 23:12 Mark 12:32-34 and 1Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Randy Maynard
Board Member
Randy Maynard is a native of Huntington, WV. He is married to Vickii. They served as missionaries overseas from 1999-2021.
Randy has nursing degrees from Marshall University and UNC-Chapel Hill. He received his MDiv in International Church Planting at SEBTS in 1998. Randy and Vickii were both working as nurses when the Lord called them to leverage their lives to go to the mission field in 1999.
In 2021, Randy retired from the IMB. He and Vickii now live in Charlotte where both returned to work in the nursing profession. They have 4 adult children and 2 grandchildren.
Dylan Stone
Board Member
Dylan joined our staff part-time in September 2016 as Admin Assistant, and then full-time in January 2019 as Staff Chaplain. He's a Durham native and proud Duke fan, but also loves Tennessee football. Dylan has been married to his high school sweetheart, Morgan, since 2017.
He is a graduate of Judson College with a B.A. in Global Studies and Southeastern Seminary with a Masters in Ministry Leadership.
Dylan serves on the Durham Crisis Response Team, as Chaplain for District 1 of the Durham Police Department, and as Chaplain for Troop C (Dist. 7) of the NC State Highway Patrol.
​
Mike White
Board Member
Mike White has been serving with Emergency Chaplains since 2011. He felt called to chaplaincy after attending an EChap annual banquet in 2010. Since then, Mike has been a dedicated member of the Crisis Response Team in Durham and with District 2 of the Durham Police Department. Mike has volunteered and spent countless hours building relationships with Police Officers in his district
He was ordained into ministry in 2000 and has served in various capacities, including as a worship team member, home group leader, and deacon. His family also spent a season as church planters in Roxboro, NC. Today, they are active members of First Baptist Church in Durham.