Speaker/Presenter Biographies
John Wagner serves as the Senior Vice President of
Young Life’s Eastern Division. He began working with
Young Life in 1982, working with kids in the Shaw
community of Washington, DC. He later became the YL
Metro Director, overseeing all of the city’s urban
work. John then served as Regional Director of the DC
Metro Region, overseeing Young Life ministry in both
the city and surrounding areas. John grew up in Upper Marlboro,
Maryland, earned his undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University
and his Masters in Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary. He was
ordained in the PC(USA) in 2003. John and his wife Gae currently live
in Gaithersburg, MD. Together they have three kids: Michael, 16;
Jessi, 14; and David, 9.
Bill Paige is a gifted, passionate speaker whose
broad appeal is anchored in a depth of life experience
that includes 20 years of police and detective work in
and around the New York City metropolitan area. In
addition, Bill served 14 years as the associate
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emotionally disturbed boys in the city, as well as 13
years of senior leadership in Young Life. Bill serves
currently as special assistant to the president in
Young Life. As an ordained minister, Bill brings a
wealth of valuable insight in the areas of emotional and behavioral
problems among young people and is a certified trainer for
“Therapeutic Crisis Intervention.” His communication gifts combined
with his life experience and honed insight put him in very high
demand in this country and around the world as a speaker. Bill is
married to Claudia, his wife of 39 years. Together, they have two
sons and two granddaughters.
Mac McNally has served faithfully in the mission of
Young Life over the last 21 years. He uses his gifts of
creativity, humor and business experience to build
teams and drive growth in ministry. Mac has launched
sites for YL in Maryland, Philadelphia, Ohio, Michigan,
Long Island, New York City and Connecticut. Mac's
faithful leadership and visionary-style has earned him
a national leadership position of Vice-President of
Strategic Growth in Young Life. He is currently focused
on expanding Young Life's presence in the Northeast and
assisting with the development of Young Life in the Caribbean.
Additionally, Mac serves on the national board for the New Canaan
Society. He even finds the time to sneak in a little sport fishing.
Mac and his wife Tina and their five children—Ryan, Trevor, M.E.,
Aidan, & Charis—live in Redding, CT.
Lauren Armstrong has been a leader with Young Life for
eight years, serving on full time YL Staff for four years
in Ridgefield, CT as the director of WyldLife and a high
school Young Life leader at Ridgefield, CT. She has
served as the Regional WyldLife liaison for two years.
Lauren enjoys sports, adventures, close friends and is
always down for a game of volleyball.
Paul Coty Paul Coty has served Young Life for the past 10 years,
including 4 years as an area director in Baltimore, MD.
For the past 6 years he has served as both an area
director and currently as a Metro Director for NYC. Paul
has spent his life doing two things—serving Christ and
ministering to the needs of kids. Previously, he
exercised that call while working for the Baltimore City
Board of Education as a middle school teacher and youth
pastor. In the summer of 1998 he first experienced Young
Life and has never been the same. He and Shauniqua have
two boys, Paul (3) and Jeremiah (1).
Brian Hall has been on Young Life staff for six years and
is the founder and area director of Asian Young Life in
Bergen County, NJ. Brian is also a high school social
studies teacher at the Academies at Englewood—a public
magnet school in Englewood, NJ. He holds a Ph.D. from
Rutgers University, where he majored in sociology with a
specialization in religion and Asian studies. In his free
time, Brian likes mountain biking, visiting national parks
and watching the TV show 24.
Joe Paolella has been with Young Life for 36 years,
including 31 years on the full time staff. He currently
serves the NY Metropolitan Region as the Regional Trainer
and Area Director of Young Life and WyldLife in Mercer
County, NJ. Joe is married to Stacy and has two boys—Gabe
(12) and Eli (11).
Mona Patel has been on Young Life Staff for 13 years, previously
working as a high school history teacher. She is currently on
Young Life Staff in New Brunswick, NJ, where she works with
Rutgers University students developing college Young Life and
WyldLife outreach to urban adolescents.
Bryan Reaume has served as a Young Life leader for twelve years
and currently serves on the YL staff as a Metro Director in
Fairfield County, CT as part of the senior leadership team of
the New York Metropolitan Region. A product of the NYMR
training program, Bryan completed his internship in New Canaan,
CT and still resides there with his wife Cassidy. They together
serve as leaders on the high school Young Life team in New
Canaan. Bryan loves all things athletics and education/training
and is pursuing a graduate degree from Fuller Theological Seminary.
Tim Vickers has worked full-time for Young Life for 11
years and is currently the Metro Director for Young Life
in Greater Danbury. He has started multiple Young Life
and WyldLife Clubs and Young Life Areas in Ohio and
Connecticut. He loves to play, coach and watch sports
and probably watches too much television. He and his
wife Lori live in Danbury, CT with their two sons, Caden
and Conor.