Dr. Orathai Chureson
Director
Orathai Chureson was born and raised in Thailand. Prior to her appointment to the General Conference Children’s Ministries Department, Orathai served for 8 years as the director of Children’s and Family Ministries including one year as Ministerial Spouses Association Coordinator of the Southern Asia Pacific Division, based in the Philippines. She obtained her Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction (Cognate in Tesol) from Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, Philippines and has 14 years of teaching experience.
She is married to Saw Samuel, former president of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division and currently the Associate Secretary at the General Conference, Maryland, USA. They have two teenage children, a son and daughter.
She enjoys teaching English to communities for outreach programs, translating children’s stories for children’s Sabbath School lessons and being a translator at church services, religious programs, and denominational training and workshops. She enjoys writing and has written these books, Homeward Bound, A Glimpse of God’s Grace, and edited I Will Go in Faith. She has contributed numerous articles on mental health and families.
Tanya Muganda
Administrative Assistant
Tanya was born in Michigan, USA but raised in Tanzania, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Maryland. Her passion for children led her to work for this department. Before coming to GC Children’s Ministries, she worked at the North American Division in the Retirement department. She obtained her B.A. degree in Religion and Pre-Law from Washington Adventist University, Maryland, U.S.A.
In 2014, she received her Masters in Children and Family Ministry from Bethel University, Minnesota, U.S.A.
Tanya feels that God has led her to the Children’s Ministries department for a great purpose and hopes to bring a young and fresh perspective in this area of ministry. She hopes to use her gifts and training to serve the children in our church.
