Darrell Duggins is retired from a financial management career that included over 25 years as the chief financial officer (CFO) for not-for profit, faith-based, social ministries. More specifically, he has served as the CFO for Augsburg Village prior to the affiliation with National Lutheran Communities & Services, Lutheran Social Ministries of Maryland (which includes Carroll Lutheran Village and the Lutheran Village at Miller’s Grant) and Lutheran Family Services of Colorado which specializes in foster care and refugee resettlement. Darrell has served on the Augsburg’s board since 2014 and participated in the organization’s strategic planning effort that ultimately led to its affiliation with National Lutheran Communities & Services. He has also served on the board of the Aegis organization which is a liability insurance option for Maryland senior living communities.

Darrell holds an undergraduate degree in accounting from Loyola University in Baltimore, and a master’s degree in organizational development from the University of Phoenix. He and his wife Bonnie have recently retired to Murrells Inlet, South Carolina where he enjoys golf and visits from their six grandchildren.

Albert serves as chair of the Board for The Village at Augsburg and has over 35 years of knowledge and practice working with various insurance and brokerage firms. His areas of specialty include property and causality insurance, commercial insurance, professional and legal liability and liability analysis. In addition to his extensive professional career, Albert is an active member within the Baltimore community and holds numerous committee leadership positions.

Steve is a managing director and partner at Verdence. He provides valuable counsel on investment policy, asset allocation, investment manager due diligence and portfolio management. Prior to working for Verdence, Steve founded Chesapeake Wealth Management, an independent investment-consulting firm and had worked as a senior institutional consultant for Smith Barney for 16 years.

Pastor Meheret Caruthers grew up in Ethiopia attended seminary college upon graduation from high school. She went on to study in Bergen, Norway and eventually ended up in the United States.

In 2017, Pastor Caruthers joined Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church in Essex, Maryland after serving at St. John Lutheran Church in Linthicum Heights, Maryland for more than four years and serving at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Baltimore as Vice Pastor. She also served six years as a chaplain for The R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland in Baltimore.

Pastor Caruthers’ varied experience has allowed her to serve God in many capacities. She has a special fondness for ministering to children and enjoys taking on the role of teacher

She and her husband, Rob, reside in White Marsh, Maryland with their two children.

James “Jim” Milton was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and was a long-time airline employee who worked for Northwest and Trans World airlines in progressively responsible positions including reservations, cargo sales and a 75-day stint as a flight attendant during a strike. In 1992, he became cargo sales manager in the mid-Atlantic area for DAS Air Cargo. He remained with DAS Cargo until 1999 when he joined the air freight sales division of the Diplomat Group Company in Annapolis, Maryland until his retirement in 2005. Working in the airline industry was a joy, and he can say that in his 45 years he never had a bad day until 9/11.  

He and his wife, Ruth, lived in Laurel, Maryland for 44 years where they raised their three children. In May of 2015, Jim and Ruth moved to The Village at Augsburg and have enjoyed their years there. Currently, he serves on the Augsburg library committee and has twice served as vice president of the residents’ association. 

Cyndi Walters was named president and chief executive officer (CEO) of National Lutheran Communities and Services (NLCS) in May 2021, assuming the position full time in August 2021. Prior to this role, she served as chief operating officer (COO) since 2016.

Cyndi has served at NLCS in varying capacities for nine years; first as a consultant before joining as chief operating officer in 2016. Cumulatively, Walters has over 30 years of experience in the senior living industry including a strong background in strategically growing and diversifying the organization and an enhanced focus on operating as a senior-living system and leveraging its benefits and efficiencies. Prior to joining NLCS, she provided project management and advisory services to senior living organizations through Walters Advisors, LLC. She has also served in a leadership role at Presbyterian Senior Living in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, and during her 19 years at KPMG (a global network of professional firms providing audit, tax and advisory services), spent significant time as a partner and leader of their National Senior Living Advisory Practice.

As president and CEO, Cyndi’s focus is strategically growing and furthering NLCS’ mission to honor, inspire and support choice and opportunity in partnership with older adults. Cyndi is an advocate for “aging with choice,” which means supporting older adults in making their own choices in aging, whether it means moving to a senior living community or bringing in supportive services to their home. She is also an advocate for team members across the organization and leads a team dedicated to ensuring NLCS remains a Great Place to Work® and an employer of choice for those who have a heart to serve older adults.

Cyndi is a native of the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area and holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree from York College of Pennsylvania.