FORMED BY CALLING. SUSTAINED BY PRAYER.

RBU US Director & Board Chair | Maryland, USA

After co-founding RBU with her late husband, Bob, Nancy now leads the ministry's U.S. operations, serving as administrator, coordinator, and visionary. She manages donor communication and supports field efforts across the organization, drawing on a professional background in social work as a dedicated mental health and aging advocate. Holding credentials in Early Childhood Education alongside a Master of Theology in Orthodox Studies, Nancy brings specialized expertise to both the spiritual development of children and the systemic challenges of low literacy and educational barriers facing Roma youth. She directly applies this background to her leadership of the UNA Kids’ Club, where she develops vital Bible and literacy resources for Roma children.

“You only learn to ride a bike once, and you only learn to read once. Teach a child to read first in their mother tongue—and the rest will be embellishment.”

Vice Chairman of the Board | Netherlands

Holding an MA in Philosophy Jelle is a PhD researcher at the Protestant Theological University in Utrecht. An ordained deacon in the Reformed Episcopal Church, he served alongside RBU as a missionary in Croatia from 2015–2019. Today, Jelle helps guide the strategic and spiritual direction of RBU while continuing his academic work in Bible translation theory and missiology.

“Organizations are usually shaped by the vision of their founder… certainly the case for the Roma Bible Union. In many ways, Bob was an entrepreneur and RBU operated as something like a ‘Business as Mission’ avant la lettre”.

Field Director | Serbia

Misha leads the work on the ground across Eastern and Western Europe. A Roma pastor, worship leader, and youth pastor in Serbia, he has served with RBU since 2018—discipling leaders, supporting churches, and mentoring the next generation of Roma believers. He also develops resources, teaches across borders, and brings stories and prayer requests to life through the podcast Hey Y’all, It’s Misha.

“We’re not just planting churches—we’re raising leaders who can disciple others.”

Board Secretary l Linz, Austria

Elvira Marginean views her leadership role on the board not as a position, but as a true calling. As a member of the Bayash Roma community, Elvira completed her bachelor’s degree in business administration eight years ago, supported by the RBU Roma Student Scholarship Fund. She has participated and contributed to many RBU projects— including Decade of the Book and Kaskada Magazine. Elvira’s vocational background in the finance and insurance sectors has influenced Elvira’s vision for RBU toward projects focusing upon leveraging microbanking to foster long-term financial stability within Roma communities.

“I want to empower young Roma people to believe that education is possible, to know that change is possible, and to experience that with God, there is always a way forward. God changes lives, I know because He changed my life completely.”

Board Member | Virginia, US

Kristy brings decades of leadership and service to her role on the RBU board, with a heart for prayer and marginalized communities. She chairs the Prayer Committee and leads initiatives like Quarterly RBU Prayer Pages, Prayer Live, the RBU 24-Hour Days of Prayer, the WhatsApp Prayer Line, the RBU Littles Prayer and Color Pages

“A Culture of Prayer isn’t just an idea—it’s our spiritual backbone.”

Board Member | Virginia, US

First introduced to RBU on a short term mission trip in the early days of the Hitchings ministry, Pandy returned again to serve in the Bayash villages with her son. Since then, she has continued to stand as a partner to the mission and its missionaries. As a Senior Manager in the Business Investment Office of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Pandy brings business experience and project development acumen to the board.

"Once again I am filled with awe at the way God is moving in the Roma communities."

Board Member I Colorado, US

A longtime associate of Bob Hitching, Tim Nichols is a bodyworker, teacher, and minister serving a house church in Englewood, CO. Since finishing seminary and ordination in 2004, Tim has served in a variety of institutional church, house church, and community settings. Along the way, he’s taught seminaries and schools of ministry on two continents, and presently teaches at a massage therapy school in Denver. On our board, Tim brings a passion for recovering the mysticism of Christianity and a biblical theology of the natural world, and a heart for outreach to the neopagan and “spiritual but not religious” communities.

“Bob Hitching challenged me to be the kind of Christian that could chase a sunset, caress a stream, focus meditatively on a single bite of a strawberry, and be guided by the Spirit of God in it all. Thirty years later, I’m still fulfilling that assignment—and bringing as many people with me as I can.”

Board Member l Hythe, UK

David Hitching has been a friend and partner of RBU for over twenty-five years. With a background in food saftey, David holds an MSc and a BSc (Hons) in Health and Safety. He currently serves as the Food Safety and Product Compliance Manager (Europe) for Just Eat Takeaway.com, where he oversees regulatory compliance, food safety standards, and risk management for the company's European markets. To the RBU Board, David brings invaluable international governance experience, strategic operational oversight, and a deep expertise in risk management. Beyond his professional career, Dave is a musician and involved in church leadership, preaching, leading services, and leading worship.

UNA KIDS’ CLUB Leader l Vukovar, Croatia

For years, Biljana worked with Bob and Nancy Hitching as an RBU missionary. She is now the Director of the RBU UNA KIDS’CLUB, a Bible and literacy club for Roma children iimagined and developed by the Hitchings twenty years ago. Along with her husband, Pastor Denjot Niolić, Biljana leads the Roma Church in Darda, Croatia. Biljana is also a writer and the author of the illustrated children’s book. The Cat and the Custard which has been translated into several languages.

“I pray we will one day hear the UNA Kids’ Club Motto in every Roma village — “God is for us, not against us!”