Adam and Anna Grundhoefer – Executive Directors

Adam and Anna love adventure and have a heart for helping teenage boys. They both have a passion to serve and mentor teenagers to empower them to live the life God has planned for them. Adam is originally from Atlanta, Georgia and has been with Teen Challenge for six years. Adam attended and graduated from Emerging Leaders College. Adam has also served as administrator of the Teen Challenge Lakeside Retreat and Event Center. While at Lakeside, Adam helped facilitate youth events as well as Teen Challenge staff training events. 

Anna is originally from Montgomery, Alabama and has been with Teen Challenge for seven years. She met the Lord at a young age and has strived to serve him ever since. Anna considers herself a lifelong learner and has studied Education and Sociology. Anna has served Teen Challenge in the areas of education, direct care, Program Assisting, and Training Facilitator. Through all of this, Anna gained an in-depth knowledge of the program structure and on the job experience. Adam and Anna are happily married and enjoy serving in the will of God by extending hope to hurting families and teens. Their lives were changed completely by the power of God and they fully believe God can still redeem and restore and the lives of others.

Rose Ashelman – Teacher

Rose believes in compassion-based teaching. That means finding out each student’s learning style and meeting them there. She has over 30 years of experience working with teenagers as a high school teacher, assistant principal and college educator. Her background of working closely with individuals with social, emotional disabilities and autism allows her to understand and build confidence in her students. Her desire is to create a love for learning in each of her students. She believes that the Lord has placed her in this position.

Rose and her husband Bill moved to Vero Beach from Connecticut last year. She has two grown sons, Jesse and Billy, both with families, of whom she is very proud and believes to be her greatest achievement.

Michael Lindsey Smith – Counselor

Lindsey was born in Columbus, Georgia. In 1983 he went to Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee where he earned a B.S. in Biblical Theology. Following his graduation, he and his wife founded a church where he was a senior pastor for thirty years. While there, he also earned a Masters in Theology from Beacon University. In 2015, he and his wife moved to Vero Beach, Florida continuing in ministry through missions work in Haiti. In 2018, he joined our team at the Ranch as a counselor. He is looking forward to putting his pastoral counseling experience to work for the boys and their families, working towards a healthy future.

Lindsey and his wife Angie have been married for thirty-three years and have three adult children: Roger, Beau, and Abrianna.

Shane Benfer — Direct Care

Shane is 29 years old, and grew up in Lancaster Pennsylvania with a very loving family. Shane started with moderate drug use in high school. This then led to opiate addiction forcing him to lose the vision that he and his family had for his life. After years of addiction and various programs, Shane found freedom when he came to Teen Challenge himself as a student and graduated. It is with his great love of Jesus and the Bible, along with his Teen Challenge experience, that led him to his true passion of helping others who are struggling with the things that he went through himself, and helping them find true freedom.

Justin Larson – Direct Care

One morning Justin woke to a conversation with his parents telling him that they were separating. It was one of the hardest conversations he has ever been a part of. Justin did not know who to blame so he just got mad at everyone. His anger started to cause him to act out at home and at school. His parents saw Justen heading down a bad path. They decided to reach out to Teen Challenge for help.

Justin resented his parents in the beginning for their choice.  Through the course of the program, Justin’s life was changed. His relationship with his family was restored. As Justin got closer to graduation he decided he wanted to come back and help other kids just like him. He graduated the program, did a year internship, and came back as staff. He works as Direct Care, helping oversee evening schedule and activities.

Michael Disabato – Direct Care

Michael is 30 years old and was born and raised in New Jersey. His parents provided him, his two brothers, and one sister a great home to grow up in. Nearing adolescence, Michael started experimenting with drugs and it brought havoc to his life. At a place of brokenness, he went into the Teen Challenge program in New York. It radically changed his life. God put his life back together and gave him a desire to serve others. He is excited to work here at The Ranch and see the young men spared the life that bad decisions can create. As a Direct Care staff member, Michael works with the students facilitating the different activities in the evening and on weekends, while building meaningful relationships with the students.