The vision of Agape's Embrace began while Mary was living in Tennessee and became a reality after her return to Phoenix. In 2019, she moved back to the valley to serve as the Executive Director of a transitional housing ministry. After a period of transition, she felt called to establish Agape's Embrace, allowing her to continue supporting mom and their families.

Mary has always felt a strong calling toward ministry, missions, and community service, which deepened as she served through outreach efforts with her churches and local community.

Mary Menchaca Founder/Executive Director

As a single mom, she sought out opportunities to serve alongside her children, hoping to make a difference while sharing the love of Jesus. This passion has led her to connect with ministries, nonprofits, community activists, and allies across the globe, working in diverse areas such as homeless outreach, inner-city feeding programs, medical clinics, and schools in Africa, and neighborhood restoration projects in Mexico.

As a dedicated advocate for single parents, Mary understands the challenges, barriers, and daily realities that families face. Her heart is to share Christ's love while helping other embrace their worth, identity and strength.

Additionally, Mary has an extensive background in Healthcare Administration and Consulting which includes Community Health, Behavioral Health, Rehabilitation and specialty clinics within facilities, private practices and health plans.

In her free time, Mary enjoys music, DIY projects, traveling, and spending quality time with friends and family.

Carie Barlow Board Member

For several years, Carie has dedicated her work to a non-profit medical clinic, providing free care to uninsured patients. She is deeply passionate about serving those in need and is actively involved in the Mission Board at Life Church in Peoria, where she coordinates volunteer efforts for feeding the homeless and organizing mission trips to Mexico. With a strong calling to share the love of Jesus, she finds joy in giving back to others.

Carie is an internal medicine physician here in the Valley. She is married and has two school-aged boys as well as two dogs. Carie enjoys traveling and spending time with her family in her free time.

Lynn Foster Board Member

Lynn Foster is a passionate advocate for humanitarian efforts and community outreach. As a previous mission leader, she played an integral role in initiatives supporting clean water access in Africa, organizing service trips to Mexico for women's shelters and orphanages, and coordinating efforts to feed the homeless.

Lynn channels her love for cycling into charitable causes, regularly participating in and supporting charity bicycle events throughout the year. Through these events, she raises awareness and funding for causes close to her heart, combining her passion for fitness with her dedication to making a difference.

Professionally, Lynn serves as a Business Process Consultant for a Behavioral Health Software company, leveraging her expertise in operational efficiency to drive meaningful change. With a strong commitment to service, strategy, and community impact, she is honored to contribute to the mission of Agape’s Embrace and support its ongoing efforts to uplift those in need.

Darrell Jensen Board Member

Darrell is a retired healthcare executive having spent more than 30 years serving seniors in the not-for-profit sector. He is a skilled leader with expertise in management, budgeting as well as in day to day operations. He has held leadership positions on church, not-for-profit and trade association boards, lending his skills to move these organizations toward fulfilling their missions. Since retirement he has volunteered on several work projects serving churches in the USA and Mexico.

Darrell believes God has blessed him in many ways and he subscribes to the biblical principle we are blessed to be a blessing. He possess a strong Christian faith and has a passion to help those who have not been afforded the opportunities he has been given.

Patti Jensen Board Member

Patti Jensen, MSW, is a retired medical social worker who served over 30 years in multiple health care settings including hospitals, home health, skilled nursing and dialysis facilities. During those years she also mentored graduate-level social work students as a contribution to the profession. Since Patti retired, her volunteer work has focused on children. She served on the board of Hope 4 Kids International and assisted with special events at Anchor House.

She also regularly volunteered as a “cuddler” at Banner Thunderbird’s NICU and in the nursery at Life Church and MOPS. She enjoys sharing the love of Jesus with the children and their families and looks forward to encouraging the families at Agape’s Embrace.