Dr. Merlin Burt Ph.D
Merlin D. Burt, Ph.D. is director of the Ellen G. White Estate, Inc. and a field secretary for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. He previously served as the founding director of the integrated Center for Adventist Research which includes the White Estate Branch Office at Andrews University; also as professor of church history at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary (2003-2020). Before this he served as director of the White Estate Branch Office and chair of Archives and Special Collections at Loma Linda University (1993-2003). He has published books, numerous articles, and chapters and has served variously as a speaker, editor, tour guide, and organizer of conferences and symposiums. Previous to his academic and administrative appointments, Dr. Burt served for a number of years as a pastor in California and Ohio, USA. He and his wife Sarah have two sons and a daughter and five grandchildren. His hobbies include collecting Adventist-related materials and woodworking. His passion is for people to connect God’s leading in the past to a personal living Christian experience.
Tim Poirier
Tim Poirier, M.T.S., is the Vice-Director and Archivist of the Ellen G. White Estate, Inc. where he has been employed since 1981. Born in Massachusetts, Tim received his B.A. degree at Atlantic Union College, He later completed his graduate work at Gordon-Conwell and Wesley Theological Seminary, respectively. In addition to administrative duties, His responsibilities include the care of the historical materials housed in the White Estate vault, assisting researchers, and serving as liaison for the worldwide network of Ellen G. White-SDA Research Centers.
Tim has prepared various White Estate publications, such as The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials and The Ellen G. White Periodical Resource Collection. He has also authored a variety of articles on Ellen White-related issues, including material for the Ellen G. White Encyclopedia (2013). He is the General Editor for The Ellen G. White Letters and Manuscripts with Annotations (2014) series. Among his past projects have been the Ellen White CD-ROMs (now in app format). When the White Estate Visitor Center project beckoned, Tim became a pivotal contributor to the team that oversaw its development and launch. Tim and his wife, Merle, are the parents of two adult daughters, and enjoy spending time with their young grandson.
Dwain Esmond
Dwain Neilson Esmond, M.A., Ph.D. Student, is a writer, editor, and ordained minister who was born in Guyana, South America. For more than 25 years this graduate of Oakwood and Pittsburg State Universities has answered God’s call to ministry. From 2010 to 2014, Dwain served as Vice-President of Editorial Services for the Review and Herald Publishing Association before joining the Ellen G. White Estate, Inc. as an Associate Director/Editor in 2015.
From 1998 to 2002 Dwain served as Associate Editor of Message Magazine, before his passion for youth and young adults led him to Insight Magazine where he worked for 11 years (2002-2013) as the publication’s first African-American Editor. While at Insight, Dwain also authored three best-selling young adult devotionals, and has more than 350 publications to his credit. He currently supervises the preparation and publication of White Estate-related content, such as The Gift of Prophecy in Scripture and History, an academic text on the work of the Holy Spirit through the gift of prophecy; Principles for Christian Leaders, and the forthcoming 2021 Ellen White devotional titled Jesus: Name Above All Names. Dwain also helps to lead strategic planning and development for the White Estate. He is joined in ministry by his wife, Kemba, and their son.
Markus Kutzschbach
Markus Kutzschbach, M.A., a native East German, is Executive Director of Adventist Heritage Ministries and an Associate Director of the Ellen G. White Estate, Inc. Markus’s interest in history and historical artifacts developed in 1994 when a two-year military service placement landed him at the Museum of Kriebstein Castle in Germany. While there helped to care for exhibits and learned restoration techniques under the supervision of historical preservationists, as well as how to do major-event planning. In 1996, Markus joined a health insurance company, using his event management expertise to host large exhibitions in tandem with state and municipal governments. Feeling a call to ministry, Markus began theological studies, but other responsibilities called. In 2007 he founded the Adventist Book Center of Austria, serving as its Executive Manager until 2017. He was also the first director of the Ellen G. White-SDA Research Center in Austria.
An enthusiastic supporter of Ellen White’s life and ministry, Markus became a Seventh-day Adventist after reading The Great Controversy, by Ellen G. White. While running the Adventist Book Center in Austria, Markus was invited to participate in a special EGW Study Center project at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. From 2006 to 2010, Kutzschbach made a significant contribution to what is today the Ellen White Digital Resource Center, a comprehensive database of Ellen White-related questions and answers now available worldwide on the White Estate homepage. Markus, his wife, Agnessa, and their children reside in Austria.
Michael Sokupa
Mxolisi Michael Sokupa Ph.D., D.Th., is a biblical scholar and church historian who brings a wealth of ministry experience to his work as an Associate Director of the Ellen G. White Estate. Beginning in 1991, Michael served as a local church pastor in the territories around Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He was soon tapped to become a conference departmental director, serving in the areas of Communication, Stewardship, and Youth Ministry from 1995-2004. In 2009 Michael’s ministry sojourn took him to Helderberg College where he lectured as a professor and served as Director of the Ellen G. White-SDA Research Center until 2016 when the invitation came to join the White Estate.
Michael’s interest in Ellen White was piqued while reading some of her books which his father sold as a literature evangelist. During his college years he translated Counsels on Diets and Foods into his native Xhosa language, and for his master’s degree, he opted to do a thesis on “Ecclesiology in the Writings of Ellen G. White.” Ellen White even made it into Michael’s doctoral dissertation when his supervising professor requested that he include some background information on Ellen White. In 2017, Michael led the White Estate’s 150th anniversary commemoration of the publication of Steps To Christ. His research interests include theology, church history, interpretation, world religions, and Adventist Heritage—subjects on which he preaches and lectures widely. Michael and his wife, Zanele, are the parents of three children.
Darryl Thompson
Darryl Thompson, B.Ed., a native Australian, joined the Ellen G. White Estate as Project Coordinator in 2002. His dedicated use of the broad-ranging gifts God has given him has resulted in the White Estate’s transition from a primarily print-based ministry to one whose digital offerings are now the most widely used of any entity within Seventh-day Adventist Church. His efforts in the design and development of the Ellen G. White Writings Apps and Websites have given millions access to Ellen White’s writings, thousands of whom discover and use the writings each day.
Darryl first put his degree in design and technology to work as a high school teacher, shaping young minds from 1991 to 2001. During those years he also became a successful entrepreneur, after starting a computer consultancy, and a radio host. Serving since 2007 as White Estate Assistant Director, Darryl has used his technological skills to help make Ellen White’s writings available to the world. Darryl and his wife, Darlene, are the parents of five children.
James R. Nix (Emeritus)
James R. Nix, M.Div., M.L.S., Th.D. (Hon) is the previous director of the Ellen G. White Estate, Inc. and developer of the first Ellen G. White Visitor Center, located in Silver Springs, Maryland. Originally from California, Jim, an ordained minister, demonstrated an early interest in Ellen White and Adventist history. In 1972 he accepted an invitation to help develop an Adventist research collection in the Loma Linda University Library, but his official connection with the White Estate began in 1976 when he became the first director of the Ellen G. White-SDA Research Center on the same campus. In 1981 Jim co-founded Adventist Heritage Ministries and has chaired its board since 1997. He was invited to the White Estate’s main office in 1993, where he served as an associate director until he was elected vice director in1995; he was elected director in 2000. Jim is also a life trustee of the White Estate. In recognition of his contributions to promoting the ministry of Ellen White and preserving the heritage of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, in 2009 Peruvian Union University in Lima, Peru, awarded Jim a Th.D. honoris causa.
Jim’s priority through his career has been to present Ellen White and Adventist heritage as spiritually uplifting and inviting. He is known as a master storyteller and has authored several books and numerous articles about Adventist history, including Early Advent Singing (1994), The Spirit of Sacrifice and Commitment (2000), and Glimpses Into the Life of Ellen White (2016). Jim has presented at numerous seminars, workshops, and camp meetings. He has also led or assisted more than 75 tours to historic Adventist sites. Jim is also supported in ministry by his wife, Mindi, a middle school teacher, and is blessed with a daughter, and grandson.
Theodore N. Levtero
Theodore N. Levterov was born in Bulgaria. He spent most of his youth years
living under communism where he studied music and composition. Soon after the
fall of communism, he went to Newbold College, England, where he graduated
with BA in Theology in 1996. After pastoring for couple of years in his native
country of Bulgaria, he joined the Seventh-day Adventist Seminary at Andrews
University, Michigan, where he earned his MDiv and Ph.D. in Adventist studies.
From 2008 to 2011 he worked as a pastor in Dallas, Texas. In 2012 Dr. Levterov
was appointed as the Director of the Ellen G. White Estate Branch Office and a
Professor of Religion at Loma Linda University, California. Since the beginning of
2023, he has joined the White Estate main office at the General Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists where he serves as an Associate Director. He has
authored numerous articles and participated in various publishing projects related
Adventist history and Ellen White. His latest book, Accepting Ellen White: Early
Adventists and the Gift of Prophecy Dilemma, was published in 2017 by the
Pacific Press. Theodore is married to Tsvety, and they have three wonderful
boys.