The History of Advocates of Love

While seeking to respond to a call given to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to look after orphans in distress, we were lead to the Samaná province of the Dominican Republic.

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There we found many orphans and suffering children in need – with little to no help available to them. So we formed a partnership with a local church that was interested in joining alongside us to provide the much needed physical, emotional, educational, and spiritual care to the children who are in the greatest need. Our goal was to provide 24 hr. care for those children who meet the CONANI standards, and provide community-based care for those who meet the standards set forth by our Organization.

In 2013, Advocates of Love was created, and began the first ministry and children’s home within the entire Province of Samaná. To date we are the only children’s home and ministry to orphaned and vulnerable children in the Province.

In the Beginning

In 2013 Advocates of Love began the first ministry and children’s home within the entire Province of Samaná.

To date we are the only children’s home and ministry to orphaned and vulnerable children in the Province.

Our Expanded Campus

The Advocates of Love campus includes several children’s homes, a church, a mission hotel, and separate internship quarters.

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How We're Structured

Our Organization Structure

To support the vision and mission, two legal entities have been established.

The US based organization, Advocates of Loves is an approved 501-3C.  Under the guidance of its board of directors, Advocates of Love provides awareness, is responsible for fund raising; oversees the operations of the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in the Dominican Republic and approves all activities required to operate the Children’s Home.

The Dominican Republic based organization, Fundacion Defensores De Amor, is an approved NGO.  The NGO, in partnership with local churches, is accountable for the daily operations and responsibilities of the Children’s Home, community care program and children’s churches.

Operating in The Dominican Republic

Fundacion Defensores de Amor, the NGO, is the Dominican Republic entity that executes all operations.

The focus of the Foundation is to drive programs that impact the community and the children being served.

It is the intention of the Foundation that all who are served are empowered and encouraged to impact their community, strengthen the family unit and care for children in need.  The programs will be executed in partnership with the local pastors, community, CONANI, US mission partners and individuals supporting the mission field.

Support Our Ongoing Projects

Meet Our Team

Michael Jay Clark

On the surface, Mike Clark is an accomplished husband and father of three with over 21 years of experience in background screening industry...

Pedro Suriel

A Brooklyn, New York native, Pedro now resides in Tampa, Florida where he has a hands-on role with Advocates of Love. He was born to Dominican parents and has a passion for...

Nancy Suriel

Nancy Suriel, Advocates of Love Operations Liaison Director, graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in finance. She worked in wealth management...

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Melissa Schol

Melissa is originally from Ocala, FL and after moving around Florida, Georgia & North Carolina, she has settled back in Ocala. Melissa went to the College of Central Florida and has pursued...

Brett Lane

Brett is originally from Los Angeles and currently resides in San Diego, California. He earned his MBA with a focus on eCommerce from the University of Phoenix. Brett is married to...

Visane Kongmanichanh

Visane (Vee), was originally born in Laos and came to the United States through a refugee program with a Baptist Church in Wadsworth, Ohio. His parents settled in Ohio, where he was raised...

John Cristadoro

John currently resides in Marietta, Georgia but is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been married to his amazing wife Gosia since 2006 and they have two wonderful children...

Join Our Mission

On an as needed basis, local doctors, dentists, teachers, and other various specialties will be brought to the site to provide care to those within our care and/or custody.

When you become a part of our team, we can do so much more to change lives. Please fill out the form below if you are interested in learning more about long-term missionary work in the Dominican Republic.

The US-based organization, Advocates of Love is an approved 501c3. Under the guidance of its Board of Directors, Advocates of Love is responsible for raising mission awareness, fundraising, and operational management of the non-governmental organization (NGO) in the Dominican Republic. Advocates of Love has final approval over all activities required to operate the Children’s Home.

The Dominican Republic-based organization, Fundacion Defensores De Amor, is an approved NGO. The NGO, in partnership with local churches, is accountable for the daily operations and responsibilities of the Children’s Home, the community-based care program, and children’s churches.

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Get In Touch

813.321.3904
info@advocatesoflove.org

Advocates of Love

Post Mail Box 321

1936 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

Wesley Chapel, FL 33543-9262

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Michael Jay Clark

On the surface, Mike Clark is an accomplished husband and father of three with over 21 years of experience in background screening industry.

Mike graduated from Syracuse University in 1997 with a degree in Criminal Justice. His skills and expertise led him to own and operate 2 screening companies over a span of 19 years. Both companies were acquired, and Mike exited his last screening company with an industry high multiple of 10X EBITDA.

Mike considers himself a logistically minded operator at his core, and he demonstrated this in the last screening company that he owned, whose profit margins were 40%, compared to the 27-30% industry average.

He has catered to major companies, non-profit organizations, and smaller businesses as well, but has now moved into an entirely new industry. 

As a devout follower of Jesus Christ, Mike has spent much of his time dedicated to ministry work. In 2012, God called him to take it one step further. After a mission trip to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic, Mike felt led to start his own.

In 2013, Advocates of Love officially opened its doors in Samana, DR. They now house 22 children, and recently built a new campus that will allow them to house additional children.

For the last nine years, Mike has worked as the Executive Director on a volunteer basis. This is a season of life where he is “focused on using his past success to significantly help orphans in distress.” 

Pedro Suriel

Pedro is currently based in Tampa but he grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He was born to Dominican parents and graduated from the New York Institute of Technology with a BS in business administration. Pedro has been an independent consultant for more than two decades in human resources and organizational change.

A passionate orator, change agent, thought leader, mentor and coach, he has been featured by many organizations. He is actively involved with his church and connecting with the local community. Pedro has been married to Nancy since 1997 and they have 4 boys, ages 11-18. He enjoys attending their soccer, football, track and basketball games, as well as boating and fishing.

Mike Theodore

Mike is originally from Tennessee and currently resides in Greensboro, North Carolina.

He has a Master degree from Clemson University in Electrical Engineering.

Mike is married to Ruthanne and has two children, Daniel (24 years old) and Jessica (17 years old). Mike is the founder of Math-Aids.Com, which is one of the largest math resource sites for teachers in the world. He also founded AdMetricsPro, which serves ads for other sites using his patented ad technology. Mike got involved with AOL because of the outreach to the children, he is passionate about improving the next generation. He enjoys reading, cooking and traveling.

Nancy Suriel

Nancy Suriel, Advocates of Love Operations Liaison Director, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance. She worked in wealth management for 9 years before being a stay at home mom to her four children for 12 years. She returned to the workforce as a Montessori teacher for 7 years before beginning her passionate work at Advocates of Love. Nancy is most content spending time with family, friends and her two dogs. She resides in Tampa, Florida, and enjoys the beautiful beaches in the area.

Melissa Schol

Melissa is originally from Ocala, FL and after moving around Florida, Georgia & North Carolina, she has settled back in Ocala. Melissa went to the College of Central Florida and has pursued a life of service in various administrative, customer service and marketing roles. She has now settled into her dream role as the Communications Director for Advocates of Love.

Melissa was on the state board of the Florida Foster and Adoptive Parent Association while serving 4 years as a foster and then adoptive mom. She has two adopted daughters, Kenzi and Shyne, who keep her busy. Melissa also serves in her local church. 

You can reach Melissa via email: melissa@advocatesoflove.org.

Brett Lane

Brett is originally from Los Angeles and currently resides in San Diego, California. He earned his MBA with a focus on eCommerce from the University of Phoenix. Brett is married to Hillary and has two children, McKenna (11 years old) and Sterling (7 years old). Brett is the founder of SEOOutsourcing.com, which is a Search Engine Optimization Outsourcing Agency focused on helping businesses gain higher rankings at Google. Brett got involved with AOL as he has a passion for changing the lives of children that he comes in contact with. He enjoys traveling with his family, kickboxing, boxing, weight lifting, martial arts and all things related to optimizing one’s health!

Visane Kong

Visane (Vee), was originally born in Laos and came to the United States through a refugee program with a Baptist Church in Wadsworth, Ohio. His parents settled in Ohio, where he was raised and went to school and later married his high school sweetheart, Georgia. Currently their family resides in Wesley Chapel, Florida and they have 3 children, Ricky 24, Blake 11 and Cameron 9.

He currently enjoys working in the financial field and has owned several small businesses throughout his entrepreneurial career.

Visane and his family love to help others and they enjoy doing missionary/ministry work together as a family both domestically and abroad. This has been a passion of the Kongmanichanh family and it shows in the many projects that they are involved in.

Some of the hobbies that Visane enjoys are traveling , soccer and fishing. If he isn’t working, most likely you will catch him on the water with his son Blake or chasing his son Cameron around on the field playing soccer.

John Cristadoro

John currently resides in Marietta, Georgia but is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been married to his amazing wife Gosia since 2006 and they have two wonderful children, Elliana and Luca. John is the CEO of the Alliance Group, an organization with an ownership stake in several businesses including Alliance Activation, a full service media agency, as well as Alliance Tax Solutions, a tax resolution and consulting firm. He is a member of St. Anne’s Catholic Church and spends nearly all of his free time coaching youth sports in the East Cobb area.