Board of Directors

Nicole Rothfleisch President
Nicole Rothfleisch is the Founder, President and Executive Director of Amaris Ministries. In 2001 she married her husband Ryan, a farmer, and together they have one daughter.

In addition to having her bachelor’s degree in business, being an adoptive parent herself, helping foster and adoptive parents over the past 6 years, attending numerous seminars and trainings over the last 5 years in the area of parenting children with trauma in their background, she has completed Texas Christian University’s Institute of Child Development certified TBRI for Professionals Course (TBRI stands for Trust Based Relational Intervention, a world-renowned comprehensive strategy for working with children with the most difficult of backgrounds and behaviors), and is now a certified TBRI Practitioner.

In the past, Nicole has served in ministry as the treasurer for a local pregnancy resource center, a worship leader, and as a founding board member of the Imperial Valley Coalition for Life. She also worked for 8 years as the Executive Director of the Imperial County Farm Bureau. Nicole is the Secretary of the Board for Imperial Valley’s Hope for Haiti, a ministry with a mission and orphanage in Barbancourt, Haiti, but her biggest and most rewarding job is homeschooling her daughter, Amaris.




Pastor Walter Colace Vice-President
Pastor Walt graduated Central Union High School in 1981. In 1991 ,Pastor Walt entered the Teen Challenge Christian Life School, and graduated in October of 1992. The next month he was hired by Faith Assembly of God in Imperial as a full time minister, and just two months later he started Imperial Valley’s New Creations, a nonprofit ministry that reaches people with life controlling problems, of which he is currently President and Executive Director.

In 1998 Pastor Walt started Christ Community Church in El Centro, where he currently leads as the President and Senior Pastor. In 2016, he graduated Summa Cum Laude with his Masters of Divinity from Bethel Seminary. Pastor Walter believes it is a Biblical mandate to care for orphans and is excited to be a part of this ministry.




Grisel Colace Secretary
Grisel is the wife of Pastor Walter Colace and the mother of three teenage children who keep her very busy with their different activities. Over the years, she has welcomed other children into her home during their time of need and cared for them as her own.

Grisel graduated with an AA in Early Childhood Education from Imperial Valley College in 1996 and has experience as a pre-school teacher. She is the Music Director at Christ Community Church and is also one of the leaders of the Women’s Ministry. In addition to family and ministry, Grisel’s involvement in Amaris Ministries has been very rewarding and her desire is that every orphan would have a forever family.


Lupe McManaway Treasurer


Alex Cardenas Director
Alex has a Bachelor's degree in Public Administration and a Master's in Organizational Management. He is currently the Executive Director of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and is an instructor for the University of Phoenix.

As Executive Director of a non-profit organization his responsibilities include program, volunteer, fiscal and operations management. Alex also has 12 years experience as an account executive with responsibilities in sales, marketing, business management, e-commerce and process improvement innovation, with five years' experience as an Operations Supervisor where he was also responsible for employee management, leadership and employee development.

In addition to his career, Alex has been married for 17 years, has two children and is involved in children’s ministry at his church, where he currently serves as the AWANA Director and Kids Church Director. Alex has a heart for children.




Annette Rea Director
Annette Rea is a credentialed schoolteacher currently teaching 6th grade in the El Centro Elementary School District. She and her husband have adopted 5 children and have 3 biological children. She has volunteered with the AWANA children’s program at her church for many years and also has experience teaching ESL to adults in Brazil.

Annette was a founding member of the Foster Parent Association of the Imperial Valley as well as Treasurer of the group. She is a certified TBRI (Trust Based Relational Intervention) Trainer as well as TBRI Educator through TCU’s Institute for Child Development. Annette leads a parenting support group for parents of “kids from hard places” and teaches our classes based on Dr. Karyn Purvis’ “The Connected Child” book and “The Connection” curriculum.




Joy Tucker Honorary Director
Joy is a pastor’s wife. She and her husband have five children and 10 grandchildren. Joy owns her own business and is very involved in various aspects of ministry leadership in her church.

Joy has experience with both sides of adoption, as she relinquished a baby as a teenager, and also adopted a young child through the foster system three years ago. Joy’s heart is that no child will be without a loving family.




Tom Storey Honorary Director
Tom is an attorney at law and has worked directly with Imperial County’s Department of Social Services for many years. Tom’s law firm has conducted numerous private adoptions and has also represented families wishing to reunite with children who have been removed from their homes, upon completion of required programs.

Tom’s firm has recently started a program for these families to support them through the process of necessary means to get their lives on track and to reunite successfully with their children. Tom attends Christ Community Church.