Founder & Director
Minister Lori Howard
Born and raised in Maryland, Minister Lori Howard is proof of what someone can achieve when they are empowered. Minister Howard was raised on her family owned Arabian horse farm. Being raised by successful entrepreneurs taught her what hard work and perseverance can accomplish. As a teen-ager Minister Howard was offered a summer job by Eileen Verdieck, the then manager and head trainer at Imperial Egyptian Stud; a world class Egyptian Arabian horse farm in Maryland. Ms. Verdieck became Minister Howard’s mentor. Over the years this relationship led to Minister Howard becoming the General Manager of Al Shaqab Stud in Doha, Qatar which is owned by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani.
After returning to the United States, Minister Howard began to pursue her call to ministry. She went back to school and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Calvary Theological Seminary with a degree in Christian Counseling. She is now a licensed Temperament Therapist and proud member of the American Association of Christian Counselors.
While working in both secular and faith-based substance abuse recovery programs, Minister Howard noted what worked and did not work in both modalities of treatment. Based on these observations, her years of working with “at risk” youth, and years of working in business management and marketing, Minister Howard formed the community-family-faith based programs of Arms Wide Open Ministries (AWOM).
Minister Howard currently resides in Sinks Grove, WV with her daughter, Leah. She is a member of Appalachian Christian Center and active in Girl Scouts.
