Our Team
Shawn and Amy Sullivan are the Founders and leaders of Mission 823 and have committed their lives to serving and saving children in need.
Shawn and Amy were both raised in Christian homes and church was a very big part of their lives. They actually met each other at Amy's home church in Orlando, Florida, where Shawn was stationed with the U. S. Navy. They married in 1985 and immediately received orders to report to submarine duty in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and then on to Sasebo, Japan.
After being honorably discharged from the Navy, they moved back home to Orlando and Shawn worked for Lockheed with the Space Shuttle program at the Kennedy Space Center. It was during this time, after many years of prayer, that God began to open doors for Shawn to work in church ministry. He accepted a staff position as the Children's Pastor at their home church in Orlando and while on staff there, he went on a mission trip to Ukraine with a group from the church. This trip was when he felt God's call to serve the people of Ukraine. After returning home from this trip, Shawn and Amy decided to move to Texas to finish his college education, where Shawn served on the Pastoral staff at two different churches while attending college full time. Immediately after graduation, they were approved as missionaries through a local mission organization and started raising funds to move to Ukraine and start their ministry.
After six years of fruitful service as church planters in Ukraine, the family moved back to the States to help in the recruiting of new missionaries. In January of 2009, Shawn was approached by a global non-profit organization, a supporter of our work in Ukraine, to expand their mutual outreach in Eastern Europe. The Sullivans joined their team in order to pursue opportunities to strengthen their work in Ukraine and expand their ministry to the east and to the Russian speaking people of the former Soviet Union.
Their passion to rescue more at-risk children and to strengthen and diversify their ministry led to the creation of Mission 823 in early 2018. Their vision is to relieve the suffering of vulnerable children and allow them to experience the beauty, sanctity, safety and love of family. They are dedicated to defending, rescuing and restoring at-risk children and their communities around the world.
Shawn and Amy have two grown children (and two grand-children) and currently live in the central Florida area, where the Mission 823 offices are located. Shawn travels back and forth to Ukraine multiple times each year to manage and oversee all projects and ministry and work hands-on with our staff and team there.
Taras Savchuk is the Director for Mission 823 Ukraine. He and his wife, Nadia, joined our team as the project managers at Camp Willow Park back in 2016. Since that time, Taras has managed many of our projects and taken care of all our facilities in western Ukraine, including the remodeling and opening of our newest family home, Faith House. He was named as our Ukraine Director in 2022 and now facilitates all operations in Ukraine nationwide. His resourcefulness and creativity have allowed us to achieve amazing results in the development of our trauma informed camps for children. His connections and logistical skill allow us to coordinate with our partners and move people and humanitarian aid smoothly around the country.
Taras was raised in a Christian home and attended church with his family, where his father was a deacon. He was involved in the church band and other ministries in the church. He graduated from college with a degree in the Technology of Woodworking and is a master carpenter by trade. He is still very involved in his church as he serves as our Director. He and his wife Nadia currently have three children and have been an incredible asset to our team.
Boni Sordillo serves as the Director of Restorative Development for Mission 823. She has been serving in global missions for over 20 years and considers it a tremendous gift and privilege to participate in the Lord's work around the world. After traveling to Ukraine with Mission 823 and working with us to serve the children there, Boni has sensed a clear calling from the Lord and has seen his fingerprints throughout her life to prepare and equip her for this exciting role.
Boni has served in Palimi-U in the Amazon region of Brazil, as well as in Guatemala, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Estonia and now Ukraine. Her experience includes providing medical care to the people in these countries, during outbreaks of violence, malaria and other challenging environments. She also served as a flight medic with the Army National Guard and received combat training. She has worked as a nurse for over 23 years, including in the Emergency Room and on Surgical and Neurosurgical floors, as well as serving in senior leadership roles within the National Healthcare Systems.
She has also had the privilege of serving in an orphanage in Guatemala. As someone who once carried the label "orphan", Boni finds deep joy in telling children about their perfect and loving Heavenly Father - one who knows them, sees them and has wonderful plans for their lives. We are so honored to have Boni as part of our team!
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Davonte Brunson serves as the Assistant Director of Mission 823. A 2020 high school graduate from Denver, Colorado, Davonte is passionate about mobilizing people and resources to bring hope, stability and the love of Christ to vulnerable communities affected by crisis.
His calling to serve at-risk children was shaped through several years of ministry at this home church, where he has faithfully served on the Worship Team and in both Youth and Young Adult Ministries. Years of discipleship and service in these areas have helped cultivate his heart for mission, leadership and pastoral care for the next generation.
Davonte's passion is deeply personal. At the age of 17, he became orphaned after the death of both of his parents. Through encountering the hope and healing found in Jesus Christ, what once was deep personal trauma became a driving purpose to walk alongside others who share similar pain. Today, he uses his story to encourage and minister to those facing loss, instability and hardship.
He will be attending the Summit School of Ministry in late 2026, to further grow in Biblical Leadership and Ministry Training as he continues pursuing God's call to serve the vulnerable children and families around the world. We are so excited to have Davonte on our team!