Leadership
We’re a small team of bridge builders — inviting others to join us in learning, leading, and loving across cultures with truth and grace.
Will Plonk is the Executive Director of the CQ Initiative and the lead and founding pastor of Grace City Church in North Charleston. For over seven years, Grace City has endured tremendous adversity while growing into an intentionally multi-ethnic church, rooted in a high view of Scripture and a commitment to multi-cultural living. Will is also a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), a globally recognized tool for intercultural growth. He has consulted with leaders, counseling centers, nonprofits, and faith-based institutions, helping them navigate cultural, racial, ethnic, personality, and economic differences with wisdom and courage. His driving passion is to raise the cultural quotient of Christians and organizations alike—equipping them to see, honor, and engage the beauty of God’s diverse world through honest assessment, biblical and practical training, and transformative strategy.
Will’s passion for this work is deeply personal. As a bi-racial, transracial adoptee raised between worlds, he has spent his life navigating the tensions of identity, belonging, and cultural misunderstanding. His adoptive and biological families span African American, white, Asian, and Hispanic communities—giving him a front-row seat to both the beauty and the brokenness of cultural difference. These overlapping stories have shaped in him a deep empathy for people who don’t fit neatly into one box and a conviction that every culture reflects something of God’s image. Now as a husband and father of four, Will is committed to building the kind of spiritual and cultural home he longed for growing up—one where identity is honored, stories are welcomed, and people flourish across lines of difference.
Will Plonk
CQ Executive Director
Charnise Mangle is an extraordinary social studies teacher, certified literacy teacher and coach. She has a Bachelors of Science undergraduate degree from Clemson University and Master’s of Arts from Furman University.
Along with serving on several boards, Charnise opens her classroom to all people who want to begin a journey of self-education. In 2020 she released an ebook entitled, Understanding Race and Racism: A Collection of Resources on Race in the United States of America for Self-Exploration. As an African-American United States history teacher and active community member, she has seen a void in education as it pertains to discussion on American racism and uses her influence to address it.
Charnise Mangle
Board Member & CQ Consultant
McKenna Birtchfield serves as the Community Engagement Coordinator at Grace City Church and is a qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). With both heart and expertise, she has coached and guided many on their journey toward cultural competency, helping them move beyond theory into lived transformation.
At Grace City, she has cultivated a Ministry of Presence in the Chicora‑Cherokee area—walking alongside families, building trust, and serving neighbors in under-resourced communities. Her outreach focuses on holistic support for low-income residents, empowering them through care, consistency, and compassionate action. Her passion remains unwavering: to bridge divides, honor every story, and reflect a Kingdom where every culture is seen, served, and valued.
McKenna Birchfield
CQ Consultant
Will Krause is a seasoned general manager at Boosterthon and a lay pastor who has spent the last seven years intentionally growing in cultural competency. His commitment goes far beyond theory—Will has consistently paid the real cost of cross-cultural growth, allowing it to reshape his leadership, his relationships, and the way he shepherds people. As a leader in a multi-ethnic church, he brings a lived understanding of what it means to build communities where diverse stories and voices are honored. His posture—curious, humble, and deeply teachable—has made him a trusted bridge-builder in both ministry and the marketplace.
Will Krause
Board Member
Letita “Teda” Duckett, a Licensed Professional Counselor, brings rich experience shaped in multi-ethnic churches, multicultural leadership spaces, and diverse counseling settings. As a therapist, teacher, and consultant, she is known for wisdom that crosses cultural lines with clarity and compassion, helping individuals and communities pursue healing, truth, and culturally grounded discipleship.
Rooted in the belief that God heals holistically—mind, body, culture, and spirit—Teda helps people navigate the tension between modern pressures and the cultural values that shape identity. Blending evidence-based practices with biblical wisdom, she equips leaders, churches, and teams to flourish across differences
Teda Duckett
Board Member
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Whether you’re a pastor, teacher, nonprofit leader, or simply seeking to grow in cultural intelligence, we’d love to connect.
