Richard Castillo is the new vice president of Integrated Marketing and Communications at Washington Adventist University. Photo from Washington Adventist University
On Feb. 1, 2019, Washington Adventist University (WAU) officially welcomed Richard Castillo as the new vice president of Integrated Marketing and Communications.
“I believe that Richard Castillo brings communication and marketing skills that will help integrate our departments and schools on campus,” said Weymouth Spence, president. “His experience will set us on the right trajectory to the 2030 Vision.”
Before answering the call to full-time ministry as a media pastor at Sligo Church, and also previously as the communication director at the Oklahoma Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Castillo gathered and honed his media knowledge in the corporate and private sectors. Clear Channel Radio (now iHeartRadio) was his training ground for almost a decade, where he expanded his knowledge of public relations, marketing, promotions, sales, large event planning, and web management.
Castillo managed a design and photography business for many years in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, helping companies and individuals expand their reach through branding and imaging. Castillo has extensive experience as a graphic designer, media production specialist, and a drone pilot.
In March 2015, Castillo brought his skills, experience, and love for ministry to Sligo Seventh-day Adventist Church as pastor for media and outreach. During the past four years, he has designed multiple websites, updated Sligo Church’s branding, and expanded its social media reach. He has led the Sligo media team to expand and improve its streaming broadcast, and has also developed an innovative, weekly outreach ministry called “Reset.”
“Washington Adventist University welcomes Richard Castillo’s passion to expand the reach and to spread the message of this institution’s high academic standards and excellence for the Glory of God,” said the university’s administration team.
Mark Sigue is vice president of Ministry at Washington Adventist University. Photo from Washington Adventist University
This February, WAU also announced that Mark Binondo Sigue would officially serve as vice president of Ministry. Since 2017, Sigue has served as the director for Gateway Ministries in the Office of Campus Ministries at WAU, and was acting vice president of Ministry before accepting the position officially.
Sigue previously worked for the University of Maryland Medical Systems in Baltimore, Maryland, where he served as an instructor for Clinical Informatics in OpTime, Surgeon Provider, and Anesthesia.
Born and raised in the Philippines, Sigue grew up at the Adventist University of the Philippines in Silang, Cavite. He and his family migrated to the U.S. in 1995, and he began his college education at Southern Adventist University before transferring to Andrews University, where he completed his Bachelor of Arts in Religion. Sigue also holds a Master of Arts in Religion with an emphasis in Leadership and Administration from Washington Adventist University,
On his way to serve as a full-time missionary to the Kellyville Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sydney, Australia, in 2000, Sigue visited the Philippines, where he met and fell in love with the former Marifel Resuena Kemink. They were married in March of the following year.
Sigue started ministry work at the General Conference in Silver Spring, Maryland. He worked there for five years before following God’s calling in ministry as the associate pastor of Sligo Church until 2010. He has also served as the district pastor in the Virginia Beach/Tidewater area and as a youth and young adult pastor at Frederick Seventh-day Church in Maryland until 2016.
“To me, there is nothing more honorable and fulfilling than being allowed to come alongside a young person and see the Lord work in their lives over time,” said Sigue. “WAU was founded on its mission to be the institution of service and as the new vice president of Ministry, the mission of service begins with me. It is then my prayer that as a result of my commitment, you, too, will have the passion to serve others as representatives of Jesus.”
Sigue’s wife, Marifel, currently works as a laboratory clinician for Kaiser Permanente’s regional lab in Rockville, Maryland. The couple’s son, Marco, is a third grader at Beltsville Adventist School. They are members of the Sligo Seventh-day Adventist Church.