Meet the AMEN Staff

His Grace Bishop NICHOLAS

Bishop of the Antiochian Diocese of Miami and the Southeast
Bishop Nicholas was born in Damascus, Syria, in January 1963 to an Antiochian Orthodox family. He attended the French Lycée Laïque elementary and middle school, and the Omia High School. For the first 18 years of his life, he attended the Antiochian Orthodox Patriarchal Cathedral of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary in Damascus. Bishop Nicholas worked for nearly 20 years as a Computer Engineer at several companies in the Electronics Design Automation industry, such as ViewLogic Systems and Synopsys Co. Bishop Nicholas was ordained to the Holy Diaconate by His Eminence Metropolitan Philip on April 23, 2004, and to the Holy Priesthood by His Grace Bishop Antoun on January 9, 2005. He was consecrated to the bishopric as the Bishop of Brooklyn on December 11, 2011.

Eric Beard, President
Eric Beard is a Sales Executive with 35 years of experience in the aerospace industry. He studied at Middle Tennessee State University and Belmont University in Nashville. A dedicated Orthodox Christian for 40 years, Eric currently serves as President of the SIOC AMEN Chapter and is a member of the Parish Council at St. Ignatius Orthodox Church in Franklin, TN. He has been happily married to Patty Beard for 29 years, and together they have raised four children.

Michael Pagani, Vice President
Michael Pagain has been licensed Doctor of Oriental Medicine for the past 25 year with specialties in Sport, Fertility, and Internal Medicine. He graduated from The Citadel in Charleston South Carolina and received his Master of Applied Theology from the Antiochian House of Studies in 2010. He was chrismated 16 year ago at St. Nicolas Orthodox Church St. Peterburg Florida. He has been married to Rebecca for 15 years and has two children, Isabella 13 and Michael 10. He lived in Tampa, Seattle, Detroit and now in Atlanta Georgia He now serves as a Sub-Deacon at the St. Elias Orthodox Church and as the President of the St. Elias AMEN group.

Jack Youngblood, Social Media Director
Jack Youngblood is a member of St. Ignatius Orthodox Church in Franklin, Tennessee, where he was baptized into the Orthodox Church in January 2026. He is a podcast and video production professional based in Franklin, Tennessee, with four years of experience in digital media and content production. Jack serves AMEN DOMSE through video production and media, including producing and managing content for the AMEN YouTube channel. He has a passion for creating Orthodox content and is thankful for the opportunity to learn from many of the faithful clergy and leaders who serve the Church. Jack is engaged to his fiancée, Julia, and they look forward to being married in October 2026.

Neal Pohl, Secretary
Neal Pohl and his wife Mary are members of St. Stephen Orthodox Church in Hiram, GA.  They have been married for 16 years and they have 4 children.  He is a middle school Sunday school teacher, choir member and President of his home parish’s AMEN chapter.  He graduated from Point University in 2005 with a degree in Biblical Studies, and then attended seminary for 3 semesters at Emanuel School of Religion.  He is the owner of Courtyard Pools, a pool maintenance and pool repair company, and he has 27 years of experience in the swimming pool industry.