Research & Evaluation Team
David Trim, PhD
Director of the Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research
David Trim was born in Bombay, India, to missionary parents and spent his childhood in Sydney, Australia. Educated in Australia and England, he earned a BA in history from Newbold College and PhD in history from King’s College in London. Trim was on the faculty of Newbold College for a decade, and held the Walter C. Utt Chair in History at Pacific Union College. He has also held visiting fellowships at the Huntington Library, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. In 2003 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. A prolific author, Trim has edited or co-edited ten books, and his other publications include over 150 articles and chapters in scholarly journals, popular magazines, and books. He has served as Director of the Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research since 2010.
Safary Wa-Mbaleka, PhD
Research and Evaluation Manager
Safary Wa-Mbaleka joined ASTR as the Research and Evaluation Manager in February 2024. Before this position, he served many years as a faculty and later as an administrator in various public and private institutions of higher learning, including but not limited to Northern Arizona University, University of Central Florida, Bethel University, Antillean Adventist University (Puerto Rico), Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (Philippines), and Adventist University of Africa (Kenya). His expertise is in qualitative research, higher education, and online education. He is a prolific scholarly writer. He is married to Gimylin Wa-Mbaleka, currently serving in the GC Treasury. Together, they have two adult children: a son (JB) and a daughter (Lisa)—both university students.
Gianina-Estera Petre, PhD
Research Assistant
Gianina-Estera Petre holds a Ph.D. in Education from the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies in the Philippines. She previously served as an Associate Professor at Adventus University in Romania, where she was Director of the Research Center in Education, Director of the Teaching Staff Training Department, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Educational Studies. She also coordinated the Adventus International Conference and founded the AHSRA-Europe chapter. She is married to Adrian Petre, who currently serves at the General Conference as an Associate Director of the Ellen G. White Estate.
