Meet Our COF Team
As Fiduciaries, We Put Your Needs and Goals First!

Dr. Martin E. Lee, D.MIN.
Executive Director and Chief Investment Strategist


Dr. Lee was appointed Executive Director and Chief Investment Strategist effective May 1, 2016. Martin's adventure in bi-vocational ministry started with his first Call out of the Seminary in August 1997, to Trinity Lutheran Church, Montclair, California. In this ministry context (cradled into Pomona, California) Martin learned about the scarcity many churches and church workers face. He learned to see God's hand in all things and developed an appreciation for measurable and meaningful stewardship in frontline ministries.
In 1999, Martin became a UBS PaineWebber Financial Advisor in Riverside, California. Prior to his service at Church Organizers Foundation, Martin was a branch manager at LPL Financial, the largest independent broker dealer in the United States at that time (based on assets under management). Martin has been an investment advisor for 24 years and a securities principal for 21 years. Martin has focused on understanding the financial and economic needs within the nonprofit community. (See publication in Lutheran Mission Matters.) He has a wealth of knowledge and experience providing economic and financial solutions to the unique challenges in the nonprofit community; specifically, in employee compensation plans, employee retirement plans, asset gathering (and fundraising), endowment management, and foundation building. He has had direct fiduciary oversight of $50 million in endowment and private client investments on platforms at UBS PaineWebber, LPL Financial, and Charles Schwab-TD Ameritrade.
Concurrently, Dr. Lee has served the Council of Presidents of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) as a Transitional Specialist since 2010 and in pastoral ministry for 25 years. Martin has extensive experience in practical theology, parish administration, congregational stewardship, and church finance, having served eleven congregations in five Districts of the LCMS. He holds a Doctorate in congregational stewardship, a Master of Divinity, and a Bachelor of Arts in communications and classical languages. He was a Commissioned Officer in the United States Navy and 1997 graduate of the United States Navy Chaplain School, Newport, Rhode Island.
Martin has served on several missions: Malawi, Beijing, Manilla, and with LAMP. He enjoys running with his family members and has completed many marathons. He ran the Boston Marathon in 2021 at the age of 51 with a qualifying time of 3:13.
Martin's Curriculum Vitae and CRD: 4024387 (sec.gov).

