East Nashville Hope Exchange Board of Directors 
as of January 2019

Cole D. Rogers, Esq (President): Cole Rogers is an associate attorney with Bednarz & Bednarz. His practice focuses primarily on complex plaintiff litigation in the fields of medical malpractice and product liability. He is very active within the Tennessee Bar Association and serves as the Nashville District Representative for the Young Lawyers Division. 

Emily Joy Allison-Hearn (Secretary): Emily Joy Allison-Hearn is a poet, activist, and public speaker who travels the country performing and speaking at schools, churches, conferences, and festivals. Her work has been featured on websites such as Time, The Huffington Post, Teen Vogue, and more. Emily is also a yoga teacher (RYT 200) and teaches at the Nashville YMCAs and other gyms. She and her spouse Billy have been married for three years and live in East Nashville. 

Katherine Murrie (Treasurer): Katherine Murrie is a Treasury Management Officer with Regions Financial Corporation, where she has worked since 2004. She has served on the boards of both Nashville Cable and Nashville Association for Financial Professionals for several years. Katherine is a member of the Lipscomb University Athletic Hall of Fame, having won the NAIA National Championship Title in Golf in 2000. 

​Kathleen V. Hoover-Dempsey, Ph.D.: Kathy Hoover-Dempsey is Professor Emerita, Psychology & Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University. Her research program has focused primarily on family engagement in children's and adolescents' education and its influence in supporting students’ school learning and success.

Woods Drinkwater: Woods Drinkwater is an attorney with Nelson Mullins in its Nashville office. His practice involves commercial litigation and bankruptcy matters. Woods attended Loyola University New Orleans for his undergraduate degree and, after working in the music business for several years, attended law school at the University of Mississippi. He lives in East Nashville with his wife and daughter. 

Robyn Maxwell: Robyn Maxwell is the Director of Internal Communications at Asurion where she is responsible for employee and executive communications. She had previously worked for a corporate and crisis communication consulting firm in New York City before moving to Nashville. Robyn spends her time exploring Nashville’s new restaurants, attending concerts, biking, playing tennis and hiking. ​

Lakesha Moore, M.Ed.: Lakesha Moore is the Art Education Coordinator and an Assistant Professor at Tennessee State University, where her courses include Art Appreciation, Painting, and Figure Drawing. She is the Coordinator of Volunteer Student Teachers at FH Jenkins Preparatory School in Nashville. She has exhibited extensively in solo and group exhibitions and created murals for Warner Elementary and Monroe Harding.

Jeremy Norden-Paul: Jeremy Norden-Paul is the State Director of Employment and Day Services with the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Jeremy was a Special Education teacher in Grades K-3 through Teach for America, and later served as Director of School and District Partnerships for the organization in Nashville. He volunteers as a Bilingual Tax Preparer, serving low-income Spanish-speaking taxpayers.

Emily Pendergrass, Ph.D: Emily Pendergrass is the Director of the Reading Education Specialist Program in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Vanderbilt University, where she holds a rank of senior lecturer. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications and she has presented extensively in the academic field. Emily is co-creator and moderator of the Twitter #literacies chat and is the faculty sponsor of Patterson RAPS Read and Play Saturdays at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College.

Brittany Simpson, J.D.: Brittany Simpson is an associate at the law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz. Her practice focuses primarily on business litigation, financial institution and entertainment law matters. 

Joseph Taylor, M.D.: Joseph Taylor is a physician who has practiced Family Medicine and Geriatrics in Hendersonville, Tennessee, for over 30 years. He is married to his partner of 27 years, Barry Baird; they have 3 adult children. He has been a member at St Ann's for over 25 years and has been active in supporting ENHE since its inception. His hobbies include bridge, travel, and hiking.

Allen Walker: Allen Walker is a Systems Engineer/Operations Lead with HealthTrust / HCA. He has worked extensively in the fields of Network and Application Systems Engineering, with experience in infrastructure design and technical project management and training.

Jennifer Weinberg: Jennifer Weinberg has 15 years of experience in operations and revenue management with Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Loews Hotels and STR. Currently, she is a realtor with MW Real Estate and owns and operates BNB Maximize.  

Annie Youngblood: Annie Youngblood is a market analyst for global payments technology company Comdata. She has extensive experience managing business intelligence and promoting business development. Annie is a strong technical and creative writer, having previously worked as a reporter on economic and general interest content and as a staff writer for the Congressional Quarterly.

Kira Austin-Young: The Reverend Austin-Young is the interim rector of St. Ann's Episcopal Church. She has lived in Nashville since 2008 and received a Masters of Divinity degree from Vanderbilt Divinity School. Previously, she served as the priest-in-charge at Episcopal Church of the Epiphany and completed a chaplaincy residency at Vanderbilt 
Children's Hospital. She is also a published author and a contributor to the Ministry Matters website. ​

Josiah Reid (Non-Voting Board Intern): Josiah Reid is a partner at the law firm of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP.  His practice focuses primarily on commercial real estate finance, acquisition, development and leasing.  Josiah is involved in the Nashville Bar Association, is an alumnus of Young Leaders Council and the Nashville Bar Foundation Leadership Forum and is a member of the Nashville Metro Council Board of Ethical Conduct.  Josiah lives with his wife and two children in Inglewood.