East Nashville Hope Exchange Board of Directors 
as of January 2018

Brittany Simpson, J.D. (President): 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.

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. 

Kevin Bradley, CPA (Treasurer): Kevin Bradley is the Assistant Director of Accounting for the State of Tennessee Treasury Department. He is responsible for the accounting and financial support for over a dozen State programs and the Statewide ACH function. Before joining the Treasury Department, he worked for a public accounting firm and has experience in tax, audit, and accounting services.

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.

Ann Krafft: Ann Krafft has been the Human Resources Director for a local manufacturing company for 20 years. She also established the Underground Art Studio at the Oasis Center, which improves the lives of at risk populations. Her volunteerism also includes the Park Center.

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.

Katherine Murrie: 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.

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.

Cole D. Rogers, Esq: 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.

Kira Schlesinger: The Reverend Kira Schlesinger 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.

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.

Kevin Wisniewski: Kevin Wisniewski is an executive producer at WTVF/NewsChannel 5 and is a graduate of the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. He has previously worked at the Boston Herald and WFXT in Boston, and has been honored with numerous national journalism awards for his work. Kevin is a resident of East Nashville and also serves as a board member of the Lockeland Springs Neighborhood Association.

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.

Woods Drinkwater (Non-Voting Board Intern):
Woods Drinkwater is an attorney currently serving as a law clerk to 
the Hon. Joe P. Binkley, Jr. in Nashville. He attended Loyola University New Orleans for undergrad and, after working in the music business for a number of years, attended law school at Ole Miss. He loves exploring Nashville’s growing culinary and brewing communities, as well as catching as many concerts as he can. He has lived in East Nashville since 2015. 

Brittany Lutz (JLN/Non-Voting Board Member): Brittany Lutz is a Producer at StudioNow, which provides video production for marketers. She previously worked for nearly ten years with MTV Networks. She is an active member of the Junior League of Nashville.

Robyn Nentwig (Non-Voting Board Intern):
Robyn Nentwig is the Director of Internal Communications at Change
Healthcare 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.