MEET OUR BOARD

The East Tennessee Foundation is managed by a volunteer board of directors who are very knowledgeable about their communities and broadly representative of the East Tennessee region.



2026 Officers

Chair: Barrett Simonis, President, Pugh CPAs

Vice Chair: Diondre Jackson, Founder, Penultimate Development

Treasurer: Nathaniel Shelso, Relationship Manager, Private Banking, FirstBank

Ex-Officio: Keith Barber, East Tennessee Foundation, President & CEO

Ex-Officio: Angelia Nystrom, East Tennessee Foundation, Vice President of Advancement & Chief Legal Counsel & Board Secretary

2026 Board of Directors

Jerry Bodie, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of White Realty & Service Corporation

Lauren Bowman, Manager, Cherokee Distributing Company

Claudia Byrd, Executive Director, Bristol Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities

Bob Cantler, President and CEO of the Chamber serving Johnson City, Jonesborough, and Washington County

Amy Cathey, Associate Dean for Graduate and Executive Education, Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Wade Creswell, Roane County Executive

Richard Dapaah, Head of Business and Corporate Development, SPARKZ Inc.

Mark Freeman, President, Clayton Family Office

Bryan Goldberg, General Manager, BELFOR Property Restoration

Harry Gross, East Tennessee Market President, Truist Bank 

Susanna Hoskins, Marketing Specialist, HES Facilities Management

Trudy Hughes, CEO, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts

Mark Kinser, retired Executive Vice President, General Shale

Greg Perdue, Market President, First Horizon Bank

Matt Schaefer, President and CEO, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital

Jennifer Sepaniak, President, The Bill Kitt Trust Company

Kiran Singh Sirah, Storyteller/Peacebuilder/Narrative Change/Arts and Culture Leader

Karen Walker, Chief Financial Officer, The Trust Company of Tennessee

Chris Whaley, President, Roane State Community College

Susie Whitener, Marketing Specialist, The Whitener Company

Paul Willson, Executive in Residence at the Goodfriend School of Business at Tennessee Wesleyan University

James Frank Wilson, retired Attorney, Wilson and Brooks

Honorary Lifetime Members

  • Bobbie Y. Congleton*
  • Sam Fowler, Jr., Esq.*
  • Natalie L. Haslam, Community Volunteer*
  • A. David Martin, Retired Founder, Martin & Company
  • Col. William M. Slayden*
  • David V. White, Community Volunteer
  • Stuart R. Worden, Worden, Rechenbach & Brooke
  • Lindsay Young, Esq.*

*Deceased

PAST BoaRD ChaIRS

1986                            David V. White
1987 – 1988             Natalie L. Haslam*
1989 – 1990             John R. Cooper
1991 – 1992              Bobbie Y. Congleton*
1993                             Gregg K. Jones
1994 – 1995              Larry D. Mauldin
1996 – 1997              A. David Martin
1998 – 1999              Joan D. Allen
2000 – 2002             Lloyd L. Montgomery, III
2003                              James A. Begalla*
2004                             Ann H. Hansen
2005                              J. Daniel Pressley
2006 – 2007             Mark K. Williams
2008 – 2009             Larry B. Martin
2010                              Peyton T. Hairston, Jr.*
2011                               Jenny L. Hines
2012 – 2013               Dr. Alice Mercer
2014                              Gen. Fred D. Womack
2015                              Keith D. Goodwin
2016                              Dr. Jeffrey M. Becker
2017 – 2018                Paul G. Willson
2019 – 2020               Amy Cathey
2021                               Cate Biggs
2022 – 2024               Bruce Hartmann
2025                              Karen Walker