OUR TEAM

Koinonia is thankful for the amazing staff, board officers, and board members that has made this organization sustainable for the past 20+ years! With them, we’ll continue to strengthen our programs, our reach, and truly make a lifelong impact on those we support.

Kristy DeBose

Kristy DeBose

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Read more
Kristy DuBose is a Johnson City native and has worked in the nonprofit community here in Knoxville for over a decade. Graduating from East Tennessee State University with a degree in Human Services, Kristy began her career at Girls Inc. JC/WC as a program staff member. Kristy moved to Knoxville and began working at Big Brother Big Sisters of East Tennessee on the program side and eventually moving to a fundraising position. She then became the Chief Development Officer for Wesley House Community Center where she was responsible for marketing and fundraising efforts for the $1.1 million budget. Kristy is a graduate of Goldman Sach’s 10,000 Small Businesses Program and a 2020 graduate of The Consortium for Social Enterprise Effectiveness through The University of Tennessee’s Haslam School of Business.

Martha Smith

ASSOCIATE PROGRAM COORDINATOR

Read more
Martha Smith joined the Koinonia Foundation in January 2023 as the Associate Program Coordinator. She earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the University of Tennessee in Special Education. Martha taught in a special education classroom for six years before leaving the classroom to start a family with her husband. She has one daughter and is expecting a second child in December 2023. She works closely with special education teachers through our Koinonia Classroom program. Her goal is to help provided teachers with meaningful lessons as well as reaching students to promote independence.

KFTN Team

Board Officers

Lindsay Willis

Chair

Read more

Lindsay Willis joined the Koinonia Foundation in 2013 and now serves as Board Chair. She currently works for LHP Capital as the Vice President of Human Resources where she is responsible for all HR related activities within the organization. She and her husband, Alan are the parents of two wonderful boys ages 15 and 13. Their youngest son (known at Camp K as the “life of the party”) has a rare genetic disorder known only as GPAA1. He is the reason Lindsay became passionate about an organization that supports children and young adults with disabilities. Lindsay hopes to use her expertise and personal experiences to help the Foundation grow and continue to be a resource for families.

JOE ORTIZ<br />

Joe Ortiz

Vice-Chair

Read more

Joseph "Joe" L. Ortiz is the CEO of Full Health Clarity, a startup with a mission to improve healthcare through innovative technology. Their primary aim is to harness a unique FDA-endorsed standard to collect and understand healthcare data, making it accessible and useful for patients and medical professionals alike.

A wealth of experience in technology and business marks Joe's professional journey. He began as a software engineer and has skillfully navigated his way through various roles in product development, marketing, sales, and operations. With a keen eye for identifying needs and delivering solutions, he's transformed ideas into tangible products that add value to the market.

In the past fifteen years, Joe's focus has shifted to improving healthcare through technology. He served as the Chief Innovation & Operations Officer for MedMatch Network Inc., a company dedicated to smoothing out the patient journey through the efficient use of technology.

As the first Chief Information Officer for Summit Strategic Solutions, Joe was tasked with creating and overseeing a new healthcare services firm's spinout and designing a leading-edge healthcare delivery digital platform. He was pivotal in upgrading and scaling the parent company’s IT digital infrastructure to support its growth and changing marketplace and regulatory requirements.

Earlier, he laid the foundation for 4D Imaging Systems Inc., a company aiming to use software to help doctors track changes in patient images over time. Their innovations found applications in diverse medical specialties like skincare, plastic surgery, and foot care.

Joe also brings to the table his rich experience from several technical and business leadership roles at globally renowned companies, including Philips Electronics, Motorola, and NCR.

On the academic front, Joe holds an MBA from Arizona State University, a master's degree in Computer Engineering from the University of South Carolina, and a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Georgia Tech. He also possesses relevant certifications that further emphasize his technical expertise.

Joe's dedication extends beyond his professional pursuits, as evidenced by his 15-year association with the Camp Koinonia Foundation. This charitable organization is committed to serving children with multiple disabilities, and Joe has contributed significantly as a board member, Chair, and Vice-Chair. Joe is also an Entrepreneur Mentor in the LaunchTN, BioTN Program.

Joe's inventive streak is reflected in his several patent applications, including those centered on organizing visual data and documenting and analyzing skin conditions.

With his deep-seated knowledge, extensive experience, and unrelenting passion, Joseph L. Ortiz is a dynamic force in digital healthcare business and innovation.

Kathy McGee

Secretary

Read more
Kathy McGee has a Master’s Degree in Forestry, and has worked for the last 32 years with Mary Kay. She was a Sales Director for 25 of those years, leading and training women to be entrepreneurs. She started a Parent Support group in January. They are meeting once per month on all sorts of topics of interest to parents with a Special Needs member in the family. She is married to Randy and has daughter Angie (24 yrs) and Jonathan (28 yrs). Jonathan has Down syndrome.

Carlene LeCompte

Treasurer

Read more
Carlene has a son, Matthew, who has been a camper at Camp Koinonia since he was 7 years old. She and her husband are early retirees who enjoy spending time at the lake, gardening and reading, as well as bringing more awareness of the camp to others to position it for the future. Matthew has always had a great camp experience and the LeComptes consider it a win, win, win for the camper, the UT students and the parents.

KFTN Team

Board Members

Mary Ann Smith

Volunteer

Read more
Mary Ann has been volunteering as a Registered Nurse at Camp Koinonia for the past 7 years. She is the mother of 5 and considers raising kind, productive children her most important job. Three of her children have worked a combined total of 14 years at Camp Koinonia. She also works on the St. Mary’s Mobile Outreach Medical Clinic, and actively participates on various boards within the local community.

Andrea White

President of Stokely Co.

Read more
Andrea is a single mother of two beautiful children and is President of The Stokely Company. Her career has taken her from Knoxville to Indianapolis and back to Knoxville. Since being in Knoxville The Stokely Company has had business interests ranging from land for development, hotels, restaurants, office buildings, farms, National Park concessionaire, recording studios – the full gamut. Andrea’s primary interests center on being an advocate for individuals with disabilities. She has served in a variety of roles including the following. Board and committees on which have served: Board of Directors – Knoxville Heritage: Member – UT Chancellor’s Associates: Commissioner – Farragut Municipal Planning Commission: Member – Farragut Land Use Planning Committee: Board of Directors – St. Mary’s Health System Foundation: Chair/Vice Chair, Board of Directors – Knoxville Chapter American Red Cross: Board of Directors – Friends of Literacy Co-Chair East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame 2006: Board of Directors – Knoxville Opera Company: Vice Chair Farragut/West Knox Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors: Board of Directors Girl Scouts of Tanasi Council, Inc.: Board of Directors – University of Tennessee Knoxville Alumni Association: She currently serve on/member of: Executive Women’s Association; (former President, VP and Treasurer): Founding Member Board of Directors – Koinonia Foundation TN (former Vice Chair): VP, Treasurer & Secretary – William B. Stokely, Jr. Foundation: Board of Directors – Joni and Friends, Knoxville: BOD Breakthrough Corporation (former Chair and Vice Chair): Knox County Board of Advisors – BB&T; Board of Directors East TN Children’s Hospital: Board of Trustees – King University: Board Member –Sertoma Center MyLife Foundation Board. Organization memberships: Member – Cokesbury United Methodist Church; Knoxville Bar Association – Corporate Counsel Section; Tennessee Bar Association: Awards and honors achieved: Leadership Knoxville Class 2004; Woman of Achievement – 2009 – Tanasi Council – Girl Scouts Educational background: Bachelor of Business Administration; Statistics – University of Mississippi MBA Finance-University of Tennessee Doctor of Jurisprudence-University of Tennessee Hobbies and leisure time interests: Tennis, hiking, skiing, my children Proud mother of two children and one granddaughter: • Nicole (33) is married to Troy Smith. They live in Jacksonville, FL (Troy is a Navy Pilot) – one child Skyler (almost 4 years old). • Jack (29) my special young man. Lives with Mom. Attends Day Program (M-F) at Breakthrough Corp.

Angela Hunter

Director of Our Place Art Organization

Read more
Ms. Angela Freeman-Hunter is employed by the Knox County School System working in the Special Education Department. Ms. Hunter’s passion to support and serve her community is because of her own personal experience with a 21 year old autistic son. In the early years her son was non-verbal and only communicated through his artwork. Inspired by her son, she founded Eyes of Faith, an art business and “Our Place”, an organization established to enhance the lives of individuals with disabilities through the arts.
Denise Douglas

Denise Douglas

Chad May

Chad May