Our Staff

Administrative

Ashley Fontenot, Chief Executive Officer

Ashley grew up in Maryville, TN, earning her B.S. in Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Her passion has always been bringing people together and advocating for a good brand and worthy cause.

Before coming to New Hope in 2021, Ashley worked with Chick-fil-A for 12 years in various marketing and public relations roles, helping to open new restaurants across the country by leading opening week events and ensuring positive first impressions within new communities. She now brings her love of people to New Hope and looks forward to working alongside a wonderful staff, board, and community for the worthiest of causes – the kiddos.

Ashley is married to her husband Johnathon and enjoys spending time with family, reading, going to the beach, and eating good food.

Contact Ashley at afontenot@blountkids.org

Haley Tallent, Director of Finance & Administration

Haley grew up in Monroe County, TN. Before coming to New Hope, she worked in various roles in banking for the past twelve years including financial center manager.

Haley serves on the praise team and in the nursery at her church. She enjoys her days with her husband Matt, their two children, and their Golden Retriever. Haley can be found reading her Kindle or planning her next trip to Disney. 

Haley is thankful for the opportunity to use what knowledge she has acquired through banking to better serve the children and families impacted by abuse in Blount County. She is excited to be a part of such a wonderful organization and has found an incredible purpose here at New Hope.

Contact Haley at htallent@blountkids.org

Anna Ferrell, Marketing & Events Director

Anna grew up in Edinboro, PA. She earned her B.S. in Business Administration with a focus in Marketing from Coastal Carolina University. Her passion has always been to help children in some capacity. She loves being able to use marketing as a tool to raise brand awareness and truly make an impact.

Before coming to New Hope, she worked with a startup company that trained other roofing companies on how to be successful in all aspects of their business. She was able to train them on social media, networking, and event planning. She led a team of five professionals that were able to grow awareness of their services while also serving their clients. Before moving to TN, she was actively involved at the Boys and Girls Club and SOS Care. She was able to provide her time there while also getting her team together to raise over $12,000 for three organizations in six months.

She is very excited to be part of an organization that truly is making an impact daily in kids’ and families’ lives. She cannot wait to grow her roots here in Maryville and work alongside the community and the staff here to grow even more awareness of what New Hope does and gain more advocates.

Contact Anna at aferrell@blountkids.org

Becky Rials, Prevention Coordinator

Becky was born and raised in York, PA, and graduated from York College with a BS in Health Records Administration then becoming a Registered Health Information Administrator. Becky and her husband, Tim, moved from San Francisco, CA to Pineville, LA and then to Maryville in 2001.  Becky served on the New Hope board for 8 years with 2 of them as president and 2 of them as past president. After coming off the board, Becky chose to stay with New Hope as a front desk volunteer. Becky and Tim have one daughter, Hannah.

Now, as the Prevention Coordinator for New Hope, she strives to educate, along with her team of facilitators,  Blount County adults on how to prevent, recognize and respond appropriately to child sexual abuse. In 2019, she helped Blount County reach our tipping point by training 5% of our population in how to recognize and prevent child sexual abuse. Becky also networks with local organizations and community members that could benefit from this Stewards of Children training program.

Contact Becky at brials@blountkids.org for more information on how to obtain this free training.

Direct Services

Challye Nunn, Director of Forensic Interview Services

Challye, a Maryville native, received a Bachelor of Science in Human Services from East Tennessee State University in 2014. After graduation, Challye moved to the Nashville area where she worked with children and youth through a community mental health agency outside of Nashville. Challye moved back to Maryville in 2017 and began her journey at New Hope as a Child and Family Advocate. She dedicated her time to engaging with families, connecting them to needed resources, and working side-by-side with co-workers and other partner agencies to best serve the needs of this very important population in Blount County. Now Challye serves as a Forensic Interviewer and CPIT Coordinator while also being a resource for our Advocacy program.  

Challye is cross-trained in the ChildFirst and NCA protocols and utilizes both to conduct neutral, fact-finding, developmentally-sensitive, legally-defensible forensic interviews with children in a child-friendly setting. Challye currently divides her time between forensic interviewing and CPIT Coordination.

As the Child Protective Investigative Team (CPIT) Coordinator, Challye works with the Multi-Disciplinary Team of Blount County to establish and maintain relationships with community partners, ensure every client receives services that are aligned with their individual needs, tracks cases seen at New Hope from initial referral to the prosecution outcome, and actively participates in all aspects of the Investigative Team.

Contact Challye at cnunn@blountkids.org

Lindsay Preskenis, LCSW, Clinical Director

Lindsay grew up in Knoxville, received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Criminal Justice from East Tennessee State University and a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Tennessee. She comes to New Hope with extensive experience working with youth in various settings as well as program development.  

Following graduation, Lindsay moved to Alabama where she was employed with Indian Rivers Behavioral Health from 2012 to 2018. She held multiple positions starting as the Juvenile Court Liaison, School-Based Mental Health Therapist, and finally the Children’s Services Coordinator.  In 2018, she moved back to Knoxville where she began work with Safe Harbor CAC. In March 2021, she became the Clinical Director at Blount County Children’s Advocacy Center.   

Lindsay is licensed by the state of Tennessee as a Clinical Social Worker and received training in Trauma Focused – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Integrative Attachment Trauma Protocol for Children (IATP-C), Trauma Play, Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment (SMART), and Sand Tray Therapy.  

Contact Lindsay at lpreskenis@blountkids.org

Lisa Klein, LPC-MHSP(t), NCC, Clinical Therapist

Lisa lived the first 15 years of her life moving around the country with her family, finally settling in East Tennessee. She graduated from Farragut High School, played volleyball and softball at Tusculum College during her bachelor’s studies, and received her master’s degree in Community Agency Counseling from ETSU in 1998. After graduating, she spent some time in Georgia and North Carolina working in various capacities – serving adults with developmental disabilities, intensive in-home treatment counseling, and spent five years advocating for animals at the Athens Area Humane Society.

Lisa returns to the East Tennessee area to serve children and their families as a therapist. She is very excited to help people find much needed resources and services so they can live their very best lives. 

Contact Lisa at lklein@blountkids.org

Chelsea Temple, LMSW, Clinical Therapist

Chelsea received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Tennessee and completed the Trauma Treatment Graduate Certificate program. Chelsea worked in child welfare for four years before transitioning to a clinical role in the community mental health setting where she worked alongside children and families who were experiencing a behavioral or mental health crisis.

Chelsea is excited to be part of New Hope to continue working with children and adolescents as they process their past and present life experiences. Chelsea is a firm believer that every person possesses the strength and ability to reach their own version of success, and thoroughly enjoys it when she is allowed to be part of this process! 

Contact Chelsea at ctemple@blountkids.org

KeLeigh Engle, M.S., Clinical Therapist

KeLeigh grew up in Johnson City, TN, and received her Bachelor of Psychology at East Tennessee State University. KeLeigh relocated to Knoxville to attend Carson-Newman University, where she received her Master of Clinical Mental Health Counseling. KeLeigh is currently under supervision working toward her LPC-MHSP licensure.

KeLeigh worked at Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center as a clinical intern during school, where she utilized trauma informed care with children. She also has experience working with adolescents and their families in a residential setting, aiding in treatment for self-harm, suicidality, psychosis, substance use, and behavioral issues. KeLeigh is trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and takes pride in participating in continuing education to stay up to date on treatment modalities so her clients receive the best possible care.

KeLeigh is excited to be a part of the New Hope team and eager to be a part of helping children process their trauma and find hope and healing through therapy.

Contact KeLeigh at kengle@blountkids.org.

Madeline Redd, Child & Family Advocate

Madeline was born and raised in Maryville, Tennessee. She graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a BS in Child and Family Studies and a minor in theatre.

Growing up in theatre, Madeline has experience in stage managing and directing children’s theatre in the Maryville Area. Madeline has always loved working with children and hopes she can use her knowledge of child development and personal life experiences to help the children and families in her community.

Contact Madeline at mredd@blountkids.org

Celina Sikes, Forensic Interviewer & Advocate

Celina was born and raised in Maryville, Tennessee. She received her bachelor’s degree in Child and Family Studies from the Department of Health, Education and Professional Studies at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Celina has several years of experience working with children in childcare settings. She hopes to use both her education and life experience to connect with the families and children who come through the doors of New Hope.

As a child and family advocate at New Hope, Celina’s role is to help support and guide the children and their caregivers through the interviewing prosses while also providing resources and references for any needs they may have. Celina is excited to help bring hope and healing to the children of Blount County and help spread awareness to the mission of New Hope.  

Contact Celina at csikes@blountkids.org

Hannah Bush, Forensic Interviewer & Advocate

Hannah grew up in Knoxville, TN, earning her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work at King University. After graduation, Hannah was employed at YWCA where she began working with women and their children who experienced domestic violence. After her time at YWCA, Hannah went to Amachi where she served youth impacted by incarceration and other barriers by providing them with a mentor out in the community. Hannah is excited to be a part of New Hope and continue the mission of restoring hope and healing to the children in Blount County.

Contact Hannah at hbush@blountkids.org

Ashley Anderle, Forensic Interviewer & Advocate

Ashley graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies in 2014. She has been trained in the Semi-Structured Narrative Process through CACTX and has completed over 1,300 interviews with children who have been abused, neglected, or have witnessed a crime.

Though majority of her work is in Children’s Advocacy Centers as a Forensic Interviewer, Ashley has worked with the school district in Texas to provide mental health services to children and teenagers in crisis. Having recently moved to Knoxville, Ashley is excited to be a part of the New Hope team and be back to helping children on their path to healing and justice! 

Contact Ashley at aanderle@blountkids.org

Amanda Holt, Child & Family Advocate

Amanda grew up in Collierville, TN, and moved to East TN to earn her B.S. in Health and Human Sciences with a focus in Child and Family Studies from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Her lifelong passion for supporting and healing children has driven her to work with them in various roles since her teenage years. Before joining New Hope, Amanda served as a Child Life Activity Coordinator at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. She also works as a Behavioral Change Health Coach at DENSO Manufacturing. 

Amanda loves traveling and staying active, whether it’s walking with friends, hiking in the Smoky Mountains, painting, crafting, re-watching Friends, or driving through Foothills Parkway with her fiancé. She is deeply committed to the impactful work New Hope does for children and families and is excited to settle in Maryville to advocate alongside a compassionate team.

Contact Amanda at aholt@blountkids.org

2024 Board of Directors

Lindsey Plyler, President

Dr. Keri Prigmore, Vice President

Todd McNitt, Treasurer

Amanda Myers, Secretary

Allen Rathbone, Past President

Katie Beeler

Gary Best

Vallie Collins

Donnelle Curran

Whitney Davis

Michelle Scott

Julie Elder

Julie Garner

Debbie Jarvis

Angie Luckie

Penny McIntosh

Sarah Merrell

Juliet Wilcoxen