Our Staff & Board
Our Staff
Administrative
Tabitha Damron, Chief Executive Officer
Tabitha, a native of Blount County, has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Maryville College, a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Tennessee, and has received a certificate of completion from the Consortium for Social Enterprise Effectiveness Certification program through the Haslam College of Business. As the Executive Director of New Hope, she oversees operations and programs implemented at New Hope and works to ensure quality services and access for children in the community.
Tabitha has been with New Hope for over a decade. She began as Clinical Director, working with sexually abused children and has received extensive training in the area of sexual abuse and trauma. Tabitha has provided individual counseling and has worked with parents on how to understand and cope with their child’s behaviors.
Tabitha is a member of the Child Protective Investigative Team and provides consultation on cases reviewed by the team and also coordinates the Child Protective Investigative Management Team, working in collaboration with leaders from other Child Protective Agencies. She also represents New Hope on the Sexual Assault Review Team and Child Fatality Review.
Contact Tabitha at tdamron@blountkids.org
Danielle Reggio, Director of Finance & Administration
Danielle grew up in Maryville, TN, earning her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies at Maryville College. She began with New Hope in 2016, bringing with her a longtime passion for assisting the less fortunate and giving back to the community.
Outside of her work at New Hope, Danielle enjoys volunteering for several local nonprofits such as Smoky Mountain Raptor Center and Keep Blount Beautiful. She serves diligently as Dental Assistant and Secretary on the Board of Directors at Trinity Dental Clinic and sits on the planning committee for Blount County’s Chili Cook-Off which helps provide care for retired K9 officers.
During her free time, Danielle can be found watering her plants, caring for her cats, and birdwatching.
Contact Danielle at dreggio@blountkids.org
Ashley Fontenot, Marketing & Development Director
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 event planning and marketing – bringing people together and advocating for a good brand.
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 also volunteers as Donor Relations Assistant for global non-profit organization, Women in Apologetics.
Ashley is excited to be a part of the New Hope team and to help advance the mission of restoring hope to the children of Blount County.
Contact Ashley at afontenot@blountkids.org
Katelyn Witucki, Marketing & Events Coordinator
Katelyn, a native of Seymour, TN, began her journey in Blount County after graduating from Maryville College with a double major in marketing and design. She transitioned from her previous position on the Blackberry Farm events team to pursue a career with New Hope.
This position will allow her to make visions become realities. She is eager to use her God-given abilities for a cause that gives children a voice and works to provide a safe place for healing. She is also looking forward to promoting this message of hope to the community through relationships and social media.
Contact Katelyn at kwitucki@blountkids.org
Direct Services
Challye Nunn, Director of Forensic Interview Services & CPIT Coordinator
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
Makayla Turbyfill, Forensic Interviewer
Makayla is from Bristol, Virginia and recently moved to Maryville after getting married in 2020. Makayla received her Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, minoring in Psychology at King University. Following that, she received her Master’s degree in Human Services Counseling at Liberty University.
Before coming to New Hope, Makayla worked in various capacities with the United States Attorney’s Office giving her experience in the criminal justice system. In her spare time, she has enjoyed coaching middle and high school sports and helping in childcare.
Makayla loves the Blount County community and is excited for the opportunity to help give the children in Blount County a voice.
Contact Makayla at mturbyfill@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, 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.
Haley Fletcher, M.A, Therapist
Haley is a graduate of Liberty University where she received her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and is currently under supervision working toward her LPC-MHSP licensure. Haley recently worked at Kids First CAC before moving to New Hope and enjoys working with children and adolescents. She is trained in Sand Tray Therapy, TF-CBT, and EMDR and is working toward training in SMART. She is thrilled to be a part of the New Hope team and feels honored to continue to provide hope and healing to the children of Blount County!
Contact Haley at hfletcher@blountkids.org.
Chelsea Kolinsky, MSW, Therapist
Chelsea grew up in Sacramento, California and went to school at California State University where she received her Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology. She moved to Knoxville, TN in 2016 to go to school at University of Tennessee where she received a Masters of Social Work.
Chelsea has five years of experience working in child welfare where she helped children and families heal from the impacts of child abuse. She is so excited to be a part of the New Hope team and continue to bring healing to children in Blount County!
Contact Chelsea at ckolinsky@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, Child & Family 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
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.
Board of Directors
Allen Rathbone, President
Lindsey Plyler, Vice President
Jimmy Morgan, Treasurer
Katie Beeler
Jaina Castro
Vallie Collins
Julie Elder
Debbie Jarvis
Melanie LaFollette
Angie Luckie
Penny McIntosh
Todd McNitt
Amanda Myers
Dr. Keri Prigmore
Jeremy Waldroop