Our Staff

President

Jim joined the staff of The Generosity Trust in January 2000 after many years in ministry service with Samaritan’s Purse and The Moody Bible Institute. He attends Calvary Chapel Northside in Hixson, where he serves on the board. He has volunteered as a baseball, softball, basketball and football coach, and has also been involved in missions outreaches in Romania, Bosnia, Croatia, Jamaica and Ecuador. He is a graduate of Cedarville College (now University), with a double major in Psychology and Behavioral Science. Jim and his wife, Tammy, who is the Assistant Principal for Academics (Middle School) at The McCallie School, have been married for 39 years, have two sons and a daughter, two daughters-in-law, and two beautiful granddaughters.

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Jennifer Sheffield headshot
Director of Finance & Accounting

Rhonda joined The Generosity Trust in March 2023, as Director of Finance and Accounting.  She is a native of Chattanooga and graduated from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she received a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Rhonda has 22 years of accounting experience, with 9 years focused on non-profit industry.  She is the proud parent of one son, Ashton, and they reside in Hixson.

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Director of Generosity & Donor Relations

Maria Kain Matthews joined The Generosity Trust in July 2018, as Director of Generosity and Donor Relations.  A native of Chattanooga, she has worked in the non-profit field for 35+years, including 29 years in various development and fund-raising roles with Girls Preparatory School, her alma mater. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where she received a B.S in Art History. In her free time she enjoys painting in various media, including oils and encaustic. She and her husband Dennis attend City Church of Chattanooga, where they serve as elders.

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Director of Donor Engagement

Josh Suddath joined The Generosity Trust in September 2023, as Director of Donor Engagement.

Originally from the Chattanooga area, Josh is a graduate of The McCallie School and Covenant College, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Business.  Josh has served in multiple capacities, ranging from financial planning with Blue Trust in Nashville to pastoring a church in Denver.  He and his wife Kristine are blessed with four boys, Jackson, Kaleb, Luke, and Micah.  Josh dabbles in writing poetry, likes watching college basketball, and loves playing golf, almost as much as golf loves playing Josh.

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Sarah Paone headshot
Assistant Director of Finance and Accounting

Sarah joined the TGT family in February, 2018.  She graduated from UTC in December, 2017, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance.  She, her husband, Scott, and their son, Elijah, attend Brainerd Baptist Church.

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Sarah Paone headshot
Grants Manager

Amy joined TGT in April 2024 as the Grants Manager. Born and raised in Florida, but she has now called Chattanooga home for 30 years. She attended Covenant College and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English.

She met her husband Joseph at Covenant, and they settled down in St. Elmo where they rehabbed a 100+ year old house which they have lived in and continued to improve for the past 20 years. They have 3 sons and 2 daughters. Amy was a stay-at-home mom for a long time, occasionally taking on work she could do remotely at home, but mostly driving kids around, volunteering at their schools, and cheering them on in their various sports and other extracurricular activities. She joined the workforce full time at Skuid, a software startup, where she served in various roles in her time there: Receptionist, Office Manager, and finally as a Corporate Accounting Coordinator. 

Amy and her husband are members at Restoration Southside. In her free time she enjoys watching the birds and other wildlife in her backyard, camping, traveling, hanging out with her family, playing games, trivia, and reading.

Gifts Manager

Cathy joined TGT in June 2023 as a staff accountant.

She graduated from University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with an accounting degree and MBA.

Started in accounting and shifted gears to her favorite role as a full time mom.  Served in various volunteer roles in preschool and children’s ministry at church and at her son’s school, Chattanooga Christian School.  During this time she completed her MACE at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and went on to serve in staff ministry roles at a couple of local churches.  The last several years she began shifting back to accounting in the non-profit field.

Cathy and her husband James are Chattanooga natives and have one son, Joseph, and a soon to be daughter in law.

They attend Calvary Chapel Chattanooga.

She loves giraffes, Sudoku, puzzles, and watching the birds with her cat and dog.

Emily Gorrell headshot
Office Manager

Marsha joined TGT Team in July 2022, bringing with her over 40 years of office management experience. She has worked with churches, ministries, and non-profits in metro-Atlanta, central Florida, and Chattanooga. Marsha gained valuable experience while working with another local foundation and was extremely excited to put her giftings to work at TGT. A Florida native, Marsha and her family have called Chattanooga home since 2003; she and her husband Dave recently moved back to Hixson from Possum Creek; while their grown son, Matt, lives in North Chattanooga. Spending time with family, playing with Kramer (The Wonder Dog), cooking, and reading fill her time when not at work. However, when fall rolls around her favorite pastime is college football – FSU – GO NOLES!

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Our Board

Bruce Zeiser headshot
Chair

Mr. Zeiser serves as Executive Vice President of Southern Champion Tray, L.P. As a third generation family-owned company, SCT has been manufacturing quality paperboard packaging products for over 85 years. Mr. Zeiser directs all the personnel-related areas of the company. A graduate of Tennessee Tech University, Mr. Zeiser has been with the family business virtually his entire life. He and his wife, Regina, are members of Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church, and are the proud parents of two children. Mr. Zeiser serves on several boards, including the board of Signal Mountain Christian School and The United Way of Greater Chattanooga.

Betsy Brown headshot
Vice Chair

Mrs. Brown is President of Pendleton Square Trust Company and also serves as a Director of the Trust Company. Prior to joining Pendleton Square, Betsy worked at Cumberland Trust and JPMorgan Private Bank serving affluent families throughout the Southeast. She was a Director in the Fixed Income Origination team within SunTrust Debt Capital Markets, where she gained considerable transaction experience. Betsy is a partner in The JumpFund, an angel investment fund dedicated to investing in female-led businesses in the Southeast. Betsy earned a BS in Business Administration and a BA in East Asian Studies from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. She also holds an MBA from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to her professional responsibilities, Betsy serves as a Trustee of Girls Preparatory School, her alma mater. Betsy is also a member of the Rotary Club of Chattanooga, the Estate Planning Council of Chattanooga, and the Endowment Committee for The Generosity Trust. Betsy lives on Signal Mountain with her husband and 3 active children.

Eric Youngblood headshot
Secretary

Rev. Eric Youngblood is the Senior Pastor of Rock Creek Fellowship (PCA) on Lookout Mountain. He serves as the Chairman of the Tennessee Valley Presbytery Mercy Committee while also overseeing the Lookout Mountain Mercy Fund. A graduate of the The McCallie School, he received a BS in Finance at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. After working at both a software and an insurance company in the 90’s, he completed his M.Div at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. Following seminary, during which he was grateful to be named a Dora Maclellan Brown Ministry Scholar, he was privileged to become the founding pastor at Rock Creek where he has served since 2001. He and his wife, Cathy, have two teenage sons and live on Lookout Mountain.

Tom headshot
Treasurer

Mrs. Welborn began her career as a CPA with Ernst & Young. After graduating from the University of Alabama School Of Law, she shifted her focus to the practice of business, real estate and estate planning law in the Tuscaloosa, AL area. After relocating to the Chattanooga area in 2000, she and her husband, Miller, began Foresight Holdings, LP, a family partnership where she manages real estate holdings and securities. She has served on a variety of boards in the Chattanooga area, including the AIM Center, Girls Preparatory School, and the Lula Lake Land Trust, and also serves on the Women’s Leadership Committee of Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church. She and Miller have three daughters and one son-in-law.

Gary headshot
John Gandy

Mr. Gandy is an investment management professional with over a decade of sales, trading, research, and risk management experience across several asset classes including foreign exchange, interest rates, commodities, equities, and credit.

In his current role as Director of Investment Strategy at Unum, John manages derivatives strategy and trading, assists with overall portfolio investment strategy, and leads macroeconomic research. Prior to joining Unum, John was a crude oil derivatives trader at Chevron in Houston, TX and a senior analyst on the foreign exchange desk at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey (now Truist) in Atlanta, GA.

John received a BSBA in Economics from the University of Florida. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and the Chartered Market Technician designation. John is a member of the Investment Committee at The Generosity Trust and previously led the Finance Team at Sojourn Community Church for three years. John and his wife, Jourdan, have two children (twins) and he enjoys golfing in his spare time.

Bart headshot
Reggie Madison

Mr. Madison is the Program Director for First Things First, a national non-profit based in Chattanooga whose mission is to strengthen families and relationships. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a Masters of Divinity. He and his wife, Erika are the proud parents of seven children. He serves as the youth Pastor at Greater Tucker Baptist Church.

Michael G. Mathis
Pinnacle Financial Partners
Executive Vice President
Chattanooga President
Michael G. Mathis is Executive Vice President and Chattanooga President for Pinnacle Financial Partners in Chattanooga Tennessee, a position he has held since 2022.
Michael graduated with a BA in Accounting from Furman University in 1991 and received his MBA in Finance from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1993.  Michael’s banking career began at Pioneer Bank in 1991, where he served in multiple rolls including Commercial Banker and Commercial Market Manager.  Michael joined Regions Bank in 2003 as Commercial Banking Market Manager and was named Regional Market Manager of the Year in 2006.  In 2007 Michael was elevated to the role of City President at Regions, a role he held until 2022.
Michael is active in the Chattanooga community having previously served as the 2018 United Way Campaign Chairman, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce and Chamber Foundation.  In addition, Michael currently or has previously served on numerous Boards, including the Board of Siskin Hospital, Chattanooga 2.0, Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau, Brainerd Baptist School, UTC Chancellor’s Roundtable, UTC Finance Advisory Board and the McCallie School Board of Trustee’s, Alumni and Athletic Councils.  Michael won the McCallie School Alumni Achievement Award in 2012 and was named Chattanooga Area Manager of the Year in 2020.
Michael is a native Chattanoogan and has been married to his wife Paige for 31 years.  Michael and Paige have two children, McCay and Jackson and they are members of Brainerd Baptist Church.
Bart Rolen headshot
Bart Rolen

Mr. Rolen serves as CEO of Southeastern Trust Company, an independent, boutique trust and investment firm headquartered in Chattanooga. He is a graduate of The University of Georgia (BBA) and The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (MBA). Bart is a member of First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga (PCA) where he serves as a deacon and Treasurer. He and his wife, Kate, have two girls.

Michael Tremain

Michael Tremain is a Partner at Sovereign’s Capital where he concentrates on investment sourcing and portfolio management with a focus on lower middle market opportunities. His career includes stints with TrinRock Capital, Andersen Consulting, the Walt Disney Company, Hard Rock Cafe International and he has led a number of privately held companies in the technology, wholesale distribution, oil & gas, healthcare, residential construction and commercial services sectors.

 

Michael earned his BS in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his MS in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics.  He and his wife, Kristin, and four children live in Lookout Mountain, Georgia and attend Rock Creek Fellowship. Michael is a member of C-12 Group and the CEO Forum and also serves on the board of directors of the New Canaan Society.

David Worland
The Knoble
Executive Director

David is the Executive Director of The Knoble, a non-profit dedicated to the fight against human trafficking, child sexual exploitation, elder financial abuse, and other forms of exploitation that leave individuals vulnerable and at risk.  Prior to joining The Knoble, he served in Governor Bill Lee’s office as the Executive Director of Faith Based and Community Initiatives for Tennessee.  He’s also served with Leadership Ministries Worldwide, The National Christian Foundation, and was the very first Executive Director of the Chattanooga Christian Community Foundation (now TGT).  David graduated from High Point University with a B.A. in Non-Profit Administration, and earned an M.A. in Leadership and Public Service from Lipscomb University.  David and his wife, Sally, have four children and 11 grandchildren, and proudly operate Camp Hidden Hollow every summer.

GET IN TOUCH

345 Frazier Ave., Unit 205
Chattanooga, TN 37405

423.266.5257

info@thegenerositytrust.org

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