Board of Directors

DAVIS ACKER

Davis was born and raised in upstate South Carolina and attended nearby Clemson University for my undergraduate studies.  After college, I taught high school literature in St. Louis as a part of the Teach For America program, where I met my wife who was also a TFA teacher.  After leaving the classroom in 2011, I moved all around the country for both work and graduate school.  As of 2017, my wife, two daughters, and I are now settled here in Nashville, where my wife is from originally.  I now work at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in population health analytics, and I look forward to being an engaged member of the Justice Industries board and the Nashville community as a whole.

Mark devries - founder

Mark is the founder and president of Ministry Architects, the co-founder of Ministry Incubators and the Center for Youth Ministry Training, and the founder of Justice Industries. Mark served as the Associate Pastor for Youth and Their Families at First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee for 28 years, where he continues to serve in a volunteer capacity.    

Mark is the author of a dozen or so books, including Sustainable Youth Ministry and Family-Based Youth Ministry, and the co-author of Sustainable Children’s Ministry and Sustainable Young Adult Ministry. Mark and his wife, Susan, co-authored a marriage book (with their good friends, Robert & Bobbie Wolgemuth) entitled The Most Important Year in a Woman’s Life/ The Most Important Year in a Man’s Life.

 Mark has offered ministry training and consulting across the United States and in more than a dozen countries, working with a wide variety of denominations (as well as non-denominations). He has taught courses or been a guest lecturer at more than 20 different colleges and seminaries, including Duke Divinity School (Durham, NC), Princeton Theological Seminary (Princeton, NJ), and Vanderbilt Divinity School (Nashville, TN).

Mark and Susan have been married since 1979 and make their home in Nashville, TN. They have three grown children: Adam, Debbie, and Leigh, and four grandchildren: Parish, Nealy, Liam, and Jack.

Michael Woodnorth - Board CHAIR

Michael Woodnorth joined the Board of Justice Industries in the summer of 2020 as an acting intern through The Young Leaders Council. Michael is an accomplished Strategy and Finance Professional with extensive experience in multiple industries including investment banking, healthcare corporate lending, wealth management, social enterprise/impact investing, and nonprofit management. He is a strategy-minded and results-oriented leader with the ability to develop valuable solutions for people and organizations that improve business operations and growth prospects. He served as the Strategic Growth Director for Project Return and brings great experience working in the challenging area of employment for marginalized people.

Brad Robers - BOARD MEMBER

Brad is a native Nashvillian, graduate of the University of Tennessee, and sales manager for United States Roller Works, Inc. He and his wife, Courtney Robers, and have three daughters. Brad brings a wealth of sales experience to the Justice Industries team and is looking forward to seeing the organization continue to grow and develop its mission to provide meaningful work to deserving employees.

Merry beth ward - Board Member

Merry Beth joins us as the Vice President of Marketing with Clover Health, and has spent over 20 years creating leads and supporting sales actions through multiple mediums and channels. Her strength in strategic planning as well as experience with multiple facets of advertising and marketing has been recognized multiple times within the healthcare industry. A true Nashville Native, Merry Beth loves trying all the new restaurants in town with family and friends and watching sports (Let’s go Titans and Predators!).

Beth Diveley - Board Member

Beth Diveley is a native Nashvillian. She received her B.A. from Rhodes College, and a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Tennessee College of Social Work. She is a licensed clinical social worker and maintains a private therapy practice. Beth also has extensive experience in community mental health administration. She is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Nashville. She is a board member and active participant in club service projects with the goal of strengthening our Nashville community. She is also an active member of her church. Beth has three adult children and two adorable grand babies.

Ryan Loofbourrow - Board Member

Ryan is a California transplant who moved to Nashville over a decade ago to attend Vanderbilt Law School. Ryan is a business litigation attorney at Baker Donelson, where he strategically solves clients’ problems both in and out of the courtroom. He joins Justice Industries after competing the Young Leaders Council nonprofit training program, and looks forward to helping Justice Industries serve its employees and the Nashville community.  

Jeramy freeman - Board Member

Jeramy is Chief of Staff for Bridgestone’s Mobility Solutions, a startup incubator within Bridgestone Corporation.  His professional background includes working for non-profit, startup, and FORTUNE Global 500 organizations in product management, pricing, marketing, and strategy leadership positions.  A firm believer that “to whom much is given, much is required”, he is passionate about Justice Industries’ mission because of the grace and dignity it provides its team members.  He earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from North Carolina State University.  He loves Jesus, his family, sports, traveling, and a good bourbon neat.

Lee oakley - Board Member

Lee Oakley is Founder and Owner of Oakely's Southern Delight, a family owned business that creates Pickelicious Sweet & Spicy snacking pickles using her mother's secret family recipe with a unique blend of spices. Lee is a Nashville native, a Harpeth Hall graduate, and proud alumni of The University of Tennessee. She is a member of First Presbyterian Church, Nashville and an active community volunteer. She and her husband have two grown children.

STEPHEN HANDY - BoarD Member

Stephen is the lead pastor visionary, strategist and partnership collaborator of the gospel message of Jesus Christ at McKendree UMC. He is a passionate communicator that desires to speak God’s truth so people of different cultures, experiences, neighborhoods, and all of God’s unique diversity can be reconciled through the unity in Jesus Christ. Stephen is a strong advocate of restorative justice, serving the poor and needy, and participating in life groups for spiritual formation and accountability. He and Shelley are married with three children and live in the Greater Nashville area. Stephen not only brings physical diversity to our Board, he also brings a diversity of perspective from his work at UMC for restorative justice. Ellen and Stephen met while working on a collaborative study team through Vanderbilt Divinity School, exploring the church’s role in income inequality.

carry ann fuller - BoarD Member

Carry Ann is a self-described Army brat with Southern tendencies. Straight Up 615 is her platform for writing about, promoting, and educating on the history, culture, process and people of whiskey. She is a Certified Specialist of Spirits, an Executive Bourbon Steward, and advocate of spirits education. Carry Ann believes in helping women to break traditional gender barriers in the spirits industry through visibility in press, mentoring, education, and service, and has been an enthusiastic advocate for Justice Industries. Prior to becoming a whiskey expert, she worked in non profit development and will be an invaluable resource and help as we work to expand our donor base.

ed brown - BoarD Member

Ed has been at Strategic Materials as the Plant Manager in Ashland City for over five years. Prior to that his most recent positions were as the Director of Operations at National Recovery Technologies and the Director of Engineering at Unarco Material Handling. Ed brings expertise, as well as influence, in the recycling industry. He has a passion for improving processes, reducing costs, developing employees and successful teams, and developing effective and realistic solutions to satisfy the customer.