Our Leadership
CEO
Michael Phillips
CEO
Upon graduation from LSU in 2000, Michael started an IT consulting firm and within twelve months merged with another local firm to form Sparkhound, a Louisiana-based IT services company. As an owner/partner and COO, Michael helped Sparkhound achieve 250 percent growth between 2008 and 2012 and position the company among the most respected and fasting growing IT consulting firms in the country with more than 230 team members and nearly 30 million in annual revenues. ≫

Board of Directors
Dr. S. Bryan Hickox
Chairman of the Board

Manuel Calderon
Born and married in Puerto Rico, Manuel Calderon moved with his wife Yvina and his daughter Sofia to Wilson, NC to work as a Technology Lead for BB&T Bank in 2001. Since then Manuel has held leadership positions in the financial services and technology sectors as a Senior Consultant for Equifax, Delivery Manager for CMSI , Business Development Director for Sparkhound and Vice President of Professional Services for Cypress Software Systems. Manuel is currently the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for FlexManage.≫

SCOTT FARLEY
Scott works at a cybersecurity firm and is a graduate from the University of Alabama’s Collat School of Business with a M.S. in Management Information Systems and Cybersecurity Management this coming May.
Scott describes his faith journey as being like most prodigal sons. It is one filled with pain, suffering, and regret all allowed by God to show how much he need Him. Though saved at a young age, he came back to God in early 2017. He was already back in church as he had felt God pulling, but he had not yet surrendered. ≫

Jonathan Fife
Treasurer
Jonathan Fife has served in executive and founding roles in several technology companies over the past 19 years. He is an entrepreneur at heart and founded a very successful company, Energov, which specializes in the public sector space. Energov was acquired by a publicly traded company, Tyler Technologies, in 2012 where Jonathan serves as the Vice President of Development and leads a large development team in Duluth, GA. He has a knack for taking big ideas and turning them into real-world solutions that help customers use modern technology in new ways.≫

BRADLEY GARRETT
Bradley Garrett is an IT Manager with 25 years of experience in infrastructure technology. He has served in various technical and leadership roles in systems administration, IT architecture and IT management.
Bradley previously served on the NeedServ board. It is his desire to honor and advance the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. He has been blessed to develop a personal relationship with Jesus and wants to share that blessing with others that are in need so that they, too, can develop a relationship with Him, find their purpose in life, and find salvation. ≫

Annette Girman
VP of Community Relations
Annette has been married to her husband, Jeff, for 30 years. They have a son, a daughter, and two dogs: Sadie and Oliver.
Annette has a BA from Valparaiso University, is certified in Disaster Response from Harvard Humanities, and has extensive training in FEMA’s National Incident Management System.
Prior to co-founding NeedServ, Annette served as Executive Director of The Provisions Project, a nonprofit partner to government, non-government and faith-based organizations with a focus on training the local church to define their response efforts after a disaster strikes.≫

Erica Hanway
Board Secretary
Managing Editor
Erica is an entrepreneur, marketer, mother, wife, and Christian. Most of her career has been focused in the area of real estate and land marketing, then expanding her marketing consulting company to also serve a Christian counseling organization, leadership coach, writer, and private school, among others. She took on an early interest in the mission of The Jesus Alliance, supporting the ministry on a volunteer basis before becoming part of the core team as the managing editor while also helping with training and fundraising. In 2020, she was elected to the board and serves as secretary. ≫

DUSTIN SMITH
Dustin has spent the last 24 years in a variety of sales and sales leadership roles in the technology sector. He enjoys fishing, lifting weights, and volunteering his time managing a small non-profit, asherbringjoy.org, which is focused on helping those in extreme poverty in Colombia, South America.
Having served on ten mission trips, Dustin has had the privilege of leading hundreds of people in the prayer of salvation and has shared the Gospel with thousands more. During this time, Dustin has seen God perform miracles and says he has served with some of the most amazing people that he has ever met. He is humbled by his service in the Fields of the Lord. These experiences have created a hunger in Dustin to do more for God’s Kingdom. He is looking forward to using his experience and talents for the Jesus Alliance as we seek to do His will. ≫

Jeremy Starns
VP Operations & Technology
Jeremy is a business and technology innovator with a track record of building successful organizations that create value for shareholders, employees, and investors. He has been instrumental in developing the relationships and the systems that the Jesus Alliance uses to intake needs and connect church partners.
With over a decade of entrepreneurial effort, Jeremy has created a dozen businesses, raised millions in seed capital, and created double digit returns for investors. ≫

Ryan Williams
Ryan’s service mentality has allowed him to be successful in both the business world and in ministry. Ryan achieved success as a top 10 producing sales manager for a fortune 200 company prior to founding and serving as President of Workforce Benefit Solutions, a Louisiana based benefit broker and payroll service provider built to focus more on helping others than making a number. ≫

Michael Williamson
Michael is most recently CEO of IO Education (www.ioeducation.com). IO Education is a leading K-12 education technology company focused on improving student educational outcomes in school districts across the US. ≫

Counsel and Advisors
Bob Williamson
Jesus Alliance Founder

Ross Mason
HINRI Founder

Nancy Schulze
Advisor
Nancy Schulze’s national speaking career focuses on the worldview of the Founders, the unraveling of their vision, and the reclaiming and rebuilding of the “real” America on her founding principles and Constitutional roots. Speaking has taken Nancy to conferences, conventions, campaigns and events throughout the country and abroad.
In 2008, Nancy founded the Republican Congressional Wives Speakers, with seminars for the wives featuring top experts in the field of speaking, media training and content. In 2016 she organized and produced the “Women for Trump” bus tour which made 30 stops in the critical swing state of North Carolina & generated significant national press coverage. Eleven Congressional wives took part in the tour which, according to the Trump Campaign Co-Chairman, “put Trump over” in North Carolina. ≫
