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WHO
WE ARE
Staff
Board of
Directors
Megan Brown
Co-Founder, Board President, & Executive Director
meganbrown@hopefoundnea.org
Currently serves as the co-founder, board president and executive director of Hope Found. She is a Jonesboro native who graduated from Arkansas State University and is a Licensed Social Worker. In 2009 while living in Nashville, she first learned about human trafficking and then began working for Free for Life International and interned with End Slavery TN. She returned to Jonesboro in 2011 and served as the NEA Area Representative for PATH (Partners Against Trafficking Humans) until 2015. Megan is a frequent speaker on human trafficking awareness and prevention to churches, schools, civic and non-profit groups in NE Arkansas. She continues to work with law enforcement, social service providers and other nonprofits to develop a strategic response to the human trafficking occurring in NEA. Her dream is to one day provide a safe house for survivors of human trafficking. Megan is married to Ralo Brown and they have 3 children, Jude, Ruby Rae, and Raleigh.
Kyleen Taylor
Survivor Advocate
kytaylor@hopefoundnea.org
Kyleen Taylor is the Survivor Advocate at Hope Found of NEA. She provides holistic services to survivors as well as engages in community outreach. As a graduate of Intercultural Studies from Southwest Baptist University, Kyleen enjoys helping people of all nationalities, religions, and backgrounds. She enjoys hiking with her husband, thrifting, and making pottery in her free time.
Meredith Cook
Board President
Meredith is Hope Found’s Board President. Meredith was born and raised in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. She graduated from Watson Chapel High School & attended college at Arkansas State University. Her husband Justin, who she met in college is a kindergarten teacher & owns an athletic & real estate photography business.Together, they have one child, Collins Grace, who is three years old. They spend most of their free time chasing Collins Grace, traveling, cheering on the Astate Red Wolves & going to the lake with family and friends. Meredith received her Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion in 2006, which launchedher career in healthcare. She worked 4 years for a local non-profit charitable foundation in marketing and recruitment. After that, she spent the majority of her time working 11 years for St. Bernards Healthcare as the Marketing Manager. 1 year ago, she joined the Ascension Healthcare team working remotely as a Specialist in Talent Attraction, where she has focused on content strategy for campaign execution & associate storytelling.
Billy McKenzie
Board Secretary
Billy is Hope Found’s board secretary. She is a Pro Bono coordinator with Legal Aid of Arkansas. She joined the board of Hope Found July of 2020. Her hope for the organization is to continue to get local and state recognition as they shed light on Human Trafficking. She also wants Hope Found to continue to focus on community
outreach and public education and awareness as they strive to be proactive and lead thecommunity in providing services to victims directly affected. She is married to Cody McKenzie and they have two daughters, Laura and Lucita.
Breanna Phillips
Board Treasurer
Breanna is lifelong native of Northeast Arkansas. She attended Arkansas State University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Finance. She has spent the last twelve years in finance/banking and currently works as a Commercial and Market Support Specialist at First Horizon Bank. She enjoys being a partner in growing businesses in Northeast Arkansas. Her career in banking has allowed her to serve in numerous charities and causes throughout the region. She is especially passionate about community service due to the influence of family and friends who have spent their lives in law enforcement, military, and public service. Breanna’s passion has led herto volunteer for CASA of the 2nd Judicial District and Hope Found, which provides a voice for victims of human trafficking. Breanna is inspired daily by God, her family, and friends. She enjoys being outdoors, playing tennis, and spending time with her dogs, Ali and Izzie.
Sarah Preston
Board Member
Sarah is a Jonesboro, AR native and works as a Marketing and Brand Coordinator at St. Bernards Healthcare. She has been with the company for two years and primarily focuses on the organization's overall brand, graphic design, and social media presence. Sarah holds a bachelor’s degree in strategic communication from Arkansas State University. When she's not working, Sarah enjoys spending time with her husband, Zac, and their dog, Luna. She is an avid gardener and often spends her time outdoors with her family or traveling any chance she gets.
Bridgette Cosey-Craig
Board Member
Bridgette Craig graduated from Arkansas State University with a bachelor’s degree in social work. Bridgette has worked in the mental health field for the last 24 years. She currently works for Methodist Behavioral Hospital as a Community Liaison for Northeast Arkansas. Bridgette says she loves serving others in need, she is passionate about her community, and this is her WHY for joining the Hope Found board and organization.
Paige Pickering
Board Member
Paige Pickering is the Marketing Director at Life Strategies Counseling. She has been there since November 2015. She is originally from Searcy, AR but moved to Jonesboro to pursue her social work degree. Paige has been married to her husband, Anthony, for five years, and they have a daughter, Finlee, and one more little girl on the way! They attend church at Southwest Church of Christ and have two fur babies. Paige enjoys the beach, concerts, football, and yummy restaurants and advocates for mental health in her personal and professional life.
Johnny Sweet
Board Member
Johnny is an NEA native and has been a licensed Property/Casualty, Life/Health agent for over 20 years. He recently joined the Pruitt Agency Inc team in February 2023. Johnny has been married for 22 years and has 3 boys. Their family enjoys spending time at the lake, floating on a river and being outdoors.
Board of
Directors
Advisory
Board
Sherrie Mitchell
Sherrie serves as an advisory board member. She is a Senior Casework Manager for Congressman Rick Crawford’s District Office. She hopes to see an improved relationship with area law enforcement so that each officer is aware of the resources Hope Found provides in the community. As a result, law enforcement will increase the number of victims they refer to Hope Found.
Natalie Gatlin
Natalie Gatlin is Hope Found’s board vice president. Natalie Gatlin, LMSW was a Stipend student and worked for the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) cumulatively for 6 years, serving as front-line staff and supervisor of front-line staff. Professionally she continues to work for the Title IV-E Academic Partnership in Public Child Welfare at ASU in which she has currently serviced 6 years as Field Trainer, Program Coordinator, and Interim Program Director. She received her bachelor’s degree in Social Work, master’s in social work and Certificate for Addiction Studies from ASU. She is currently working on a doctorate degree in Social Work. She has also worked as a school-based case manager and therapist and serves as a volunteer board member for Hope Found of NEA. She continues her passion for children and families, with a focus in substance use disorder, and supporting of those in recovery.
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Morgan Garner
Morgan is currently a freshman at Williams Baptist University where she is playing softball and obtaining a degree in Business Finance. She is very active member of the Fifth and Pine Church of Christ Youth Group, enjoys traveling, going to the lake, educating people on human trafficking, and spending time with family and friends. As the Miss Teen Arkansas International, she was able to take her platform, "Human Trafficking, People are not for Sale," to the national level!
Amanda Pulley
Amanda Pulley (Casey) has seven years of experience working in anti-trafficking. As a survivor of human trafficking herself, she began her career as an advocate for those still in the life. She quickly realized her passion for impacting lives. Her strategic insight into typical advocacy methods led her to build greatly improved Advocacy and Outreach programs for ten different organizations. Writing programs, building out policies and procedures, training staff and volunteers, and seeing clients sparked her interest in practical training. Eventually, Amanda's work ethic, insights, presentation skills, and curriculum writing ability led to her desire to train human trafficking advocates in her methodology - moving the academic knowledge into practical application.
Founding
Members
Audra King
Audra is one of the co-founders for Hope Found. She serves as an advisory board member. She and her husband have been married for 15 years and have two beautiful girls, Collins & Charlie. They own a local bakery in Jonesboro called Southern Confections. As an organization, she hopes Hope Found’s notoriety within the community continues to increase as a reliable organization regarding information about human trafficking and that they continue to make connections with other organizations that will help us better serve future victims.
Mary Sellers
Mary is one of the co-founders of Hope Found of NEA She is married to Chris Sellers and has five amazing daughters and four grand babies. She is the General Manager of HoneyBaked Ham here in Jonesboro. She wants to see Hope Found expand into surrounding communities and increase awareness and education in these areas.
Miranda Ballard
Miranda is one of the co-founders for Hope Found. She is married to Tanner Ballard and lives here in Jonesboro as a Mortgage Banker at Encore Bank. She hopes Hope Found can continue to grow into a bigger footprint to help educate more communities on human trafficking.