TFH LEADERSHIP
National
JASON COKER
President
Rev. Dr. K. Jason Coker grew up in the grinding poverty of the Mississippi Delta as a third-generation native. His lived experience in poverty grounds his work as the President of Together for Hope, where he has fought persistent rural poverty in the United States for the last decade. After completing his M.A. from Yale University and his Ph.D. from Drew University, he lived in Connecticut for nearly 20 years, where he connected the resources in the Northeast to the needs of his home region. Determined to make more of an impact, he returned to his home state.
NATALIE AHO
Chief Development Officer
Natalie Aho (she/her) is a development strategist with deep rural roots and proven fundraising results. As Together for Hope's Chief Development Officer, she brings 25+ years of experience securing over $5.25 million in grant funding and achieving a 150% increase in donor engagement.
Most recently, Natalie served as director of development for the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists. She previously directed multiple Lilly Endowment initiatives at Wake Forest University School of Divinity, including an asset-based community development program serving North Carolina clergy.
Natalie's 20+ years living and working in rural communities, combined with her ability to build bridges across theological and geographic differences, position her to advance Together for Hope's mission. She holds master's and bachelor's degrees from Quinnipiac University and Baylor University. Natalie and her husband, Rev. Dr. Chris Aho, live in Durham, North Carolina, with their two sons.
Appalachia
KEITH STILLWELL
Vice President for Appalachia
Dr. Keith Stillwell is the Together for Hope Regional Vice President for Appalachia, residing in Danville, Kentucky. While serving with Lexington Avenue Baptist Church in Danville, Kentucky, Keith was actively involved with Together for Hope from its beginning, leading Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Kentucky’s Mountain Hope Task Force working in Owsley County, McCreary County, and the community of Nada in Powell County. Lexington Avenue Baptist Church developed a partnership/friendship with the Nada Community, which they maintained for 15 years.
Since beginning his work with TFH, Keith has completed two Appalachian Studies courses with the University of Kentucky–Introduction to Appalachian Studies and Global Appalachia. He earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from The Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, Virginia, a Master of Divinity Degree from The Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, and a Bachelor of Science Degree from Eastern Kentucky University, with a minor in Sociology.
KRISTY BAY
Director of Programs and Partnerships, Appalachia
Rev. Dr. Kristy Bay grew up outside Chicago, IL, and moved to Nashville, TN, to attend Belmont University for her undergraduate studies. There, she earned two Bachelor's degrees: one in Music and one in French. While in college, she stumbled upon her love for student ministry and began exploring her calling as a minister, preacher, writer, and musician. In 2011, Dr. Bay completed her Master of Divinity degree in Academic Research from Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology. Her master’s thesis studied the moral formation of youth, with a specific emphasis on competing narrative worldviews. This is also where she met her husband, Zach, who is also a pastor.
While working full-time in higher education, Dr. Bay also served a local church in Southeastern Kentucky as a volunteer youth minister and part-time music minister. In 2023, she successfully completed her Doctorate in Higher Education, focusing on rural college students and the anxiety produced by technology addiction.
Dr. Bay has worked with or volunteered for nonprofit organizations throughout her career and has a heart for serving others. Her passions and skills all come together in her love of asset-based community development work. She has helped design and implement a STEAM day camp for rising Pre-K through 8th grade, a youth leadership summit for rural rising juniors and seniors, and co-directed an Appalachian Immersion Program (a faith-based service-learning experience designed to dismantle stereotypes about the Appalachian region). Dr. Bay loves empowering and equipping rural communities to grow holistically by helping them explore the intersections of life, culture, geography, spirituality, and other community-based assets.
Her passion for music, leadership, and creativity has also played a key part in her career. Dr. Bay has worked with numerous churches in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, and West Virginia as a preacher, student minister, retreat leader, devotion writer, worship leader/musician, and pastoral caregiver. In addition, Dr. Bay has been a freelance writer for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Global, has written curriculum for various congregations, devotions for Smyth and Helwys, and has been published in the book This is What a Preacher Looks Like.
Recently, Dr. Bay’s husband Zach was called as the new Senior Pastor at Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, and the Bay family relocated to Huntington, WV! Dr. Bay is looking forward to putting down roots in the Huntington community and connecting coalition members to the important work of Together for Hope!
Black Belt
RACHEL GUNTER SHAPARD
Regional Vice President for the Black Belt
Rachel Gunter Shapard is the Regional Vice President for Together for Hope, Black Belt. She is also a co-founder of Pastors for Florida Children, a public education advocacy group in the Sunshine State that was formed in 2019. Previously, she served as the Associate Coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida from June 2012 - March 2020; as an Eldercare Advocate at Baptist Health in Jacksonville, FL from 2009-2012; as a Hospice Chaplain for VistaCare Hospice in Lubbock, TX from 2006-2009; as Associate Pastor of Discipleship and Outreach at FBC Gainesville, GA from 2000 - 2006; and as an Admissions Counselor at McAfee School of Theology from 1998 - 2000.
KATIE FLETCHER
Alabama State Manager for the Black Belt
Katie Fletcher is the Alabama State Manager for the Black Belt. She is currently working to support Together for Hope, Black Belt by recruiting potential partners, managing existing partners, and implementing systems and structures. Katie also serves as the Director of City Ministry at her local church. She received her Bachelor’s in Social Work from Mississippi College and her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Alabama. Katie is currently a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW). In 2019, Katie served with Together for Hope in an intern role with the Delta Region. She also has previous experience in working in mental and spiritual health with children and families in both the school and church settings. She is passionate about seeing communities thrive through holistic and strengths-based approaches. Katie considers it a privilege to work alongside incredible individuals and communities for the flourishing of the Black Belt region.
Delta
BREANA PATTERSON
Director of Program & Partnerships, Delta Region
Breana Patterson is the Director of Programs & Partnerships for Together for Hope’s Delta Region. A lifelong Arkansawyer raised on a small family farm, Breana brings over fifteen years of experience in education and nonprofit organizations and holds a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in nonprofit management. She considers it an honor and a calling to walk alongside community organizations, bolster their capacity for place-based leadership, and uplift local strengths through collaborative partnerships across the Delta. Her work is guided by a deep love and respect for the folks who call rural places home, a passion for seeing them thrive and prosper, and the conviction that lasting change grows best when it is locally led.
Tribal Nations-Texas-Four Corners (TNT4C)
CORY PEACOCK
Four Corners Regional Manager
Cory Peacock (Ph.D., New York University) is the Four Corners Regional Manager for Together For Hope. He has worked vocationally and avocationally in nonprofit spaces for more than twenty years. He has previously taught at the graduate and undergraduate levels, and worked in K-12 education for the past decade. He also currently serves as the Executive Pastor of Harbor Church in downtown Phoenix, AZ. He has three kids whom he adores. He also enjoys supporting his wife, Rev. Dr. Amy Jacober, in her ministry habit.
Advisors/Consultants
HAROLD TESSENDORF
Senior Advisor on Housing and Social Enterprise
Harold Tessendorf serves as the Senior Advisor on Housing and Social Enterprise at Together for Hope.
Harold is a seasoned housing and social enterprise professional with a Master of Arts in Political Science (Conflict Resolution) from Nelson Mandela University in South Africa and, a Masters of Science in International Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University in the USA. When he is not busy advising Together for Hope and its members, he can be found teaching undergraduate and graduate students at the Stetson-Hatcher School of Business at Mercer University in Macon, GA. Here he teaches courses in Social Business, Ethical Leadership, Organizational Behavior, and Management and also leads teams of students to work with social enterprises in South Africa.
Harold Tessendorf has mediated and facilitated enduring outcomes since 1989. A native of South Africa, he is an experienced executive-level leader, negotiator and mediator with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit and social enterprise sectors in South Africa, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Haiti and the USA. This includes two decades leading Habitat for Humanity affiliates in Georgia and well as serving on the boards of established and start-up nonprofits, including a credit union.
Harold acquired extensive negotiation, mediation, and facilitation experience during South Africa’s democratic transition from apartheid to democracy during the late-1980s through mid-1990s. In addition to his graduate studies in conflict management and community economic development, Harold has been trained by the Harvard Negotiating Project and Mennonite conflict management experts. His three decades of working experience have equipped him with skills in Nonprofit and Faith-based Management, Housing Finance, Board Governance, Strategic Planning, Community Economic Development, Micro-finance, Volunteer Management, Team Building, and Fundraising.
