Leslie Dougherty
Activity Coordinator
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Leslie and her husband Anthony are proud parents of seven wonderful children and have been dedicated homeschoolers since 2015. Their faith is a cornerstone of their daily lives, and they actively participate in their community as members of First Baptist Church in Sevierville. Since joining BHEA in 2020, they have cherished being part of a nurturing and supportive homeschool family network. Deeply involved in 4-H, they love spending quality time together—whether exploring the great outdoors, discovering new places, cooking, or making everyday moments special. The family especially treasures their life near the mountains, grateful for the beauty and inspiration it brings. Leslie feels honored to serve on the BHEA board and is passionate about encouraging and uplifting fellow homeschooling families on their unique journeys.

The Activity Coordinator is the heart of BHEA’s community events, responsible for planning and overseeing a variety of activities that bring families together. This role includes managing the yearly calendar of events, supporting volunteer teams for key activities like holiday parties, kindergarten graduation, spelling bees, and elementary field trips. The coordinator communicates with event leaders to offer guidance and resources, assists with event publicity alongside the Communications Coordinator, recruits volunteers, and ensures all events reflect BHEA’s mission and values.

Dana Rose
Communications Coordinator
[email protected]
[email protected]

Dana and her husband, Josh, have been part of the BHEA family since 2017. They began homeschooling their two children in 2015. BHEA quickly became more than just a support group; it became a true community rooted in shared values, encouragement, and faith.

Dana joined the communications team in 2019 and now serves as the coordinator, helping connect members and share the heart of what makes BHEA so special. For the Rose family, homeschooling is about more than academics—it's about growing together in faith, character, and curiosity. They enjoy reading widely, hiking and camping, and gathering around the table for family board games.

BHEA has been a blessing to their family, providing friendships, support, and opportunities to serve. Dana is grateful to give back to a community that continues to pour into their lives in meaningful ways. The Rose family are active members at Maryville First United Methodist Church, where their faith continues to shape their lives and homeschooling journey.

The Communications Coordinator plays a key role in keeping BHEA’s members informed, connected, and engaged. They oversee all internal communications and serve as a central hub for sharing news, announcements, and other important information across the co-op.

This role involves managing and updating the website’s content, sending out organization-wide emails, and creating and approving announcements for BHEA’s Facebook groups. The Communications Coordinator maintains a consistent voice, tone, and branding across all platforms and assists members and team leaders in effectively promoting events and initiatives.

Other responsibilities include developing a communication workflow in collaboration with coordinators, designing graphics and visual content for email, social media, and the website, and helping to produce the annual BHEA Yearbook. The Communications Coordinator also maintains and publishes the Handbook each year, assists in training team members, and oversees related tasks such as event reminders and email blasts. Additionally, this role involves contacting and working with the website host to resolve technical issues and ensuring members stay informed about registration dates, events, volunteer opportunities, and other key information.

Jennifer Thompson
Enrichment Team Coordinator
[email protected] 

Jennifer has been a part of BHEA since 2015 and joined the Enrichment Team in 2021. She and her husband live in Maryville and are the proud parents of five children—two grown and three still homeschooling. The younger three have been homeschooled from the very beginning, starting in kindergarten.

Jennifer has a deep love for serving within the Enrichment Program and is grateful to be part of BHEA’s vibrant homeschool community. Before beginning her homeschooling journey, she studied computer science at ETSU. When she's not teaching or reading with her children, Jennifer enjoys sewing, gardening, and exploring the outdoors through hiking.

The Enrichment Team Coordinator is essential for maintaining the excellence and integrity of BHEA’s weekly Enrichment program—one of our most treasured offerings. This role encompasses a wide range of responsibilities to support families, volunteers, and teachers, ensuring smooth operations each Monday:

• Plan and manage logistics of two 12-week semesters of Enrichment sessions for Pre?K through 12th grade, including session scheduling and classroom assignments

• Support class-day volunteers and teachers, providing them with necessary supplies, classroom setup guidance, and on-site assistance

• Coordinate setup and cleanup, ensure each classroom and shared space are prepared and stocked for every Enrichment day

• Communicate expectations clearly to families and volunteers, including drop-off policies (such as requiring parental presence for children under 16) and mandatory “Gear Up” meetings

• Manage administrative details like class rosters, room assignments, and scheduling changes, keeping everything organized and accessible.

• Respond to questions or concerns during Enrichment days, serving as the primary contact for real-time issues and troubleshooting.

• Collaborate with Communications and Membership Coordinators to promote sessions, publicize deadlines, and provide timely updates to participants

• Maintain supply closets, ensuring resources are available for all sessions.

This role combines operational oversight, hands-on support, and proactive communication to ensure Enrichment Days run smoothly, safely, and successfully. It’s a leadership position that fosters community and supports the educational enrichment of our members.

Jessica Fall
High School Events Coordinator
[email protected] 

Jessica and her husband, James, have two teenage sons. They have been BHEA members since 2019 when they began homeschooling, and she has also instructed enrichment classes. With a degree in Business Administration, her professional background includes banking, project management and coaching. She currently serves in a part-time capacity as the Dean of Admissions for a professional life and leadership training institute, and is a professionally-certified coach herself.

Fueled by a deep passion for helping others grow in their spiritual life, Jessica has many years of ministry leadership experience with both students and adults. She enjoys leading teams, planning events and connecting people. Jessica and James are southern-California transplants who relocated to Sevierville in 2009. The Falls are active members of City Church in Knoxville, and love traveling, reading, games, musical theatre and spending time with family and friends.  

The High School Events Coordinator plays a vital role in nurturing community, connection, and growth among BHEA’s 9th–12th grade students. Working closely with the student council and other volunteers, this role is responsible for planning, organizing, and overseeing a variety of events tailored to high schoolers, ensuring a balance of fun, service, and meaningful engagement.

In this role, the coordinator organizes a monthly calendar of events—ranging from dances like the Fall Formal and Spring Socials to group hikes, game nights, and community service projects such as volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, Second Harvest Food Bank, and the Blount County Animal Shelter. Ensuring smooth execution includes selecting venues or coordinating event logistics, booking any needed facilities (like Maryville College’s ropes course), and arranging event schedules and transportation details.

The coordinator also mentors and supports student leadership by collaborating with the student council on event concepts, budgeting, promotion, and management. This includes recruiting and training volunteers, communicating event expectations and guidelines to students and parents, and ensuring adequate supervision and student safety at all activities.

Maintaining strong communication is another key responsibility—issuing timely announcements via email and the High School Facebook Group, providing clear information about event requirements (such as dress code or sign-up instructions), and working with the Communications Coordinator as needed. Collaboration with the Academic Advancement Coordinator may also be involved when events tie into academic recognition or awards.

Ultimately, the High School Events Coordinator fosters community through a rich blend of social, service, and leadership opportunities that support the spiritual, personal, and relational growth of BHEA’s older students.

Katie Smith
Membership Coordinator
[email protected]
[email protected]

Katie Smith has been homeschooling since 2008 and a member of BHEA since 2018. She has 4 children with 3 graduated and one still homeschooling in high school. Katie enjoys crafting, spending time with her family and pets, helping with her daughter’s Girl Scout troop, and supporting her daughter at Tristar Rowing.

The Membership Coordinator plays a key role in helping new and returning families feel valued, supported, and connected within BHEA. This person guides members through the registration process, answers questions from prospective and new members, and makes sure all required forms and fees are complete.

Some responsibilities include managing memberships and renewals, verifying that members have met all requirements, and maintaining accurate, up-to-date, and confidential membership records. The Membership Coordinator also assists in onboarding new families by communicating policies, procedures, and benefits of membership and addressing any issues or questions that arise.

This role collaborates closely with the Communications and Enrichment teams to provide a warm, welcoming experience for all members and to connect them with resources and opportunities within the BHEA community. The Membership Coordinator plays a crucial part in strengthening BHEA’s ability to serve homeschooling families effectively and efficiently.

Megan Slover

Middle School Events Coordinator
[email protected]

Megan and her family have been a part of BHEA since moving back to the Knoxville area in 2019. She and her husband Dave have been homeschooling their 3 children (Maddux, Maclyn, and Miller) since the oldest started Kindergarten 9 years ago. In her time with BHEA, she has taught and assisted classes, led field trips, and helped with various activities and get togethers. Megan loves both coaching and watching her children play sports, gardening, horses, houseplants, reading, camping, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and spending time with her family.
Megan is excited to serve on the board and looking forward to planning activities and events for our middle school students in the coming years!

The Middle School Events Coordinator plays a key role in helping 6th–8th grade students stay connected, form friendships, and find their place within the BHEA community during a time of significant change and growth.

This person is responsible for planning and organizing a range of age-appropriate events — from socials and game nights to service projects and group outings — that foster fellowship, fun, and a sense of belonging. The Middle School Events Coordinator recruits and supports volunteers or chaperones to help events run smoothly and safely, collaborates with other coordinators to avoid scheduling conflicts, and provides structure and supervision guidelines to keep all participants comfortable and well-cared-for.

Ultimately, this role focuses on strengthening friendships and community ties during a key transitional period for students, helping them navigate their middle school years with confidence and connection.

Nikki Turnmire
Ministry Coordinator
[email protected]

Nikki and her husband Samuel started their family’s homeschool journey in 2014 with their daughter, Della Ro, as a 4th grader. That first year at-home litmus test proved positive for their homeschool venture, and after what they considered a successful start, they brought their other daughter, Eliza, into it beginning with her 1st grade year in 2015. This is when BHEA became a beacon of hope and a source of friendships and learning ever since! Nikki and her girls have participated and enjoyed many years of BHEA’s member activities such as field trips, park days, member picnics, holiday parties, Mom’s Night Out events, dances, Spring formals, and clubs such as American Heritage Girls for a time. The best part of membership participation has been their involvement of Enrichment program days. Nikki has been a part of the Enrichment program since 2016 starting with serving at the Welcome Table where she realized how special BHEA was to the homeschool community, and how her service to others just felt right after being involved with other Moms just like her!

Nikki has been a Christian since childhood and was baptized at 8 years old. She has always had a heart for service to others where community service projects held center stage during her high school days as a leader in the JrROTC program at William Blount HS. The Lord continued to call her into various seasons of ministry in adulthood from serving at-risk inner city children with Emerald Youth Foundation for 8 1/2 years, and after she and Samuel started their family, she began serving the leadership of her church by watching their children while they worked. The most recent service that has just come to its end this year, has been to her own family by being a caregiver for both her parents in her home for over 14 years and then outside her home for 2 more.

Nikki is excited to begin her next service journey with BHEA as she has stepped into the role of Ministry Coordinator. She can’t wait to meet those in BHEA membership that she hasn’t yet had to opportunity to introduce herself, find out how best to pray and minister to the BHEA families and those in the community who want to know more about homeschooling, and plan fun events for all the BHEA Moms to grow in relationship and friendships this year and in the ones to come!

The Ministry Coordinator plays a key role in fostering a Christ-centered culture within BHEA, helping members connect their faith with service, encouragement, and community care.

This person is responsible for organizing and guiding initiatives that bring a spiritual dimension to BHEA’s events and programs — from coordinating prayer support and sharing devotionals at meetings to identifying service opportunities and organizing community care initiatives, like meal trains or bereavement support for families in need.

The Ministry Coordinator collaborates with other coordinators to help weave ministry components into a range of BHEA activities and traditions, strengthening unity and compassion across the community. By emphasizing service, encouragement, and shared faith, this role helps BHEA become a place where families grow together in both education and character.

Natalie Abercrombie
Treasurer of the Board of Directors
[email protected]

Natalie and her husband, Daniel, have two children and began homeschooling in 2014. After
spending six years living in Haiti as medical missionaries, they returned to Blount county in 2021
and jumped right back into BHEA. Their family has enjoyed participating in field trips,
enrichment sessions, middle school and high school events, and BHEA’s Boy Scouts and
American Heritage Girls troops. They have been blessed by the BHEA community, and Natalie is honored to serve on the BHEA Board.

The Treasurer plays a key role in ensuring BHEA’s financial health and stability through careful stewardship and accurate record-keeping.

This person is responsible for managing all financial transactions for the organization, from collecting and depositing membership dues and enrichment fees to paying expenses and reimbursements in a timely and documented manner. The Treasurer develops and maintains a working budget in collaboration with the board, and prepares financial reports that provide a clear picture of BHEA’s financial position.

The Treasurer also oversees financial compliance, making sure the organization meets nonprofit requirements and files necessary paperwork promptly. By offering oversight, guidance, and a clear view of financial resources, the Treasurer helps BHEA make informed decisions and use its funds responsibly to serve its members and further its mission.

Mike WIlliams
Member At Large

Mike and his wife, Donna have been actively homeschooling with BHEA since 2005. Three of their children; Caleb 2018, Rebekah 2020 and Elisa 2022 graduated as members of the BHEA 13-year club. Their youngest son Micah is currently a sophomore and will graduate in 2027. During Mike's 19 years of BHEA membership, he has been involved in various ways, including leading BHEA's Cub Scout pack and Boy Scout troop and teaching ACT prep classes. Mike served previously for 5 years on the BHEA Board of Directors, including 3 years as BHEA President, and is currently serving a 1-year term as a Member at Large.

Mike enjoys hiking, camping, and backpacking as well as attending theater and watching his kids participate in their activities. You've probably seen Mike around at various BHEA functions, but most likely identify him as Mr. Donna Williams.