Our Team

Chris Whitney

FOUNDER / CEO

Chris and Elaine Whitney moved from St. Louis, MO, to Franklin, TN, in 2004 to start a church. Little did they know that, in the process of pastoring a church, a food ministry called One Generation Away would begin to take shape. In 2013, the Whitneys established OneGenAway and 150,000 meals from the back of their car in the first year. OneGenAway has now grown to serve over 3 million meals annually to those in need throughout Middle Tennessee, Northern Alabama, the Florida panhandle, and disaster relief locations.

In November of 2018, Chris stepped down as the pastor of a local church to focus on OneGenAway full time. OneGenAway has been inching closer to its goal of wiping out hunger ever since.

Email Chris

Elaine Whitney

FOUNDER / DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

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Scott Lucas

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

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Andrew Milam

REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

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CHRIS HENSON

REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

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MORGAN WHITNEY

DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATOR

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Annette Doom

DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION

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BLAKE MATHIS

ALABAMA

OPERATIONS MANAGER

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Mark Thompson

OPERATIONS: First Responder

Daniel Morrison

TENNESSEE

WAREHOUSE MANAGER

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MARK GUTCHER

FLORIDA

MOBILE PANTRY COORDINATOR

Casey Perrin

TENNESSEE

WAREHOUSE ASSOCIATE

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Board of Directors

Neil Headden

Brian Ford

Dave Krikac

Travis Lester

Joeseph Jensen

Christina Christiansen

Kevin Anderson

Bree Barnett

Daniel Hayes

Todd Bowman

Lauren Toner

Neil Headden

BOARD CHAIR

CAREER: Neil is the Community President at First Citizens National Bank with over 25 years of underwriting experience and over 11 years of experience working with auditors and examiners. He is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer at TriStar Bank, where he led the company to a 15% and 30% loan portfolio growth, all while maintaining past-dues at under 1% and achieving a 1 in the CAMEL loan quality rating. He has also been named Mentor of the Year by Christian Community Services Inc. (CCSI).

COMMUNITY WORK: In addition to his service as OneGenAway’s board treasurer, Neil serves as treasurer on the CCSI board, and is a member of the Spring Hill Chamber of Commerce. Neil retired from the Tennessee Air National Guard after 34 years of service. He regularly attends Franklin Christian Church.

Brian Ford

TREASURER

Richard Algood

SECRETARY

CAREER: Richard Algood is a Certified Public Accountant, and a Certified Global Management Accountant, with 35 years experience in healthcare finance and development. He has worked with hospitals and health systems across the country specializing in reimbursement, regulatory affairs and healthcare operations finance, serving in senior management positions for the nation’s largest healthcare companies including HCA, Quorum, Kindred, IASIS, and RegionalCare. He has also operated a successful consulting practice, assisting several early-stage healthcare services companies.

COMMUNITY WORK: Richard has served on the OneGenAway Board of Directors since its inception and has seen the nonprofit grow from a small community group to a staple nonprofit in the Middle Tennessee community. Outside of his passion for OneGenAway, he has served as board member and treasurer for Hands On Nashville, and board member and finance committee chair for The McNeilly Center for Children.

Dave Krikac

BOARD MEMBER

CAREER: Dave Krikac is the Regional Vice President of Adult Services at Health Connect America, where he connects adults who have disabilities with job training and employment opportunities throughout Tennessee and beyond. Over 16 years ago, Dave founded the GEAR Foundation, a nonprofit organization aimed at providing job opportunities for adults with special needs. Through the foundation, he founded and operated Our Thrift Store in Franklin, Tennessee, for 15 years, employing about 25 special-needs adults and 25 typically developed adults until the store closed in 2020.

COMMUNITY WORK: With a varied background in nonprofit, corporate, and creative spheres, Dave pursues his passion of connecting people in all walks of life, bringing communities together for the benefit of all. He has a special heart for helping people with disabilities find a path to independence, sparked after his daughter, Sara, was diagnosed with autism. Using their experience with the GEAR Foundation, Dave and his wife, Sandy, travel throughout the region helping other communities launch thrift stores that employ adults with disabilities. Dave also serves on the boards of the for-profit IHL Consulting Group, nonprofit RetailROI (Retail Orphan Initiative) and WonderWoods Nature Program. He is also engaged at Grace Chapel on the elder board.

Travis Lester

BOARD MEMBER

Joseph Jensen

BOARD MEMBER

I am originally from Wisconsin, but for the past 24 years called middle Tennessee home. The journey here was not a direct one. After graduating from college (in Wisconsin) and law school (in Indiana), my plan was to head south, but my first stop was in Indianapolis. After two years there, I took a position with a law firm in northern Indiana, and made my home there for 15 years. Not being a fan of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, that was a tough sentence to endure. But in late 2000, my family and I decided to take the plunge and relocate to Franklin. Yet I remain a loyal fan of the Packers, Badgers, Brewers and Bucks.

While I enjoy my practice of law – as an attorney to several banks, and truly like the clients with whom I have the pleasure to work, I do have a life outside the office. Formerly a distance runner, these days my free time is generally spent in the woods. Friends from my younger days would be surprised to know that I have participated in over 35 half marathons in multiple states, two full marathons, a Grand Canyon “Rim to Rim” hike with some friends and business colleagues, a hike around Mt. Hood on Oregon’s Timberline Trail, have completed hiking several sections of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, hiking Mt. Katahdin – the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, and other sections of the AT. And to truly relax, my wife (Michele) and I, enjoy heading either to or northeast to the coastal communities of Maine, or the beaches of north Florida.

Within the community, I’ve served on several organizations and non-profits:

The Tennessee Board of Law Examiners Investigating Committee
Board member and past president of the Williamson County Library Foundation
Member of the TMA Group Bike Sharing Task Force
Legal Aid Society 2014 Campaign, Williamson County Chairman
Franklin Citizens Government Academy, Class of 2014
Franklin Tomorrow Transportation Strategy Committee
Franklin Tomorrow, board member
Leadership Franklin Alumnus, Class of 2012
The Clean Air Partnership of Williamson County