Becca Stevens

Founder & President

Becca Stevens is an Episcopal priest, a speaker, justice advocate, and the founder and president of Thistle Farms. In 1997, Becca opened one recovery home for five women survivors from the streets to offer them free housing in a loving community for healing. Over twenty years later, Becca's work has helped grow Thistle Farms from its Nashville base to a national network of sister organizations and global partners. Becca has been named a White House Champion of Change, a CNN Hero, and holds numerous honorary doctorates and she has been featured on The Today Show, ABC World News, NPR and in the New York Times and has founded eight social enterprises to date.

Becca's active speaking helps grow the community of friends and advocates for Thistle Farms worldwide. Becca has written 10 books, her most recent, Love Heals, was published by Harper Collins.

Tasha Kennard

Chief Executive Officer

Tasha is a native Nashvillian who brings a wealth of both non-profit and for-profit leadership experience to the Thistle Farms CEO role. Driven to serve the community, Tasha has led innovative solutions that simultaneously closed gaps for the underserved while lifting up entrepreneurs. 

As Executive Director of the Nashville Farmers’ Market, Tasha led efforts to revitalize the 200 year-old beloved institution, including a $7 million renovation; establishment of small business incubation programs; and a statewide food-security program that doubled the buying power for EBT customers, and secured $1 million in grant funding during the pandemic. 

Tasha has most recently served at Southall Farms, a farm resort and hospitality company, and has also served as Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. 

She is now grateful to call Thistle Farms home and put her hand to the healing and hospitality deeply engrained in its DNA.

Holli Anglin

Director of Job Readiness & Advancement

Long-time Thistle Farmer, Holli has worked with the organization since 2001. Starting off as a volunteer, over the years since she has managed various aspects of our operation including Finance, HR, the Shop, and our social enterprise.

In her current role overseeing Thistle Farms' Job Readiness Program, Holli and her team work with residents to support their transition into the workplace with more confidence and the skills needed to begin working at one of our social enterprises.

Outside of work, Holli enjoys spending time with her family and beloved Vizsla pup. Her hobbies include golf and yoga, and fits right into Music City as a former professional harpist.

Jeff Kelley

Director of Information Technology & Facilities

Jeff joined the Thistle Farms Community in 2020 after a consulting engagement to help assess IT needs. He fell in love with the community and the people and he decided to join full time because he wanted to apply his passion for service to others to the community. He also helped create a Facilities Department at Thistle Farms. Jeff has 14 years of experience in the IT Industry. He enjoys travel, sporting events and has a love of otters.

Katrina Robertson

Director of Sales

If you carry Thistle Farms products in your store, you’ll have the good fortune to work directly with Katrina. A 2008 graduate of Thistle Farms Residential, Katrina has been in charge of the company’s wholesale accounts since 2007. Her long history with the organization and her nurturing personality make her an incredible support not only for customers, but for all her sisters at Thistle Farms. Her hospitality extends to her home life, too, where she can often be found hosting a barbeque or fish fry on her back deck, feeding and celebrating friends and family. She is an active member of her community, serving on the Board of Directors of Nashville CARES.

Kristin Beckum

Director of Founder's Outreach

Kristin is a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. She spent 17 years in addiction and found her way home to Thistle Farms Residential, graduating in 2015. She is the Director of Founder’s Outreach, a travel agent, and has 3 amazing girls. Kristin is a grateful Thistle Farmer and her favorite part about doing this justice work is witnessing lives and communities changed all over the world from this global movement of women’s freedom.

She has authored articles featured in the Seattle Times, Crosscut, and Dignity Journal.

Shelia Simpkins-McClain

Director of Residential Services 

Shelia Simpkins-McClain is a 2007 Thistle Farms Residential graduate. Her past trafficking experiences are the driving force behind her desire to help others who have experienced trafficking. Shelia serves on the Human Trafficking Advisory Council for the State of Tennessee, and is a survivor advocate for Grace Empowered, a court-ordered prostitution intervention program operated by the Nashville-Davidson County Office of the District Attorney General. In addition, Shelia completed the Human Trafficking Leadership Academy fellowship program in 2018.

She has a B.A. in Psychology and in 2021 graduated from the University of Tennessee–Knoxville with a Master’s in Social Work, with a concentration in Organizational Leadership.

Courtney Sobieralski

Director of People and Culture

Courtney grew up in a tight knit community where you never had to face challenges alone. Drawn to a similar feeling at Thistle Farms, Courtney started volunteering in 2012 and was quickly recruited to open the very first café. 

For nine years, Courtney served as the Director of Café Services, opening a total of three restaurants and providing outstanding leadership to her team.

Courtney has always cared deeply about the people, culture, and mission of Thistle Farms. So, when the Director of Human Resources role opened up—her dream job—she was a natural fit.

In her new role, Courtney hopes to protect and scale the culture that makes Thistle Farms unique as we continue to grow. She aims to create a safer, more affirming, trauma-informed atmosphere where employees feel seen, heard, valued, and appreciated at work, regardless of their role in the organization. 

A woman of many talents, Courtney is a musical theatre enthusiast, a hula-hooper, and has the voice of an angel. When not at work, you can find Courtney spending time with her husband, two daughters, and labradoodle Lyla, reading/listening to anything by Brené Brown or Glennon Doyle, or traveling to explore new places.