Kyla Cretekos, originally from New York, moved to Nashville in 2013 to teach in Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) with Teach For America. Kyla worked in MNPS as a High School Teacher and Communities In Schools Program Manager until Fall 2022, when she joined Teach For America Nashville-Chattanooga's staff as the Director of Community Engagement. Outside of work, Kyla deeply appreciates sunshine, books, and food!

Sophie Druffner is the development coordinator at Gift of Mary, a drop-in center and new domestic violence shelter in Pittsburgh, where she manages grant applications and program data. She is also a Ph.D. student in the Community Research and Action program at Vanderbilt University, where she works as the Director of Research and Community Engagement of the Homeless Health Services at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is passionate about community-oriented research and creating better systems for underserved populations. 

Laura Brown brings more than 17 years of legal experience to her role at Executive Director of Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services. She most recently worked as the Senior Deputy Director of Client Services for the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. Her duties included the overall management and direction of client services at Legal Aid Society, including the implementation of strategic planning and regionalization; administration of grant programs; investigation and resolution of client complaints and grievances; contract compliance; and program development, implementation and evaluation.

Previously, Brown served was general counsel at the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability, where she worked on advocacy issues for seniors and vulnerable adults and was also involved in the investigation and resolution of complaints, legislative support and strategic planning. She also previously was an insurance defense attorney for Robinson, Smith and Wells in Chattanooga, TN, general counsel for Goodwill Industries – Knoxville, Inc. and, as an adjunct professor at Volunteer State Community College.

Brown received her juris doctorate from University of Tennessee College of Law with a concentration in business and transactional law and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in learning and leadership (public policy) at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She also holds a Master of Arts in civic leadership from Lipscomb University and a Bachelor of Science in English education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Among her many professional accomplishments, Brown wrote and received the Model Approaches to Statewide Legal Assistance Systems grant from the Administration on Community Living, which funded the design and implementation of the first statewide, free senior legal helpline in Tennessee. She also oversaw and implemented the Title IIIB Legal Assistance Program, which provides free legal assistance to Tennesseans over 60 years old.

Sam Stubbs (VU ‘24) is a social entrepreneur and chronic iterator. He founded the nonprofit social enterprise Chicago Beach CleanUp which has hosted volunteer events with companies like Google and Salesforce and earned him a spot in the Clinton Global Initiative 2023 cohort. He’s been involved in Map the System through the HOD Capstone program, helped build out the Wond’ry’s mentorship matching system, and completed the Wond’ry’s Sullivan Family Ideator entrepreneurship program. Sam enjoys supporting student entrepreneurs at Vandy through VINES (Vanderbilt Innovation & Entrepreneurship Society)

John Sherman, M.P.H., is Chief Partner at Sherman Impact Consulting which designs and implements right-sized learning, evaluation and assessment strategies for social impact investors and funders. He has advised over 100 foundations’ strategic planning and evaluation on a host of environmental, climate, food, and public health issues, consulted impact investors on impact management, owned for-profit companies, managed non-profit advocacy organizations, and co-directed a foundation. Committed to building the field, John has published recently on stakeholder engagement and impact management, public policy and stakeholder engagement, public policy and impact management, and an in-press paper on the use of foundations’ full balance sheet. He serves on the Steering Committee of the American Evaluation Association’s Social Impact Measures working group, is past chair of the Davidson County Solid Waste Region Board, and is a member of the Sustainability Advisory Committee of Metro Nashville.

René Dillard currently serves as Director of Development for the Nashville Adult Literacy Council. She most recently served as the Director of Leadership Development for Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance, where she designed curriculum and programming for educators of color across the state. She has also worked locally at United Way of Greater Nashville and the Nashville Chamber. Her interests are in education research, organizational development, policy development, teacher development, multi-generational educational opportunities, and empowering parents as partners in schools. She is a proud former public school teacher, an avid reader, and loves to hike with her dog Benji. She’s passionate about being a CASA Volunteer Advocate and mentoring first-generation college students of color. Ms. Dillard currently holds the following: MPP, Education Policy (Vanderbilt); and B.A. Anthropology (University of Chicago).

Sanjana Ballal-Link grew up in Staten Island, NY. Her parents were immigrants from India who always stressed the importance of education. After attending the George Washington University, Sanjana moved to New Orleans to teach 3rd Grade. She moved to Nashville in 2010 to pursue her degree in School Counseling from Vanderbilt University. In 2012, she joined Cameron, a LEAD public school, starting as their counselor and then as their Assistant Principal of Culture. In 2016, she transitioned to Teach for America Nashville-Chattanooga regional staff where she led the coaching team. In 2019, she transitioned to lead the full programmatic team for the Nashville-Chattanooga region. This summer, Sanjana joined MNPS Support Hub staff as the Director of Partnerships for Post-Secondary Readiness.

CEO & CTO of Geeks and Nerds
“Innovate with Purpose” is a motto for a life–long innovator, Dr. Jonn Kim who has served in many active roles in technical entrepreneurship including research,

prototyping, development, engineering, program management, and corporate leadership. Dr. Kim began his career in the space program for NASA, and his career

migrated to commercial, and later into the national security programs. As an entrepreneur, he initiated and is actively promoting “Holistic Entrepreneurship”, an idea that corporate stakeholders strive for mutual benefits and quality of life for the community members. In addition to serving as the CEO and Chairman for Geeks and

Nerds, he spreads the messages for importance of STEM for the humanity’s quality of life. He serves as an industry advisor to Vanderbilt University, University of Alabama Huntsville, and Center for Quantum Networks. He is actively engaged in the community through activism and non–profit organizations promoting self–sufficiency and quality of life.

His innovative leadership and entrepreneurship have been recognized and awarded by INC 5000, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Pan Pacific Asian American Chamber of Commerce, Institute of Electrical Electronics Engineering, North Alabama Chamber of Commerce, and other numerous organizations. He holds 3 patents and is a senior member of IEEE. Dr. Kim received PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Vanderbilt University, and MS/BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from

University of Alabama Huntsville.

Thank You Judges!!