LEADERSHIP
Ryan Lampa
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FOUNDER & CEO
When Ryan first started serving the poor and disenfranchised thirteen years ago, he was out to fix and solve people. Given time, experience and a lot of mistakes, his main objective these days is to offer dignity to the most vulnerable through love and restoration by bringing relief, community and connection to restorative experiences and educational development. He is the founder and CEO of People Loving Nashville, a local non-profit that serves the marginalized and provides incubation for imaginative engagement with the poor. The joy his wife and three children bring him fuels his work, along with a good cup of small-batch pour-over coffee.
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HALEY BRANDENBURG
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DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Haley’s initial encounter with PLN was years ago, volunteering on a Monday night. Haley’s talent for coordinating and event planning has helped PLN stay organized and running smoothly. Her passion and care to sit and walk with people is one of her greatest strengths. In conversations she has on the streets, and with the volunteers she serves, she makes sure they are seen and heard. When Haley is not serving at PLN you will find her in a park picking flowers or enjoying a tasty chicken quesadilla.
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COLLEEN LAMPA
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DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS
When Colleen and PLN first met over a dozen years ago, she had recently moved to Nashville and was on the hunt to find her place, people and purpose. She immediately realized PLN was all that she longed for and more. PLN opened up a world inside of Colleen that propelled her to travel the world, live overseas and enjoy some really unique experiences that have led her right back to where it all started. Her steadfast passion and loyalty to the mission and purpose of our gatherings exudes an indelible presence wherever she goes. Not to mention, she is pretty great at staying calm and collected with things occasionally go haywire. When Colleen’s not daydreaming about her baby boy at work, she’s cuddling with him at home and collecting his spit up on her clothes, happily.
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CHRISTIAN WILLIAMS
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DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS & PARTNERSHIPS
Christian loves to both live and write meaningful stories, which makes her the ideal fit for Director of Communications & Partnerships. Whether it’s posting about an experience during an outreach, managing a fundraising campaign, or developing partnerships between PLN and our supporters, Christian’s driving motivation is to elevate the dignity of our friends on the street through the power of storytelling. She first served with PLN in 2010, and after moving to Nashville in 2011, found her first Nashville community within the PLN family. Her journey took her away for a while, but as many beautiful stories unfold, she’s found herself coming back to her roots and finding her home. When Christian is not doing things for PLN, you find her lost in the woods (on a hike), creating something, or going on adventures with friends!
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JOEY GODINHO
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DIRECTOR OF RESTORATION
What do pizza nights, penguins in South Africa and child acting have in common? The answer is Joey Godinho, our Director of Restoration. While pizza nights are a special tradition shared with his family of 6, penguins in South Africa are a treasured memory, and his days as a child actor long over, his most recent endeavor is walking with some of our most vulnerable friends in Nashville in their journey to stability. This means Joey spends a lot of time navigating the day-to-day complexities of our newly housed friends with a patience and humility we could not do without. He credits his wife for sparking his passion for the marginalized, which underscores what a great guy Joey is, child acting notwithstanding.
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CHRISTOPHER WALTON
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RESOURCE MANAGER
To know Christopher is to know the sorted piles of clothing, bags, hats, and toiletries lovingly waiting to be distributed to those in need. As grueling as the job can be at times, Christopher never seems to mind. In fact, he’d probably tell you there’s no place he’d rather be, which is one of many reasons why we love having him on our team. When Christopher is not doing clothing inventory or packing the box truck for another outreach, he’s most likely perusing indie comics at a local shop or chiseling away at the creation of his comic book series at home, release date TBD.
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ALEXandra HANDLEY
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VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
The ultimate host and queen of the art of gathering. Alex is typically the first welcoming smile you see upon arriving to serve with us. Alex is our wonderful Volunteer Coordinator who communicates with individuals and groups who want to participate at one of our weekly outreaches. She graciously sets the table for people to gather together both figuratively and literally. When Alex is not coordinating volunteers, her hands are never idle, she's hosting creative art nights, often cooking a delicious meal, or crafting up some beautiful leather goods. Everything she creates from her hands comes from her soul.
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STEPHANIE HUGHES
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OUTREACH SPECIALIST
Ask Stephanie about some of her most memorable experiences and she’ll probably tell you about officiating her brother’s wedding or growing up near the beach. Ask her how she ended up becoming an Outreach Specialist for PLN, and she’ll definitely talk about the feeling of home and family she experiences doing life with our community. Steph understands the sacredness of being a supportive and consistent presence in someone’s life, which makes her perfect for her role in walking with individuals in unstable circumstances. When she’s not walking with others, she’ll find a quiet place to sit, preferable by a river, a garden, or a campfire.
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WILD INDIGO
People Loving Nashville's Sister Program
Wild Indigo's programs provides creative and therapeutic programming for individuals experiencing a wilderness of the soul.
Wild Indigo's programs provides creative and therapeutic programming for individuals experiencing a wilderness of the soul.
JOanna LAMPA
DIRECTOR OF WILD INDIGO
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Joanna spent most of her childhood in southern Texas, canning salsa and cooking Tex-Mex food with her family. She also imagined she would become a missionary when she grew up, which eventually led her to different parts of the world to research, explore, equip, and minister. Through personal experiences and a growing friendship with God, she found Jesus’ heartbeat worldwide, including her community in Nashville. Wild Indigo Programs was born out of the humble recognition that everyone is in a state of need and that women experiencing incarceration minutes away from her home were lacking the resources to navigate the difficult seasons in their lives. A unique community has been created through this mind, body, and spirit focused programming. One that both laughs and cries, works and plays, sings and doubts, together. When Jo is not working with Wild Indigo, she loves to get cozy and read, garden in her yard, or sculpt noses out of clay.
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