Our Staff
Founder & Executive Director
Rev. Dr. Rondy M. Smith, Ed.D.
Dr. Rondy M. Smith is Founder and Executive Director of Rest Stop Ministries, Inc. Rondy is an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene and served as Community Life Pastor of the Hermitage congregation from 2001-2015. Previously, she was Associate Professor of Management and directed the graduate degree program at Trevecca Nazarene University from 1991-2001. Dr. Smith began her career in the corporate sector serving the Leadership Development Center at Northern Telecom, Inc. She was also a consultant with Executive Learning, Inc. and continued her consulting practice after joining the academic ranks as university faculty.
Rondy earned a Master’s degree in Organizational Communication from the University of Kansas in 1987 and a Doctorate in Human and Organizational Development from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University in 1996. She and her husband, Bobby, have been married 37 years. Bobby retired from AT&T after 25 years. They have 2 adult sons, 2 daughters-in-law, and 2 grandchildren! Rondy loves to travel and read. Her personal core values are Becoming Love & Inspiring Hope. She considers it a sacred privilege to lead and live in authentic community with Team Rest Stop.
Senior Director of Finance and Administration
Patty Sargent, BS, PMP
As the Senior Director of Finance and Administration at Rest Stop, Patty supports the team by overseeing finance, developing business and HR policies based on best practices,
facilitating process improvement discussions, and helping implement and maintain new
IT solutions.
As the former Executive Director of a similar sized non-profit organization in
Southern California, Patty has a heart for helping others and knows what it takes to
build effective processes to support the mission. Patty also draws from her experience
as a 25+ year employee and former director of projects and process improvement in a
California hospital district, and as a consultant and project manager implementing business
solutions in multiple industries. Patty has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from California Polytechnic State University and has been a Project Management Professional (PMP) since 2007.
She and her husband, Allen, have been married for 30 years. They raised their three
children and were highly involved in their church life in a rural community in San Diego
County. When all three adult children moved to Middle Tennessee over the years, the
choice was made to head east and enjoy life in Tennessee. In her personal time, Patty
enjoys hanging out with her family, playing games, sharing life with fellow Christians and
friends at Hermitage Church, snuggling with her dogs, and listening to her husband play
music.
​
Director of Clinical Programs
Jill Woicik, LPC-MHSP, NCC
Jill Woicik grew up in North Alabama where she graduated from The University of North Alabama with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and Sociology. She then moved to Dallas, Texas and earned an Associate’s Degree in Practical Theology from Christ for the Nations, Institute. Nearing the completion of her time at CFNI, the Founder of a residential girls’ home ministry spoke at a chapel service and Jill knew at that time that God was calling her to play a part in the restoration of hurting girls/women. This led her to pursue a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Dallas Baptist University.
Jill is licensed in the state of Tennessee as a Licensed Professional Counselor-Mental Health Service Provider, and was previously licensed as a Licensed Professional Counselor in Texas for 16 years. She is also certified as a National Certified Counselor. Jill has held positions from Case Manager to Program Director in various nonprofit social service agencies providing therapeutic services to survivors of sexual assault, sex trafficking and other violent crimes, homeless single mother families, individuals in recovery from substance abuse in the criminal justice system and children in foster care. Around 2011, she became aware of the problem of sex trafficking in the United States and has volunteered with several anti-trafficking organizations since that time. Her passion is helping women heal from trauma and seeing them discover their unique strengths and purpose.
Along this journey, in 2003, Jill met her husband, Randy, at Church. They were married in August 2004. They enjoy traveling and spending time in the mountains whenever possible. Jill also enjoys having coffee with friends, horses, and being entertained by her cats. Jill is very happy to be back in this part of the country where she can fully realize the dream God put in her heart over 20 years ago to walk alongside hurting women in their journey to freedom. She is grateful to Rondy Smith and the Rest Stop Ministries Board of Directors for allowing her and her husband to work together using their complementary gifts to support the Executive Director, Rest Stop Ministries staff and residents.
Director of Plant & Program Operations
Randy Woicik, BA
Before accepting the position of Director of Operations with Rest Stop Ministries (RSM), Randy served as the Program Manager for an organization that provided two years of residential services to homeless single mother families. He also brings to RSM several years of experience from his time as the Director of Operations for an outpatient chemical dependency counseling program.
Randy has a Bachelor’s degree from Southwestern Assembly of God University, where he studied a diverse array of courses to better prepare for the demands of leadership. Before entering the non-profit world, Randy held positions in a hospital emergency room, retail management, and in insurance inspections. This combined with his non-profit experience gives him a well-rounded base with which to meet the challenges of being the Director of Operations of Rest Stop.
Before moving to Tennessee in September of 2017, to join the Rest Stop team, Randy lived in Texas where he was born and raised, and he is proud of his Texas heritage. At the age of 33, in 2004, by God’s grace he met and married the woman of his dreams; and his parents and friends rejoiced. Randy and Jill now reside in Lebanon, Tennessee with their 3 cats. Randy enjoys good food, trips to the mountains, and cruises.
Director of Development and Marketing
Carissa Elliott, MAT, SHRM-CP
Carissa grew up in the San Diego area before earning her Bachelor's degree in Business Communication with a minor in Psychology from Baruch College. Living and working in New York City inspirited her love for diversity, equity and inclusion. Her professional marketing resume includes experience with Hearst Magazines, ABC News Charleston, Greek sorority and fraternity licensing, among others.Familiar with the potential for risk from broken families, she was called to serve young adults as a high school teacher and coach. Driven by purpose, Carissa earned her Master's degree in Teaching from the University of Southern California.
She found home in Wilson County with her husband, where they welcomed their son in 2021. God then intervened with a wonderful opportunity to work from home, allowing her to nurture both her career and family, with a leadership position at an out-of-state law firm.
Yet, Carissa's heart for service called once more. After helping develop a non-profit for the firm's community outreach, she was humbled when she found an opportunity with Rest Stop Ministries. She recognized it as God's plan through a lifetime of preparation to serve survivors of human trafficking and exploitation.Carissa is inspired by what is to come for Rest Stop Ministries, utilizing her diverse skills and experiences to uplift and empower others.
Therapist
Karen Hall, MSSW, LCSW
Karen Hall serves as RSM’s trauma therapist. Since 1992, Karen has worked with individuals in a variety of settings including a domestic violence shelter, the foster care system, adoption agencies, inpatient trauma units, a maternity home, outpatient community mental health centers, a Christian Counseling ministry, residential treatment facilities, and local crisis call centers.
Karen is trained in EMDR, Trauma-Focused CBT, ARC, Sanctuary model, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Systemic Desensitization Therapy, PCIT, Christian 12 Steps, Sociometrics, and includes many techniques of CBT and DBT.
In addition to providing therapy, Karen has experience in grant-writing, curriculum development, and supervising and training others in the counseling profession. She has worked in the Metro Nashville Public School system, as well as taught as adjunct faculty at Belmont University.
Karen has a passion for helping women and children, especially those who have experienced abuse. She has been a foster parent, and her ultimate joy was parenting her now-adult daughter. In her personal time, Karen enjoys praying and worshipping with friends and her guitar or piano.
Residential Manager
Tara Stieber
Tara Stieber joined the Rest Stop team as Residential Manager in 2023. Born and raised in Colorado, she attended Mid-America Nazarene University as a vocal major until 1987 when she transferred to Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville.
​
In 1994, she settled down and began living her dream of being a wife and mother. She had the privilege of being a stay-at-home homeschooling mama. As her boys entered their later high school years, having always been passionate about Jesus and “Littles”, those two passions merged, and Tara became the Preschool pastor at her church. In prayer one day, God told her that in order to truly impact the lives of those “Littles”, she would need to impact the lives of their mama’s. She did so, first, by launching East Nashville MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) in 2016, and a couple years later, Moms University, which initially offered cooking classes and menu prepping to young moms with plans to expand into other supportive homemaking skills such as simple budgeting, gardening, and hospitality.
​
In 2020, God led her through deep mourning as He began separating her heart from MOPS. It wasn’t until early 2021 that she received the “why” and God planted a new dream in her heart: to eventually work in a residential setting, serving and loving on minors who had been rescued out of sex trafficking.
​
Saying “Yes” to this new calling, and walking it out step-by-step, has been a rewarding journey for Tara! Step One was to begin volunteering with Rest Stop Ministries on the Transport Team in 2021. This gave her the opportunity to begin developing relationships with our Residents. In 2022, she took the next step and joined our Respite Care Team as a PRN, where she became familiar with their evening schedule and routines. Stepping into the Residential Manager role in January 2023 is expanding her experience to include the many administrative tasks required in long-term residential care. It is in this current position that Tara desires to influence our Residents by developing and fostering trust that leads to deep relationships. She further desires to impact the healing journey of these ladies by equipping them with positive life-skills, all while making their residential stay with us truly feel like “home”.
​
Hope Enterprise & Workforce Empowerment Manager
Kala Davis
Kala was excited to join the Rest Stop Ministries team as our Social Enterprise Manager in 2022. Her personal journey of overcoming addiction has empowered her to dedicate her life’s work to helping those in need.
Kala lives in Lebanon, TN with her husband Tim, and their son Rhett. Kala's mom, Holly Cooper, is the owner of Fried Green Tomatoes. The two of them formed a social enterprise partnership with Rest Stop Ministries in 2021. She and her husband are also entrepreneurs and started a farmhouse furniture company, Davis Woodworks, in 2020. Kala has a background in the addiction recovery field, and previously helped develop a social enterprise for Doors of Hope in Murfreesboro, TN.
She cannot wait to see God’s hand move in her role as the Social Enterprise Manager at RSM. It is her prayer that she, and others involved with RSM's Social Enterprise, will be good stewards of all the opportunities God has set before them as they work to provide economic empowerment for every woman that walks through the program.
Community Engagement Manager
Connie Sink, BBA
Connie grew up in a Christian home where her dad served as a pastor for forty years. She knew, from an early age, that she too wanted to serve God in ministry. As a young adult, Connie joined the New Life Drama Co. where she traveled all over the United States ministering in churches, schools, prisons, and on the streets through the art of skit drama.
​
She left New Life to marry her husband of almost thirty years. The two of them served as associate pastors and worship leaders for the first thirteen years of their marriage. God used a time of crisis in their lives and marriage to introduce them to the recovery ministry. After experiencing the healing and restoration of their family through Celebrate Recovery (CR), they were asked to start one in their own church. They served as the ministry leaders of CR for over twelve years.
​
It was through CR that Connie was introduced to Rest Stop Ministries. Being a witness to the transformation that takes place in the lives of our residents as they journey through the recovery program drove her to become involved in the every day work at Rest Stop. Before joining us full time, Connie served as a volunteer and respite care provider for over three years.
Program & Volunteer Coordinator
Lauren McGregor, BA
Lauren joined team Rest Stop in February 2024 as our Program and Volunteer Coordinator. She has over 4 years of prior experience in another local anti-trafficking ministry and 9 years total of social work experience. She received her BA of Environmental Geography from Eastern Illinois University, but months prior to graduating, she felt the call from God to serve the underprivileged population. Lauren has really enjoyed being the hands and feet of Jesus as she has helped, served and loved on people from the streets, homeless shelters, and safe houses.
Lauren was born and raised in Central IL and moved to the Nashville area in October of 2019. Her passions are serving the homeless population, connecting with people from other countries, all things nature, traveling, and enjoying local coffee shops. She and her husband are newly married, are very involved in their church, and love spending time with friends and family.
Survivor Care Coordinator
Jennifer Tetrick
Jennifer joined Rest Stop Ministries in 2023. With Jennifer on the team, our residents are blessed with an encouraging example of how one can overcome traumas and lead a fully triumphant life.
She is passionate about the Lord and her family. She and her husband Hal have been together since 2002, and have 4 adult children, 9 grandkids, and 1 sassy dog! Her journey with God began in 2000, and since then He has been first in her life. Jennifer joyfully says "God rescued me from the deepest valley of darkness, lifted me up with His unconditional love, and blessed me with salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ."
As a survivor of multiple layers of abuse, including child sexual abuse and domestic violence, she has a heart to share His glory through working with nonprofit organizations that minister to women still in the sex industry. She has worked with a multitude of women during her years of serving. She started as a CNA in nursing school, specialized in women's healthcare for over 11 years, followed by 7 years of emergency room care at a local hospital. She then volunteered with Whispers of Hope, an outreach for women who are still working in the sex industry. God's guidance, paired with these experiences, have equipped Jenn with a deep understanding of the benefits of trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, and strengths-based approaches to working with survivors of sex trafficking.
As Survivor Care Coordinator, Jennifer meets with each resident to develop and implement goals, navigating post-traumatic growth while focusing on personal strength, new possibilities, greater appreciation for life, spiritual development, and building close relationships.
​
Residential Coach & Hope Enterprise Coach
Brenda Miller
Brenda was born in Ohio, and then at 10 years of age moved to Fort Worth Texas. She grew up most of her life there, graduated high school and married not long after. Brenda worked in a veterinarian hospital for 5yrs, then she quit working to raise a family and homeschool her three children.
There was a 20-year span before she would come to RSM. During that time, God had her on a journey of healing of her own childhood trauma, and found that her healing journey helped to equip her for helping hurting women who are walking through their trauma.
In 2015, she and her family moved to Hendersonville, TN, and started volunteering at RSM in the Spring of 2021. Brenda drove residents to appointments, meetings, and other activities, forming relationships with the women. That Summer, she was hired to be officially part of the team as Residential Coach.
In her time off, Brenda enjoys trying new restaurants with friends, photography, the outdoors, hanging out with her kids, and walks with her dog.
Residential Coach
Danyalle Youngers, RN
Danyalle Youngers is a Certified Professional Life and Recovery Coach, as well as a Registered Nurse. She became a Coach to help others who struggle with unhealed wounds from childhood, and gently guide them to a space of healing, restoration, and peace. When the job for a residential coach came across her computer, she saw an opportunity to be of service to the beautiful women who would come to RSM for help. This is her 1st “official” job in 25 years.
​
Danyalle and her husband have been raising 5 children and homeschooling each one though High School in their home just outside of Nashville, TN.
​
When she is not working, one can find her with her own coaches, reading a book, having family dinners with her growing children and husband, or working on her own recovery from the effects of growing up with trauma and in a dysfunctional home.
Residential Coach
Tabitha Kleinmann, BBS
Tabitha was raised in East Tennessee, where she attended King University and received her Bachelor's in Behavioral Science with a minor in Elementary Education. She met her husband Dirk in college, they have been married for over 20 years. In the last 20 years her family has grown, she has four children ranging in age from 11 to 19. In 2017 her family moved from Ft. Myers, FL to Mt. Juliet, TN. Tabitha was a teacher for over 10 years, until she felt like God was leading her to something new in 2022.
Tabitha began volunteering with RestStop Ministries in February of 2023, doing anything from making birthday cakes to driving to appointments to respite care. When the opening of Residential Coach became available, it just seemed like God opened another door. Tabitha enjoys spending time with family and friends and making cakes.
Bookkeeper
Susan Marrotte
Susan joined the Rest Stop Ministries team in 2021 as our Bookkeeper.