Meet our Founders

As NCF Nashville continues to grow, God has brought together a group of generous and influential leaders from across Middle Tennessee to help guide this next chapter. Our Founders, including Founding Board Members, Founding Advisory Council, and Advisors, bring wisdom, insight, and a shared commitment to biblical generosity. We’re deeply grateful for their leadership, prayers, and partnership as they help shape the future of NCF Nashville and encourage a growing community of givers, advisors, and leaders across the region.

Founding Board Members

Kay Hiramine

Kay brings decades of entrepreneurial leadership, ministry engagement, and major donor development experience. He has served in global philanthropy, church planting, humanitarian leadership, and impact investing, with a heart for connecting people and purpose. His work has taken him from local boardrooms to global mission fields, and he’s passionate about building Kingdom-centered relationships and generosity movements. His career includes roles with Westfall Gold, Belmont University, Generosity Path, and Generous Giving – all centered on mobilizing resources for impact and advancing the Gospel around the world. Kay and his wife, Julie, have five daughters and live in Franklin, TN. They’re long-time ministry leaders, and Kay is also the founder of the Holy Smokes Club, a global fellowship of believers who enjoy deep conversations, good cigars, and intentional community.

Jeff Dobyns

Beyond portfolios and investment strategies, SageSpring is about lasting relationships. When you meet Founder & President, Jeff Dobyns, it’s easy to understand why relationships are the heart of the firm.

You won’t find stuffy formalities with Jeff; instead, you’ll find him spending time with SageSpring advisors and staff, communicating his compelling company vision, or patiently untangling life’s complex challenges with clients.

Jeff’s deep financial expertise is matched by an innate ability to connect with, serve and lead people. For more than two decades, Jeff held executive positions with top financial firms and since 2002, Jeff has guided SageSpring’s growth, leading nearly 200 employees and fostering a culture consistently recognized as a Best Workplace by Money Management, Tennessean Top Workplace, and Top Workplace USA.

His passion and dedication extends beyond the office and boardroom throughout the community. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Men of Valor, a prison ministry and mentoring program. Jeff also serves on the board of Send Musicians to Prison, which shares hope, healing and restoration with the imprisoned through musicians & artists.

Watching his four children—Gracyn, Hunter, Tanner, and Logan—grow and flourish is among Jeff’s greatest joys, rivaled only by the fulfillment he finds in helping clients overcome challenges and build lasting financial security. Time spent boating on the lake, hiking mountain trails, or fishing with his family anchors Jeff to what matters most. This grounded perspective shapes his understanding of true wealth—defined not by numbers alone, but by purpose, relationships, and the ability to lift others along the way.

That belief is the foundation of SageSpring’s culture. Under Jeff’s leadership, the firm is guided by service, integrity, and the conviction that wealth should create the freedom to live fully and give generously.

Micah Lacher

Micah Lacher is the President and Founder of Anchor Investmentsopens in a new tab, which is a private Nashville-based real estate investing company. Anchor acquires, develops, and manages commercial properties throughout the United States with a focus on the Southeast and Midwest. Anchor’s vision is to build America’s Most Generous Real Estate Company. Anchor also purchases former Nashville church buildings and repurposes them as boutique hotels. We give 100% of the profits from these hotels to non-profit organizations to help Nashville’s underserved communities (Mission Hotels).

Prior to forming Anchor in 2009, he was a founder and local partner in a regional development and brokerage firm as a developer of new retail centers and residential communities. Prior to that partnership, he had several successful years in brokerage in the Nashville office of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker, which is now called Cushman & Wakefield.

Micah stays extremely involved in his community through various non-profit partnerships, board and volunteer positions. These have included Young Life, The Legacy Center, Halftime, UT Alumni Association, The Ronald McDonald House, Auburn Community Church Nashville, The Branch of Nashville, Shower Up and People Loving Nashville.

He is one of the founders of Team Chad (www.teamchad.us), a non-profit that raises money to support leukemia-based charities. Since its founding in the fall of 2007, Team Chad has raised over $2 million. Micah graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science in Finance.

Most importantly, Micah is the proud husband of Brit and has 4 amazing young children.

Hunter Murray

Hunter brings nearly three decades of experience in executive search, board advisory, and high-level leadership development to the technology market. His career has been defined by his dedication to building high-performing leadership teams and boards, consistently acting as a trusted advisor to clients and representing their stories in the market. Hunter excels in clarifying and shaping leadership missions and desired outcomes, laying a strong foundation before recruiting the right leaders to drive organizational success.

With a deep understanding of both technology and business, Hunter has advised and placed senior talent across commercial and public sectors, frequently bridging the gap between these markets. He has completed numerous board, CEO, and C-suite level searches for public, private, and private equity-sponsored companies. Hunter was a co-founder of Northwind Partners and retired from the firm at the end of 2023, capping an influential tenure in executive search.

An investor and member of NorthWind Investments, Hunter’s background in private equity, coupled with his board advisory expertise, allows him to closely align with General Partners and CEOs, ensuring strategic and optimal outcomes. Before Northwind, he co-founded a West Coast, VC-funded search firm specializing in building leadership teams for technology-focused companies.

Hunter devotes his time to coaching and mentoring emerging leaders, helping them realize their full potential while fostering the development of the next generation of leaders and executives. He serves on the board of TripleKey Software and BEE World, an organization dedicated to equipping global ministry leaders and pastors. Together with his wife, Kristin, Hunter is committed to supporting vulnerable populations through various non-profits. An outdoor enthusiast, he enjoys fly fishing, snow skiing, and traveling with his family.

Brooke Roush

Brooke partners financially and organizationally with ministries serving the least reached and most vulnerable through evangelism and holistic outreach. She began her career in marketing twenty-five years ago at the National Christian Foundation, where she saw firsthand the power of collaborative time and talent. Brooke then stepped away from her career for ten years to be a full-time mom to her three children serving on every parent board and coaching every sports team along the way. While living in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta from 2013 to 2016, she established the Southeast Asia office for Know Your Strengths, a boutique management consulting firm. Since repatriating to the US, she has served in an advisory capacity for the Courage First Helpline, Governor Lee’s Transition Leadership Council, and Belmont’s Innovation Lab. Her life verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:24: “He who calls you is faithful. He will do it.”

Katie Sheppard

Katie serves as a Vice President of Network Relations for National Christian Foundation. She is a strategic leader dedicated to equipping local offices with the training and tools they need to inspire biblical generosity within their local communities. Katie retired after 22 years from the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant Colonel serving in both the Medical Service Corps and Judge Advocate General Corps. Katie advised commanders on a breadth of issues from fiscal to regulatory matters and represented the government in various hearings, trials and courts-martial. Katie is a graduate of Simmons University in Boston, MA with a B.A. in Marketing and Communications and George Mason Law School in Arlington, VA with an J.D. in Law. Prior to joining NCF, Katie served for 6 years as the Director of Stewardship and Advancement at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Lexington, KY. In this role, Katie oversaw a successful capital campaign, introduced Compass financial stewardship courses and Journeys of Generosity. Katie serves on the Cathedral’s endowment committee. She and her husband are passionate about mentoring young couples in all matters of faith and finances. Katie and her husband Cullen have been blessed with 4 children and live in Lexington, KY.

Founding Advisory Council

Harry Floyd

Bio coming soon.

Christy Singleton

Christy Singleton is a leadership coach and consultant, and founder of Leadership Sanity, focusing on leadership development, executive transitions, nonprofit governance, and team performance. She also serves as Executive Director of Mission Impact Middle TN. Christy brings over two decades of nonprofit leadership experience, including guiding an organization through major growth in revenue, staffing, and services across multiple global locations. She serves on several boards, including the Charis Foundation, and lives in Nashville, TN, with her husband, Steve, and has three adult children. In her spare time, she enjoys teaching indoor cycling and walking her labradoodles.

Kevon Saber

Kevon sold two companies and saw firsthand a system built around buyers’ ROI and bankers’ fees. He co-founded Legacy Outcomes, a sell-side investment bank with a 95% sell-through rate, three times the industry average. Its team reinvented M&A around four outcomes: the owner leaves no money on the table, the buyer cares for the employees, the family comes out more united than it went in, and the family gives intentionally while paying less in taxes.

As CEO of GoCheck Kids, Kevon led the team that grew the company’s vision screening platform to 20,000 healthcare providers across all 50 states and increased its valuation more than 100x. A Stanford MBA, he was named to Silicon Valley’s 40 Under 40.

Kevon and his wife of 17 years moved to Nashville in 2013 and have four kids. Together, they are learning to test God in their giving, just as He invites in Malachi 3:10.

John Bennett

John is an Atlanta native and a graduate of Georgia Southern University who spent much of his career in the fire and life safety industry. In 2002, he founded Integrated Fire Protection®, growing the company from its beginnings into a comprehensive fire and life safety service provider serving more than 850 clients with a team of approximately 50 employees. In 2017, John partnered with a private equity firm, stepping away from the day-to-day leadership of the company while retaining an ownership interest, which he later fully realized through a subsequent sale.

Following that first transaction, John and his wife, Melissa, began considering where they wanted to start the next chapter of their lives. They ultimately felt God leading them to Franklin, Tennessee, which they are grateful to now call home. That same season also marked the beginning of a deeper involvement with the National Christian Foundation and a meaningful new chapter in their journey of generosity and stewardship.

John and Melissa have been married for 30 years and have three adult daughters and now their first granddaughter. John has a heart for generosity and Kingdom work and is passionate about stewarding the resources and experiences entrusted to him in ways that serve others, advance causes with eternal significance, and encourage others to consider how their own success can be used for a greater purpose.

Founding Circle

Gary Bell, Blue Trust

Bio coming soon.

Jeff Johns, Impact Foundation

Bio coming soon.

Aimee Minnich, Impact Foundation

Aimee Minnich serves as Chief Impact Officer and General Counsel of Impact Foundation and co-founded the organization in 2015. Aimee brings creative problem solving to complex charitable transactions, paving the way for donor/investors to deploy capital for economic, social, and spiritual transformation.

Although her mission is to put more charitable capital to work for good, Aimee’s greatest desire is to lead the team at Impact Foundation, so they know God more and make him known through every interaction. Before founding Impact Foundation, she served as President of the National Christian Foundation Heartland.

Aimee also serves as a Trustee with Praxis Funds, a family of six mutual funds and two ETFs and is on the board of Unite KC, a local, faith-based ministry focused on city transformation and racial healing. Aimee earned a Juris Doctor, with honors, from the University of Kansas School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, summa cum laude, from Rockhurst University. In addition to her book, The Profitable Charity, she’s published articles on law and a study on the metaphysics of salvation.

Drew Hiss

Bio coming soon.

Ryan Wall

Bio coming soon.

Caleb Lee

Bio coming soon.

Advisors

Daryl Heald, MacLellan Foundation

Bio coming soon.

Dick Gygi, Half Time

For more than 35 years, Dick provided executive leadership to consumer products companies in the US.  After 13 years as President of CPS Corporation, Dick led the sale of the company to American Greetings and merged CPS with Plusmark to form the largest gift wrap manufacturing company in the world with sales of more than $240 million.  Dick served as President of Plusmark until retiring in 2001.

Dick is passionate about Social Entrepreneurship and co-founded ThriftSmart (www.thriftsmart.comopens in a new tabopens in a new tab) in 2005.  He was recognized by Civic Ventures as a Purpose Prize Fellow in 2007 for his work with ThriftSmart.

Dick is active as a Coach to early stage and middle-market companies and their leadership.  He founded Fuel For Good, LLC (www.fuelforgood.coopens in a new tabopens in a new tab) in 2016.

Dick has been active on Corporate and Non-profit boards, and currently serves as a Trustee Emeritus on the Board of Trustees of Taylor University, his alma mater, where he received a BA in Business Administration prior to receiving an MBA from Indiana University.

Dick is the co-founder of the Legacy Center of Nashville and the Halftime Institute of Nashville with a vision to provide transformational leadership  to for-profit and non-profit leaders in Middle Tennessee.  Dick serves the Halftime Institute as a Master Certified Coach and was recognized as Coach of the Year by Halftime in 2014.

He has been married to Bonni for 57 years and lives in Franklin, TN. Dick and Bonni have four married children and seven grandchildren.

Email us at nashville@ncfgiving.comopens in a new tab to learn more about how we’re developing generous communities in in Middle Tennessee.