MEET OUR TEAM
James Whitford
CEO, Co-founder
True CharityBIO
James received his doctorate from the University of Kansas Medical Center and practiced physical therapy and wound care before he and his wife, Marsha, founded Watered Gardens Ministries in Joplin, Missouri in 2000. True Charity evolved from their mission to champion a resurgence of civil society in the fight against poverty.
His work has appeared in Heritage Foundation’s Index of Culture and Opportunity, Patrick Henry College’s Newsmaker Series, World, The Christian Post, and The Hill. He and Marsha were honored to receive the World News Group Hope Award on behalf of Watered Gardens Ministries in 2019. He has testified before the US House and Senate on issues of welfare reform and is the author of The Crisis of Dependency: How Our Efforts to Solve Poverty Are Trapping People in It and What We Can Do to Foster Freedom Instead.
In his role as Executive Director of Watered Gardens and True Charity, James is responsible for establishing vision and strategy for the ministry.
They have 5 children and 7 grandchildren and love to fish the James River in SW Missouri where they live.
Nathan Mayo
Vice President of Operations & Programs
True CharityBIO
Nathan Mayo earned his Bachelor of Science in Economics from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. In 2013, he was commissioned as an Armor and Reconnaissance officer in the U.S. Army and stationed in Germany with a mission to deter Russian aggression in Europe.
Upon completion of his military service as a Captain, Nathan and his wife, Abigail, spent two years in Haiti building up a network of Haitian-run churches and schools before moving to Missouri to join True Charity in 2020.
Nathan is inspired by solving challenging problems with data and translating the insights of experts into applications for practitioners. In his role as VP of Operations & Programs, he recruits, equips, and connects poverty-fighting organizations so they can continuously improve their approaches and outcomes. His work has appeared in CNN Business, National Review, The Gospel Coalition, WORLD Magazine, and more.
Nathan and Abigail live with their daughters Heidi and Lillie in Joplin, Missouri.. Nathan is an avid traveler with 40 countries down. He also enjoys hiking, recreational economics, and movies with gratuitous explosions.
Bethany Herron
Vice President of Comms and Learning
True CharityBIO
Bethany has a background in training, curriculum development, and communications, having served in church ministry, education, and Chick-fil-A restaurants. In addition, she has worked as a freelance instructional designer, building curriculum for Lancaster Bible College & Seminary and the Association of Christian Schools International.
Her interest in charity work began as a child when her own family was cared for by compassionate individuals and organizations in her community. God used that time to spark a desire to love others in the same way.
Bethany holds an Educational Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Liberty University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Ministry Studies from The Baptist College of Florida.
She and her husband, Jeffrey, a US Army Chaplain, have three children and enjoy hiking, running, and playing with their two dogs.
Jeff Ferguson
Vice President of Advancement
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Jeff has been married to his wife, Rochelle, for 21 years, and together they have three beautiful daughters. Family is at the center of his life and calling, and it fuels his deep desire to see communities strengthened for generations to come.
For more than two decades, Jeff has served in ministry and executive nonprofit leadership with a passion for stewarding vision, building meaningful partnerships, and resourcing mission-driven work to see transformation in people’s lives and human dignity restored. Whether guiding major initiatives, hosting large-scale events, or strengthening ministry to the next generation, his focus has always been on aligning resources with impact and helping organizations flourish.
Jeff earned his Doctor of Ministry from Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, where his dissertation explored spiritual abuse and antagonism in churches, workplaces, and denominations—reflecting his heart to see healthy, life-giving institutions. He also holds a master’s degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a bachelor’s degree from North Central University. Jeff is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration at the University of Southern Indiana. Ordained in 2005, Jeff remains deeply committed to strengthening churches, nonprofits, and communities through principled leadership, generosity, and faithful stewardship.
Savannah Aleckson
Events Director
True CharityBIO
Savannah earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Organizational Communication from Missouri State University in August 2017. After serving as a para-educator in a local school district for a year, she joined the True Charity team in October 2018.
As our Events Director, Savannah plans gatherings that inspire and equip charity practitioners to participate in responsible, empowering work, including True Charity’s annual Summit and regular webinars.
Savannah lives in Joplin, MO with her husband, Josh, and their daughter, Autumn. Savannah enjoys outdoor activities—skiing, rock climbing, biking, and running—but she can occasionally be found indoors where she enjoys reading and hunting for good shows on Netflix.
Amanda Fisher
Community Engagement Director
True CharityBIO
Amanda received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology and Business from Tulane University, New Orleans, LA. She brings a history of hands-on experience in poverty-related fields to the True Charity Team. She has worked with individuals living with mental illness as well as the elderly and disabled population as an advocate for independent living.In her current role, Amanda is tasked with the mission of ensuring True Charity principles take root and grow in communities across the nation.Amanda lives with her husband, Brandon, a USAF veteran and Associate Circuit Judge, in Nevada, MO. They have three children and have served as foster parents as well.In her free time, Amanda enjoys running, biking, snow-skiing in Colorado, playing drums with her church band, and spending time with her family.
Avery West
Member Solutions Architect
True CharityBIO
Avery West has worn many hats since the Network was born in 2020, assisting with content creation, member engagement, and consultation.
Now, as the member solutions architect, she brings this experience to her conversations with members as they strategize relational, dignified ways to come alongside their neighbors. She is most happy connecting leaders with other members and models from across the nation, helping them feel empowered to truly meet needs. She also helps develop the next generation of solutions for the Network as a whole.
Avery received her bachelor’s from Hillsdale College in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. She wrote her senior thesis on the Philosophy of personalism and its connection to poverty-alleviation.
Avery lives with her husband (a law student) and 2 young children in New Haven, CT. There, they love hosting people in their home, participating in their local church, and stopping to look at every acorn and flower on their walks in the woods.
Sonya Stearns
Membership Director
True CharityBIO
Sonya is an experienced high school teacher, having taught critical thinking, public communication and speech, financial literacy, life skills, Bible, and choral music. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Mobile in Alabama and served on staff at local churches in Alabama and Texas. She has served with her husband in church ministry for over 35 years, mostly in South Florida.
Sonya was awakened to the ineffectiveness of many ministries to the poor several years ago, and she has a deep desire to see successful and ennobling practices spring up across America, especially in churches.
As the Membership Director, Sonya regularly meets with potential member nonprofit and church leaders to communicate the benefits of joining the True Charity Network. While maintaining the member portal, she works with network members to ensure they receive the proper tools and education to benefit from all that True Charity offers.
Sonya enjoys outdoor activities, especially gardening, jogging, and hiking new trails. She takes pleasure in hosting people for home-cooked meals and fellowship in her home, and she has a passion for helping other Christians minister effectively to their families and communities.
She and her husband, Dr. Todd Stearns, live in Austin, Texas, where he is the worship pastor at Austin Baptist Church, and she assists in leading the adult choir rehearsals. They have 3 married, young adult children who live in Texas, Indiana, and Florida.
Alyssa Glasgow
Graphic Design Manager
True CharityBIO
Alyssa earned her Bachelor of Science in Commercial Art from Southwest Baptist University in 2015, where she also began her career as a graphic designer.
In her role as True Charity’s graphic design manager, Alyssa creates visually compelling materials that support our groundbreaking work in teaching organizations how to engage in more effective charity.
Alyssa began to recognize the tremendous need for long-term poverty solutions in college and she is committed to pursuing those solutions through her creative design and photography work.
Alyssa is actively involved in her church and volunteers as a student ministry leader. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, reading, and traveling anywhere and everywhere! She loves her Oklahoma Sooners and rarely misses a football game.
RJ Harbison
Video Producer
True CharityBIO
RJ first heard about True Charity while serving at a Watered Gardens’ Forge ceremony in early 2021. After being a True Charity Summit volunteer in 2022 and being hired as a contractor for video work for the 2023 Summit, RJ came on board as our full-time Video Producer. RJ earned his Bachelor of Arts in Creative Arts Ministry from Ozark Christian College in 2021 with a primary focus in Video Production.
In the role of Video Producer, RJ is responsible for creating engaging, high-quality video content for our team that equips organizations and individuals to understand what it takes to love their neighbor more intentionally and do charity more effectively.
RJ lives in Joplin, Missouri, where he actively serves as a board member for Great Wonder Productions, a non-profit based out of Joplin that focuses on supporting the cinematic arts in Southwest Missouri. For fun, RJ loves to make short films, go hiking, and play video games and board games with his wife, Jessica.
Steve Lyon
Editorial Director
True CharityBIO
Steve has a rich ministry and content background, having served as a student ministries pastor, staff writer for Gary Smalley and John Trent’s family ministry, senior pastor, Editor in Chief at Moody Publishers, and Vice President of Publishing at Bible League International. In addition, he has served as a freelance editor for a number of ministry and secular organizations (including Shortridge Instruments and the Texas Department of Public Safety). He has a BBA from Southern Methodist University and a ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary. He is also a published author.
His interest in effective charity was piqued interacting with the homeless in downtown Chicago during his days at Moody Publishers; and observing the well-intentioned but poorly executed compassion ministries of his church. That gave rise to thedeep impression Moody’s When Helping Hurtsmade on him. “True biblical compassion is possible,” Steve says, “and I’m honored to lend my skills and experience to an organization that understands thatand knows how to express it and multiply it.”
He and his wife, Dawn, live in Austin, Texas where she serves as an accounts payable specialist for a tech firm. They are actively involved in their church, where Steve teaches a Sunday morning bible study and Dawn assists him by covering class administrative duties. He’s been a fitness swimmer for … well, let’s just say “a long time,” enjoys playing guitar, and hiking with Dawn. They have three grown children.
Cole Edmonson
Marketing Specialist
True CharityBIO
Cole earned his Bachelor of Science summa cum laude in Graphic Design and Business from one of the nation’s top design schools. Upon graduating, he applied his creative skills as the marketing and communications guy for the pregnancy resource centers in Portland, Oregon for three years, before then moving across the country and working in the financial services industry.
Now, as True Charity’s Marketing Specialist, Cole enjoys bringing both his nonprofit and B2B marketing skills into play: helping reach and equip other organizations to grow their impact in serving people who are experiencing poverty!
Cole lives with his wife Natalie and supports her own nonprofit work in helping people from hyper-fundamentalist backgrounds grow in biblical faith and find healthy church community. Cole enjoys his lifelong LEGO hobby as an award-winning fan designer, along with in-depth cultural commentary, politics, and going on walks with friends.
Jadeth James
Community Events Coordinator
True CharityBIO
Jadeth James is the Community Events Coordinator at True Charity. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ministry and an Associate of Science in Occupational Therapy. Before joining the team, she served as the Connections Director at a church in New Mexico, where she loved helping people find community, connection, and purpose.
Jadeth spent ten years of her childhood on the mission field in Tanzania, an experience that sparked her passion for serving others. She has deep roots in Joplin but also loves to travel and experience new places. Her faith leads her to a deep calling to serve God’s people and to do it well. She is excited to be part of the True Charity team, where she can live out that calling by serving others with excellence and helping equip others to do the same.
Outside of work, Jadeth enjoys hiking, rock climbing, and skiing. She has a deep love for animals and sees the greatness of God reflected in the complexity of their creation. She also enjoys volunteering with animal shelters, reading, crafting, and spending time with her friends, family, and her three cats – Jasper, Onyx, and Flint.
