Bethany has a passion for social services and educational equity. Bethany’s career began as a classroom teacher with Teach for America, where she taught 5th-grade math and science for three years in Northern Mississippi before transitioning into a school leadership role in Memphis, TN. As an Academic Coordinator in a Title 1 school, Bethany began writing grants for afterschool and summer literacy programs designed to maximize student achievement by helping struggling students meet grade level objectives. This led to contract work with education-focused nonprofits in the Memphis Metro Area, including Communities In Schools of Memphis.

After successfully winning several major awards in the nonprofit space, Bethany transitioned into a full-time grant writing role with The Salvation Army of Memphis and the Mid-South, ultimately securing more than $4M in social services funding for the organization in her first year. Most recently, Bethany has written freelance grants for mental health agencies and community development initiatives aimed at helping some vulnerable populations, including unhoused persons, justice-involved youth, and those with chronic mental illness.

Bethany sits on the Board of Directors for Global Citizen Adventure Corps, a TN-based nonprofit whose mission is to cultivate global citizens and leaders by providing educational travel and community service opportunities that foster mutual respect and compassion for all people, places, and our planet. Bethany is also a mental health counselor and spends her time outside of the office working with individual clients to help them meet wellness goals and create lives full of promise and potential. Bethany holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Capella University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Boston College.

When she is not engaged in grantseeking or using her therapeutic skills to benefit others, Bethany is likely cooking, reading mystery novels, or binging the latest Netflix series.