Board of Directors

Joe Wolf joined Changing Homelessness in 2014. In 2006 Joe joined The Dalton Agency, the Jacksonville-based national advertising agency that he currently holds the position of Senior Account Executive. Joe brings experience in a variety of communications and public relations areas, including communications strategy development, planning, and implementation, media relations, as well as internal, external, constituent, donor and crisis communications. In his 10 years at the agency, he has worked with a wide variety of national companies and nonprofit organizations, as well as small businesses and local nonprofits. Joe has proudly been part of the Dalton Agency’s community involvement over the years and extends his passion for the Jacksonville community into his personal life, having served as a volunteer in various capacities for local organizations including Sulzbacher Center, the Jacksonville Humane Society, and others. Joe earned his bachelor’s degree in communication from Flagler College.

Coretta began her career with United Way of Northeast Florida in 1999 as a Campaign Manager but has held various positions prior to being promoted to Vice President. Prior to first joining United Way of Northeast Florida in the late 90’s, Mrs. Hill held positions such as Communications and Marketing Director of United Way of Southwest Georgia, Public Information Manager for the City of Albany and News Writer for the Albany Herald newspaper in Albany, Georgia. While traveling with her military husband, Mrs. Hill served as the State Director of Development and then the Executive Director for the March of Dimes Western New York Chapter and then the Marketing Director for Central Texas College’s Pacific Division in Okinawa, Japan.

As a long-time executive professional in the nonprofit industry, Coretta leads by example as a volunteer in her personal life as well. She’s a member of the Board of Directors for Changing Homelessness, a member of the Community Coaches program for the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida, Creekside High School Parent Advisory Council and a volunteer reader for United Way’s ReadingPals program.

Mrs. Hill earned Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from Albany State University with a concentration in Non-profit Management and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Mass Communications and Public Relations from Fort Valley State College. She and her husband Marcus have two children.

David is a 40+ year veteran of the restaurant industry, David has worked with companies ranging from Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers to Firehouse Subs. He graduated from the University of North Florida with a degree in marketing, and has held positions including Zone Marketing Manager, Director of Special Projects and Vice President of Operations and is currently the Director of Franchise Operations at Firehouse Subs.

Ellen Schmitt is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Case Manager who has been employed by Baptist Health System for 27 years. She serves at Baptist as the Director of Social Services. In addition to serving on the Board of Changing Homelessness, she serves on the Board of PFLAG of Jacksonville and was recently appointed to the Jacksonville Ethics Commission. She resides in Jacksonville with her fiancé David.

Julie McNeil is the Assistant Director for Public Services for the Jacksonville Public Library and has worked for the library for over 22 years. A graduate of the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Julie also has a master’s degree in library and information science from Florida State University. Julie is a member of Leadership Jacksonville’s Class of 2015, the Arlington Council of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, and Riverside Avenue Christian Church where she currently serves as the Vice-Chairperson of the Board. Julie is the proud mother of daughter Kyra, a junior at the University of Central Florida.

Lee R. Brown III, is a retired professional who revels in his volunteer work and is always ready to serve the community. Lee is the former Director of Human Resources for Edward Waters College and has also held human resource management positions with HabiJax and the Northeast Florida Regional Council.

A veteran of the United States Army, Lee received many commendations, including the Purple Heart. Currently, he serves as the Region IV President of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, where he is directly responsible for the wellbeing of all Purple Heart recipients in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Puerto Rico.

Lee has served as a volunteer director for several organizations, including the Duval County Job Opportunities Board; Theatre Jacksonville, Hubbard House, and Jacksonville Community Council Inc. Lee is also a 2006 graduate of Leadership Jacksonville and a Gold Life member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Lee holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Sociology from Jacksonville University and a Master of Arts Degree in Human Resources Management from Webster University. In his spare time, Lee enjoys playing golf, riding motorcycles, and spending time with friends and family. Lee is a doting husband to his wife Clanzenetta, father to three grown children and is currently raising three grandchildren.

Terri Lewis is Senior Vice President and Global Head of Human Resources for Pontoon, a division of The
Adecco Group. Terri is responsible for driving the acceleration of Pontoon through leadership,
differentiated talent models, attracting and developing the best talent and building a culture of
engagement, agility, and innovation. She oversees HR service delivery, diversity and inclusion, HR policies
and programs, talent acquisition and talent management.

With colleagues in over 40 countries supporting clients in over 90 countries, Pontoon is a global HR
outsourcing company specializing in improving an organization’s talent through management of the
contingent workforce and statement of work resources as well as sourcing and recruiting direct hires.
She received her Masters’ Degree in Business and Human Resources from the University of South
Carolina and Bachelors of Science in Business from Clemson University. Throughout her career, Terri has
been an advocate of the HR Professional as a business partner with a true understanding of the
organization and the ability to develop and implement a people strategy to enhance business results. In
addition to Pontoon, she has worked in organizations such as PSS World Medical, General Electric,
International Paper and Brambles Ltd. She lives in Jacksonville, FL, with her husband Fletcher and son
Carter.

Bernard (Barney) Smith is the President of Smith & Young Co., which develops, constructs, owns and manages retail and office properties in Northeast Florida.  Barney has worked for over 20 years in commercial real estate industry in Florida, including shopping center, multifamily and office properties.  He obtained his B.S. in Accounting from Clemson University in 1988 and began his career with the Price Waterhouse accounting firm auditing primarily financial institutions and real estate companies.  He earned a CPA designation in the state of North Carolina.

Over the past 20 years, Barney has served on several boards of directors for organizations that provide and finance affordable housing in Florida.  He was appointed by Governor Rick Scott to the Board of Directors of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, which provides tax credit, bond and other financing for affordable housing for Florida’s lower-income families and individuals.  Barney was reappointed by the Governor in 2015 for a second four-year term and served as the Board Chair for four years.  In 2003, he was appointed to the Boards of the Jacksonville Housing Commission and Jacksonville Housing Finance Authority by Mayor John Peyton and served as the Chair of each for several years.  Barney is a member of the Urban Land Institute.

Paul is a graduate of Miami University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in
Accountancy. He is a Certified Public Accountant in 3 states including Ohio, and is certified in
International Financial Reporting Standards. He has over 29 years’ experience in public accounting.

Paul’s experience includes leading both public and private company audits, SEC reporting, multinational
and multi-location companies, as well as private and family-owned businesses. Paul has
significant experience leading the audits of Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers to the Automotive industry.

Paul serves as Chair of the Board of the Columbus Downtown YMCA and the Vice Chair of the
Leadership Columbus Board of Directors, as well as he is a Member of the Accounting Advisory
Board at Miami University.

Derek Brown brings almost 20 years of Finance experience to Changing Homelessness. In 2015, he and his family relocated to Jacksonville from Charlotte, NC where he held various finance roles with Credit Suisse,  Wells Fargo, and LPL Financial. Most recently, he worked for Macquarie Group here in Jacksonville. Derek earned an A.S in Chemistry from Spartanburg Methodist College, a B.S.  in Business Administration from Winthrop University and a MBA in Finance from Pfeiffer University. He resides in Jacksonville with his wife, Jennifer, and their two daughters, and he has an adult son.  Derek loves sports, traveling and spending time with family and friends.

Brad is a trial lawyer at Foley & Lardner, and a member of the firm’s Business Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Government Enforcement Defense and Investigations practice groups.  Prior to joining Foley, Brad was a trial lawyer with the Department of Justice Tax Division in Washington, D.C.  Early in his service with the Justice Department, Brad served as a criminal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Brad started his legal career in 2006 in Jacksonville as a law clerk to Judge Virginia Covington.  Brad went to William & Mary Law School and Florida State University.  Brad spent his junior year abroad at Hiroshima University, Japan.