Our Mission & VIsion
We help leaders define reality and offer hope through the truth of God’s Word applied to everyday life and work — with the goal of transforming lives as we lead our families, organizations, and our great city.
Our Values
Christ at The Center
Christ and the Word of God are the same (John 1:1-4). We place the infallible, Holy Spirit inspired Word of God at the center of everything we teach and discuss. We believe Christ created all things visible and invisible and that all things are created through him and for him (Colossians 1:16). In Christ we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).
Read Our Statement of FaithHumility
Jesus was the most powerful and the most humble person to walk the earth (Philippians 6-11). Since Christ has reconciled us to God be making peace by the blood of the cross (Colossians 1:20) — we have everything we need In Christ, we no longer need to live for ourselves, we can live with Christ like assurance and humility as we serve others (Luke 10:29-37, Philippians 2:1-5).
Kingdom Mindset
The Kingdom of God is coming and is now here (Mark 1:15). God is making all things new (Revelation 21:1). The Gospel of Jesus means that God is reclaiming everything that is his. We are called to repent, believe, and follow our Savior and King. Trust Him with your life as you engage in His work to make disciples of all nations. Use your gifts — design, build, invest, communicate, teach, lead...spend your life and resources blessing others as you spread the love of Christ.
Diversity
All people are made in the image of God with the same dignity. Heaven will be full of people from every nation, tribe, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands praising God (Revelation 7:9). Therefore we will honor diversity and inclusion in all we do now.
Memphis
We love Memphis and aim to see our people, organizations, and city prosper. We look for ways to bless our neighbors, coworkers, and all of our citizens by building, creating, buying, selling, giving, and collaborating in ways that promote the common good of our city (Jeremiah 29:4-5,7).
Who We Serve
We serve leaders who desire to move from ambivalence, distraction, and uncertainty to confident clarity of mission and daily purposeful action.
Influencers
You have significant authority and responsibility. Many people look to you for leadership. You want to be sure you guide others well. Prioritizing correctly is one of your chief concerns. You want to know what God’s Word says in order to inform your life and leadership.
Innovators
You see limitless possibilities for the Kingdom and others. You want to see God’s Word make a difference in the world. You appreciate original thought and tested wisdom. You approach both problems and solutions with creativity and purpose. You are comfortable challenging the status quo, but want to make sure your work is grounded in ultimate truth.
Connectors
You build bridges between people and ideas for the benefit of individuals and organizations. You want to know how you can better invest your time and talent to make a difference. You want to know what God says about life’s purpose so you can help others make an impact on the world.
Investigators
You work hard and think deeply. You ask excellent questions about the validity of things—values, plans, ideas, statements, and organizations—that others accept as fact, because you want to do what is right. You want to know if there is real truth and how to apply that truth to the inconsistencies you see in the world.
Leadership
Howard Graham
Executive Director
Working Genius: Galvanizing | Discernment
Howard spent 30 years as an entrepreneur and business leader — most recently as an executive for a global digital agency, Wunderman/WPP. Everywhere Howard serves, he is a catalyst for new growth and transformational change.
He is a leader in the faith community of Memphis. As a member of Downtown Church, he is an active participant in a diverse set of ministries across the city. Over the years, his board involvement includes: Second Presbyterian Church, Nathan Street Ministries, and Presbyterian Day School. At Presbyterian Day School, he served as Chairman of the Board before joining full-time as Chaplain and Executive Director of Building Boys, Making Men.
Howard loves to help people, organizations, and communities achieve their highest potential. He is a natural connector of people and opportunities.
Andrew Beach
Director of Life Planning and Retirement Coaching
Working Genius: Galvanizing | Invention
Andrew invested the first 20 years of his career on church staffs, most recently for 17 years at First Evangelical Church of Memphis. He has spent his career helping people navigate from where they are to where they want to be, pointing people toward the gospel of Jesus Christ. He has the heart of a shepherd and the mind of a coach, guiding people with grace and truth.
He has worked and lived in the Memphis community since 2005, partnering with individuals, non-profits, and businesses to see our city thrive. He has decades of experience walking with people through key life transitions in order to help people find purpose and meaning.
Encore Initiative is a curriculum Andrew has developed to establish alignment, confidence, and traction as people approach and enter the transition to retirement. His service helps people renew their focus toward The Great Commission in their next season of life.
Loni Proctor
Executive Assistant & Partnerships Coordinator
Working Genuis: Tenacity | Enablemant
Meet Loni! With a strategic mindset & love for people, she brings a refreshing perspective to the team. She has a passion for driving projects to completion, and brings ideas to fruition through action. She obtains joy and energy from providing others with encouragement and support. Loni has served various ministries across the city over the years, and has a deep love for Memphis. She not only supports our leadership, but also serves as our Partnerships Coordinator, facilitating collaboration across our city.
Cecily Pompa
Course Designer & Content Strategist
Working Genius: Discernment | Enablement
Cecily is a passionate Christ-follower and award-winning educator. She finds joy in encouraging others and in bringing her love of teaching and technology together for the glory of Jesus. She is a natural curator of ideas and is gifted in the art of evaluation and assessment. An experienced course designer, Cecily works closely with The Center to produce curriculum and learning experiences that give our city's members the tools they need to grow, lead, and teach in their communities. Her mission is to create compelling content that is not only informative, but transformative -- to inspire others to live out their faith in the workplace and beyond.
Advisors To Assist You
Do you have an opportunity or challenge that can use advice from someone who has been there and done that? We have an ever-expanding network of advisors with expertise in every industry in Memphis.
The leaders on this page, and many more, are willing to meet with you. To request a meeting, click here
Cannon Allen
Partner, Adams and Reese
Working Genius: Galvanizing | Enablement
Willie Baldwin
Director, Eikon & Nathan Street Ministries
Working Genius: Enablement | Galvanizing
Jason Biggs
Senior Product Manager, HKC-US / Palm Coast Imports LLC
Tee Brown
President, GMFS
Working Genius: Enablement | Galvanizing
Dan Butler
Founder, Ninety8 Ventures, LLC
Working Genius: Invention | Enablement
John Carroll
Executive Director / Founder, City Leadership
Working Genius: Discernment | Galvanizing
Sam Coates
Owner, Driven By Productions
Working Genius: Tenacity | Discernment
Erin Cole
Founder / Creative Director, Heartbeat Communications
Working Genius: Invention | Galvanizing
Damon Conley
Assistant Pastor to Middle Adults, Second Presbyterian Church
Working Genius: Galvanizing | Invention
Brantley Davidson
President & Managing Partner, Yonder
Working Genius: Galvanizing | Enablement
Michael Davis
Teaching Pastor, Downtown Church
Working Genius: Galvanizing | Discernment
Chuck Ellingsworth
Managing Director, Raymond James
Working Genius: Tenacity | Enablement
Noel Fenderson
President | My Town Miracles, My Town Movers, My Town Roofing
Working Genius: Enablement | Wonder
Carlo Foster
President, C. Foster Construction Co., Inc.
Working Genius: Invention | Galvanizing
Mark Fruitt
Principal, Presbyterian Day School
Working Genius: Wonder | Enablement
John Gallina
Partner, Remac Appraisals
Matthew Gant
Agent/Owner, State Farm Insurance
Working Genius: Enablement | Discernment
Michelle Gilchrist
CEO, Bloomington Health Foundation
Working Genius: Enablement | Discernment
Brad Godwin
CEO, Comfort Keepers of the Midsouth
Working Genius: Galvanizing | Discernment
Michael Goolsby
Sales Leader, Abbvie
Working Genius: Discernment | Enablement
Len Hardison
President, National Christian Foundation Memphis
Working Genius: Enablement | Wonder
Sheridan Hibbard
CEO, WellWorX Wellness
Working Genius: Enablement | Galvanizing
Hampton A. Holcomb
Financial Services Executive, Strategic Financial Partners
Working Genius: Galvanizing | Enablement
Andy Kizzee
Business Hub Director, Binghampton Development Corporation
Working Genius: Invention | Discernment
Blake Lam
Lead Developer, Whiteboard
Working Genius: Discernment | Tenacity
Chett Maranto
Senior Engineer, Barnhart
Working Genius: Wonder | Discernment
Montgomery Martin
Founder and CEO, Montgomery Martin Contractors
Working Genius: Tenacity | Galvanizing
Dan McEwan
President and Principal, Maximum Hospitality
Working Genius: Discernment | Enablement
Brian Moak
Account Representative, Stuart C. Irby Co.
Working Genius: Enablement | Discernment
Larry Neal
SVP, Commercial Banking, Simmons Bank
Working Genius: Galvanizing | Invention
Ed Norton
Pastor, Independent Presbyterian Church
Working Genius: Enablement | Invention
Shell Odum
Regional Director of Community, Faith Driven Entrepreneur | Founder of A Radical Relationship
Working Genius: Enablement | Galvanizing
Dr. Keith Owen
Pediatrician
Rebekah Payne
VP, Analytics and Technology · Wunderman Thompson Performance Marketing
Working Genius: Tenacity | Enablement
Drew Pera
Financial Advisor, Strategic Financial Partners
Working Genius: Wonder | Tenacity
Deborah Perkins
IBM Consultant
Working Genius: Tenacity | Enablement
Bill Piper
Regional VP, Sales, VC3
Working Genius: Wonder | Galvanizing
Richard Rieves
Lead Pastor, Downtown Church
Working Genius: Invention | Galvanizing
Sam Rogers
Partner at Confido Investors
Working Genius: Wonder | Tenacity
Fred Schaeffer
Financial Services Executive, Strategic Financial Partners
Working Genius: Tenacity | Enablement
Brian Schneider
Founder and CEO, Every Single Day Career Coaching
Working Genius: Enablement | Tenacity
Dr. Sam Shaw
Retired Principal
Greg Spillyards
Managing Director | CEO at Cushman & Wakefield | Commercial Advisors - Memphis
Kevin Stout
Branch Manager at Barnhart Crane & Rigging Co.
Working Genius: Enablement | Tenacity
Gordon Thompson
Managing Director and Financial Advisor, Truist.
Working Genius: Enablement | Wonder
Rob Thompson
Real Estate Investor, Business Accelerator Michael Hyatt Co
Working Genius: Discernment | Invention
Scott A. Trammell
Executive Vice President and Financial Advisor, Strategic Financial Partners
Working Genius: Tenacity | Enablement
Charles Umsted
CPA, Principal
Working Genius: Wonder | Discernment
Russ VanderSteeg
President and Financial Advisor, Strategic Financial Partners
Working Genius: Galvanizing | Enablement
Will Walker
Founder & President, Walker Financial Management
Working Genius: Tenacity | Invention
Rob Ward
Area Vice President, Expedient
Working Genius: Tenacity | Enablement
Frank Warren
Realtor
Working Genius: Wonder | Enablement
Wade West
Senior Vice President, Fountain Equipment Finance LLC
Working Genius: Tenacity | Enablement
Katie West
HR Consultant
Working Genius: Discernment | Invention
Kem Wilson
Vice Chairman, Board of Directors, Kemmons Wilson Companies
Working Genius: Galvanizing | Enablement
Brett Wynne
Assistant Pastor to Young Adults, Second Presbyterian Church
Advice for Work
Over 50 industry experts to help with decisions and next steps along your journey.
Weekly Group Meetings
Bible study with group discussions covering: life purpose and meaning of work, leadership, blessing others, redemptive entrepreneurship, and cultural impact.
Individual Meetings
In-person or virtual one-on-one meetings to discuss big decisions, career or job changes, big idea feedback, strategic planning, investigative faith study, and more.