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MEET OUR TEAM

We are passionate about bringing the Gospel to public school students! We are here to serve, encourage & provide the resources you need.

Mark Robbins

President

Mark serves as the President of First Priority. He spends most of his day managing the organizational side of the ministry, including fundraising and board development. He was the initiator and director of First Priority Tri-States, the 2nd oldest FP chapter. Mark resides in eastern Kentucky with his wife, Michelle. Mark and Michelle have three children, Nathaniel & Mikaela (Robbins) Gray, Morgan, and Micah. They also have three grandchildren, Sadie B., Beckham and Sutton.

Brad Schelling

EVP of Operations

Brad serves as the EVP of Operations for First Priority of America. He is also co-host of the First Priority of America podcast. Overseeing Operations involves work with finance, HR, club content and materials, marketing, graphic design, the FP app, and First Priority of America events. Brad has been in student ministry full time since 1999, started as a club coach with First Priority in 2001, joined First Priority of America staff in 2008, and moved his family to Nashville, TN in 2011 to be more centrally located in the First Priority movement. Brad and his wife reside in middle Tennessee with their four kids and attend Church of the City in Spring Hill.

Kristina Sears

Systems and HR Director

Kristina serves as our Systems and HR Director. She spends her day working within the various systems we use such as Virtuous, Smartsheet, podbean, docusign, etc. to make sure everything is working the way it should so that we can focus on our mission. Kristina also updates the website and takes care of all of the Human Resource needs, including hiring and recruiting. Kristina has a Bachelors degree in Communications and has served as a volunteer in youth ministry for over 10 years. She lives in the Nashville area with her husband Philip and two children, Evan and Anna.

Janice Blanchett

Executive Assistant and Bookkeeper

Janice serves as the Executive Assistant to our President, Mark Robbins and EVP of Development and Ministry Relations, Warren Robold. She also works closely with our accountant as our Bookkeeper. Janice is responsible for "all things" administrative, keeping our FP Office running smoothly and recording all donations and expenses. She is a graduate of Oral Roberts University, and earned a Bachelors of Science degree in 1985 with an emphasis in Journalism. She also writes childrenโ€™s books in her spare time. Janice and her husband, Mark have been married 34 years and have 5 children: James, Jared, Jillian, Jessica and John Mark. They also have two grandchildren, Liam and Porter.

Susan Cagna

Resource and Event Coordinator

Susan works for First Priority of America as the Resource and Event Coordinator. Susan is married to Thomas Cagna, and has two children: Sarah, who attends Lee University, and Alex, who is a junior in high school. She has been a Congregational Pastor at Christ Church Nashville for over 24 years. She also serves on the altar care and prayer teams. She helps lead the Married Life Sunday School class and also serves as the Special Event Pastor for the Women's Ministry.

She owns and operates an etiquette business that teaches self confidence, interview skills, speech, and table manners to children and teens.

Susan loves the outdoors, beautiful flowers, a good book, and spending time relaxing with family, friends, and her three cats. Her favorite scripture is Jeremiah 33:3 - "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know:."

Tayana Bradley

Marketing and Content Creator

Tayana serves as our Marketing and Content Creator at First Priority. She is married to Parker and lives in Murfreesboro, TN. Originally from Ohio, she attended Cedarville University.
She has a degree in Broadcasting, Digital Media, and Journalism, along with a Minor in Biblical Counseling.

Having recently joined the team, Tayana is already deeply invested in First Priority's mission and is excited to contribute her skills and passion to the company's growth. She has a passion for storytelling and believes that First Priority has incredible stories to tell through their marketing.

Grace DeCarvalho

Project Specialist

Grace serves as our Project Specialist for First Priority. She is married to Gabriel and works remotely from Brazil. Grace recently graduated from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville TN, where she spent four years studying a degree in Organizational and Interpersonal Communication with a minor in leadership studies.

Grace joined the team in January 2023 as the Communications intern, and in the fall of 2023, she made the transition to her current position as Project Specialist. Grace has a passion for communication and leadership which is what captures her heart most about the mission of First Priority clubs, reaching students and training them to be leaders after Christ's example.

Shane Kenney

Regional Manager

Shane Kenney has been working with students since 1998. He has served as a youth pastor in Florida for many years as well as coaching at the local school. It was during that time that he got a burden for campus ministry. In February of 2011 he joined First Priority in West Florida. In July of 2013, he moved his family to West Texas to become the Executive Director in the Permian Basin. Shane lives in Odessa, TX with his wife, Natalie and oldest daughter Tori. His youngest daughter Tristan currently lives in Anchorage, AK.

Steve Cherrico

Regional Manager

Steve Cherrico has been married to his wife Jessi for 24 years, is a father of three children, all adopted out of the Greater Nashville area, and has more than 25 years invested in youth ministry across the United States. He has served as a Youth Pastor, Next Gen Pastor and Campus Missionary through First Priority. He brings a unique view to youth ministry as he was brought to Christ through a peer at his school sharing the gospel at 15 years old and has been involved in youth ministry ever since.

David North

District Director Northeast Tennessee

David North grew up in the mountains of East Tennessee where he met and married his wife, Julie. They have been married for 28 years and have three children.

David has spent the last 21 years working in medical sales where he has won performance awards with several companies, including Forest Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic. In 2020, David formed his own company Moriah Medical, a medical device distribution company with a focus on providing minimally invasive therapies for the treatment of chronic pain.

David has been involved in various ministries inside and outside of the church walls, serving as a youth leader, deacon, Sunday school teacher, worship leader, and orchestra member as well as helping to found a Classical Christian school in 2006 and leading a Bible study for young men in his home.

His desire is to see young people introduced to the saving grace of Jesus Christ and cultivate a deeper walk with their Savior.

Haley Wherry

Area Coordinator and Trainer Northeast Tennessee

Haley Wherry is a First Priority Area Coordinator and Trainer in the Northeast Tennessee District. He has been involved with youth and college ministry for over 30 years, serving as Youth Pastor, Interim Pastor, Campus Ministry Coordinator, Event Coordinator and more. He has worked for First Priority since 2009 and loves empowering students and encouraging youth workers. Haley has a heart for Northeast Tennessee having been born and raised in the region. He and his wife, Kelly, have two children and one grandchild: Brock who is married to Raleigh with their son Zebedee, and Barrett who is married to Richie.

Austin Hall

Area Coordinator Northeast Tennessee

Will Sherman

District Director Fort Worth

Will Sherman is originally from Birmingham, AL, but grew up in Tennessee and Arkansas. Will has been in student ministry since 2002 and has been leading worship since he was a teenager. He is a graduate of Arkansas Tech University and has a Masters from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Will is married to his lovely wife Elizabeth and has two children โ€“ Skylar and Emily. Will is passionate about connecting youth with Jesus and the local church. He leads First Priority of America in the Fort Worth area and is excited for his call to serve the Lord in Tarrant County.

Heather Bundy

Area Coordinator Fort Worth

Heather Bundy is originally from Carmel Valley, California, but came to Texas to attend Texas Christian University and study education in 1994. Heather has been in public and Christian education since 1998 and has worked with children and youth in ministry since 2008. She is married to her husband, Jeff, and has two amazing children, William and Emma. Heather enjoys working with youth in ministry, being outdoors, and spending intentional time with family. She is an Area Coordinator in Ft. Worth and is excited to serve First Priority, connecting youth in student leadership, giving them the opportunity to know and hear the gospel of Christ, and ultimately connecting them to the local church.

Chelsea Robbins

Kansas City District Director

Chelsea Robbins originally grew up in a ministry family in Longmont, CO. She studied at Ozark Christian College and received a Bachelors of Arts in Christian Ministry. She has been serving in youth ministry, MOPS, Rooted and various other ministries since 2011.

She is married to her husband Chaz and has two children-Carter and Olivia. Chelsea loves empowering students to take the hope of Christ to their peers. She is excited to serve the Kansas City area through First Priority.

Stephen Summit

Area Coordinator Kansas City

Stephen and his family live in the Northland of Kansas City, Missouri. Stephen graduated from William Jewell College in 2008 with his bachelorโ€™s in history and education. He has a Masterโ€™s in Educational Leadership from Northwest Missouri State University. Before joining First Priority in June of 2022, Stephen spent 11 years as a high school Social Studies teacher for Grandview C-4 School District. Stephen also serves in the Air National Guard as an officer for the 131st Force Support Squadron out of Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. Stephen serves in his local church as a youth group leader, adult small group leader, and drummer. Stephen and his wife, Alexa, have been married for over 15 years and have two precious children, Grace and Shane.

Jenna Doll

Area Coordinator Kansas City

Jenna Doll lives in Kansas City, MO. Jenna has been actively sharing the gospel since she was 12 years old. Because of her story and sharing her faith at a young age, she is passionate about helping students do the same. Jenna has been working in ministry since March 2022 and is excited to be a part of the First Priority Kansas City team.

Jeff Stanford

District Director of the Ozarks

Jeff Stanford is a 25 year youth ministry veteran. He graduated from Liberty University with both undergrad and masters in church ministry. He served as youth pastor in south Florida for 12 years before transitioning over to First Priority South Florida. After serving FPSFL for 10 years as director of Palm Beach and Treasure Coast he and his family moved to Springfield, MO. The last 3 years he has worked as sales and service agent for the Local Geico Office there, all the while building a foundation that is now First Priority of the Ozarks. Jeff has been married to his college sweetheart Brandi and they have 2 kids, Courtney and Austin. Some of Jeff's favorite things are woodworking, University of Texas Longhorns (mainly football and baseball), and just spending time with his wife and kids.

Steve Snapp

Ozarks Area Coordinator

Steve is an area coordinator with First Priority of the Ozarks. He has lived in Springfield MO. almost his entire life and loves the beauty and nature around the Ozarks. Steve is married to his lovely wife Dawn and has two kids Sophie and Kelsey and two grandbabies Kingston and Selah. Steve has served as an adult leader in youth and college ministry and has a passion to mentor students. He loves golf, camping, lake life, being outdoors, everything food and very black coffee. Spending time with his family and making them laugh is his favorite thing to do.

Justin Theriot

District Director Cincinnati

Justin Theriot has been a part of First Priority since February 2018. He currently serves as the Ministry Director for Greater Nashville and will be launching FP Cincinnati in June 2022. On a weekly basis he trains and equips student leaders to take the Hope of Christ to their peers on their campus. He trains youth pastors, school faculty, and parents to live on mission to reach students at their local schools. Justin has twelve years of student ministry experience through many roles including volunteer, interim youth pastor, campus coach and FP Director. He has been married to his wife Deanna for eight years and together they have three children, Gemma, Jasper, and Hayden. Justin loves the outdoors and anything related to fitness, but spending time with his wife and kids is the best part of his day. His hobbies include working out, skateboarding and playing basketball, but what brings him the most joy is seeing students come to know Christ.

BOARD MEMBERS

Cary Brown, Chairman โ€“ Midland, TX
Leon Drennan, Vice Chairman โ€“ Nashville, TN
JB Collingsworth, Secretary โ€“ Orlando, FL
Mike Roberts, Treasurer โ€“ Greeneville, TN
Jerry Meadows โ€“ Nashville, TN
JD Simpson โ€“ Hattiesburg, MS
Kevin Kolb โ€“ Tolar, TX
Dustin Doll โ€“ Lee’s Summit, MO

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