After several moves separated him temporarily from the church, Daniel met the McAllister family, who served at a local church. After Daniel’s junior year, Daniel moved in with the McAllister family, where he lived through his senior year of high school.
Read Daniel's Full BioUpon graduating from high school, Daniel attended Johnson University in Knoxville, TN. Shortly after graduation, he married his high school sweetheart, Mandy. Daniel was hired by West Towne Christian Church as the Associate Minister of Outreach, a role he filled for the seven years leading up to the founding of The Restoration House.
In 2004 and 2005 Daniel and Mandy adopted two children locally from Knoxville. In May of 2010 they adopted another child from Ethiopia.
In 2010, Daniel was honored as one of Knoxville’s Top 40 Under 40 Business and Community Leaders by the Greater Knoxville Business Journal. Daniel is also an alumni of Introduction Knoxville – Class of 2011, Leadership Knoxville – Class of 2014, and UTK’s Consortium for Social Enterprise Effectiveness – Class of 2014. In 2020, Daniel was elected to the Knox County School Board where he is focused on making our local education system more equitable for all students and families.
It was their respective experiences as children of single mothers that prompted the vision for what is now The Restoration House, which they founded in 2006. Daniel and Mandy feel blessed and honored to be a part of what God is doing to restore single mothers and their families through The Restoration House’s work.
Mandy and Daniel attended high school and college together, marrying the year after they graduated from Johnson University. Mandy also completed her Master’s Degree in Holistic Education from Johnson. She then spent five treasured years as an 8th grade teacher at Christian Academy of Knoxville, which she describes as “a time of great personal growth and strengthening.”
Read Mandy's Full BioWhile God was preparing them for the birth of TRH, He was also calling Daniel and Mandy to adopt. Their experience with the local adoptions of Atley and Ava gave the couple a true picture of the plight of their children’s low-income single birthmothers in the Knoxville area, fueling their passion for what would become The Restoration House.
Today Mandy is a not-so-at-home, stay-at-home mom who is active in the life of The Restoration House as well as in her children’s school. She remains passionate about the work of The Restoration House and prayerfully seeks opportunities to help children find their forever homes.
In addition to her primary role, Lori is also a certified facilitator for the Cost of Poverty Experience and serves as a lead trainer for Faith and Finances with the Chalmers Center of Chattanooga. Lori is a member of the 2018 class of the Consortium for Social Enterprise Effectiveness at the University of Tennessee and coaches volleyball at Vine Middle School.
Lori graduated from Cedarville University with a degree in English and a minor in Bible. She grew up amid Wyoming’s Rocky Mountains, but also loves the hills of East Tennessee. Lori married her college sweetheart, a Tennessee boy. Their favorite lifetime accomplishments are their three young adult children, Justin, Ethan and Kayla. Lori is grateful for all that she learned during the 12 years that she and her husband, Jonathan, spent in cross-cultural ministry, including 9 years in the country of Hungary.”
Raquel is the Founder and Director of LATINAS TIME, a group that seeks to help Latina Women in East Tennessee to find their own value and identity encouraging them to become leaders, entrepreneurs and to better involve themselves in their communities. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Good Samaritan Center of Loudon County and The Prevention Alliance of Loudon County Advisory Board. Raquel is also an International Ambassador of the Argentinean organization FUNDACION MUJERES QUE AVANZAN and one of the Executive Editors of the digital magazine MUJERES CON VISION.
She is a member of the New Providence Baptist Church in Loudon County, her father Israel Leal is the Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Valencia, Venezuela, where she took her first steps of faith from her mother’s womb.
These experiences have impacted her deeply, and continue to inform the way she sees the world. Prior to living overseas, Lora studied at Johnson University where she earned a M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy.
She is excited about the culture, worldview, and work being done at TRH.
Lora and her husband enjoy reading, running, and podcasts. They are very excited to be in Knoxville, and are encouraged by all the great things happening for the Kingdom here.
Originally from Elizabeth City North Carolina, she has lived in Knoxville since 1991, graduating from the University of TN, Knoxville with a BS in Human Ecology – Child and Family Studies.
Read Gladys' Full BioGladys is a licensed and ordained Minister, and is also currently serving on staff at a local church. She is the mother of four unique and gifted young adults, Jomecia, Isaac, Nicholas and Simeon and is the proud GiGi of one grandson, Imari.
Having been a single-mother to her two children for several years she has a vested interest in the work of The Restoration House. She is passionate about providing first hand experiences to better serve the single mothers in the Knoxville community.
Read Vicki's Full BioVicki is married to David Arpino. They have 3 grown children, a son-n-law and 2 grand kids.
In her spare time, she and David enjoy playing with their grand kids, going to the mountains and visiting antique shops as well as taking family vacations to their favorite area around Charleston, SC.
Carrie is excited to be a part of the Restoration House team because she loves to be a part of seeking God’s good plan for his children.
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Grant was the Executive Director at Compassion Coalition for 11 years and now is a chaplain for Dominion Senior Living. He is an extremely well-respected leader in the Knoxville community, and has been helping bring about shalom in the community for decades.
David has a longstanding well-respected career at Pershing Yoakley and Associates. He is 3rd generation Fountain Citian!
Ola is a social worker with a tremendous amount of experience having served at the Salvation Army and most recently as the VP of the Knoxville Area Urban League.
Bill worked with UTK Athletics for a number of years and is now the CFO of Information International & Associates.
Jack’s whole career was in the YMCA. He brings a tremendous amount of nonprofit experience and passion to the board of The Restoration House.
Susie, her husband, Gordon, and their five children have lived in Knoxville since 2005. A former member of Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church, she now serves as the Children’s Ministry Coordinator at New Life Gathering. For a season she was a young single mom with two children herself, and understands deeply the importance of The Restoration House’s mission.
Gabe is the CEO of KUB. He was raised by his single mom and understands the challenges and the opportunities. He and his wife Tarah, have three amazing children and have been actively engaged in The Restoration House for years before coming onto the board.
Alan has been in broadcast television for over 30 years and is currently an anchor with Knoxville’s CBS affiliate, WVLT.
Carolina is a realtor with Fox and Fogarty. She is active in the community through Centro Hispano and other local organizations. As a single mother she uniquely understands the struggles of the mother-led families of The Restoration House.
Joshalyn and her husband have three children and nine amazing grandchildren. She understands the challenges that many mother-led families face, having been a single mother early on. Joshalyn is the VP of Community Development for the East Region for First Horizon Bank and has served on several boards including, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Homesource East TN, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Commission, Wesley House, United Way, and the Tennessee Affordable Housing Coalition.
Kara’s background is in communications and event management. She previously worked for the Carolina Panthers and now is VP; Corporate Events Manager, CEO and Executive Communications at Bank of America. She is a native of East Tennessee.
LaTonya is a professor of accounting at UTK and an entrepreneur. She and her husband have three beautiful little girls. LaTonya has served on the boards of GirlTalk, Uunik Academy, and Jack and Jill. One of her passions is seeing mom’s empowered so their children have access to every opportunity.
Keely is a Financial Advisor with Pinnacle Financial Partners. She is a commercial lenders, but says her greatest passion is helping lower-income families access homeownership. Keely has seen firsthand the life change difference owning a home can make.
Sara had a 25 year career in public housing and is on the board of American Property Management in Knoxville, TN. She has been a volunteer with The Restoration House since day one having walked with three participating families over the last ten years.
Shelly is an attorney at Owings Wilson Coleman. She is also a longtime member of Central Baptist Church in Fountain City. Shelly is highly skilled and brings tremendous expertise to the board.
These are community members who have served on the board in years past, and worked to build a strong foundation in order to impact single mother families long into the future.
Craig Covert | Nic Nicaud | Carol Reeve |
Russell Biven | Stacy Smith | Laura O’Connor |
Paul Jaeger | Rebecca Wolfenbarger | Rick Coleman |
Andy Holt | April Jackson | Crystal Clark |
Jack Bender | Jason Warden | Jody Griffin |
Joel Baker | John Hall | Kelli Thompson |
Lucy Spurgeon | Lyn Overholt | Pam Wolf |
Kim Frazier | Debra Smith | Misty Mayes |
Billy Fulghum | Leigh Avery | Heather White |
Ed Curtis | Becky Paylor | Alan Guy |
Joe Petre | Robin Gibson | Ramona Koplan |
Cortny Bean |