The Samaritan’s Feet team is devoted to serving those in need and helping others do the same. We invite you to learn more about our incredibly talented staff by viewing their information below.
The Samaritan’s Feet team is devoted to serving those in need and helping others do the same. We invite you to learn more about our incredibly talented staff by viewing their information below.
Manny Ohonme
Co-Founder, President, & CEO
Manny is the co-founder of Samaritan’s Feet and the chief foot washer and visionary. He loves watching lives transform right before his eyes and seeing people walk in their purpose. One of his most impactful memories with the ministry is when he witnessed the President of Burundi wash the feet of the poor and pygmies in his country. Another is when he witnessed one the orphans we served finish college, launch their own ministry, and have their own family. Manny enjoys traveling, spending time with his family, and investing in people.
Tracie Ohonme
Co-Founder and Vice President
Tracie is the co-founder of Samaritan’s Feet and the guardian of our culture and chief encourager. She loves seeing our team, as well as those we serve with, reach their potential and utilize their platform to make a difference. Developing our Women Ambassador program and seeing computer learning centers being built in Africa and the success of their Barefoot Gala has been so meaningful for her. She loves serving her children, traveling with her husband, and of course, shoe shopping!
Kyle Alexander
Regional Program Manager
Kyle develops and executes opportunities to grow the Samaritan’s Feet outreach through partnerships across Arkansas and the surrounding area. He enjoys seeing the impact a new pair of shoes and message of hope can have on a child immediately and then throughout their life. While serving in Puerto Rico, Kyle experienced a life-changing moment as he saw an eight-year-old boy, who had been orphaned due to a drug cartel killing, pray for the safety of the mission team members. Kyle loves spending time with friends and family, fishing, and watching college football.
Marcela Bacon
Events Coordinator
Marcela manages and coordinates all special events for Samaritan’s Feet, like the Barefoot Gala and Golf Tournament. She enjoys seeing the passion and commitment of the team, as well as knowing that the work she does helps make a difference in someone else’s life. Marcela loves seeing the joy and smiles in the faces of the children we serve. She enjoys camping, Alabama college football (Roll Tide!) and spending time with her husband and two daughters.
Bryan Boan
Digital Marketing Manager
Bryan produces videos, photographs, and designs pieces to document the domestic and international initiatives and impact of Samaritan’s Feet. He enjoys being able to tell the stories of those we serve. While serving thousands of refugees in Uganda, he realized he was ready to be a part of this global movement. Bryan enjoys munching on Haribo gummy bears, spending time outdoors, and getting tattoos.
Belton Bowie
Warehouse Associate
Belton works in our warehouse ensuring all orders are correct, and keeping everything organized and safe. He really loves the people he works with and even tells his mother every day about his work family. Because of that, he really looks forward to coming to work every day. Outside of work, he enjoys relaxing, taking care of his mom, spending time outside, and spoiling his dog Pookie.
David Buckman
Lead Warehouse Associate
David helps in the warehouse making sure all orders of shoes are good to go. He is responsible for getting thousands of shoes properly packed and ready for distributions around the world. His favorite thing about working at Samaritan’s Feet is the good spirit and happiness of all his co-workers, and that he feels good when he goes home because he knows we’re doing good in the world. Outside of work, David enjoys gaming, listening to music, and cooking.
Deborah Cox-Roush
Senior Program Manager
Deborah is the Senior Program Manager and will develop this program to serve senior citizens with new shoes while also giving them hope through service to them. Deborah said she’ll never forget the smiles on the recipients’ faces and the feeling of self-worth and dignity that they experienced while serving for the first time with Samaritan’s Feet. She also enjoys reading, watching college sports (especially Ohio State football), and traveling with her husband on day trips.
Larry Davis
Security & Logistics Manager
Larry maintains security at our worldwide headquarters in Charlotte, NC, while also helping with trucking and logistics. He loves that he is playing a part in serving those in need. He recalls serving at our powerful reconciliation event in Charleston one year after they experienced tragedy through the shooting at Mother Emmanuel Church. Larry enjoys watching NASCAR, doing special projects with his church, and fishing.
Emilie Erickson
Specialty Programs Manager
Emilie coordinates shoe distribution programs in the U.S., focusing on Shoe Lockers and Seniors. She manages these programs from the start, sponsor relationships, to finish, getting the correct shoes to the correct place. She traveled with Samaritan’s Feet to Greece to provide shoes to refugees and it changed her life. Emilie enjoys caring for her houseplants (she has over 90), taking her dog on hikes, and reading.
Lauren Forrest
Missions Coordinator
Lauren plans and coordinates all of our international and domestic mission trips. With her background and experience in Non-Profit Management and Disaster Management and enthusiasm for international project management, she plans these trips with an expertise that makes a lasting impact for all involved. In her free-time, Lauren enjoys watching true crime documentaries, hiking, reading, and spending time with her three daughters and husband.
Darcy Grimes
Chief Experience and Marketing Officer
Darcy leads our marketing and communications, community engagement, and missions departments. She ensures that supporters and volunteers are engaged and having an incredible experience as they serve alongside us. She loves that she is part of an organization that works to change people’s lives and gives hope and encouragement to those we serve and is always eager to volunteer at shoe distributions to see that impact first-hand. Darcy loves to read, travel, cook new and diverse recipes, and spend time with her family and friends.
Jesse Hall
Staff Accountant
Jesse is a staff accountant and handles GL entries, preparing financial statements, assisting with audits, and posting constituent donations. He loves the friendly and team-oriented work environment. Outside of work, Jesse enjoys being active at his local church, hanging out with friends, and spending time walking outside.
Viki Hanson
Receptionist & Finance Assistant
Viki assists our finance team and loves thanking our donors for their generosity. She also greets all of our guests who arrive at our worldwide headquarters. She remembers a man who brought his daughter to one of our distributions, but his shoes were more tattered than his daughter’s. Samaritan’s Feet was able to provide shoes for both of them and she’ll never forget how thankful he was. Viki enjoys spending time with family and friends, gardening, and swimming.
Cidney Hemingway
Regional Program Manager
Cid works as a regional program manager for Samaritan’s Feet and loves traveling to help run our domestic distributions. She enjoys engaging with people from so many different backgrounds. Outside of work, she loves exploring new places with her partner, spoiling her pets and DIY projects.
Kirsten Kays
Chief Program Officer
Kirsten is the Chief Program Manager (CPO) and develops, implements, and oversees all domestic and international programming. She has decades of experience in strategic planning, training and operations management, and training development and is excited to bring that knowledge to the Samaritan’s Feet team. Kirsten enjoys movies, reading, skiing, walking her pit-bull Layla, spending time with her husband Steve, and bantering with her two children.
Trish Kriger
Chief Administrative Officer
Trish manages and leads our development, finance, and warehouse teams in the organization. When volunteering at a shoe distribution, Trish greeted families attending which allowed her to have a special moment with nearly every one of the 800 who received shoes that day–a true gift of the season. She enjoys spending time with her family, being on the lake, and camping.
Jimmy Lapham
Warehouse Associate
Jimmy works in our warehouse helping prepare orders that will go out around the world. He loves the team at Samaritan’s Feet and the concept of the mission, saying that he spent 37 years working somewhere he had to, now he’s doing a job he wants to do. Outside of work he loves doing target practice and volunteering with dogs (he and his wife had a self-funded animal rescue for several years).
Katie Meyers
Systems Project Manager
Katie analyzes our systems to ensure accurate, efficient reporting in all areas of the organization. She is impacted seeing the sheer size and reach of the ministry that all started with one simple pair of shoes. Katie loves hiking and spending time with her husband and two daughters.
Steve Myrtle
Warehouse Manager
Steve is our Warehouse Manager and oversees all the shipments that come in and go out of the warehouse, ensuring the correct shoes are going to the correct places. Originally from West Virginia, Steve has been involved in Southern Gospel and Christian music since a very young age. Outside of work, he loves family function with his kids and grandchildren, traveling to the beach and mountains, woodworking, and playing keyboard and singing at his church.
Nike Ohonme
Chief of Staff
Nike develops partnerships and strategic initiatives to further the impact of Samaritan’s Feet. In 2018, a team of brave individuals committed to hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro in an effort to celebrate the years of service of Samaritan’s Feet. Nike said this trip was the most invigorating, challenging, and rewarding trip she’s ever been a part of. Nike loves a good long road trip, trying new food, a strong dark cup of coffee, reading, running, and spending time with friends and family.
Jasmine Robinson
Digital Marketing Coordinator
Jasmine manages all of our social media, along with completing other marketing tasks that help support the efforts of other departments. She is very passionate about all aspects of marketing and enjoys what she does! She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2021 and is excited to be a part of the team. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors, especially with her 5-year-old boxer mix, playing pick-up volleyball, and exploring all the great things Charlotte has to offer.
Whitney Saucedo
Missions Manager
Whitney coordinates our teams and trips as we serve internationally and in the United States. She enjoys being behind the scenes and developing relationships with all of our partners around the world. While traveling to Nigeria several years ago with Samaritan’s Feet, her eyes were opened to a new world and she keeps those friendships and memories close. You can always find her outside enjoying the sun and spending time with her family and friends.
Davida Serrani
Executive Assistant to the Founder & Human Resource Specialist
Davida brings decades of experience nonprofit experience and provides strategic support to the Founders. She helps guide employees through human resources procedures and answers questions about the organization’s policies addition to recruiting applicants. She loves hearing stories from volunteers about the impact Samaritan’s Feet is making in the lives of others. Davida enjoys being outside, walking, reading, and being with family and friends.
Kathy Slyder
Regional Development & Sports Initiative Manager
Kathy focuses on needs in the Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin region, while also developing relationships with athletes and sports organizations. She loves knowing that when she begins work each day, her mission is to help others in a tangible way. At a previous job, Kathy helped collect shoes to send to Nigeria and once she saw the photos of kids wearing those shoes, she was inspired. Kathy loves sports, including playing golf and pickle ball with her husband, yoga, reading, and spending time with family.
Meka Turner
Community Engagement Manager
Meka is responsible for connecting communities to Samaritan’s Feet through fun and engaging service opportunities. As a native Charlottean, she has been heavily involved in servant leadership and loves to support philanthropic efforts as much as possible. At a distribution, hearing the excitement from the students sharing their dreams and aspirations made her smile for a week. Meka loves encouraging others to find at least three positives a day, cooking large meals, and all kinds of music. Her favorite animals are cows and turtles!
Matthew Atokple
Ghana
Sharon Chan
Hong Kong
Darrell & Cristina Cheeks
Philippines
Samuel Santa Maria Diaz
Peru
Daniel Domínguez
Latin America
Justin Li
Hong Kong
Hermien Louw
South Africa
Olufunmilayo Ohonme-Aroyewun Beinta
Nigeria
Eliani R. Santana
Brazil
Jon Sarpong
Canada
Courtney Cash
Program Lead
World Shoe
James Henderson
Coordinator
Florida Area
Larry Jackson
Coordinator
Michigan Area
Theresa Randleman
Coordinator
Michigan Area
Ibraheem Suberu
Coordinator
Kansas City Area
Scott Woods
Program Lead
SLI
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support Samaritan’s Feet, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the same shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to the charity of your choice.
Follow these instructions to start giving to Samaritan’s Feet through your regular Amazon purchases:
Sign in to smile.amazon.com on your desktop or mobile phone browser. From your desktop, go to Your Account and select the option to Change your Charity. Or, from your mobile browser, select Change your Charity from the options at the bottom of the page. Select Samaritan’s Feet.
Supporting
Samaritan’s Feet
First Course
The Smith House Salad
Mixed Greens, Radish, Carrots, & Cherry Tomato with a Mustard Seed Vinaigrette
Second Course
4 oz. Petit USDA Prime Filet Mignon
Served Medium Rare with Standard Sauce
&
4 oz. Norwegian Salmon
Home-Style Mashed Potatoes & Steamed Asparagus
Third Course
Tennessee Cheesecake
Jack Daniels Caramel Sauce & Southern Candied Pecans
Many companies have programs through which they will “match” the charitable contributions made by their employees. Through corporate gift matching, your employer can multiply your donation to Samaritan’s Feet, making it go further.
Check with your company’s Human Resources office to see if they offer gift matching. If your employer does offer this program, your Human Resources department should provide you with a matching gift form to send to us, along with your donation. Complete this form and mail it with your donation to:
Samaritan’s Feet International
P.O. Box 78992
Charlotte, NC 28271
With thoughtful planning, you can make a lasting contribution to our mission. Your gift can take any of the following forms:
Residual Bequest: after making provisions for your family and friends, the balance of your belongings (legally referred to as your “estate”) is donated to Samaritan’s Feet.
Percentage of your Estate: where a specific percentage of your estate is left to Samaritan’s Feet.
Pecuniary Bequest: where a specific sum of money is donated.
Specific Gift Bequest: referring to any non-cash items such as stock, annuities, property, jewelry, artwork, or other valuables, which can be given to Samaritan’s Feet.
Life Insurance Policy
Want to know more about a planned gift to Samaritan’s Feet? You should make an appointment with your legal or financial adviser. They have all the tools to help you decide what type of request to make. We have partnered with the National Christian Foundation to make it easy for our supporters to donate cash and non-cash assets to us to take full advantage of all tax credits and benefits.