meet our team
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richard graham

executive director

Richard came to JIFF as Executive Director on March 24, 2014, after serving six years on the Executive Board of JIFF as Secretary. His professional background has been in national account sales and management. For three years he served on the East Memphis Board of Young Life. He and his wife, Frances, have been married for 30 years, and have two wonderful daughters, Natalie and Katelyn. Richard’s passion is to give youth a chance, seeing they are not the problem, but the solution to transforming change in families.

kaitrin valencia, Esq.

operations and process manager

Kaitrin Valencia came to JIFF in 2018 after serving on our Board. She is a licensed attorney in Illinois and Tennessee, an author, worked for 18 years in Chicago’s juvenile court as a top administrator, and also has a plethora of ministry and Christian non-profit management experience. She is passionate about juvenile justice reform, including juvenile detention alternatives and the implementation of evidence based programming. As an expert in female responsive programming, she volunteers much of her time combatting human trafficking both locally in Memphis and nationally. She and her husband, Emilio, have three children and enjoy mentoring, writing, and teaching.

shelia medlin

finance manager

Shelia serves as JIFF’s Finance Coordinator with well over 20 years experience in handling the bookkeeping needs of JIFF, dating back to our Youth for Christ days. She has been married to her husband, David, for over 43 years. They have two children, a daughter, Cristi, and a son, Matthew. They are the proud grandparents of 8 grand-children (4 girls and 4 boys) and one great-grandson. Shelia counts it a privilege to serve God through the ministry of JIFF standing alongside a dedicated team of HIS servants.

ronald frazier

program Director

Ronald is our Juvenile Case Mentoring Program Director who has been fully committed to serving the greater Memphis community since arriving in 2005 from the south side of Chicago. Faith, character and integrity have been his driving force while serving in the mental health arena, providing an insurmountable amount of time, energy, and effort into community service projects, and fundraiser initiatives via fraternal relations (Prince Hall Masons). Ronald came over to JIFF in late 2015 as a case mentor, and has been on absolute fire for the JIFF mission of bringing an end to "the destructive cycle of juvenile crime”.

jefferson walker

program Director

Jefferson Walker is our Early Intervention Program Director. He graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a degree in Early Childhood Education. He comes to JIFF from Memphis Athletic Ministries where he was a middle school youth coordinator and Up2Us coach. Prior to that, he served for 4 years at Kids Across America, an urban youth sports camp located in Missouri. ​

nick butler

Lead case manager

A proud native of South Memphis, TN, Nick attends Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church and is the gracious father of Jieret Butler. He is a Prince Hall Affiliated Mason of Robert J. Spraggins #163. His passions include change, growth, and discipline. Nick has faithfully served and guided JIFF's highest risk youth in our Case Mentoring Department.
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Akila Allen

assistant program manager

Akila Allen is our Early Intervention Assistant Program Manager. She earned her BA from College of Saint Mary in Omaha, NE where she lived for 12 years. She has over 15 years of experience working with youth and families within the Child Welfare System and juvenile courts. She believes God places obstacles for teachable moments for us to learn from previous mistakes and is eager to assist our youth in redefining their lives, sketching out their paths, and sowing seeds God intended for them.  

case managers

james austin

James grew up in Memphis with seven siblings. He loves to play sports (football and basketball) and was star athlete growing up. James got into some trouble early in his teen years and in the process received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Now God has set him on the to help others not make the same mistakes. James is a Case Manager in JIFF Case Mentoring Department. 

Darion cooper

Bio Coming Soon

MArio Fields

Bio Coming Soon

Stephen mcdowell

Stephen was born and raised in the Indianapolis area before moving on to pursue his dreams of playing college basketball. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga with a degree in Finance. After receiving awards and championships he entered a European Professional league. Each summer, he returned to his hometown and hosted basketball clinics in an effort to give back. Stephen's mission is to fuse his passion for financial literacy with his athletic background to develop the seeds God's placed within those he mentors in a manner that brings glory to God’s Kingdom. Stephan is a Case Manager in JIFF Case Mentoring Department. 
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Duane Stewart

Bio coming soon.

Clarence Walker

Clarence Walker was one of our most faithful volunteers in our Early Intervention Program where he was a group mentor. He faithfully came to every group and was JIFF's Volunteer Mentor of the year in 2018. Clarence joined the JIFF staff in April, 2019 and he is currently a Case Manager for the Evening Reporting Center.

dorothy jones

family care coordinator

Dorothy is a native Memphian.  She attended The University of Memphis and graduated with a degree in Organizational Leadership.  Dorothy was formally employed by Americorps to work with high school students at an alternative school.  She was also a long time volunteer at St.Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the Child Life Specialist area.  She and her husband, Andre, have two children and are committed to doing their part to make Memphis a better place.

Gwendolyn Gross

front desk receptionist

As our receptionist, Gwendolyn is often the first voice and face you will encounter when contacting JIFF.  She takes great joy in helping with JIFF's clerical work and loving on our youth and community. She was born and raised in Memphis and is invested in seeing God transform the communities we serve.

david medlin

facility maintenance SUPERVISOR

​Since retiring from BellSouth after 30 years of service, Dave now stays quite busy handling the repair and maintenance needs around the JIFF building. His background includes serving in the Air Force and Air National Guard as well as many years at the phone company. Come by and you might just see Dave on the roof changing air-conditioning filters, out back checking the oil in one of JIFF’s vans, or dressed-out in his coveralls painting one of our many offices. He always has a smile on his face while he works to keep JIFF in tip-top shape!

becky pearce

administrative assistant

Becky has lived in Memphis her entire life and is dedicated to serving her community. Her professional background includes working as a teacher at Treadwell, an officer for the Memphis Police Department, and a Probation Counselor in Juvenile Court for 33 years. As an Administrative Assistant, Becky assists the Program Manager and keeps records for Juvenile Court. Becky has two sons and is a very proud "Nana" to her granddaughter.

Tonya watson

volunteer coordinator

Tonya Watson joined our team as JIFF's Volunteer Coordinator with over ten years of experience in Shelby County's Juvenile Court working with opportunity youth. Tonya has three kids, and she is passionate about equipping our most marginalized populations with the tools they need to follow a positive path. ​