Community Foundation welcomes 4 trustees

The Brown County Community Foundation (BCCF) added four new members to its volunteer board of trustees, John Elliott, David Phelps, Laurie Teal and Bill Walters.

John Elliott

John Elliott

Until his September 2022 retirement, Elliott led one of the largest food banks in the U.S. and the largest social service charity in Indiana, distributing more than 105 million meals per year with nearly $200 million in revenue. He chaired the state food bank association, helped lead Indy Hunger Network, plays a leadership role in the national Feeding America network, served on two pandemic task forces, the National Academies of Sciences Engineering; Medicine’s pandemic resilience task force, and the White House Conference on Hunger. Prior to Gleaners, Elliott led the public affairs team and served as media spokesman for The Kroger Co.’s Central Division, distributing more than $15 million in annual contributions to hundreds of charities. Prior to Kroger, Elliott owned a private consultancy focused on strategic planning and organizational effectiveness for non-profits, local governments, higher-ed and business. Elliott helped found and served as inaugural Executive Director of Hanover College’s Center for Business Preparation, transforming how business is taught in a liberal arts environment. He has considerable international experience, serving 10 years as a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C., Burma, Taiwan, Thailand, and United Nations meetings, working primarily on regional economic and trade policy. He later served on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Export Council. Elliott has a deep passion for community service and has served on more than 25 community boards and organizations and has founded multiple non-profits. Heis a graduate of Hanover College, Butler University, and the U.S. Foreign Service Institute in Washington. Elliott and his wife Karen, a school guidance counselor, are the proud parents of son George and daughters Katie and Jessica.

David Phelps

David Phelps

Phelps has lived in Brown County for nearly all of his life. He was a 2005 graduate of Brown County High School and recipient of the Lilly Scholarship. He went on to earn a B.S. in Economics from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and a MA in Religion from Cincinnati Christian University. Phelps has worked for Brown County Schools full-time since 2010 and is currently the Director of Technology. He also coaches girls’ varsity soccer at BCHS and served as youth minister at Nashville United Methodist church for eight years. He lives just outside of Nashville with his wife and two daughters.

Laurie Teal

Laurie Teal

A daily money manager and Certified Professional Organizer, Teal works with clients via her company Organized Solutions LLC. She earned her B.S. in Business from the University of Evansville and has been a curious and enthusiastic learner all her life. Passionate about financial literacy, she penned a book – Nine Nights – to encourage readers to become more confident dealing with money matters. In addition to serving on the BCCF FIR Committee, Teal wears several hats for the local League of Women Voters as Treasurer, newsletter editor, website manager and membership committee co-chair. She and her husband Jeff have owned property in Brown County since 2006, but moved to the community full-time in 2014 after becoming empty nesters. They are the proud parents of a daughter and a son, and will be welcoming a daughter-in-law to the family in 2023.

Bill Walters

Bill Walters

Walters received his undergraduate and master’s degrees in park administration from the University of Illinois. Following graduation, he worked for 23 years for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources in a variety of capacities, including the last 12 years as director of state parks. Walters worked for the National Park Service for 15 years before retiring as chief of staff to the director in 2002. He and his wife Ann have owned property in Brown County since 1970 and have two children, and two grandchildren. They are active locally in the Nashville United Methodist Church, serve on the board of the We Care Gang. Walters has been on the board of Habitat for Humanity and in retirement served on the Secretary of Interior’s Advisory Board to the National Park Service.

Learn more about these new board of trustees and their accomplishments by visiting browncountygives.org/get-to-know-us/board. The BCCF continuously seeks diverse representatives from Brown County to serve on the board and committees. Applications are welcome from any community member interested in making a positive difference in Brown County.

The role of the board of trustees is to provide strategic leadership to the BCCF, ensuring the organization stays focused on mission and vision. Board members develop policies and goals, are active fundraisers and are relentless in pursuing the foundation’s commitments to the community.

The Brown County Community Foundation distributed more than $1.7 million in grants and scholarships to the Brown County community in 2022. Learn more by visiting browncountygives.org.