About Child Arise Tennessee
Fostering hope, healing, and opportunity for children and families affected by parental incarceration across Tennessee.
Our Mission
To provide comprehensive wraparound support to children and families affected by parental incarceration—fostering stability, resilience, and opportunity through targeted services, community engagement, and trauma-informed care.
Our Vision
A Tennessee where every child affected by parental incarceration has access to the support, resources, and opportunities they need to thrive—regardless of their family's circumstances.
"We envision communities where these children are not defined by their parents' situation, but empowered to create their own bright futures."
Our Core Values
These principles guide every decision we make and every service we provide.
Compassionate Care
Every child deserves love, understanding, and support regardless of their circumstances.
Community-Centered
We believe in the power of community to heal, support, and uplift families in need.
Trauma-Informed
All our services are designed with deep understanding of trauma and its impact on children.
Empowerment
We focus on building resilience, self-esteem, and life skills that last a lifetime.
Excellence
We maintain the highest standards in our programs, partnerships, and outcomes.
Transparency
We operate with integrity, accountability, and openness in all our work.
Our Leadership Team
Dedicated professionals with lived experience and expertise in child advocacy.
Bethany Roberts Mann
Bethany Roberts Mann was born in prison and is mother of four and grandmother to one. She has been visiting the men on death row for 15 years. She lives intentionally every day to break the cycle of poverty one life at a time. She recently founded a non-profit called Child Arise, TN that advocates for and works to advance children of the incarcerated.
Linda Manning, PhD
Linda Manning, PhD provides supervision and consultation for therapists interested in somatic psychotherapy and working with trauma. She was an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Human Development Counseling Program at Vanderbilt University, where she taught a course on Trauma: Impact and Intervention for twenty years. Before retiring from full-time practice in 2019, she was the Interim Director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. Dr. Manning received her PhD from the University of Texas at Austin and has completed advanced training in somatic psychotherapy, mindfulness-based practices, and the treatment of trauma.
Dan Mann
For over 40 years Dan has worked in and around Nashville's music business. He began by booking Christian music acts into churches and conference centers. Booking success led to several years working in record company management and artist personal management. He is currently back in the agency business.
During his career, his passion for social justice provided opportunities to work with Romanian orphanages, provide medical equipment to hospitals and clinics in India and to address cooperation for social justice at an ecumenical conference held at the Vatican.
Since 2010, Dan and his wife Bethany have visited the men on Tennessee's Death Row. During this time, Dan has advocated for their humane treatment before the governor, before prominent pastors, and in the press. Five times Dan has helped organize a march for mercy prior to executions in Tennessee; marching the nine miles from Death Row to the State Capitol in order to present the Governor with petitions.
Dr. Sally Barton-Arwood
Dr. Sally Barton-Arwood brings over 30 years of experience in education, child advocacy, and trauma-informed practice to her role as a board member for Child Arise Tennessee. A lifelong educator and justice-driven leader, Sally's work is rooted in the enduring words of the prophet Micah: "He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8). These words have guided her life's calling—to walk alongside children and families with humility, to lead with compassion, and to challenge systems that fail to serve our most vulnerable.
As a board member of Child Arise Tennessee, Sally offers strategic insight into education systems, disability advocacy, and community-based partnerships. She believes that proximity eradicates stigma and that justice-impacted children deserve consistent relationships, meaningful opportunities, and the right to tell their own stories without shame.
Sally has worked directly with children and families across public, private, and nonprofit settings, including roles as a special education teacher, school administrator, and behavior specialist in Metro Nashville Public Schools. In these roles, she developed schoolwide behavior support systems and created individualized plans for children facing significant barriers to success. Her belief in the inherent worth of every child drives her commitment to inclusive practices and equitable access.
Currently a professor of education at Belmont University, Dr. B.—as her students affectionately call her—prepares future educators to serve with empathy, cultural humility, and purpose. Her teaching centers on trauma-informed, inclusive, and justice-centered approaches, reflecting the same values that shape Child Arise's mission. As part of her teaching, Sally founded and continues to lead a program that supports children with disabilities and their families—a space where her students engage directly in practices of inclusion, equity, and community-building.
Sally's research and consulting work focus on emotional and behavioral supports, service-learning, and systems that uphold the dignity of all children—particularly those affected by trauma and systemic inequities. She has published widely and presented nationally and internationally on topics such as equitable classroom practices, collaborative school culture, and inclusion.
Outside of her professional work, Sally finds renewal in the natural world, joy in cooking, and spiritual grounding in worship at Christ Church Cathedral. Whether paddling, reading, painting, or playing the piano (with more passion than precision), she embraces reflection, imagination, and community as vital parts of a well-lived life. These experiences fuel her creativity, restore her energy, and remind her of the beauty in both stillness and service.
Sally is honored to support Child Arise's work where children impacted by incarceration are embraced with acceptance, surrounded by advocacy, and empowered with access.
Join Our Mission
Whether through volunteering, donating, or partnering with us, there are many ways to support children and families affected by parental incarceration.