Our Staff & Board

Bethany Roberts Mann is the founder and executive director of Child Arise Tennessee, a nonprofit organization supporting children and caregivers impacted by parental incarceration.

Born to an incarcerated mother and adopted as a toddler, Bethany's personal history informs her long-standing commitment to addressing the often-overlooked impact of incarceration on children and families. Her work is rooted in the belief that stable relationships, early support, and community connection can interrupt cycles of trauma and instability.

For more than 15 years, Bethany has worked in advocacy and prison outreach, including consistent visitation work on Tennessee's death row. Through those relationships, she became increasingly aware of the collateral consequences incarceration places on children, caregivers, and family systems.

Under her leadership, Child Arise Tennessee partners with schools, caregivers, and community organizations to provide direct support, caregiver engagement, resource coordination, and advocacy for children impacted by parental incarceration. The organization is currently developing school-based support models and community partnerships within Metro Nashville Public Schools.

Bethany is ACES-trained and committed to trauma-informed, child-centered practices in all areas of Child Arise's work. Her professional background includes experience in law, immigration services, small business operations, and nonprofit leadership.

She lives in Nashville with her husband and a ridiculous number of animals.

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 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.

The Rev. Richard Wineland grew up in Central Pennsylvania. He studied at Penn State University and Goshen College in Indiana, graduating with a bachelor's degree in music performance. He received a Master of Divinity degree from Mennonite Theological Seminary in Indiana, and an MA equivalent in Psychology from Andrews University in Michigan. Currently he is completing a Doctor of Ministry degree in missional leadership and congregational development at Bexley Seabury Episcopal Seminary in Chicago.

Richard served as a Mennonite and Lutheran pastor for 10 years prior to becoming an Episcopal priest, leading congregations in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Tennessee, and has served Episcopal parishes in Indiana and Tennessee since 2005.

Fr. Richard has been involved in many nonprofit organizations throughout his ministry, and currently serves on the Boards of the Pastoral Center for Healing and Child Arise- Tennessee. He has also served on the Board of Directors of two church-wide organizations; Recovery Ministries of the Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Peace Fellowship. He was the founding Executive Director of the Community Music School of Goshen College, in Indiana.

Richard is a lifelong singer and musician, a published composer, and has performed at the Grand Ole Opry House and on national television. As a writer he has also had articles published in both academic journals and denomination-wide publications.

Richard is married to Lee Armstrong, a musician, poet, and registered nurse. Together they have seven adult children, scattered from New York City to Los Angeles.

Lucy is a Nashville native with seven years of experience at a prominent, nationally recognized nonprofit, where she built a strong foundation in advocacy, community care, and support for vulnerable populations.

Her commitment to justice and human dignity was shaped early in life through her family's meaningful relationships with individuals on death row. These relationships taught Lucy that people are more than the worst thing they have ever done, and that compassion—when practiced consistently and courageously—can be a powerful force for change.

Through her work with Child Arise, Lucy brings together professional experience and lived perspective, guided by empathy, respect, and a deep belief in the inherent worth of every person. She is especially passionate about supporting children and families impacted by incarceration and working toward systems that are more humane, responsive, and rooted in care.

Lucy's work is grounded in the belief that meaningful change begins with relationship—and that when children and families are met with dignity, stability, and support, communities are strengthened for generations to come.