Theresa Nix, Founder & Executive director

My husband and I received our son's Down syndrome diagnosis the day after he was born. We felt shocked, afraid and alone. But we chose to turn our powerful emotions into energy that propelled us forward, allowing us to become the advocates—and parents—that Everett needed.

Immediately, we began researching. I spent two years simply figuring things out—not only as the mom of a child with special needs, but also as a first-time mom. After meeting fabulous women through a mom group, I realized that sharing personal experiences is the best resource (and therapy) we could ever hope to find. I learned more in a few moments from moms who “get it” than I had in all of my hours of Googling. But we needed more: more information, more activities, more help, more togetherness.

This is why I established Downside Up—a non-profit providing support, education, and encouragement for families who have children with disabilities. We connect children with the resources they need to grow and thrive. We inspire community acceptance by sharing with others the presence and potential of people with special needs. We welcome every new family into our own, meeting them exactly where they are on this wild ride.

Our Board

Board Chair

Kevin Smith has been a part of Downside Up for many years in various roles. As a parent of a child with a disability, he understands the importance and necessity of what we do in the community for families like his. He believes in our mission and hopes to expand our impact as our board chair.
Kevin is the Founder and President of BMF Advisors in Chattanooga.  With more than 20 years of banking and commercial finance knowledge, his extensive background includes experience as a commercial mortgage banker, commercial team leader for super-regional bank, and Chief Lending and Revenue Officer for a local community bank. 

Vice Chair

Katie came to Chattanooga to attend Covenant College, majoring in history with a focus on British history. After college, she began her journey into the startup world at Tricycle, Inc., then moved into the development at Covenant College. She spent time in several other local startups, including Quickcue and Variable. She recruited talent for Lamp Post Group, managed the Chattanooga Gigabit Community Fund for the Mozilla Foundation, and ran the CO.LAB Capital Network as Chief of Staff. Presently, Katie is the Director of Community Engagement at Pathway Lending and board secretary for the South Broad Redevelopment Group.

Administrative Assistant

Lori and her husband, Billy, moved back from Alabama to her family land where she grew up in Hixson. After studying Psychology & Communications at UTC, she worked for the Hamilton County School System in the Exceptional Education Census Department & at White Oak Elementary School. Prior to managing all the comings and goings of Downside Up, she dedicated almost 20 years to Gymboree as a general manager and district sales manager. As the Southeastern District Manager, she successfully opened, maintained, & supervised over 30 stores during her tenure. Her strong leadership & managerial experience have been a blessing to our organization.

Chase Whitmire, a Chattanooga native, has recently returned from a 20 year hiatus of traveling with his family to places like Madrid, New York City and Northeast Tennessee. In these amazing locations, he has devoted much of his career to the nonprofit world. Most recently, he was the Director of Membership Development for the Alliance for Better Nonprofits. Before that, he was the Executive Director of Young Life. He and his wife, Katie, are now owners and tech coaches at Cereset in downtown Chattanooga. Cereset is an innovative and noninvasive brain balancing process that enables your brain to fully relax and reset itself to its natural balance from the inside out.

Laurel is an experienced Event and Program Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the insurance industry and non profit sector. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Event Management, Media Relations, Corporate Communications, and Fundraising. Strong program and project management professional with a Certification focused in Meeting and Event Planning from Belmont University.

Started as a volunteer leader with Young Life in Chattanooga and at Lookout Mtn Presbyterian Church. Continued to work in a variety of leadership areas with YL and then the Community Kitchen. Helped with Northshore Fellowship PCA and Mountain Fellowship Church church plant. Developed Mountain Home Repairs Ministry, a non-denominational, multi-church movement aimed strictly at home repairs without cost to the poor, widowed, fixed income elderly, etc. He started the Red Bank Community Food Pantry & is a board member. Currently working with 10 denominations spread over 15 different churches and 3 private businesses. Currently developing the new East Lake Food Pantry. Hobbies include, but not limited to,hunting, shooting sports, archery, water skiing, kayaking and scuba diving.

Secretary

Kera Hughes & her husband, Jon, live in Red Bank with their children Kayden, Emery, Lauren, & Hatcher. Kera was a labor & delivery nurse for 15 years- she has always had a love for babies & caring for people. An opportunity opened up for her to be able to stay at home with her kids- something she always wanted to do. She enjoys staying involved in her kids’ school by volunteering in various ways and also cheering them on in their many sporting activities. In 2014, she & her husband adopted Hatcher at the age of 14 months. They knew he had “special needs” but he did not have a diagnosis. Even after multiple tests, he was never given a diagnosis outside of intellectual disabilities. Hatcher has not only been a blessing to his family but to the community. He is quickly becoming the little mayor {as a teacher named him} of Chattanooga. He is the reason Kera found Downside Up which has been the very thing she needed but didn’t know she needed. She quickly knew she wanted to be a part of it in any way she could.

Treasurer CPA/CVA

David is the Chief Financial Officer and Business Strategist at Acumen Wealth Advisors. David earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration–Marketing from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Before his career in public accounting David was a financial consultant for TVA within the financial operations organization.  Previously, he spent several years as an advertising sales executive.

David is active in the local community as a financial leader advising on economic decisions and providing oversight to non-profits. David is proudly serving on the board of directors for local charitable organizations providing accounting and financial guidance to startup businesses across an array of industries.