Our Executive Staff
Chris McCarthy
President and Chief Executive Officer
Chris graduated from Northern Illinois University with a BS degree in accounting and later earned the MBA degree from Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management. She was the cost accounting manager for Testor Corporation in Rockville, Ill., before moving back to Nashville in 1978. Following an accounting supervisor position with Maremont Corporation, she joined Werthan Industries in 1980, retiring in 2000 as senior vice president and chief financial officer.
Her retirement was short lived as she joined HFH in 2002. She was named CEO of the Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity (NAHFH) in 2004 and president and CEO in 2005. Chris is a member of the Leadership Nashville Class of 2005-6 and she represented all US affiliates on the HFHI 2011 Strategic Planning Committee in 2005. Chris is a member of the Center for Nonprofit Management Salute to Excellence Steering Committee 2006, a member of the Homeless Commission Fiscal Strategy Committee, she is president of the Habitat for Humanity of Tennessee state support organization board and the Downtown District YMCA Board. She also served on the 14 member Habitat for Humanity national strategic planning committee for 2006-2011, representing all U.S. affiliates.. In 2000 Chris chaired the Downtown YMCA board of directors, having headed its We Build People Campaign. She was also selected twice as the Downtown Y's 1996 and 2000 Volunteer of the Year. Under Chris's leadership, the NAHFH has grown 5 times in size in 5 years of operation and has won HFH's Affiliate of the Year Award in 2003, HFH's Clarence Jordan Award in 2005, and the Center for Nonprofit Management's Making a Difference Award in 2004 and CEO of the year finalist in 2006.
The Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity is building one of the largest all-Habitat neighborhoods in the USA. The 43 acre neighborhood has a 5 acre park with playlots, walking trails and picnic areas and it will have 140 homes when completed in 2007. The agency was recently selected by Whirpool Corporation from 1700 affiliates for the first annual Building Blocks initiative that built 10 homes (a block) in 5 days in November of 2006. This initiative will continue annually across the US to increase awareness of the need for affordable housing. This neighborhood will have a taxable value of $15MM when completed and will pay over $150,000 in property taxes annually.
She is an active member of St. Stephen Catholic Community. Chris and her husband, John, a CPA and partner with Flood, Bumstead, McCready and McCarthy, Inc., live in Old Hickory, where they fly fish, hike, and enjoy the outdoors.
Gary Bigelow
Chief Operating Officer
In 2004, Gary Bigelow joined NAHFH, bringing more than 25 years of experience in construction. He has managed build projects in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Netherlands.
Gary was previously employed by Unifirst Corporation, where he served as construction engineer for 13 years. In that role, he oversaw the design and construction of industrial laundry facilities, manufacturing and distribution centers, clean room, and nuclear decontamination centers. He has also managed construction of commercial and mid-rise banking and office facilities, residential condominiums, and historic preservation projects. Gary holds a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts.
Randy Cortner
Vice President of Retail and ReBuild Operations
Born and raised in the Crieve Hall area of Nashville, Randy Cortner attended Memphis State University and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sales and Marketing. He began volunteering with Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity in 2001 as a Supervisor-on-Site. Randy has worked for eighteen years in the wholesale gasoline business. He joined the NAHFH staff in 2007 to begin the ReBuild program helping low-income homeowners who are in need of home repairs maintain a healthy, safe and accessible home. With an extensive background in marketing, he also brings new and innovative ideas to increase sales at the HomeStore.
In 2005 Randy travelled to Sri Lanka with Habitat for Humanity International's Global Village Team to help after the tsunami and also went to southern Louisiana to work on Habitat projects, post-Katrina.
Randy and his wife, Susan, have two grown sons and are active members at Crievewood United Methodist Church. He continues to work as an SOS at the build site leading and guiding volunteers from groups, organizations, churches and corporations who donate their time to help build affordable homes on weekends for NAHFH partner families to purchase at zero percent interest.
Lauren Lane
Vice President, Development
In February of 2007, Lauren joined the Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity development staff as Development Manager where she focused on events and grant writing. She brought with her nine years of event coordination experience and 11 years of experience in the non-profit sector where she served as a volunteer for Hands on Nashville, Tomorrow Fund, the Nashville Ballet and Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity, as well. Today, she serves the agency as Vice President of Development.
Lauren is a native Texan who attended Vanderbilt University and graduated with a BA in Spanish. Upon graduation, she spent four years as a customer support consultant for Aspect Communications, where she trained and provided support for their Latin and South American clients. It was after this that she stepped into the event planning role when she returned to Vanderbilt to work in Development and Alumni Relations.
John Miklich
Chief Financial Officer
John Miklich joined NAHFH in January of 2007 as Chief Financial Officer with a vast array of expertise in finance and accounting. His work experience has ranged from accounting in government services to financial management of multi-million dollar private companies located in the Eastern United States and Canada.
John’s knowledge of senior financial management, capital expenditures, cost production efficiency, budgeting and forecasting, payroll and market analysis will be put to good use at NAHFH. He has evaluated and managed dozens of production facilities, designed and implemented a variety of site specific software packages on purchasing, job cost and inventory management, and coordinated conversions of dozens of financial and production systems.
John is a Certified Public Accountant, with membership in both the Wisconsin Institute of CPA’s and the American Institute of CPA’s and, holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Lakeland College in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He comes to NAHFH from TA Analytical Laboratories in Nashville where he worked as executive vice president, eastern division, and was responsible for the financial operation and performance of a network of analytical laboratories in his region, with locations throughout the United States.
Pam Webb
Vice President, Family Services
Pam joined the team at NAHFH in August 2007, bringing a solid business background and a passion for helping families to break the cycle of poverty and create a better life for themselves and future generations. She first realized this passion when she volunteered with Christian Community Services, Inc. and saw the difference financial independence made in a family's well-being.
Pam began her career as an Underwriting Account Manager for Cigna Healthcare. She then served as a Management Consultant for Emerald Youth Foundation and Vice President of Operations for Family Dynamics Institute. Prior to joining NAHFH, she ran her own business.
She holds a B.S. degree in Management from Lipscomb University and an M.B.A. from The University of Tennessee.