About Us

Values

Each person regardless of gender, race, background, religion, origin, or socio-economic status is made in the image of God, and is God’s workmanship, is of unique value and is of great worth.

 We are to offer encouragement, hope and love to all fellow humans.

God offers redemption and saving grace through His son, Jesus Christ and Christ offers forgiveness for everyone, everywhere to enable one to rise up and walk in wholeness and completeness.

Individuals who live in wholeness are healthy, contributing members to the community and take an interest in the well-being of others.

Isaiah 60:1-2

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Our Team

Our team contributes their time, knowledge and service to RISE UP Grundy and we consider it an honor to serve without compensation.

Loren Frost

Cofounder, Executive Director

Substance Abuse Prevention & Mentorship

Agricultural Development, Environmental Stewardship

Loren was born and raised in West Tennessee. He graduated from Bolivar High School and went on to college graduating from The University of Tennessee at Martin with a degree in Business Administration. Loren had a successful career selling commercial insurance before going to work for the State of Tennessee. In this position, he served on former Tennessee Governor Sundquist’s Leadership Team as the founder and director of the Tennessee Department of Labor’s DrugFree workplace program (Governor Sundquist served as the 47th Governor of Tennessee from 1995 to 2003).

Under Loren's leadership, Tennessee became a leader amongst all states in voluntary participation in the program. Go Volunteers! This program is designed to increase productivity for Tennessee employers and promote safe worksites by keeping the workplace drug free.

After rehabilitation from a tragic accident and months in a coma, Loren returned to The University of Tennessee at Knoxville to get a B.S. in Plant Sciences with a focus on Agriculture so he could teach, train and mentor students and people to grow food and to "grow people". Loren is able to understand the effects of addiction because he has walked in those shoes.

This has equipped him to work with men in recovery. Loren has also faithfully served in youth ministry and worked on inner city garden projects. Loren loves anything nature related like hiking and playing golf. He played on the UT Martin golf team back in the day. Loren is a graduate of the Friends of South Cumberland Chapter of the Tennessee Naturalist Program.

Loren is excited to live and serve in the small town communities of Grundy County. Ask him how he is doing, and he will reply "Fine and Dandy!"

Deborah Frost

Cofounder, Director of Operations & Development

Emotional & Spiritual Care, Mentorship

Hospitality Training Program

Deborah was raised in Tennessee and is married to Loren. Together, they have a beautiful merged family who serves together. She is a seasoned professional with more than 25-plus years of experience, accomplished skills and proven record of working for nonprofits and for-profit organizations including small nonprofit public charities all the way up to and including Vanderbilt University.

Deborah is a Certified Public Accountant, State of Tennessee, Inactive Status and has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Memphis. She has extensive experience in mentoring women and being an advocate for the underserved, including training as a Chaplain and counselor. Deborah's experience includes involvement in various community activities and nonprofit organizations as a volunteer, running a coffee shop, helping with fundraising and accessing resources. Her passion is to serve the underserved, especially families and the children of families in recovery.

She has worked in various capacities over the years for the following employers including Homes and Havens as a Financial Manager in Chattanooga; Mercy Multiplied America as an Executive Director Finance/Accounting in Nashville; Vanderbilt University as Director, Trust, Estate Administrator in Nashville; River Oaks Imaging/Diagnostic as Accounting Manager in Houston, TX; Smith & Nephew Richards as Assistant Division Controller in Memphis and Pannell Kerr Forster as Senior Auditor, CPA Firm in Memphis.

Deborah loves creative arts in addition to the business side of things. She studied voice performance during her first year of college and toured with a youth choir back in the day. She also studied interior design for one year while living outside of London. Deborah has called many places home including Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Texas and the United Kingdom. However, her heart now belongs to Grundy County!

Morgan Noel

Finance Director

Accounting, Budgeting, Tax

Morgan was born in Tennessee to two CPAs. She moved quite a bit as a young child and made friends all over the place, which taught her to treasure and value friendships. Morgan graduated from Lee University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science, Accounting and went on to obtain her Certified Public Accountant, State of Tennessee license. While in school, she volunteered in different capacities including as a Summer Camp Counselor, as a tax preparer under an Income Assistance Program and working with special needs children.

Although she is a wiz at anything accounting and tax related, Morgan has an inspiring creative side that allows her to enjoy decorating, writing poetry and enjoying all types of art and music.

Morgan has worked as the central gifts officer for a university handling donations and issuing tax receipts, as a tax manager for a public accounting firm and as the accounting manager for a nonprofit in Chattanooga. Her favorite role is that of mommy for two beautiful children with joyful spirits and loves hiking, picnicking and antiquing with her family at treasured places near home in Grundy County!

RISE UP Grundy

Changing lives...One child at a time.