Board of Directors

Board of Directors
Brenda Rhodes (President) founded Simple Needs GA in April 2010. Over the past 27 years since moving to this area, she has volunteered her time with a host of nonprofit organizations in Cobb County and Metro Atlanta, including MUST Ministries, Good Mews Animal Foundation, Special Olympics, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, Hands on Atlanta, LiveSAFE Resources, and The Center for Family Resources. Brenda sings in the choir at First United Methodist Church of Marietta, is a member of the Georgia Symphony Orchestra Chorus, and also sings in the Strand Ol’ Opry. In recognition of the thousands of hours she has spent volunteering, Brenda received the National Points of Light Award in both November 2007 and July 2010. She was the featured Hands on Network volunteer on MSNBC’s “Brewing Together” program in 2009. The prior year, she received both the Lifetime President’s Volunteer Service Award and the Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award. Brenda was Hands on Atlanta’s Premier Volunteer in 2004 and received her University’s Alumni Service Award in 1997. Brenda is a member of the Golden K Kiwanis Club. She is a graduate of the 2016 class of Leadership Cobb and the winner of the 2016 W. Wyman Pilcher Jr. Memorial Grant for community service from the Leadership Cobb Alumni Association. She won the Cobb Collaborative’s Jack Vaughn Jr. Human Services Award, Volunteer Category, in November 2017. She was featured on the cover of the East Cobber Magazine in December of 2017 and, in November 2018, won East Cobb Citizen of the Year from the East Cobb Area Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. In October 2020, the ABWA (American Business Women’s Association) presented Brenda with their 2020 Community Service Award.

Beth Tabb Duff is a lifelong city of Marietta resident. She initially heard of Simple Needs GA in 2018 and was first interested in providing toys for local children for Christmas and birthdays. Since then she has also enjoyed shopping for basic household items for families coming out of homelessness throughout the year. Her favorite programs are still My Birthday Matters and Spirit of Christmas and she loves providing toys and books for children in these programs. (Especially books!) Beth attended Presbyterian College for two years and then transferred to Georgia State University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Accounting. She obtained her CPA license in 1989 and in 1991 began her own small private practice, currently named Elizabeth Tabb Duff, CPA PC. She also works part time at a local CPA firm, Allen & Bright PC, reviewing tax returns and assisting with complex tax accounts. She enjoys helping small businesses and individuals save taxes and resolve tax issues. Over the years Beth has volunteered with her children’s schools and PTA’s, as well as volunteered with 7 Bridges to Recovery, Toys for Tots and Must Ministries and provided pro bono bookkeeping services to a local organization for families of those in recovery. She loves spending time with her grown children and also enjoys reading, traveling and relaxing at the family lake house.

Phil Hall joined the Board of Directors for Simple Needs GA in 2011. Phil, who handles SNGA’s legal and insurance matters, learned of the organization while volunteering on weekends for MUST Ministries with Brenda. In addition to his work with SNGA, Phil also donates his time to organizations such as Keep Smyrna Beautiful and the Atlanta IBM volunteer team. The latter group seeks to beautify local neighborhoods by painting public school classrooms, building community gardens, helping to renovate schools and more. Phil is employed as sales manager for IBM USA and consults with general business customers on “how to build a better planet.” He has been with the company since 1997.

Kristen Cremeans, an Atlanta native, started volunteering with Simple Needs GA in December 2020, through a partnership with her employer, Home Depot. She fell in love with the organization’s mission and joined the board in May 2021. Outside of partnering with Simple Needs, she likes to support other local charities and groups such as the Atlanta College and Career Academy, where she offers her recruiting/interviewing expertise to young adults looking to enter the workforce. She also spends time supporting Home Depot’s Veteran Programs that assist veterans as they transition into the civilian workforce after their years of military service.

Anne Lee was looking to get more involved in local volunteer opportunities and first came to Simple Needs GA in 2019 after hearing about the organization from a friend and former board member. She became a regular volunteer and joined the board in 2020. While not an Atlanta native, Anne has lived in the greater Atlanta area since 2013 and calls Smyrna home. She has worked at Coca-Cola since 2014.

Stacy “Mac” McIlwain is a dedicated, seven-year volunteer with Simple Needs GA. On a typical weekday, Mac can be found calling new clients to get their lists of needed small items or working with parents and guardians to personalize their birthday gifts for their children. Originally from Southern Illinois, Mac moved to Marietta in August 2015 after retiring as a Special Education teacher. She learned about Simple Needs GA from a Marietta neighborhood site in December 2015. At her first visit to the warehouse, she learned that SNGA provided birthday gifts to children up through the age of 18, that the birthdays included brand-new books, and also that SNGA distributed feminine hygiene items to clients. Those were all things she had done through her club sponsorships while teaching. She began volunteering for SNGA in January 2016, going out on monthly furniture runs with members of the First United Methodist Church. Mac also took on the task of calling new clients to find out about their needs for small household items and became an all-around delivery person. “I look back over the past seven years and can’t help but notice the growth of Simple Needs GA. There was a time when we only needed to spend two Saturdays a month at the warehouse to keep up with birthdays and pulling small items for clients. Now it is not unusual for Brenda to call volunteers to work throughout the week to help keep up with the demand.”

Nancy Riley (Secretary) grew up in Marietta and attended Walton High School. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from Auburn University and a master’s degree in Communications from Georgia State University. In 2021, she retired from IBM after serving in various communications roles over the course of her 30-year career. Nancy was an IBM Platinum Volunteer and recipient of the President’s Lifetime Volunteer Service Award. She served seven years on the Board of Directors of Good Mews Animal Foundation, a no-kill cat shelter in Marietta. She is a crisis line responder and foster mom for Ahimsa House, a nonprofit organization that helps victims of domestic violence and their pets. She is a pro bono consultant for Community Consulting Teams – Atlanta, where she has developed marketing and strategic plans for Atlanta nonprofits Usher’s New Look, Second Life and Canine Cellmates. She serves on the Advisory Board to the Department of Communication at Auburn University. Nancy began volunteering with Simple Needs GA in 2017 working in the warehouse, serving clients, helping with the Christmas program, and helping with database management and other record-keeping.

Danielle Rose (Treasurer) is an Atlanta native. She grew up in Marietta and still resides in Cobb County. She graduated from Marietta High School and went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance from Kennesaw State University. She has spent most of her career in Human Resources, focusing on employee benefit programs. She has worked for SunTrust Banks, IHG, and Exide Technologies, and is currently an Asst. Vice President with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta. She is active in the community involvement program at the Bank, and over the years has volunteered with numerous organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Open Hand, the Foundation for Hospital Art, Midtown Assistance Center, and Mostly Mutts. She began volunteering with Simple Needs GA in September 2015, working with the organization’s furniture program. She also continues to volunteer on a regular basis with Mostly Mutts and the American Red Cross.