Project 82 Kenya

Who We Are

The PROJECT 82 Team is a diverse group of individuals who are united by their common heart for orphans in Kenya.  Each brings their own experience, gifts, and resources to the table but mostly they are just ordinary people joining God is His passionate desire to make sure that orphans are cared for.

Anita Colley

Executive Director

Anita is thrilled and honored to be a part of the Project 82 Kenya family.  Project 82’s mission to serve   the weak and fatherless stirs her passion to serve the children and families of Kenya who are in great need.  After an extensive and successful career in corporate marketing, sales and operations, she was called to serve God’s Kingdom. She has served churches and Christian ministries in the development of long term strategic planning, financial planning, and preparing for the next generation of Christians.

Her life’s motto is to help others by living out His Word in, Matthew 22:37-39 “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind this is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Anita and her husband Steve have five children.  They are very active in their church, enjoy spending time together as a family, love SEC football, outdoor and water sports, and having the privilege to witness God perform miracles.

Phoebe Maina Wachira

Child Advocate and Program Manager

Phoebe joined the PROJECT 82 staff in February of 2011.  As the Child Advocate and Program Manager in Kenya, her responsibilities include the continued development and implementation of all aspects of our child sponsorship program including creating and leading ministry programs that focus on the spiritual, emotional, and social development of the children.  She also plays a key role in planning the activities for short term mission teams that support  the vision and goals in each of our community projects.

Phoebe earned a bachelor of education degree from Egerton University in 2006.  She began her career as a secondary school teacher in the public school system before joining Compassion Int’l where she served for 2 years as Project Director responsible for the child sponsor program of 300 children.  In 2008, she joined the staff of BrightPoint for Children as Program Manager providing oversight for 1500 child  sponsorships that directly impact the quality of education for more than 5000 children in 18 schools.

Phoebe is passionate about her work with vulnerable children.  She and her husband Edward live in Nairobi, Kenya.

Denise Ivey

Treasurer

Denise joined Project 82 following a vision trip to Kenya March/April 2011. She recently settled in Atlanta after retiring from the Gannett Co in Dec, 2008.  In her last position she served as President and Publisher of the Courier Journal in Louisville, Kentucky, a 250,000 circulation daily newspaper and President of the Mid-South group of newspapers for the company responsible for 19 newspapers.

Denise earned a BS degree in accounting from Louisiana State University in Shreveport and practiced public accounting as a licensed CPA prior to joining the Gannett Co. She served various communities over the years in the publisher role.

Since retiring Denise has devoted herself to working with organizations that she has had long standing relationships, including Habitat for Humanity, Impact 100 Pensacola and Rebuild Northwest Florida.  And having fun with her son and his family, Scott, Kayla and grandson Lucca.

Lisa Slade

Office Manager

Lisa joined the Project 82 team in May 2011. In June 2010, Lisa was blessed to be a part of a team who went to Kenya to serve in orphanages.  She has great passion for orphans, as she herself was raised without her parents and separated from many of her siblings. Although she was extremely blessed to have an aunt and uncle who were willing to care for her, she knows so many children are left hopeless and alone, in desperate need.

Lisa lives in Marietta with her husband Nic, and two daughters, Julia and Natalie. They attend Mount Bethel United Methodist Church, where they serve as worship leaders.  She aspires to teach their daughters to be passionate followers of Jesus Christ, and to show compassion for others by engaging them in local homeless ministries in the Atlanta area.

Prior to joining Project 82, Lisa worked as an analyst in the banking and payroll industry.

Jody Ray

President

Jody is one of the founding members of the Project 82 team. He serves as Lead Pastor at Stockbridge United Methodist Church. Jody has a passion for local and foreign missions that began in 2000 serving the people of Brazil. He spent a decade in financial services industry before entering the ministry. He holds a BA from North Georgia College and State University, a Masters degree from Gamon Theological Seminary, and is presently working on his doctorate degree at George Fox Seminary. Jody lives in Stockbridge, Georgia with his wife Shelley and their three children – Jennings, Carson, and Robert.

Ferrell Coppedge

Chairman of the Board

Ferrell is Chairman of the Board and was instrumental in founding and launching the ministry.  He spent 35 years in the banking and leveraged finance industry, and is presently Western Region President for Regions Business Capital. He earned his BBA and MBA degrees from Georgia State University.  His professional responsibilities require significant time, travel and commitment and yet he manages to pursue his passion for Kenya with equal dedication.
Ferrell is a member of Mt Bethel United Methodist Church in Marietta, GA, where he has served on numerous committees and currently serves as Lay Leader.  Ferrell is a native of Atlanta, GA, is married, and has four children.

Libby Coppedge

Director / Secretary

Libby, who is married to Chairman of the Board Ferrell Coppedge, also played an instrumental role and dedicated many hours to the launching of  PROJECT 82. Having been blessed with four children and the ability to raise them in a secure home with a husband by her side, she is especially passionate about caring for orphans.

Libby attended Florida State University and University of Central Florida, where she earned a BS degree in Education. She is a homemaker, a former teacher and the mother of four. She has been active in education committees and international missions at Mt Bethel United Methodist Church, in Marietta, GA.

Jonathan Lawson

Director 

Jonathan has recently left a successful 15 year career in the banking industry to engage in full time classes at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.  He earned his BBA in Finance and MBA from Kennesaw State University.  Both he and his wife are natives of Metro Atlanta, where they plan to return with their son Reed after Jonathan graduates.  After witnessing first hand the reality of the deep need of the orphans of Kenya, Jonathan was compelled not simply to immediate action, but to a transformational level.  He knew that with this new knowledge, life could not simply pick up and continue unchanged.  During his first trip to Africa, he found Proverbs 28:27 as a verse of inspiration towards living with a Kingdom view.

Ben Hornsby

Director

Ben experienced his first mission trip to Kenya in 2007 and then again in 2010. The love, faith and trust in God of the Kenyan people have been transformational in Ben’s life. After returning from Africa, he became involved with the homeless ministry at Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church where he and his wife are active members. Ben has seen first and what it means to change a life one at a time and the impact it can have on a community and in furthering God’s kingdom

Ben has a degree in architectural engineering and practiced for seven years before entering into a 35 year career in the steel industry in direct sales and management. Ben and his wife Betty have lived in the Baltimore-Washington area; Memphis, TN; Wheeling, WV; and Kansas City, before moving to Atlanta in 1998. Ben and Betty have two married sons and two grandsons.

After Ben’s retirement in December 2009, he began working in Men’s Ministry at Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church, Marietta, GA. Prior to joining the staff at Mt. Bethel UMC, he served on numerous church wide boards and committees. He is active in the East Cobb chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.