OUR LEADERSHIP
The People
Behind the
Mission
We are a passionate team of leaders united by a shared commitment to transforming loss into opportunities for learning, growth, and hope.
The Other Side began with loss, and with the refusal to let loss be the end of the story. The three people who lead it day to day carry that purpose into every decision: a founder who turned grief into a mission, a clinical social worker who turned the mission into daily practice, and a steward who keeps the organization steady enough to keep going. What they build together is meant to outlast all of them.
Executive
Leadership
CO-FOUNDER AND CEO
Leslie Green, MS
Leslie Green's story begins in Franklin, Indiana, where she was born and reared, and where her maternal great-grandparents settled more than one hundred and twenty-five years ago. Early on, she was told and retold her family's history, and those stories never let her go. They sparked a nearly forty-year quest to trace her family's origins.
Leslie earned her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from Indiana State University and her Master's Degree from Purdue Calumet, now Purdue Northwest, where she was also admitted into the Educational Specialist's program. She gave her entire professional career to the Gary Community School Corporation in Indiana, serving as a teacher, Teacher Consultant, and coordinator of the district's USDOE Technology Innovation Challenge Grant, and providing vital school improvement services, among other positions. Her expertise reached well beyond Gary. She reviewed technology proposals for Hewlett-Packard's international grant competition, evaluated essays for the State of Indiana's end-of-year assessment, and, through an Eli Lilly Creativity Fellowship, documented the presence of African Americans in antebellum Indiana. A member of educational associations including ISTE and ASCD, Leslie retired in 2018 and has found new joy in dancing, cycling, and traveling.
The Other Side was born from loss. After the unexpected deaths of people she has loved, Leslie chose to transform tragedy into hope. She is committed to walking this path, and in doing so, to shining a light for others to embrace and follow.
CO-FOUNDER AND COO
MacKenzie Milon, LCSW
In 2012, MacKenzie Milon left her hometown of Merrillville, Indiana, for Nashville, Tennessee, to attend Fisk University, a move that would shape both her personal and professional journey. At Fisk she earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and Sociology and was recruited to play for the Fisk University Volleyball Team, where she earned All-Conference honors and served as team captain. Life as a student-athlete taught her discipline, teamwork, resilience, and perseverance, the lessons that shaped the leader she would become. She went on to earn her Master of Social Work from Howard University with a concentration in Criminal Justice, and was named the School of Social Work's 2017–2018 Direct Practice Student of the Year.
Service has been the constant thread through every chapter. Her commitment to youth development and educational equity began in 2015 with Nashville Freedom Schools, where she served as a Servant Leader Intern, Site Coordinator, Project Director, and Site Testing Manager. In each role, she helped young people discover their voices and imagine possibilities beyond their circumstances. In 2023, she joined the Nashville Freedom School Partnership Board of Directors, where she now serves as Board President.
Today, MacKenzie is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Her journey reflects the power of hard work, purposeful leadership, and a deep commitment to service, and she approaches every opportunity with passion, determination, and intention. She brings all of it to her role as Co-Founder and COO of The Other Side, dedicated to creating lasting change wherever she is called to serve.
CFO
Tony Martin, BS
Long before John A. "Tony" Martin became CFO of The Other Side, he learned what it means to be part of a team. Growing up in Shelbyville, Indiana, he played football, basketball, and baseball, and graduated high school in 1988. He carried basketball and baseball into college, first at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, Michigan, where he studied general art studies, and then at Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne, where he competed at the Division II level and earned a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership and Supervision in 1995.
The lessons of the game stayed with him. For many years, Tony gave back to his community by coaching youth basketball and baseball, passing on the discipline and teamwork that shaped him. After college, he built his career in manufacturing supervision and people management, and in 2003 he joined the 3M Sales team, selling tapes and adhesives.
His record there speaks for itself: Outstanding Leadership in 2003, Coaching the Sales Professional in 2004, and Super Achiever awards in 2011, 2014, 2015, and 2018. Outside of work, Tony treasures time with family and relaxing at the lake, and he is proud to support the work of The Other Side: Investing in Mind, Body, and Spirit.
The Board of Directors brings decades of work in education, mental health, community development, and business to The Other Side. They come from different cities and different fields, and they arrived by different roads, some through a career, some through a loss of their own. What they share is one conviction: that no family should have to face its hardest season without help. They set the direction, hold the organization to it, and give their time to make sure the mission reaches the people it was built for.
Board of
Directors
BOARD CHAIR
Rod Johnson
Rod Johnson's life's work has centered on building relationships, serving communities, and helping people move toward stronger futures. Over more than 40 years in technology, he rose from direct sales to vice president and founded his own company before retiring in 2025. Service has been the constant: a scholarship program through his Omega Psi Phi alumni chapter, a mentoring ministry he founded at his Chicagoland church, more than 15 years leading a nursing home ministry, and six years as Chairman of the Deacon Ministry at his church. Rod came to The Other Side after losing his best friend to suicide, and as Chairman of the Board he is committed to expanding access to mental health resources, college scholarships, childhood literacy, and support for families through life's hardest moments.
BOARD SECRETARY
Dr. Barbara Milon
Dr. Barbara Milon has spent her career asking institutions to answer to the people they serve. As Commissioner of the City of St. Louis Division of Civilian Oversight, she leads the team that reviews allegations against corrections officers. She has also served as a Grants Administrator for the City of St. Louis and as Chairperson of the City of Cincinnati Community Development Advisory Board, guiding $14 million to $21 million in annual block grant recommendations, and she was twice elected chair of the Ohio Community Development Finance Fund, the first African American woman in that seat. For nearly fourteen years she led Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, where she opened the Smart Play Spot with the Minnesota Children's Museum. Dr. Milon holds a Doctorate in Organization Development from the University of St. Thomas, a Master of Science in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from Xavier University.
BOARD TREASURER
Alice Parrott, LCSW
For more than 30 years, Alice Parrott has worked where people carry the heaviest weight: community, inpatient, and outpatient mental health, rural health, crisis intervention, and education. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice in Leesburg, Florida, she serves children, adolescents, adults, and seniors through a holistic approach built on proactive prevention and timely intervention. She calls her method "counseling the heart," knowing each person as a whole person rather than a diagnosis. Alice earned her Master of Social Work from Western Michigan University, with a clinical emphasis on person-centered counseling from a strength-based perspective, the same conviction that drew her to The Other Side.
BOARD MEMBER
Dr. Ashli-Ann Douglas
Dr. Ashli-Ann Douglas has devoted her career to one idea: every student deserves the chance to thrive in math. As an educational researcher at WestEd, she works to improve math learning from preschool through K–12 and adult basic education, with a focus on early childhood, family engagement, student mindsets and identities, and culturally responsive teaching. Her research appears in journals including Early Childhood Research Quarterly and the Journal of Educational Psychology, and she leads workshops for families, designs professional learning for educators, and co-facilitates the National Association for the Education of Young Children's Early Math Interest Forum. Dr. Douglas earned a PhD in Developmental Psychology, a Master of Science in Psychology, and a certificate in college teaching from Vanderbilt University, and she is a proud alumna of Fisk University.
BOARD MEMBER
Dr. Earl Lattimore
For more than 20 years, Dr. Earl R. Lattimore, EdD, MSP, has worked to make sure students and families never have to find their way alone. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, he has built a career spanning higher education, social services, and public policy, with a focus on students with disabilities, incarcerated youth, and families who need advocacy and a real connection to the systems meant to serve them. As ERSEA/Parent Engagement Coordinator at the Metropolitan Action Commission, he leads data-driven initiatives that strengthen parent involvement and community partnerships under Head Start Performance Standards, and he has held instructional and administrative roles at Meharry Medical College, Fisk University, and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. Dr. Lattimore holds a Doctor of Education in Leadership and Professional Practice from Trevecca Nazarene University and serves on boards and advisory committees focused on education, mental health, and family advocacy across Nashville.
Want to Serve?
Join the People
Doing the Work
Whether you are a volunteer, partner, advocate, or supporter, there is a place for you in this work, and every role helps move our mission forward.
Volunteers are at the heart of our organization, helping bring our
mission to life through their time,
skills, and compassion.
Volunteer
Bring your expertise to our governance team and help shape the organization’s strategy and impact.
JOIN THE BOARD
Together, we can build shared solutions, share resources, and create meaningful opportunities for those we serve.
PARTNERSHIP
OUR LEADERSHIP
The People Behind the Mission
We are a passionate team of leaders united by a shared commitment to transforming loss into opportunities for learning, growth, and hope.
Executive
Leadership
The Other Side began with loss, and with the refusal to let loss be the end of the story. The three people who lead it day to day carry that purpose into every decision: a founder who turned grief into a mission, a clinical social worker who turned the mission into daily practice, and a steward who keeps the organization steady enough to keep going. What they build together is meant to outlast all of them.
Leslie Green, MS
CO-FOUNDER AND CEO
Leslie Green's story begins in Franklin, Indiana, where she was born and reared, and where her maternal great-grandparents settled more than one hundred and twenty-five years ago. Early on, she was told and retold her family's history, and those stories never let her go. They sparked a nearly forty-year quest to trace her family's origins.
Leslie earned her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from Indiana State University and her Master's Degree from Purdue Calumet, now Purdue Northwest, where she was also admitted into the Educational Specialist's program. She gave her entire professional career to the Gary Community School Corporation in Indiana, serving as a teacher, Teacher Consultant, and coordinator of the district's USDOE Technology Innovation Challenge Grant, and providing vital school improvement services, among other positions. Her expertise reached well beyond Gary. She reviewed technology proposals for Hewlett-Packard's international grant competition, evaluated essays for the State of Indiana's end-of-year assessment, and, through an Eli Lilly Creativity Fellowship, documented the presence of African Americans in antebellum Indiana. A member of educational associations including ISTE and ASCD, Leslie retired in 2018 and has found new joy in dancing, cycling, and traveling.
The Other Side was born from loss. After the unexpected deaths of people she has loved, Leslie chose to transform tragedy into hope. She is committed to walking this path, and in doing so, to shining a light for others to embrace and follow.
MacKenzie Milon, LCSW
CO-FOUNDER AND COO
In 2012, MacKenzie Milon left her hometown of Merrillville, Indiana, for Nashville, Tennessee, to attend Fisk University, a move that would shape both her personal and professional journey. At Fisk she earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and Sociology and was recruited to play for the Fisk University Volleyball Team, where she earned All-Conference honors and served as team captain. Life as a student-athlete taught her discipline, teamwork, resilience, and perseverance, the lessons that shaped the leader she would become. She went on to earn her Master of Social Work from Howard University with a concentration in Criminal Justice, and was named the School of Social Work's 2017–2018 Direct Practice Student of the Year.
Service has been the constant thread through every chapter. Her commitment to youth development and educational equity began in 2015 with Nashville Freedom Schools, where she served as a Servant Leader Intern, Site Coordinator, Project Director, and Site Testing Manager. In each role, she helped young people discover their voices and imagine possibilities beyond their circumstances. In 2023, she joined the Nashville Freedom School Partnership Board of Directors, where she now serves as Board President.
Today, MacKenzie is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Her journey reflects the power of hard work, purposeful leadership, and a deep commitment to service, and she approaches every opportunity with passion, determination, and intention. She brings all of it to her role as Co-Founder and COO of The Other Side, dedicated to creating lasting change wherever she is called to serve.
Tony Martin, BS
CFO
Long before John A. "Tony" Martin became CFO of The Other Side, he learned what it means to be part of a team. Growing up in Shelbyville, Indiana, he played football, basketball, and baseball, and graduated high school in 1988. He carried basketball and baseball into college, first at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, Michigan, where he studied general art studies, and then at Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne, where he competed at the Division II level and earned a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership and Supervision in 1995.
The lessons of the game stayed with him. For many years, Tony gave back to his community by coaching youth basketball and baseball, passing on the discipline and teamwork that shaped him. After college, he built his career in manufacturing supervision and people management, and in 2003 he joined the 3M Sales team, selling tapes and adhesives.
His record there speaks for itself: Outstanding Leadership in 2003, Coaching the Sales Professional in 2004, and Super Achiever awards in 2011, 2014, 2015, and 2018. Outside of work, Tony treasures time with family and relaxing at the lake, and he is proud to support the work of The Other Side: Investing in Mind, Body, and Spirit.
Board of
Directors
The Board of Directors brings decades of work in education, mental health, community development, and business to The Other Side. They come from different cities and different fields, and they arrived by different roads, some through a career, some through a loss of their own. What they share is one conviction: that no family should have to face its hardest season without help. They set the direction, hold the organization to it, and give their time to make sure the mission reaches the people it was built for.
Rod Johnson
Board Chair
Rod Johnson's life's work has centered on building relationships, serving communities, and helping people move toward stronger futures. Over more than 40 years in technology, he rose from direct sales to vice president and founded his own company before retiring in 2025. Service has been the constant: a scholarship program through his Omega Psi Phi alumni chapter, a mentoring ministry he founded at his Chicagoland church, more than 15 years leading a nursing home ministry, and six years as Chairman of the Deacon Ministry at his church. Rod came to The Other Side after losing his best friend to suicide, and as Chairman of the Board he is committed to expanding access to mental health resources, college scholarships, childhood literacy, and support for families through life's hardest moments.
Dr. Barbara Milon
Board Secretary
Dr. Barbara Milon has spent her career asking institutions to answer to the people they serve. As Commissioner of the City of St. Louis Division of Civilian Oversight, she leads the team that reviews allegations against corrections officers. She has also served as a Grants Administrator for the City of St. Louis and as Chairperson of the City of Cincinnati Community Development Advisory Board, guiding $14 million to $21 million in annual block grant recommendations, and she was twice elected chair of the Ohio Community Development Finance Fund, the first African American woman in that seat. For nearly fourteen years she led Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, where she opened the Smart Play Spot with the Minnesota Children's Museum. Dr. Milon holds a Doctorate in Organization Development from the University of St. Thomas, a Master of Science in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from Xavier University.
Alice Parrott, LCSW
Board Treasurer
For more than 30 years, Alice Parrott has worked where people carry the heaviest weight: community, inpatient, and outpatient mental health, rural health, crisis intervention, and education.
A Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice in Leesburg, Florida, she serves children, adolescents, adults, and seniors through a holistic approach built on proactive prevention and timely intervention. She calls her method "counseling the heart," knowing each person as a whole person rather than a diagnosis. Alice earned her Master of Social Work from Western Michigan University, with a clinical emphasis on person-centered counseling from a strength-based perspective, the same conviction that drew her to The Other Side.
Dr. Ashli-Ann Douglas
Board Member
Dr. Ashli-Ann Douglas has devoted her career to one idea: every student deserves the chance to thrive in math. As an educational researcher at WestEd, she works to improve math learning from preschool through K–12 and adult basic education, with a focus on early childhood, family engagement, student mindsets and identities, and culturally responsive teaching. Her research appears in journals including Early Childhood Research Quarterly and the Journal of Educational Psychology, and she leads workshops for families, designs professional learning for educators, and co-facilitates the National Association for the Education of Young Children's Early Math Interest Forum. Dr. Douglas earned a PhD in Developmental Psychology, a Master of Science in Psychology, and a certificate in college teaching from Vanderbilt University, and she is a proud alumna of Fisk University.
Dr. Earl Lattimore
Board Member
For more than 20 years, Dr. Earl R. Lattimore, EdD, MSP, has worked to make sure students and families never have to find their way alone. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, he has built a career spanning higher education, social services, and public policy, with a focus on students with disabilities, incarcerated youth, and families who need advocacy and a real connection to the systems meant to serve them. As ERSEA/Parent Engagement Coordinator at the Metropolitan Action Commission, he leads data-driven initiatives that strengthen parent involvement and community partnerships under Head Start Performance Standards, and he has held instructional and administrative roles at Meharry Medical College, Fisk University, and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. Dr. Lattimore holds a Doctor of Education in Leadership and Professional Practice from Trevecca Nazarene University and serves on boards and advisory committees focused on education, mental health, and family advocacy across Nashville.
Want to Serve?
Join the People
Doing the Work
Whether you are a volunteer, partner, advocate, or supporter, there is a place for you in this work—and every role helps move our mission forward.
Make a Difference
Behind Every
Program is a Person!
Our team works tirelessly to serve families in need.
Your donation helps make their work possible.
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