The Board of the Presbyterian Home for Children approved its Executive Committee for 2026.
The Talladega-based Home is one of few organizations in the state caring for Alabama’s homeless boys and girls, along with their female caregivers in its Secure Dwellings Program. PHFC also serves young female adults in crisis, families in crisis through in-home intensive services, and children and youth in rural Wilcox County. In 2024, the Home joined the Caminos® program to ensure homes in Alabama and other selected states are safe for migrant children being placed with sponsor families.
The new Moderator for the Board is Lisa deShazo, who grew up in Talladega. deShazo is a member of Government Street Presbyterian Church in Mobile, where she sings in the choir, plays handbells and oversees the Meal on Wheels program. deShazo has served as a member of the Board of Trustees in the past with experience on the Executive, Programs, and Governance committees. She is retired from the Department of Human Resources, where she worked in the child welfare program and the personnel department.
David Jamison is Vice Moderator and chairs the Caminos® Committee. A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and Yale University, Jamison has more than 60 years of public and private sector service. He spent 25 years in the nation’s capital with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and in the White House Office of Private Sector Initiatives under President Ronald Reagan, advancing innovative public–private partnerships to address community challenges. Although retired, Jamison continues to serve as a stated supply pastor, professional counselor, nonprofit executive, motivational speaker, and technical assistance provider.
Rev. Brandon Miles is Immediate Past Moderator for the Board. Miles is pastor at Spring Hill Presbyterian in Mobile. Miles received a Master’s of Divinity degree from Austin Seminary in 2010 and later served as Family Ministry Coordinator at Oakmont Presbyterian Church in Birmingham.
Carol R. Copeland of Athens was re-elected as the Board’s Secretary and chair of the Programs Committee and David Perry of Birmingham remains Treasurer and chair of the Finance Committee. The Board re-elected John Haley, Esq. of Birmingham as Legal Counsel and Dr. Joyce Pettis of Huntsville as Member-At-Large with both continuing to serve on the Governance Committee.
New members of the Board of Trustees for 2026 are Diann Berry of Huntsville, Avery Embry of Talladega with responsibilities as chair of the Audit Committee, Dr. Brittany Dennis-Hancock of Auburn, Joe Rives of Hoover, and James Tucker, Esq. Of Tuscaloosa. Rev. John Brock of Tupelo, Miss., joins as the first member elected from outside of Alabama and within a covenant relationship with the Synod of Living Waters. Kelly Elmore of Decatur joins in May after the retirement of longtime member Rev. Tom Lewis of Madison.
About Presbyterian Home for Children
Now in its 158th year of service, Presbyterian Home for Children in Talladega, Alabama, is one of few organizations in the region caring for homeless boys and girls, along with their female caregivers in its Secure Dwellings Program. The Home serves young female adults in crisis through its Transition to Adult Living Program and families in crisis over seven counties through its In-Home Intensive Services, Family Bridges. The Caminos® program, operated through a subrecipient grant with the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement, helps ensure unaccompanied children inside Alabama placed with sponsor families are living in safe and stable home environments inside Alabama and other select states.
