Ray Allegrezza
Editor-in-Chief, Furniture/Today Magazine
Ray is the editor in chief of Furniture/Today Magazine, published by Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. (NYSE: ENL). Furniture/Today is read weekly by over 21,000 home furnishings industry leaders. Ray has also appeared on camera for NFBA public service announcements.
Sharron Bradley
Executive Director, Western Home Furnishings Association (WHFA)
Sharron is the executive Director of the Western Home Furnishings Association, the 12 state regional association for home furnishings retailers in the West and the largest affiliate of NHFA. With a membership of nearly 1,200 retailers, WHFA serves independent retailers with innovative programs and services to enhance their business opportunities and management practices. Sharron has been Executive Director of WHFA for nearly five years and in the furniture industry for more than 20 years. She has served on numerous non-profit boards during her career, and is dedicated to facilitating proactive change in the home furnishings industry.
Steve DeHaan
Executive Vice President, National Home Furnishings Association (NHFA)
Steve is the executive vice president of the National Home Furnishings Association (NHFA), the nation’s largest organization devoted specifically to the needs and interests of home furnishings retailers. NHFA’s membership comprises 2,750 corporate entities, representing 10,000 stores in all 50 states and several foreign countries.
Mary Frye
President, Home Furnishings International Association (HFIA)
Mary is President of Home Furnishings International Association, a member owned national trade association that is the choice and voice of independent-thinking home furnishings professionals, offering business tools for operating more profitably. The Association headquarters are at the World Trade Center in Dallas, Texas. Mary serves on several industry boards which include FIDX (Furniture Industry Data Exchange), WithIt (Women in the Home Industry Today), and the Bill Cooper Salesman Fund, and has served as a judge the prestigious Pinnacle Awards for the American Society of Furniture Designers.
Chuck Haas
CEO, MetroFi
Chuck is CEO and co-founder of MetroFi, a Mountain View CA based firm which builds city-wide broadband networks based on the popular Wi-Fi wireless standard. Prior to MetroFi, he founded Covad Communications, where he held various senior management positions in marketing, business development, and operations. Chuck also has fourteen years of experience with Intel Corporation, in sales and corporate business development.
Jeff Hay
Founder, Material Assistance Providers of Columbus Ohio
Jeff founded Material Assistance Providers (MAP) in 1998, and helped in the formation of the National Furniture Bank Association in 1999. Jeff served as MAP's Executive Director from 1998 to 2004. Upon hiring a President of Operations, Jeff left MAP in 2005 and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the NFBA. Using his experience and knowledge in forming MAP, Jeff is helping to heighten awareness of the NFBA, and is instrumental in launching furniture banks in underserved cities across the nation.
Carol Kane
Founder, Mustard Seed of Central Florida
Carol volunteered at the Orlando Union Rescue Mission, Christian Service Center , Daily Bread, and the Cold Night Program before founding the Mustard Seed Furniture Bank. Today, the organization has grown to servings thousands of people per year. In 1992, Kane was nominated for a Jefferson award, recognizing exemplary volunteer service. Out of the 40,000 nominated nationally, Kane was one of five recipients.
Oli Mohammed
Executive Director, Furniture Bank of Houston
A native of Bangladesh, Oli founded the Furniture Bank of Houston in 1992 with only 500 square feet of space. Over a decade of success later, and having served well over 25,000 families, the Furniture Bank of Houston now has expanded to 10,000 square feet, has the ardent support of the local media and business community, and is serving more than 1,000 families every year referred by 42 social service agencies.
Tom Polk
Founder, Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta
Tom has spent most of his working life in the non-profit arena. He has worked as community organizer for the Community Action Lexington-Fayette County in Kentucky, then became the Assistant Director of Iowa Comprehensive Manpower Services, a large and nationally recognized job training program in Des Moines. Following a move to Georgia, he founded the Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta in 1988, one of the first furniture banks in the nation. In 1999 Tom helped found the National Furniture Bank Association and currently serves both as Chairman of the Board and Vice President of the NFBA’s Charitable Services Division.
Kathy Parks
Executive Director, International Home Furnishings Representatives Association
Kathy is the Executive Director of the International Home Furnishings Representatives Association, the industry’s only professional association for furniture sales representatives. IHFRA has a membership of 1,500 representatives located throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Kathy also serves on the board of the Barnabas Furniture Ministry in Greensboro NC.
NFBA Ambassador
Kathy Ireland
CEO and Chief Designer of Kathy Ireland World Wide; NFBA Ambassador
Kathy Ireland Worldwide (KIWW) is the design and marketing firm founded in 1993 by CEO and Chief Designer, Kathy Ireland. The primary mission of KIWW is "…finding solutions for families, especially busy moms." Forbes Magazine reports that KIWW is a "design empire which grosses over one billion dollars annually in retail sales." KIWW products include flooring, rugs, home furniture, office and entertainment furniture, lighting, decorative accessories, window coverings, bedding, mattresses, candles, apparel and jewelry. In 2000, KIWW began expanding its mission and consumer needs, with the addition of specialty brands, presenting "Design Ambassadors" Café by Chef Andre for food and entertaining, JduJ cultivated by Nicholas Walker for outdoor living and garden inspirations and The Quilts of Gee’s Bend whose original works of art from rural Alabama are the Genesis of unique designs for home. The original Quilts of Gee’s Bend gained international recognition through museum tours around the world.
NFBA Staff
Phil Van Poetsch
Vice President of Operations
Phil brings a wealth of experience to the position of Executive Director of the National Furniture Bank Association. As founder of New Start Furniture Fund, one of the nation's first free furniture organizations, he developed and implemented viable systems of furniture acquisition for distribution to people in need. His efforts resulted in tens of thousands of people receiving a level of comfort that otherwise may have been unattainable. New Start Furniture Fund attracted extensive national media coverage after a feature segment on the Oprah television program. Phil received two United States Congressional awards and a commendation from the State of California. His financial management experience is derived from managing the extreme wealth of several San Francisco Bay Area families.
Don Lawrence
NFBA Executive Director
Don is a "recovering Fortune 500 PR guy," having spent over seventeen years in the technology sector before joining the NFBA. His core competencies in corporate communications and public relations are derived from his positions as President of the National Convergence Alliance (NCA), and as the Chairman of the Massachusetts Telecommunications Council's (MTC) Marketing Strategies Forum. Don also serves as the chairman of a non-profit organization in Massachusetts which provides free suicide awareness and prevention screening to high schools in New England.
