Meet Our Team

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 Deborah Chambers, has been married for over 44 years to Van, she is a mother of three adult children Steven, Shanelle (James) and Michael in addition to grandmother to one little girl (Hanna). She is semi-retired from the workforce.  She has had a long and varied career from social worker, counselor, education coordinator, state of Ohio administrator and most recently associate hospital chaplain.  She is an avid reader, loves arts and crafts, knitting and travel.

She has a commitment to working with Gems through talking with friends, family members and church members about their challenges in raising or caring either temporarily or long-term for their grandchildren.  She is looking forward to supporting the Gems program in which ever capacity she is needed.

Brigitte Cobbs-Christmon is a Director at Lifewise Academy a program that enables public school students to be taught religious instruction during school hours. She has taught Communication courses at Capital University, and Columbus State Community College (where she was a nominated teacher of the year). She is also the co-author of the publication, “Every Breast Cancer is Different: Illness Narratives and the Management of Identity in Breast Cancer.” (2005), and currently a contributing co author to the journal Family and Cultural Transformation : “Reawaken legacies of social freedom and hope. “(2023). Her current academic research interests include Organizational Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Cultural Diversity, and Spiritual Identity. She has delivered regional TEDx talk that discussed her identity, and she publicly acknowledged how God saved her life. While she hopes to present more. She has an activist heart and volunteers in grassroots movements and non-profits around the region. She has helped feed over 12,000 meals to homeless families within the last 14 years. She is enjoying being married to the man who makes her heart smile (Alvin for 20 years) and raising her wonderful daughter (Angel) and amazing son (AJ).

A native of Mansfield, Ohio, Deanna Hardeman was crowned Miss Ohio America’s United States since February 2023 and 2023 Miss Midwest Charm since March 2023. She is a 2008 graduate of Mansfield High School and later an alumna of Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Deanna started her journey of pageantry in her 20s, relaying her favorite part of being a pageant queen is interacting with community members and listening to their stories. She loves listening to elders and veterans in particular, saying that she “just love listening to what they have to say and giving them the respect they deserve. Since my grandparents are no longer here, I just want to give gratitude and respect to the elders in the community.”

Her drive to help her community has led her to becoming an elder advocate, public speaker and volunteer. She spreads awareness about nutrition programs that offer food and delivery services to senior citizens, participated in the Area Agency on Aging’s senior spring extravaganza in May 2023, and worked with the Urban Aging Residents Coalition in Columbus.

Though Deanna currently resides in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, she still likes to visit her hometown. Aside from her activism, she enjoys gardening and helping her friends and family landscape their yards and gifting flowers to community members. “My great aunt was like the matriarch of our family, and she always told me to wake up every day thinking about your purpose and to give back to the community,” Hardeman said. “Because you never know when you’ll need help from someone.”