Register for the Inaugural Brandon True Memorial Heroes for the Homeless race HERE!
Register for the Inaugural Brandon True Memorial Heroes for the Homeless race HERE!

Our Work Will

Never Stop.

New Life Day Center Staff

Jennie Zamora

Executive Director

Jennie has been the Executive Director at New Life Day Center since January of 2023. She has a Masters degree in Organizational Leadership and comes to us with extensive experience in nonprofit fund development, program management, and volunteer recruitment. Most of Jennie’s career has been spent in the nonprofit and education sectors in Orange County, California serving the foster youth and homeless populations. Jennie is a Member of Porter Memorial Baptist Church and volunteers with the MOPS program there.

Tom O'Dell

Center Coordinator

Tom O’Dell has served as the Day Center Coordinator since January of 2023. Tom comes to NLDC with extensive experience working for several shelters and recovery programs throughout central Kentucky. He has a passion for serving the homeless population in Lexington and seeing their lives transformed. Tom is a Veteran and was a Navy Seal for 13 years. He is a member of Broadway Christian Church and serves in several volunteer roles, including being on the Leadership Team for Celebrate Recovery.

Darren Foster

Panhandling Diversion Program Manager

Darren Foster has been managing the Panhandling Diversion Program since February of 2023. This flagship program has been operating in partnership with the city since 2016. Darren comes to NLDC after serving on the Outreach Team through Grace Christian Fellowship to bring the love of Jesus to our clients by running weekly fellowship nights and church services. He is passionate about loving people and sharing Christ with each and every one, in a way that brings dignity and hope.

Stella Boyd

Support Specialist

Stella Boyd comes to the New Life Day Center in August of 2023 after having been a volunteer for over three years with Community Action Center’s Senior Employment Program. Stella has made a profound difference in the lives of clients at NLDC and many clients view her as family. She is a member of Pilgrim Baptist Church.

Amanda Nord

Panhandling Van Finance Secretary

Amanda Nord has been managing the financial and statistical parts of the Panhandling Diversion Program since June of 2023. She is a regular volunteer with NLDC at fundraising events and is employed part-time at a local church in Lexington.

New Life Day Center Board Members

Faith Based Non-Profit

Steve Polston

Founder and Board Member

Board Member Steve Polston founded New Life Day Center in December 2011. A retired engineer, Steve operated New Life Day Center as Executive Director until 2015. He continues to work and advocate for the homeless community to this day, overseeing start-ups and implementation of new projects and programs at the Day Center.

Phil Miller

Board Chairman

Phil has been the Board Chairman at New Life Day Center since 2021 and has served on the board since 2014. He has a Master’s degree in Social Work and has extensive experience in working with those experiencing homelessness and/or mental health and substance abuse issues. Phil is also the Regional Manager for The AME Group, an IT Services Company serving Kentucky and several surrounding states.  Phil is a very strong advocate for our clients and looks forward to doing social work full time when he retires from his information technology career.

Theresa West

Board Member

Theresa is Chief Commercial Officer at Patient Discovery. Patient Discovery is passionate about understanding the critical, non-medical needs that impact lives of people and how they can be addressed to have a direct impact on health outcomes.

She previously served as National Vice President, Community Strategy and Solutions at Signify Health (which acquired TAVHealth). Prior to TAVHealth, she held leadership roles at Abbott Laboratories and McKesson Corporation.
 
Theresa has spent 10+ years leading organizations passionate about creating a unified approach of addressing health and social needs by elevating communication and collaboration between health care, community-based organizations, social services, health plans, and government agencies. New Life Day Center is a connector striving to drive meaningful change in the community and the lives of the people it serves.

Karl Wetzel

Board Member

Karl and his wife Claudia moved to Lexington in 1993. They have 2 sons and 2 daughters. They also have 5 Grandkids. Karl is the founder and current owner of Worth Insurance Group. Karl and Claudia spend a lot of the summer in their camper at Cave Run Lake. “I think the most important thing about being a board member at the NLDC is learning about our Homeless problem in Lexington and supplying real solutions.

Faith Based Non-Profit

Tyler Hurst

Board Member

Tyler started his work with New Life Day Center in 2013 in the role of volunteer coordinator, while simultaneously studying as a management apprentice under Steve Polston. In 2015 he was named the Executive Director and served in that role for 4 years and transitioned to being a Board Member in December of 2022. Tyler is a recovering addict and has been sober from drugs and alcohol since September 2008. 

Mike Lavendar

Board Member

Bio Coming Soon

Faith Based Non-Profit

Leigh Ann Reeves

Board Member

Leigh Ann Reeves is a Board Member and volunteer at New Life Day Center. Leigh Ann has helped launch the Inaugural Brandon True Memorial Heroes for the Homeless 5K. She also routinely works with the Executive Director on fundraising and publicity projects for the Day Center.

Mike Buckley

Board Member

Bio Coming Soon

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) April M. Brown

Board Member

April Brown currently serves as a police officer with the Fayette County Public Schools’ Police Department in the role of a school resource officer.

April retired from the Kentucky Army National Guard with 29.75 years of service with the occupational specialties of Military Police and Human Resources. She has held numerous leadership positions to include multiple company commands and a battalion command. April deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina for Operation Joint Forge/SFOR 9 and Guantanamo Bay Cuba for Operation Enduring Freedom. Her awards include the Meritorious Service Medal (3rd Award), Army Commendation Award (2nd Award), Army Achievement Medal (4th Award), and the Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal (6th Award).

April retired as a Police Sergeant from the Lexington, KY Division of Police with 20 years of service (1994-2014.)
She is a native of Frankfort, KY and hold a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Centre College, Danville, KY.
She is married to Chief Warrant Officer Three (retired) Barry Brown and they have two teenage sons, Eli and Gabe Brown.

She is a member of and volunteers with East Frankfort Baptist Church, and volunteers with multiple veteran nonprofits, school booster clubs and on the board of New Life Day Center.

Rob Stravitz

Board Member

Rob Stravitz recently retired after a 30+ year career as a marketing executive. His most recent roles were Vice President of Marketing for Valvoline Instant Oil Change and Chief Marketing Officer for Sun Auto.

Since retirement, he spends his time serving in board and staff roles at several faith-based non-profits in Lexington, including New Life Day Center. He and his wife Susan have lived in Lexington since 2005.

Center Hours
M-F 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Sat 8:30 AM  – 12:00 PM

Office Hours
M-F 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Sat 8:30 AM  – 12:00 PM

Address
224 N MLK Blvd
Lexington, KY 40507

Phone Number
859-721-2325

Fax
859-721-2325

Contact Us

We're Here to Help

At New Life Day Center, we’re here to help!

Contact us directly via the form below and one of our team members will get back with you as soon as possible. Please give us at least 24-48 hours. 

If you would like to inquire further about how you can help, please feel free to give us a call.

    We're Here to Help

    224 N MLK Blvd, Lexington, KY 40507
    Phone: 859-721-2325   |  Fax: 859-721-2325