BOARD OF DIRECTORS

What first jumps out in Chris’s biography is that he married well above his head. Some guys just get lucky. Chris has been involved in Hugs since Ruth’s first vision of what Hugs was called to be. Chris’s mission has been to bring the Hugs vision to life.

Chris retired from a career in the risk management industry as an Executive Consultant with multiple board certifications in risk management related fields. Client consultation involved problem recognition, evaluation, and developing management methods to mitigate the problem.

When not working on various Hugs Committees or in other capacities for Hugs, Chris is an active member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. Chris is also a mentor within the McKinney ISD. Hobbies include traveling, reading, gardening and keeping up with the grandchildren.

Dan Wilson has been a member of the Hugs Cafe Inc. Board of Directors since January 2025. He and his wife, Tee, are some of the longest-tenured and biggest supporters of Hugs and have regularly volunteered at the McKinney cafe since its founding in 2015. As a board member, Dan has served on the Growth and Expansion Committee and the Governance Committee where he currently serves as chair.

After a long successful business career as Managing Director of investment banking and bond trading with UBS, Dan became Founder and President of Wisdom in Leadership where as a Professional Certified Coach he works with business and organizational leaders in becoming more effective in their leadership roles. His client list has included such organizations as University of North Texas, University of Texas at Dallas (Executive MBA Program), TCU Burnet School of Medicine, The Dallas Foundation, and Ben E. Keith Company to name a few. Besides Hugs, Dan has served on numerous non-profit boards over the years. In other endeavors, he is an active member and leader in his church and spends a great deal of time with his five grandchildren supporting and encouraging them in their activities.

David Denney is our most recent member of the Hugs Cafe Inc. Board of Directors as of 2026. David owns his own law firm, the Denney Law Group, a practice which encompasses both corporate transactions and business litigation. Prior to forming the firm in early 2007, David practiced with Vial, Hamilton, Koch & Knox, LLP, where he was a member of the Litigation and Corporate Transaction Practice Groups, and where he founded and chaired the Food, Beverage, and Hospitality Practice Group.

David brings restaurant experience with him, having been a board member of the Greater Dallas Restaurant Association since 2013.

Georgiann Leonard is the current Vice President and has served as the Treasurer of the Hugs Cafe Inc. Board of Directors for the last 10 years. She helped found Hugs Cafe and has been with the organization since 2015. She is an integral part of the Hugs Cafe Inc. team by providing donor recognition support along with accounting and reporting duties until 2018 when a firm was employed. She still works with the finance staff.

Georgiann is the mother of twin sons who are autistic, thus Hugs was a natural fit for her. Because she holds a Master's Degree in Special Education, Hugs is the perfect place to put her past experiences to use.

If she is not volunteering with the Hugs staff, she enjoys traveling and spending time working with other organizations who need her support.

Janice Moriss has been a member of the Hugs Cafe Inc. Board of Directors since 2015. A special education teacher for over 26 years, Janice currently serves as the Adapted Physical Educator and Special Olympics Coordinator for the McKinney Independent School District. Janice is known for creating the Partners Physical Education program in McKinney, which has since led to the creation of similar groups across the country. She has also contributed to the planning of the All-Abilities Playground at Bonnie Wenk Park in McKinney.

Janice is a devoted wife and mother of two daughters. Her oldest attends the University of Mississippi, and her youngest is a senior at McKinney North High School. An avid sports fan, Janice loves golfing and supporting her local Dallas teams. In her free time, Janice and her husband of 24 years love to travel.

Jenay Sherman has served on the Hugs Cafe Inc. Board of Directors since 2025. She brings more than two decades of experience in education, leadership, and strategic marketing to her role. Jenay has taught at Indiana University, University of Dayton, Collin College, and Lovejoy and Anna ISDs, and previously served in marketing leadership roles within the banking industry.

Today, she is the founder and principal of Champion Consulting, where she works with organizations across the country to strengthen their brand strategy, communications, and growth initiatives. Her professional focus centers on helping mission-driven organizations clarify their message and expand their impact.

Jenay’s commitment to Hugs Cafe is deeply personal. As a mother of four sons, including one current Hugs Cafe employee with Down syndrome, she is passionate about creating meaningful employment opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She believes strongly in Hugs Cafe’s mission to empower individuals through training, work experience, and community inclusion. Serving on the board allows her to combine her professional expertise with her personal commitment to building a more inclusive community where every individual is valued, seen, and given the opportunity to thrive.

Kellee Rice offers seasoned financial leadership and governance expertise in her Hugs Cafe Inc. Board service since 2023. With a strong background in strategic financial management and organizational growth, she supports Hugs in building sustainable infrastructure while scaling its impact. Her areas of expertise include financial oversight, budgeting, risk management, and board governance.

Kellee is also a Partner at Dakota Holdings, LLC, where she leads acquisition and disposition transactions and serves as Managing Partner for several portfolio companies.

She and her husband, Bill, have a blended family of seven children and are eagerly anticipating the arrival of their first grandchild. In her free time, Kellee enjoys reading, hiking, and traveling.

Lee Ann Parsons has been a member of the Hugs Cafe Inc Board of Directors for 4 years. A pillar of the Hugs Cafe Inc. family, Lee Ann has been volunteering weekly at our flagship McKinney Cafe since it opened in 2015 and served as volunteer coordinator for 5 years. Currently, Lee Ann is a part of the Ambassador Program and heads up our Advocates group. You may recognize her art – she's also responsible for the iconic messages of love and inclusion hung in our restaurant.

A retired teacher with a servant’s heart, Lee Ann is a devoted supporter of the IDD community. Aside from her work with Hugs, she volunteers weekly at Cornerstone Ranch in McKinney and at Baylor Hospital McKinney. In her free time, Lee Ann loves to workout, spend time with friends, travel, go to movies and attend concerts… but Hugs is where her heart lives!

Mark Potter has proudly served on the Hugs Cafe Inc. Board of Directors since 2019. With three decades of experience as a trusted mortgage professional at Platinum Eagle Mortgage, Mark has been a McKinney resident for 30 years and remains deeply invested in his community.

His leadership roles include serving as President of the McKinney Rotary Club and graduating from Leadership McKinney in 2018. When he is not supporting local families or community initiatives, he enjoys spending time on the family ranch—hunting, fishing, and making memories with his wife and children.

Matt Fuhriman has been a member of the Hugs Cafe Inc. Board of Directors since 2022. He has a storied 25-year career with Capital One in Plano, Texas, working with their Community Impact & Investment team for the last 9 years.

Matt puts his faith first and always looks for ways to share his faith by always remembering Christ in everything he does. In his free time, Matt enjoys spending time with his wife doing puzzles, watching movies, and doing yard work and connecting with his children.

Michael Jones joined the Hugs Cafe Inc. Board of Directors in 2023 offering his financial expertise as well as community leadership as a member of the McKinney City Council. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Finance in 2005 from the University of North Texas. Michael also received his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Dallas in 2014.

Currently, Michael is the Commercial Banking Director for b1Bank where he leads a team of commercial lenders and portfolio managers. He works with a variety of businesses, providing them the necessary funding and treasury management to aid them in a successful future. Michael is committed to helping businesses small and large with their operational needs.

While working for the bank he also served on the McKinney Economic Development Corporation Board as Chairman. He is the first African American chairman of the board. During his tenure on the board, he has served on the McKinney Development Committee which focuses on developing processes that makes it easier for people to do business in McKinney, Kiwanis Club of McKinney, Junior Achievement of Greater Dallas, and Homes4Heroes. He is also a graduate of Leadership McKinney, class of 2018, which provides leadership training and an awareness of the McKinney community. Michael was recently appointed as one of the first board members of One Heart McKinney, a charity organization that was created to coordinate the WHOLE community to maximize well-being in daily life and respond to and recover from community crisis.

Ruth Thompson is the visionary founder of Hugs Cafe Inc., a nonprofit social enterprise based in McKinney, Texas, that creates meaningful employment and training opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. With a background in culinary arts and a deep passion for inclusion, Ruth launched Hugs Cafe in 2015 as a proof of concept that individuals of all abilities deserve purposeful work and a place to belong. Under her leadership, the organization has grown to include workforce training programs, affiliate partnerships, and a mission to change the world—one hug at a time.

When she's not championing the cause of inclusion, Ruth enjoys traveling with her husband, spending time with their three children, and delighting in the joy of their four grandchildren.

Shannon Patterson is the #1 Individual Agent and a Broker Associate with Coldwell Banker Apex, ranking in the top 0.1% of Coldwell Banker agents worldwide and among North Texas’ leading real estate professionals. Known for her strong negotiation skills, market expertise, and commitment to exceptional client service, she consistently delivers outstanding results for her clients.

Beyond real estate, Shannon serves on the Board of Directors for Hugs Cafe, is a member of the Kiwanis Club of McKinney, and coaches a special needs T-ball team. She has dedicated over 34 years to volunteering with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and is proud to support the Hugs Cafe Inc. mission to expand opportunities for this community.

Hugs Cafe’s mission is consistent with Timmy's desire to ensure his son has a productive and meaningful life with autism. He earned a degree in business administration with a minor in computer science from Winston-Salem State University.

As a community-service advocate, Timmy Newsome was the 2011 inaugural advisory board member for Children at Risk, North Texas. A few years later he was elected to the governing board, which is headquartered in Houston, Texas. In 2017 he was elected chairman of the advisory board. During his time as chairman, Timmy assisted in the planning and development of fundraising activities, which annually brought awareness to children’s issues with an annual fundraiser. After 12 years of service to Children at Risk, in early 2023, Timmy rotated off the Children at Risk boards and remains active in children’s issues by joining the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas board of directors.

Professionally, Timmy Newsome is the founder/chief technology officer of Newtec Business Solutions. Timmy is a member of five (one nationally and North Carolina) sports Halls of Fame. He’s a former Dallas Cowboys football player and was named to The Dallas Cowboys Weekly Newspaper all-decade team (1980-1989). He finished his career as the 9th leading receiver in Dallas Cowboys history and considered “…one of the more unique players the Cowboys have had…” by Dallascowboys.com (March 24, 2017).

Timmy also serves on the Computer Science Industry Advisory Board for Winston-Salem State University’s (North Carolina) Department of Computer Science; Scott Murray Scholarship Fund; Air4Arts, Inc.; and YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas.