Staff
Cherie G. Nuckols, MSW, LCSW
Executive Director
Cherie Nuckols is the Executive Director and founder of Footsteps Counseling Center and has been practicing as a licensed mental health therapist since 1998.
Prior to feeling God’s call in her life to begin a professional Christian counseling center, she has served the community through inpatient treatment, outpatient therapy, and in the public mental health capacity. Her specialties include childhood physical, sexual and emotional abuse, women’s issues, depression, co-dependency, and spiritual formation.
Cherie’s passion is helping people find happiness and wholeness, despite their circumstance. One of her favorite quotes is by Corrie Ten Bloom, a holocaust survivor: “There is no pit so deep that God is not greater still” (The Hiding Place, 1996).
Cherie received her Masters Degree in clinical social work from Virginia Commonwealth University, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude.
Andrew J. Routh, MS, LPC
Regional Director
Drew has 16 years of experience working with children, adolescents and their families in both inpatient and outpatient settings. He worked 11 years with a state-wide residential program serving youth and families as a recreation specialist, individual and group clinician, and a senior executive for the company. His goal in counseling is to put his counseling skills to work in a setting conducive to the application of clients’ faith, and more specifically, in an environment where Scripture is viewed as having a powerful healing effect on one’s life.
Drew has a passion for children and families, as well as significant experience working with addiction, depression, anxiety, grief/loss, and crisis stabilization. He graduated with his Master’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1998.
Karen R. Evans, MSW, LCSW
Karen has worked in the field of mental health for over 30 years. A specialist in substance abuse and addictive behavior, she was instrumental in the start up of the DUI program for Boulder County Colorado in 1980 and was involved with the Mental Health System for the state of California, where she worked convicted sex offenders and their victims.
Karen was in private practice in Boulder, Colorado for over seven years before moving to Tennessee where she worked as a family therapist on the Children’s Unit at Vanderbilt Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Hospital. In addition to her expertise in substance abuse and addiction, Karen also specializes in treating adults with mood disorders and personality disorders.
Karen has always had great admiration for Eleanor Roosevelt, and on the wall in her office is a quote from Ms. Roosevelt: “Most of the good work in the world is done by people who weren’t feeling all that well the day they did it.”
Lisa D. Cary, MS, CRC, LPC
Lisa specializes in life adjustment issues, work stress, career exploration, codependency, multicultural issues, marriage, divorce recovery, depression and anxiety. Lisa has been treating adults and families for almost 10 years.
Sandy K. Wilda, LPC
Sandy began working as a counselor in 1990 and was licensed as a professional counselor in the state of Virginia in 1992. Her areas of specialty are marriage and family, women’s issues, depression, parenting, grief and loss, sexual intimacy, and sexual abuse treatment. She is an active member of her local church and has a passion for spiritual growth.
Leanne Wade Beorn, MA, LCSW
Practicing as a social worker since 1998, Leanne believes that counseling is largely about empowerment and focuses on helping people meet the challenges in their lives with the skills they already have. She works to help people develop new coping strategies in order to improve how they deal with life’s issues. In addition to her clinical knowledge, she brings to her clients her experience as a teacher and writer, as well as a wife, mother, and animal lover.
She enjoys working with couples, families and individuals, in such areas as loss, grief, anxiety, stress and depression. From her work as a medical social worker and her study in gerontology, Leanne has expertise in dealing with geriatric issues, medically-related concerns and caregiver support. “Life is a journey, not a guided tour,” she believes, and she sees sharing life’s journey with her clients as a great blessing.
Matthew Brown, MA , LMFT
Matthew has worked in varied treatment setting including inpatient, residential, and outpatient services. He has served in the field of counseling for over 14 years and has developed and managed therapeutic programs for children and families. He specializes in treating families, couples, and children/adolescents.
Matthew felt the call of Christ to minister to others at a young age and has pursued this calling by utilizing his counseling training and integrating that with his Biblically based education and experience. This journey has opened up opportunities to serve with a world renowned Christian organization, to do missions work, as well as local church ministry. Matthew uses traditional family and individual therapy treatment modalities in the outpatient counseling services he provides and integrates the client’s faith to help them identify solutions to problems that deprive them of joy in life. He longs for individuals and families to experience the fullness and glory of God even in the midst of the pain and struggles of life.
Tina M. Rhodes, MA, LPC
Tina is a compassionate and well-trained therapist who has experienced with a variety of different counseling issues. She obtained her degrees which integrated sound clinical practice with Biblical training in both her undergraduate degree from Oral Roberts University and her Master’s Degree from Regent University.
She has been providing outpatient therapy services for more than 10 years in addition to serving the community at Habitat for Humanity for 11 years. She specializes in treating adults, children, marital counseling , family issues, and spiritual formation and desires to serve those in need in a way that honor’s Christ. Tina strives to keep her methods of counseling consistent with Biblical teaching while complying with state and professional standards.
Tamara N. Ferebee, M.Ed, LPC
Tamara has been practicing in the mental health field for more than 7 years and is a college psychology/counseling professor. Tamara specializes in grief and loss, depression, anxiety, women’s issues, relationships, marriage counseling, and minority issues.
Tamara has served as an administrator of a Christian school for more than 10 years and as a result has a passion for working with families to better their relationships with each other and with Christ.