Jerry Blassingame

Executive Director of Soteria CDC

Denise Patterson-Jones

Director of Operations

Denise Patterson is the Director of Operations and Property Manager of Soteria Community Development Corporation.

Denise, a graduate of Eastside High School, continued her education at Greenville Technical College from 2008-2013 where she received her Associate Degrees in Business Management, Marketing, Supply Chain Management and Accounting. In November 2007, she began volunteering at Soteria CDC as an appointment setter for the Ministry of Resources Benevolence Ministry. In May 2011, she started an Internship for Soteria’s Green Start Recycling before coming onboard as staff in July 2011 as Soteria Program Manager.  As the need expanded, so did Denise’s role into Administrative Assistant and Property Manager. In seeing a need of managing the housing of Soteria CDC, she went back to Greenville Tech in August 2012 and received certification in Property Management. Shortly thereafter in January 2014, she became a Notary Public for The State of South Carolina. In her spare time she loves to be “YaYa” to her six grandchildren.

Denise lives in Greenville with her husband, Melvin, and they have a blended family of eight children and six grandchildren.

Bob Norwood

Director of Programs

Bob Norwood came to Soteria as an intern in 2019 and quickly established himself as an invaluable part of the Soteria family.  His first role was to help Denise cover the front desk, to field phone calls, and to be the face of the front office.

After graduating our 12 month program, Bob naturally rolled into the role of Director of Programs and joined our full time staff.  He now oversees our intern activity, from the needs of Soteria House to the interns’ education, job training, transportation, and support services.

Catherine Blount

Director of Marketing

A graduate of Vanderbilt University, Catherine brings almost 20 years of design and marketing experience to Soteria.  She gets the word out about all the good things going on both at Soteria, CDC and Soteria At Work.

Sophia Daphnis

Director of Development

Sophia leads the efforts to fund the incredible work being done by the organization as our Director of Development. As an intern during her undergraduate studies at Furman University, she was inspired by the mission to aid and assist those in need.  Sophia, through her own experiences and education, possesses a unique insight into the importance of commitment into building a community that can thrive. She uses her passion for writing with meticulous attention to detail to create proposals for state, federal, and foundation grants.

Sophia grew up just outside of Boston, Massachusetts and chose the South Carolina upstate to continue her education.  She is a graduate of Furman University in Greenville, SC with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Urban Studies and Music.  Recently, Sophia also has obtained Grant Writing Certification from the University of South Carolina.

Sophia, a classically trained violinist, is enthusiastic about all genres of music, art and the Boston Red Sox.  Please email at [email protected] to contact.

Wallace Justice

Soteria At Work, Project Manager

Wallace Justice is the Deconstruction Project Manager for Soteria At Work.

Wallace joined Soteria in 2017 and has given 110% to become a positive, productive member of society.  This man loves good hard labor, and it shows.  His deep understanding of construction combined with his maturity and motivation make Wallace one fine Project Manager.  We are proud to have him.

Jonathan Thompson

Soteria At Work Artisan

Soteria At Work is the on-site job skill training program at Soteria.  We teach the men how to deconstruct houses and then use the wood to build furniture and artifacts. Jonathan joined the Soteria At Work team when he first enrolled in our Reentry Program and became a full time employee after graduating. He now teaches the trade to new interns.

Jimmy Pittman

Soteria At Work Artisan

Jimmy is currently enrolled as an intern at Soteria CDC and joined the Soteria At Work team for employment after completing his first thirty days of the program.  The workshop is no stranger to Jimmy – he came to us with skills, and we are lucky to have him.

James Gibson

Soteria CDC Driver & Chef

When men enroll in our 6-12 month Reentry Program, they can apply after their first 30 days to work for Soteria instead of a job out in the community. Some join our team that builds furniture for Soteria at Work, some apply to work the front desk, and some – like James – fulfill several roles that are invaluable to our program.

James plans the meals for our interns who live at Soteria House. He does all of the grocery shopping, picks up meats and vegetables from Harvest Hope Food Bank, and then he cooks the meals for our interns. Between meals, he drives men to work and picks them up when they’re done.  We are so proud of the hard work and determination that James puts into reclaiming his life after incarceration.