Our Team
Kesha Waters
Executive Director
Kesha Waters - Executive Director
Kesha Waters has been involved with CASA of the TN Heartland for 14 years. She served on the Board of Directors for 4 years and was hired as the Executive Director 10 years ago. Kesha is active in her community by mentoring young women and men through programs designed for at-risk youth. Kesha currently serves as a Commissioner on the Trial Court Vacancy Commission for the State of Tennessee.She is the East Tennessee Agency Representative for the TN CASA Board of Directors. Immediate Past President of Altrusa International of Oak Ridge and current President of the Altrusa Foundation. She serves on the Board of Directors for Girls Inc., Ridgeview Behavioral Health, and the Anderson County Child Fatality Review Board. She is also a member of The Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club, Women in Business Council, and has served on the United Way of Blount County Allocations Panel for 4 years. Kesha is a former member of The Alliance for Better Non-Profits Programming Committee as well as the Suburban Leadership Council for the National CASA Association. Kesha is a graduate of The Haslam College of Business CSEE program, Leaders for a Childs Well-Being Tennessee leadership Academy class of 2025, Discover Blount, Leadership Blount and Leadership Oak Ridge class of 2020. Kesha received her Associate of Applied Sciences in Business Administration from Roane State Community College. She is married to her husband Sebastian and has two sons, Bryson (28) and Bash (7).
(Updated Feb ’26)
Katherine Allison
Executive Assistant
Katherine Allison - Administrative Assistant
Katherine joined CASA in August 2021. She has served as the Executive Assistant for the Oak Ridge Main Office for the last 5 years. Katherine earned her bachelor’s in business administration from King University in 2019. Coming from the banking world, she is new to the non-profit role, but is excited to continue to learn and experience all things! She resides in Oak Ridge with her husband of 7 years Xavier and their three sons Xavier Jr. (5), Xander (3) and Xavion (1).
(Updated Aug ’26)
Michelle White
Anderson County Program Coordinator
Michelle White – Anderson County Program Coordinator
Michelle joined CASA in 2021 and serves in Anderson Co. as a Program Coordinator. Michelle earned her BS in Nursing and worked in Neonatal ICU for 20 years where she most enjoyed patient education and championed activities which empowered at-risk families. Her volunteerism has extended from MOPS to Boy Scouts, disaster relief to construction rehab, and she is proud to now partner with volunteers to advocate for children who find themselves before the court. Michelle completed the National Association of Counsel for Children Red Book Training Course in 2022 and is a 2024 graduate of The Haslam College of Business CSEE program. She and her family have called east TN home for 18 years.
(Updated Jan ’26)
Shannon Skeens
Blount County Program Coordinator
Shannon Skeens – Blount County Program Coordinator
Shannon joins CASA as the Blount County Program Coordinator. Having earned a BS
in Child Development with a minor in Psychology, Shannon spent more than 20 years
as an Early Childhood Educator and then Director of a small non-profit cooperative
preschool. She relocated to East TN four years ago with her family where she has been
working in the non-profit sector serving as an Assistant Program Coordinator for
ADFAC.
Having served as a CASA, she understands the importance of the role CASAs have in
the lives of the children they support and she is honored to be walking alongside the
CASAs of Blount County as they continue to provide a voice for children in the court
system.
(Updated Aug 2026)