Meet Our Team
Travis Trull
Travis Trull is Flint's Founder and Executive Director. Travis was born in Kenya, is fluent in Swahili, and has split much of his life between the US and East Africa. His role at Flint combines his passions for entrepreneurship, leadership, global development, and serving.
As an entrepreneur, Travis has co-founded 5 businesses in the US and East Africa in addition to Flint Global. He has extensive business and work experience in 17 countries across 5 continents. He lives in Cookeville, TN, with his wife, Lauren, and three amazing young children.
Laura Hickman
Laura Hickman is Flint's Co-Founder and Director of Strategic Growth. Laura has spent many years working with orphans transitioning into adulthood across Latin America. Laura is passionate about encouraging others as they discover their potential and take practical steps to build meaningful work. She enjoys creating and implementing structures to help individuals and organizations thrive.
Before co-founding Flint and her work in the non-profit world, Laura worked as a teacher, using her Master's Degree in Special Education and her bachelor's degrees in Education and Human and Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University. Laura and her husband, Tim, have three wonderful children and live in Nashville, TN.
FLINT GLOBAL
U.S. Team
David Reeves
David Reeves is Flint's Co-Founder and Director of Programs. David has worked in international community development for over 20 years across 12 countries. He lived with his wife and four children in Togo, West Africa, for 10 years helping communities overcome food and water scarcity, and is thus fluent in French and Kabiye. David also worked in Rwanda as a Community Development Coordinator for many years. He now lives in Thompson's Station, TN, and uses his expertise in the field to direct Flint's many programs and coordinators.
Justin Sims
Justin is Flint's Director of Finance and the Latin America Program Coordinator. Justin holds degrees in Spanish and Bible from Harding University, a Masters of Divinity, and is currently pursuing an MBA. He has worked as a minister in Tennessee, a church planter in Argentina, and a paralegal in immigration law. Justin is fluent in Spanish, spent several years living in Argentina, and has worked extensively across Latin America. He now lives in Nashville where he enjoys hiking and supporting Tennessee sports teams. Justin uses his extensive experience around the world, excellent leadership and communication skills, and love for serving people in his roles at Flint.
Caleb Meeks
Caleb Meeks is Flint's Director of Innovation and Africa/Asia Program Manager. Caleb grew up in Kenya, East Africa, until he was eight years old and lived in an underserved Appalachian community for the remainder of his childhood. Caleb has a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Harding University and a Master's Degree in Civil Engineering for Developing Communities. He and his wife, Kristina, lived in Tanzania for five years and are fluent in Swahili. They now live with their 6 children in Knoxville, TN. Blending his extensive overseas experience and brilliant mind for creative solutions, Caleb ensures that Flint’s solutions are both innovative and practical.
Jessica Markwood
Jessica Markwood is Flint’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Program Coordinator. Jessica has a bachelor’s degree from Harding University and a Master's Degree in Intercultural Studies International Development from Fuller Seminary. She has lived in Mozambique and led and coordinated programs for women’s entrepreneurship in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Mozambique, and India. Jessica's extensive international experience, passion for women worldwide, and ability to tell powerful stories have made her a valuable part of the Flint team. She lives in her hometown of Nashville, TN, where she enjoys growing tomatoes and sharing them with others.
Cristina De La Rosa
Cristina de la Rosa is Flint’s Program Coordinator for Latin America and the US. Cristina came to the United States from the Dominican Republic as a teenager. She has a degree in Hospitality and Administration from Lipscomb University. Cristina says that her own years growing up in an orphanage help her understand the hardships faced by the teens in our Thriving Skills program. Nothing gives her more joy than the knowledge that we are helping these young people achieve success in adulthood. Cristina's unique perspective and collective life experiences bring important insight to the Flint team and programs.
Jennifer Bentley
Jennifer Bentley is Director of Jimani Collections, a DBA of Flint Global equipping artisans and underserved men and women in Nairobi, Kenya. She has spent over 16 years living in East Africa and has lead women’s vocational and business development initiatives in both Kenya and in Haiti. Jennifer previously worked with several nonprofits in the international development sector including Ten Thousand Villages, Beautitudes, and J127 Foundation in Kenya where she served as program director and later Chairman of the Board. In 2017, she used her experience working with underserved communities to found Jimani Collections to provide opportunities for talented, but heavily impoverished men and women in Kenya. Jennifer and Jimani are now glad to further the mission of Flint Global in Kenya through empowerment and entrepreneurship.
Brittany Sullivan
Brittany Sullivan is Flint's Development Coordinator and part of our Communications Team. Brittany has degrees in Biology and Health Care Missions from Harding University, a Master’s Degree in Physician Assistant Studies, and years of experience in non-profit Development and Communications. Pivoting from health care, Brittany became a freelance graphic designer and copywriter. She is thrilled to use her skills and years of experience to bless Flint’s donors and global partners. Brittany lives in the Nashville area with her husband and daughter.
FLINT GLOBAL
International Team
Carolina Patiño
Carolina Patiño is Flint's Thriving Skills Program Coordinator in Latin America. Carolina discovered a passion for working with vulnerable populations while volunteering with a local non-profit caring for orphans affected by HIV/AIDS. She attained a degree as an Occupational Therapist in Colombia to dedicate her professional life to working with vulnerable populations in Latin America. Carolina is from Cali, Colombia, where she lives with her husband and two children. Carolina loves her family, loves her vocation, and feels that her calling is to serve others from the heart.
Philipo Lulale
Philipo Lulale is Flint's Local Coordinator in Tanzania, providing many of Flint's workshops in East Africa. As a successful entrepreneur himself, Philipo makes training practical for new entrepreneurs. Philipo is passionate about one-on-one coaching and wants to see real outcomes in people's lives. He has decades of experience as a journalist in Tanzania, in the economic development sector, running his own businesses, and co-founded and led an internationally recognized non-profit. Philipo’s personal development blog and website has thousands of followers from across East Africa. We are proud to have Philipo as one of our amazing international teammates.
Rhoda Yar Bol
Rhoda Yar Bol coordinates Flint’s programs in South Sudan through her own startup organization called AWACE. Rhoda has always had a passion for suffering women and children. She attained a B.A. in Education and Counseling in Kenya, and then an M.Ed. in Leadership and Education Management. She has extensive experience as a beloved teacher, coordinator, and advocate for vulnerable groups through organizations such as the World Bank, Spark International, and ALARM, in addition to others. AWACE came to Rhoda as a dream to holistically engage women in South Sudan, address the root causes of poverty, and empower women.
Arjun Thomas
Arjun Thomas is Flint’s Program and Partnership Coordinator across two regions of India. Arjun is an entrepreneur, an educator, and a dynamic leader with a passion for helping the poorest people on the planet. In addition to Master of Business Administration (Entrepreneurship) and Master of Arts (Rural Development), Arjun has over a decade of experience training and coaching struggling families and emerging leaders in his home country of India. Having grown up in poverty and losing family members to starvation, he knows the pain of poverty that fuels a passion for grass-roots change. Flint is proud to work with Arjun!