YWCA’s Executive Staff
Marigail Mullin, CEO
Since 2006, Marigail Mullin has been the CEO of the YWCA Knoxville, where she has worked to modernize and update services and social work practice. She has led the development and expansion of all YWCA services.
She is the former Executive Director of Crittenton Center in Sioux City, Iowa, where she developed and implemented innovative social service programming for needy children and adults. Marigail serves on numerous boards and committees and has provided training and consultation to other professionals. She has over 35 years of experience as a social worker, therapist and administrator.
Marigail holds a Master’s degree in social work (MSW) from the University of Iowa.
Danielle Benson, Director of Business Operations & Fund Development
Danielle Benson hails from Denver, Colorado, and came to Knoxville for school. She started with the YWCA in early 2007 as the Community Relations Director and Y-Teens Coordinator before becoming the Director of Business Operations and Fund Development. Currently, Danielle oversees several business administrative functions, marketing, public relations, and the YWCA’s Club W Health and Fitness program.
Danielle is actively involved in the community and committed to promoting professional development and leadership through Young Professionals of Knoxville by serving as President-Elect and previously as Marketing Chair and Professional Development Chair. She also serves on the YWCA’s Regional Committee for Women Under 30 and the YWCA USA Young Women’s Communication Committee.
Danielle graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business from the University of Tennessee.
Javetta Dryer, Director of Education
Javetta Dryer is from Atlanta, GA, and is a proud graduate of Florida A&M University. GO RATTLERS! She taught middle-school health and physical education for two years before getting her master’s in deaf and hard of hearing from the University of Tennessee. She has a passion for educating minority adolescents both in school and life. Javetta has lived in Knoxville for five years and has a three-year-old son (pit bull) named Champ. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and traveling.
Katie Fitch, Director of Development
Katie Fitch came to the YWCA in 2011 as Director of Development, and she is responsible for the agency’s fundraising and donor engagement. Prior to joining the YWCA, she worked for Second Presbyterian Church, where she ignited volunteer programming and engagement. She was previously Director of Program Growth for Rice Bowls, overseeing that organization’s 2007 re-launch. Her professional nonprofit experience also includes service at Converse College and Young Life.
In addition to her professional involvement, Katie is an active member of the Junior League and was awarded the Junior League’s Provisional of the Year Award. She volunteers with the Knoxville Fellows Program and has participated in multiple fundraising marathons for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training. Raised in Knoxville, Katie’s service to her hometown also includes the Fantasy of Trees, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Katie is an alumna of Converse College with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Politics.
Alle Lilly, Transitional Housing Director
Alle Lilly oversees the Transitional Housing Program, which houses 58 women at the Clinch Avenue location. Her previous work experience includes community organizing, volunteer management, program development, and fundraising with nonprofit organizations. She gained clinical experience while working at a dual-diagnosis treatment facility for women as a group, individual, and family therapist.
Alle was first introduced to the YWCA as an intern in 2007 while obtaining her Master’s degree and soon became the Transitional Housing Program Assistant Director but left to complete her education. She returned to the YWCA as Director of the Transitional Housing Program in 2011. Alle is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) in the State of Tennessee and a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).
Alle received a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Tennessee and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from DePauw University.
Megan Herscher, Director of Programs
Megan Herscher joined the YWCA in 2012 as Director of Programs, and oversees the Transitional Housing Program, Phyllis Wheatley Center and Domestic Violence Advocacy Program. Since 2006, Megan has managed multiple non-profit programs including; a non-profit homeless shelter with Volunteers of America, as well as Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment Facilities.
Megan is actively involved in promoting mental health awareness and decreasing stigma towards the mentally ill with the VolAware Committee at The University of Tennessee, and is currently serving as President of the University of Tennessee Counseling Honors Society, Chi Sigma Iota. Megan is a Nationally Certified Counselor and is Licensed as a Professional Counselor in the state of Tennessee.
Megan has a bachelor’s degree in Communicative Sciences from James Madison University, a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Marymount University, and is completing her Doctorate in Counselor Education at the University of Tennessee.
Elizabeth Wright, Director of Women’s Advocacy & Written Communications
Elizabeth Wright joined the YWCA Knoxville as Director of Women’s Advocacy and Written Communications in 2013, managing the agency’s grant funding and coordinating legislative advocacy and community education efforts to promote the mission of empowering women and eliminating racism.
Prior to joining the YWCA, Elizabeth worked for economic justice through policy analysis, legislative advocacy, and community organizing as the Executive Director of Tennesseans for Fair Taxation. She served as Editor of Knoxville Voice throughout the progressive local publication’s tenure and has also worked as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Tennessee, and as a consultant in grant writing, research, and publication development with the Highlander Center and Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office. Elizabeth’s previous work for women also includes serving as a Victim Advocate and Education Specialist at the Sexual Assault Crisis Center, and she was a founding member of the Women’s Action Coalition at the University of Memphis. She is currently a board member of Jobs with Justice of East Tennessee.
Elizabeth holds a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Tennessee and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Sociology from the University of Memphis.
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