Who We Are
Our team is comprised of individuals in the Charlotte area, most of which have their own businesses and each person with their own specialized skills. We all have one thing in common, though, and that is - we all have a heart for this Ministry and a desire to love women and children experiencing homelessness back to life!
Founder’s Story
Dr. Sonja P. Chisolm is the proud founder and current director of Gracious Hands Transitional Housing for Women & Children. Sonja was employed for 16 years with the Independent Beverage Corporation and quickly moved through their ranks to become a supervisor. Sonja is quick to attest that although she thanks God for her previous employment, she has known for many years that it was not her true calling.
As a 21 year old mother of 3, who lived with family members, Sonja has felt the sting of being without a place to call home. Raising three young children meant that Sonja had to forfeit her dream of attending college and take an alternative route of success. Sonja believes that because of all that she survived, God placed it in her heart to provide shelter for those who are less fortunate.
Sonja proudly states that her three adult children have gone on to college and provided her with ten beautiful grand-children. She has been the loving wife of Timothy Chisolm for over 10 years.
As a single mom, founder and current director, Sonja Chisolm, always imagined if she won the lottery, she would have a home for single women and their children. One day, God spoke to Sonja and told her, "when I gave you that vision, that was the lottery". Sonja stepped out on faith and Gracious Hands started with humble means in a rental property on February 28, 2015. That rental property was full within 30 days. The need was great. Contact at: spchisolm@gmail.com
Board Members
Beatrice Parker
President
Beatrice Parker is a NC native with an appetite for all things global and connecting with people through food and cultural experiences . Her mission is to bring people back to the table one meal at a time, in addition to making it easy to gather & enJOY. Beatrice’s passion for cooking and aesthetics gave birth to her company, Absolute Joy which she also sees as her Ministry. In fact, she calls herself, the joy architect because her sincere desire for all of us is to experience authentic, sustaining, unadulterated JOY, regardless of our circumstances. She is a community advocate in the areas of education, Human relations, the church, young people, moms and many other areas. When Beatrice is not working or volunteering, she enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, traveling, reading, learning new things, enjoying all genres of music, the beach and Zumba.
Austin Parker
Member-At-Large
Multifaceted, knowledgeable and dependable Austin is adept at working in a variety of environments. Austin currently has over a decade of experience in the financial industry. Mr. Parker is certified as a Agile Scrum Master, Agile product Owner and Scrum master for cloud computing and technology. He is an advocate for his clients, team and adamantly encourages others to take charge of their finances.
Austin leads and lives by example. He invests his time, talent and resources into his community.
He lives by the motto, why do less when you can do more and to whom much is given, much is required. To that end, Austin is also a real estate investor, small business owner, consultant, public speaker, venture capitalist and serves on 2 nonprofit boards. When he’s not pursuing his professional purposes, Austin enjoys reading, traveling, investing and spending time with family.
Tamara Brown
Member-At-Large
Tamara Brown is a single Mother of three wonderful children ages 17, 15 and 7. Her children mean the world to her and are the very reason why she pushes herself so hard. Tamara has experienced many challenges as a single Mom, although she has fallen a few times, she always gets back up and is stronger than ever. She has a strong desire to help other single Mothers achieve greatness. She believes with God all things are possible and hopes that her story will inspire others. Tamara’s favorite bible verse is Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Tamara is currently a Vice President, Senior Legal Entity Controller at Bank of America. Due to her commitment, hard work and dedication at work, she was promoted within six months of being on the job. Tamara is a fast learner, creative, analytical, always willing to help and works well with others. She relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina two years ago and is originally from Delaware. Before working at Bank of America she was employed at JP Morgan Chase for ten years. She has over 15 plus years of work experience in Corporate Accounting. She is a graduate of the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. She obtained a Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Wilmington University.
Tamara is also a business owner. In 2017, she started a cosmetics line with the main products being lipstick and lip gloss. The company is called Lai Cosmetics, which is named after her daughter Laila. She hopes the brand will be a household name some day and that she will be able to pass the business down to her daughter. Tamara has served on the board of a non-profit in Delaware which was designed to help out inner city youth. She is no stranger to hard work and will go the extra mile in order to see the vision come to pass.
Ceicile Buonya
Member at Large
Cece Buonya is the lucky mother of an energetic toddler and considers herself a “mompreneur”, balancing motherhood with being a professional coach, real estate agent and business consultant.
Some of her responsibilities in these roles includes meeting people where they are, helping others identify their challenges, and helping to support them through overcoming those obstacles. She helps individuals self-identify their opportunities and create solutions that can be sustained over time.
Although the titles of mother, entrepreneur and business professional are completely different, the core behaviors and underlying qualities are the same. She is genuinely passionate about helping others and finds joy and fulfillment in knowing she has been able to support someone else move to the next level in their individual journeys.
Cece believes one of the most valuable things you can give is your time, because you are giving a part of your life that you can never get back. As someone who is no stranger to adversity, she can never forget all of the help and support she’s received along the way and the sacrifice of time others have given in an effort to help her get on her feet.
These passions and beliefs are what connects Cece to Gracious Hands and their mission to love women and children experiencing homelessness back to life. She is honored to be able to pay forward her blessings and looks forward to having the opportunity to joyfully give her time, resources, and knowledge to help uplift others in need.
Our Staff
Octavia Lindsay- Executive Director Assistant
First and foremost, I would like to Praise God for what he has done in my life. At the age of 30 God Blessed me with a beautiful little girl. When my daughter was born, I started to experience emotional and physical abuse by my partner. At two years old she did not know what was going on and why mommy was crying.
At that moment I felt like I had failed her. I decided to get online and look for homeless shelters and came across an organization called Gracious Hands Transitional Housing. I explained my situation and Dr. Chisolm welcomed me and my child in the program the following Monday.
The moment I walked in I felt a sense of peace, I knew right then and there that me and my daughter were safe. I worked my way through the program, it was not easy, but Dr. Chisolm helped me get my voice back and love me back to life. Throughout the program, I was able to save a little over $10,000 and get a credit score of a little over 700.
I became a homeowner when I graduated from the program. 3 years later I am not Dr. Chisolm assistant director and back in school for my degree in Social Work. I would like to help homeless women and children as I was helped 3 years ago.
Sharelle Jones- Social Worker
Meet Sharelle Jones, Social Worker with Gracious Hands Transitional Housing program. Originally from Durham, NC, Sharelle moved to Charlotte, NC in 2008 to attend Johnson C. Smith University where she majored in Social Work. After graduating from Johnson C. Smith University Sharelle later moved to Miami, FL where she completed an advanced Master of Social Work program at Barry University. She has over 10 years of social work experience in the following areas including individual and family case management, care coordination, homelessness, counseling, behavioral/mental health, guardianship, hospice, foster care, domestic violence, home health, personal care, protective services for adults and children.
Sharelle understands that everyone is unique and requires a personalized approach to help meet their specific needs. There is no greater feeling than helping individuals to overcome physical, mental, and emotional barriers that impede overall health and well-being.
It is important that families are provided a safe space, free of judgment, and are given an opportunity to build themselves back up. Maya Angelou once said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Sharelle is inspired to be the missing link to those in need of a connection and is hopeful that each individual and family that enter the doors of Gracious Hands leave feeling better than when they arrived.