Steve Siler is a songwriter and producer. A Dove Award winner, for eleven years he served as a staff writer in the Christian music industry during which time he had over 400 of his songs recorded in the Christian market by artists such as Point of Grace, Avalon, Anointed, Clay Crosse, The Martins, Aaron Jeoffrey, Greg Long, Be Be Winans, Bob Carlisle, Sandi Patty, Scott Krippayne, Tammy Trent, and Larnelle Harris among others. His best known songs are "Circle of Friends," "Not Too far From Here," and “I Will Follow Christ.” He has had nine #1 CCM songs and over forty top ten singles.

Mr. Siler has had songs recorded by pop artists such as Kenny Loggins, Smokey Robinson, Patti Labelle, and Patti Austin. His songs have landed in feature films and on all four of the major television networks. Prior to his work in songwriting Siler worked in marketing for A & M Records in Los Angeles.

Since becoming Director of Music for the Soul Mr. Siler has produced award winning music and video projects for the ministry as well as providing theme music for the National Special Olympics, The Starkey Foundation, Lutheran Vespers Radio, and the TV theme for Pure Passion. His first book, "The Praise & Worship Devotional", was published by Tyndale House.

Stevey Shaw - Music for the Soul, Board Chair

Stevey, along with her husband Douglas, is the founder of Douglas Shaw and Associates, a full-service fundraising and communications agency serving national and international non-profit organizations and ministries.

Ms. Shaw, a mother of two, has a Bachelors of Science in Psychology from the University of Texas and is currently a student at Fuller Seminary with a focus on mentoring and leadership development.

William J. Tallent - Music for the Soul, Vice Chair

Mr. Tallent's business experience exhibits a history of leadership, successful business start up and growth, and special skills in the area of communications. He co-founded the Telco Research Corporation, the world's leading telecommunications software and consulting firm and was its CEO from 1986-1990. He also founded the Hampton Investment Corporation in 1990 and the Tallent Communications Group in 1991. He is currently the CEO of Mercury Sports Network.

His experience also includes being the Director of staff services for Genesco, Inc. and CEO of the Coleraine Clothing Company and CEO of Male Sportswear

Mr. Tallent's not for profit sector pursuits include being a trustee of Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis since 1990, a trustee of Brentwood Academy in Brentwood, Tennessee, and a member of the Vanderbilt Divinity School Board of Advisors. Mr. Tallent's education includes a B.S. in Commerce and the Harvard Advanced Management Program He has served on the board since its inception.

Shawn McSpadden - Music for the Soul, Board Member

Shawn attended Franklin Road Academy, where he played football and baseball, helping win two state championships, was captain of the football team, and President of his senior class.

College life started at Liberty University, followed by a transfer to Belmont University in the Fall of 1988. While attending Belmont, Shawn and his father Gary McSpadden started McSpadden Music Group where he was able to develop and publish artists and writers.

McSpadden Music Group grew quickly and became McSpadden-Smith Music with a full scale management company as well a catalog of over 20 staff songwriters and over 3,500 copyrights. Songs published by McSpadden - Smith Music were recorded by artists Faith Hill, Vince Gill, She Daisy, Earth Wind and Fire, Amy Grant and many others. The catalog contained over 30 #1 chart topping songs in both the Country and Christian Billboard charts. In 1998 McSpadden - Smith was purchased by Music and Media International and Shawn took over as VP/GM of Word Music publishing.

During his time as VP/GM for Word Music Publishing he also added the title of Senior VP of Artist and Repitoir for Word/Warner Bros. Records where he worked with Randy Travis, Sixpence None the Richer, Billy Ray Cyrus, MuteMath and Robert Randolph, among others. In 2004 Shawn left Word/ Warner Bros. Records to team up with Greg Hill at Greg Hill Management, and began managing artists in both the Country and Christian industry.

In 2006 the company became a part of Red Light Management where they now oversee the careers of such artists as Rodney Atkins, Third Day, Phil Vassar, Heidi Newfeld, The Lost Trailers and Jason Michael Carroll.

Brad Weeks - Music for the Soul, Board Member

Brad Weeks has more than 15 years of experience in the fields of accounting, finance and investing. He is a principal and co-founder of Ergates Capital Management, a U.S. based hedge fund which manages investment portfolios for large U.S. university endowments, high net-worth individuals and domestic and international partnerships.

Brad has been called to utilize his understanding of economy and investment to encourage leaders to seek the Kingdom of God. Brad and his wife, Rachel currently live in Nashville, TN with their three children, Madison, Hayden and Carys.

Michael Lalor - Music for the Soul, Board Member

Michael Lalor is a Partner in the Nashville practice of Tatum LLC. Prior to joining Tatum, Michael was a co founder and owner of New Vista Partners, where he served as an Interim CFO and COO for a variety of companies owned by private equity firms across a broad range of industries including manufacturing, distribution, oil and gas and technology. Lalor served as CFO and VP Finance for State Industries, Inc., a large family owned manufacturer, and subsequently as CFO for Acuscape International, Inc. and Boots and Coots, Inc.

Prior to joining State Industries, Michael was a leveraged lender in Structured Finance as well as a Special Asset Portfolio Management Officer for Bankers Trust Company (New York). He began his career with Harbert International in Birmingham, AL., an international heavy construction and natural resource company. Michael holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina and a Bachelor of Arts from Birmingham Southern College. He and his wife Kathleen have three almost grown children and live in Nashville.

Jana Evans - Music for the Soul, Board Member

Jana Evans, LMSW Medical Social Worker Mahogany Hospice Care, Inc.

Rev. Dwight Liles - Music for the Soul Pastor

Dwight Liles is a legend in the world of Christian songwriting. Author of the worship standard “We are an Offering,” Dwight has written literally thousands of Christian songs in a career spanning over twenty five years and including nineteen number one singles. During that time he has been a mentoring presence for dozens of young Christian songwriters

Dwight is pastor of the Mt. Joy Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee

Phillip Keveren
Music for the Soul, Board Member

A multi-talented keyboard artist and composer, Phillip Keveren displays a tremendous versatility in both his concert performances and his original works. He composes in a variety of genres, and is widely acclaimed for his piano publications.

Mr. Keveren presents keyboard concerts and publishing workshops in over 50 cities a year. Recent tours have taken him to Australia, Southeast Asia, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

Phillip is co-author, major composer and MIDI orchestrator of the internationally acclaimed "Hal Leonard Student Piano Library," a complete piano method for young students. His unique arrangements are also featured in "The Phillip Keveren Series" from Hal Leonard.

A pioneer in the field of MIDI orchestration, Phillip has created software programs for Yamaha Corporation and produced dozens of piano performances for the Yamaha MusicSoft Library. He is in demand as a traditional orchestrator as well. He frequently composes for studio projects in various media, with his orchestral arrangements featured on recent releases by popular recording artists John Tesh, Twila Paris, Bob Carlisle and Larnelle Harris.

Mr. Keveren holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition from California State University, Northridge, and a Master of Music in Composition from the University of Southern California.

Susan is employed by Second Presbyterian Church and is the site coordinator of the Nashville Epiphany Project (NEP). This program brings young adults to Nashville for a one year mission experience with non-profits in town focusing on social justice

and systemic change. Serving as an elder at Second Presbyterian Church, she is very involved with the outreach ministry programs.

Volunteering in the community, Susan enjoys delivering meals on wheels, tutoring children, and working with adults to attain their GED. She enjoys annual mission trips to Guatemala, and is taking classes to improve her Spanish.

Susan is a native Arkansan, but has lived in Nashville since 1980. She graduated from Vanderbilt with a BS in 1984, and attended the Vanderbilt Divinity school from 1999-2002. She has been married for over 23 years and has 2 teenage children.

Paula Rieck
Music for the Soul, Board Member

In her role as Vice President of Organizational Development at Douglas Shaw & Associates, Paula oversees all aspects of Human Relations & Resources including recruiting, performance management, and employee relations.

Paula began her career teaching inner city children for several years in Milwaukee before moving to Boston to pursue further education.

During graduate school she worked as Director of Affiliate Relations at Affinity VideoNet, Inc. and then as Administrator of the Counseling Program at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. After completing her Masters of Counseling degree from Gordon Conwell, Paula worked as a therapist at The Meadows, an addiction treatment center in Wickenburg, Arizona, where she worked as a Family Therapist with sex addiction patients and their families.

Immediately prior to coming to DSA she worked as a Consultant/Trainer for The Efficacy Institute, a not-for-profit agency of education reform focused on maximizing academic achievement and building character development. Paula brings strong interpersonal relationship and administrative skills to her role, and is passionate about empowering DSA employees to serve our clients well.

Emeritus Board

Craig Adams
Pamela Barras
John Bracewell
Chrs Hogan
Lynne McCleery
Marty Wheeler