Sharon D Edwards
FOUNDER, CEO, CERTIFIED HOUSING COUNSELOR, USDA LOAN PACKAGER
FINANCIAL EDUCATION AND CREDIT COUNSELOR
Sharon D Edwards is an affordable housing counselor and financial education specialist with extensive experience in budgeting, money management, credit counseling, and loan packaging. She has obtained more than 15 certifications in housing and homeownership counseling from NeighborWorks Training Institute; and is a Certified Loan Packager for USDA. Her non-profit organization, Community Outreach Training Center, Inc., is a Comprehensive Housing Counseling Agency dedicated to providing homebuyer education, foreclosure prevention, and housing counseling services to Southwest Georgia residents. The purpose of her program is to support other non-profit housing organizations to expand affordable housing opportunities to low to moderated income citizens.
She has served as a certified housing counselor for nearly five years providing a variety of services to support homebuyers, tenants, and homeowners in maintaining their housing. Her organization has provided Homebuyer Education for more than 200 clients between 2017- 2018; and have assisted ten families with successfully obtaining a home loan. In 2018, 21 permits were pulled for new residential builds in the City of Thomasville and 5 of those recipients were clients Community Outreach Training Center.
In addition to working with clients and preparing them for homeownership, she serves as the Chair for the Southwest Georgia Regional Housing Task Force, and Chairs the Thomasville Thomas County Homeless Coalition. She also hosts an Annual Housing Forum and facilitates Credit Building workshops throughout Southwest Georgia. She is also a part of the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing (GICH).
More importantly, Mrs. Edwards’ passion is helping people start businesses. She has more than 25 years’ experience managing and operating a business and helping others navigate through the rigorous task of starting their own business. She is one of the founders and facilitators of SPARK Thomasville and works with a team of local entrepreneurs and supporters to help those in the under-estimated community start and grow their businesses from concept to full operation.
Donna Pettis-Jenkins, Office Assistant
Donna Pettis-Jenkins
Donna is our Office Administrator Assistant. She assists with online application processing and interviewing of clients. She answers questions and provide accurate information to potential clients.
Natasha Williams
Natasha is our Office Admin. She's responsible for managing staff, taking calls, processing applications, and performing client interviews.
Natasha Williams, Office Administration
LaDerrick Williams
LaDerrick Williams is our Referral Specialist. He manages Call Center/Customer Service Staff. He ensures all clients receives the greatest of services.
LaDerrick Williams, Referral Specialist
Kelis Ellis
Kelis is our Receptionist and Data Entry Specialist. She ensures all client information is entered correctly into our system and schedules appointments for new applicants.
Kelis Ellis, Office Assistant