About us
“Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” — 1 John 3:18
Beyond the Building. Into the Community.
At The Giving Tree at Covenant, our mantra is simple.
Beyond the Building.
We are committed to meeting neighbors where they are and serving with compassion and respect.
9.8K
Neighbors Served
67K
lbs of fresh food
distributed
138K
lbs of food
served by pantry
Executive Leadership Team
Faithful Leadership. Compassionate Service. Community Impact.
The Giving Tree at Covenant is guided by a dedicated Executive Leadership Team committed to serving our neighbors with dignity, compassion, excellence, and the love of Christ. Our leaders bring diverse professional experience and a shared commitment to addressing food insecurity, strengthening our community, and advancing the mission of The Giving Tree at Covenant.
Ken Porter
Chief Executive Officer
Pastor Ken Porter Sr. serves as Chief Executive Officer of The Giving Tree at Covenant and Chief Executive Officer of Inspire Community Center, while also serving as Senior Pastor of Covenant Life Fellowship. His leadership is grounded in faith, compassionate service, and a commitment to strengthening individuals, families, and the community.
As CEO of The Giving Tree at Covenant, Pastor Ken provides executive leadership, spiritual oversight, and strategic direction for the ministry’s work to address food insecurity and care for neighbors with dignity and compassion. As CEO of Inspire Community Center, he provides vision and executive leadership for the development of a community-centered resource designed to help children, youth, families, seniors, and the broader community Gather, Give, Grow, and Guide.
Pastor Ken brings decades of professional, ministry, and leadership experience to these roles. He worked for 20 years as a Marketing & Sales Manager at Time Warner Cable and also served as a Mail Carrier for the United States Postal Service. His formal education includes studies at Moody Bible Institute and North Eastern Regional Bible College, where he earned a degree in Biblical Studies.
Pastor Ken answered the call to launch Covenant Life Fellowship in 2014. He has a passion for communicating God’s Word with accuracy, clarity, spiritual passion, and faithfulness, and for extending ministry beyond the walls of the church to make a meaningful difference in the community.
Beverly "Bev" Porter
Chief Operating Officer
Beverly “Bev” Porter is a faith-centered transformational leader, executive coach, nonprofit executive, and community advocate whose career reflects a deep commitment to leadership, service, and making a meaningful difference in the lives of others.
As Chief Operating Officer of The Giving Tree at Covenant, Bev provides strategic and operational leadership for the growing community ministry. Her responsibilities include organizational strategy, food pantry operations, community partnerships, volunteer engagement, logistics, compliance, resource development, and the systems necessary to sustain and expand the ministry’s impact.
Bev also serves as Chief Operating Officer of Inspire Community Center and as Administrator and Executive Board Member of Covenant Life Fellowship. Her professional career includes executive and leadership roles with INROADS, North Carolina State University, and Duke University. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Materials and Logistics Management from Michigan State University and a Master of Education in Counseling from North Carolina State University.
Grounded in her faith, Bev seeks to glorify God through the way she lives, leads, serves, and cares for others. She lives by four principles: Make a difference. Laugh a lot. No regrets. Be content in what state I am in. – Philippians 4:11.
Ayana Davis Hernandez
Executive Leadership Team | Marketing & Communications
Ayana Davis Hernandez is an award-winning senior communications practitioner and owner of ADHernandez Consulting, LLC, a strategic marketing and communications practice based in the Triangle region of North Carolina. She brings extensive experience in strategic communications, marketing, media relations, executive communications, and organizational storytelling to The Giving Tree at Covenant.
She works part-time with the City of Durham’s Department of Water Management. Before starting her company, Ms. Hernandez served as Associate Vice Chancellor of Strategic Communications at Elizabeth City State University. Previously, she worked at North Carolina Central University for more than 10 years in roles including Associate Vice Chancellor for Communications and Marketing and Special Assistant to the Chancellor. Earlier in her career, she was a Vice President with FleishmanHillard International Communications and Manager for Communications and Media Relations at Episcopal Relief and Development.
Ms. Hernandez’s communications career began in magazine publishing, where she served as assistant and later Associate Beauty Editor of Essence Magazine and subsequently as Beauty Editor of Heart & Soul Magazine. She is a member and past Board of Directors member of the North Carolina Public Relations Society of America.
She earned a Master of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communications from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Spelman College. Through her service to The Giving Tree at Covenant, she helps communicate the ministry’s mission, stories, partnerships, and community impact with excellence and clarity.
Nadine Clipper
Executive Leadership Team | Logistics
Nadine Clipper is an educational leader, accomplished author, and community advocate with a heart for service and a longstanding commitment to helping others grow and thrive. Grounded in faith, integrity, and compassion, she brings decades of experience in education, communication, leadership, and community engagement to her service on the Executive Leadership Team of The Giving Tree at Covenant.
Ms. Clipper holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication and a Master of Science in Educational Technology. She is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Her professional career includes distinguished government service as an Education Program Specialist, where she contributed expertise in education, instructional strategy, and communication before retiring in 2023. She continues to lend her experience to organizational leadership through board service and community-focused initiatives.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Ms. Clipper is passionate about writing, service, leadership, and encouraging others to live with intention and purpose. Whether through leadership, service, or the written word, she strives to create meaningful connections, strengthen communities, and use her gifts in ways that reflect her faith and positively impact the lives of others.
Sheraldine Lewis
Executive Leadership Team | Logistics
Sheraldine Lewis was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to Marvin and Geraldine Whitley and grew up in Knightdale, North Carolina. From an early age, she was active in her home church, Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church, where she sang in the Tiny Tots, Junior, and Young Adult choirs and served on the Junior Usher Board.
Sheraldine joined Covenant Life Fellowship in 2014 and faithfully serves in several ministry roles, including Trustee, Choir Member, Usher, and Prime Timers Ministry Leader. She also serves on the Executive Leadership Team of The Giving Tree at Covenant, supporting logistics and operations and helping the ministry serve neighbors with care and excellence.
Sheraldine graduated from East Wake High School in 1987 and attended Sherrill’s University of Hairstyling and Cosmetology, graduating in 1989 and receiving her cosmetology license. She later built a long career with Wake County Public School System and retired in July 2025 after 40 years of service.
Sheraldine is the proud mother of two sons, Howard Boone Jr. and Arman Lewis. Her life reflects a deep commitment to faith, family, service, and community.
Jackie Underwood
Executive Leadership Team | Volunteer Coordinator
Jackie Underwood serves as Volunteer Coordinator for The Giving Tree at Covenant, helping recruit, organize, and support the volunteers whose service is essential to the ministry’s food pantry operations and community outreach.
Ms. Underwood was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and later moved to Granville County, North Carolina, where she graduated from high school. She worked in New York before attending North Carolina A&T State University, where she met and married her husband. After marriage, they lived in Maryland for 10 years before moving to Raleigh. They have two adult sons and two granddaughters.
Her diverse professional career includes work with a NASA information facility, teaching in Maryland, real estate sales in North Carolina, and more than 30 years of service with Wake County Public Schools. She brings this broad experience, along with a heart for people and service, to her leadership of The Giving Tree at Covenant’s volunteer program.
