2021 LEADERSHIP TEAM
Emcee & Host
DECEMBER WEST
December is a wife, mother, minister, friend, and a servant. She has been married for 15 years to her honeydew melon. They have 5 beautiful children, two of which have special needs. Her 8-year- old has a rare kidney disease and has been diagnosed with bilateral sensorial hearing loss. Her youngest has been diagnosed with Autism.
December loves to encourage people to live out their God-given purpose. She is very passionate about telling people about the love and grace of God. In the midst of her caring for her family, encouraging others, and praising the Lord, December loves to dance and laugh. Words that describe December are: Servant, Faithful, Patient, Worshipper, and Fighter.
dwest704@gmail.com // 330-861-3524 // Facebook
Emcee & Host
NOELLE BECK
Noelle Beck is a passionate spiritual entrepreneur within the city of Akron. She founded First Glance in 2000 to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of teenagers in Kenmore. In 2017, Noelle established Akron on Purpose.
Noelle’s adventures take place in the Kenmore community of Akron where she resides with her amazing husband of 21 years, along with any housemates they pick up along the way. She has the distinct pleasure of being Enoch, Trinity and Gio’s mom. She loves frothy coffee, Jeeps with no doors, and biking adventures.
Her life goals include biking across America, wearing Converse until she’s 80, and taking over Akron with the truth and love of Jesus!
noelle@akrononpurpose.com // 330-328-4900
Facebook // Instagram
Worship Leader
JENNIFER JONES
Jennifer is a member of the Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Akron, Ohio, where she serves in the area of pastoral care, worship, and administration. As a licensed and ordained minister, she leads the worship services, preaches the word, teaches Bible Study and conducts worship and music workshops for the members of Mount Calvary Baptist Church and the community.
Jennifer served 10 years as the Choral Master for the Annual Gospel Meets Symphony Chorus (a community of 200 gospel singers and musicians that join with the Akron Symphony Orchestra to perform annually at the E. J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall). She also supervises in the area of prevention at Minority Behavioral Health Group.
Jennifer, affectionately known as “JJ”, is the proud mother of two wonderful and musically-talented children, Joshua and Jazmin. She is a born-again Christian woman, who is sanctified and anointed to sing and teach God’s praises.
agapejmj@yahoo.com // 330-253-3711 // Facebook
Prayer Team Leader
ERICA HOWARD
Erica Howard has said "Yes" to the Lord and tries to keep her vision on the focus of eternity. One night in prayer, shortly after the birth of her daughter Nyah (which means purpose), she heard the Lord say “GO GET MY DAUGHTERS” and from that moment she said yes to the call of rescuing His daughters out of darkness, shame, guilt, and into their purpose . She has seen the Lord redeem and use every place of brokenness in her life in setting others free.
She is witty and loves to laugh. She loves music - all music. And is quick to break out in a random dance. She still holds on to her childhood dream of being a back up dancer for Janet Jackson. Her seven-year-old describes her as nice, kind, encouraging, powerful and AWESOME!! Her favorite place to be is anywhere her husband, Chris and her daughters are .
erica.howard55@gmail.com // 330-701-6556
Facebook // Instagram
Speaker
CALEY KARAM
Caley is a stay-at-home mom of 5 (ages 9, 6, 3, 1, & 8 months), daily learning to walk in her identity as a beloved daughter of Jesus. She’s honored to be a foster mom, and soon-to-be adoptive mother, where she experiences the joys and heartaches of children coming and going. She’s a risk-averse, introverted, feeler, married to her better-half and perfect balance, Jake- a logical, extroverted, adventurer - for 11 years. She’s most content snuggling a baby, connecting with others through authentic conversation, and serving families as a birth doula. Thrilled and humbled to be a part of empowering and encouraging women through Jesus and Jesus alone!
caleykaram@gmail.com // 330-690-0497
Speaker
DANAE LABOCKI
Danae is married to her crazy strong, keeps her grounded, makes her shake her head and laugh constantly husband, David. They have three teenagers (yikes) and that yes, are all bigger than her: Tyler, Anna, and Luke. She is doing what she loves each day spending time with amazing people in Akron that are making a difference — living out a gift God has given her in being able to help organizations thrive. She loves having WHAT??? moments as she calls them when our loving, interactive God shows up in crazy ways as she serves her clients and works with her team.
Danae wouldn’t say she has arrived but is in the middle of what God is teaching her — what it means to be deeply loved by God and to live in the fullness of His love and that we, as women are valued, significant, and worthy!
Danae loves all things that can be a competition — in fact you will often see her screaming the answers out during a family game of Pictionary, talking her friends into a competitive game of spoons to the death, or even racing her kids to the car.
She is so excited to be with each of you this year and to see all the incredible ways God will show up and show you His deep, unfailing love for you!
danae@immixmarketing.com // 330-321-2332
Speaker
NATASHA BIDDINGS
Hope.
It's Natasha's middle name and mandate. She uses her creativity to fill hearts with God's Truth, bellies with delicious recipes, and closets with fabulous fashion inspo.
Natasha is a licensed therapist who serves diverse populations, particularly those recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.
She is honored to help Christ's bride to become spiritually fierce and emotionally fit.
She is also a spoken word artist known for her thought-provoking and relatable performances. Her first book, WordSLAY: Poetry to Move You from FAIR to PHENOMENAL, suits readers up to slay their giants.
Finally, Natasha is a die-hard foodie with a long-standing love affair with carbs! She cooks stunning dishes that tempt her instagram followers to eat their screens. While she is thrilled to share her kitchen adventures with the world, nothing delights her more than creating a craving for Jesus.
nhbid1@gmail.com // 330-289-9872
Speaker
SARAH DAVE
Sarah is married to the love of her life, Christopher, and they have two tiny humans: CW, a charming and exuberant 4 1/2-year-old and Naomi, a curious and independent 3-year-old. Sarah spends her days wondering how there is always so much laundry, finding moments to bury her head in a book, and cooking endless meals that her kids will never eat. Oh, and sometimes she locks herself in the bathroom for a quiet moment with Jesus (she should probably do this a lot more often). Sarah feels a deep satisfaction when she gets to work and currently manages a fundraising firm that helps nonprofits.
Sarah’s current goals are to read 52 books a year, learn how to grow food so she can contribute in any end-of-days apocalypse scenario, and discover the secret that will allow her to “do all the things”. She is excited to be with her sisters in Christ as we are all reminded of His constant pursuit.
sarahnicoledave@gmail.com // 417-343-3775
Speaker
SELENA WHITE
Selena has been married to her best friend for almost 27 years! She has had the joy of home educating her four children from elementary through high school, and is currently actively involved in the education of others through private tutoring as well as homeschooling.
She has been a writer for a majority of her life. In 2017 she published Burdens We Bear, Poems and Writings About My Experiences as a Woman of Color.
Since falling head-over-heels for her Savior at age 16, Selena has come to view her life as one BIG adventure! The wonder of her Creator never ceases to amaze her! She expresses her love for living through the mediums of photography, writing, drawing, painting, teaching, quilting...(the list goes on), and loving and discipling the women God sends her way!
When asked what she wants people to know about her, her response is, "I want people to know that I love God with MY WHOLE HEART! And that I am an absolute introvert at heart, who God uses to do some extroverted things!'