Refugee Sewing Society

Catherine Palmer - RSS Director & Advanced Sewing Teacher 

Catherine is a Mission Service Corps missionary with the North American Mission Board.  Her assignment is to work with refugees from many countries who have been resettled in metro Atlanta.  Her childhood experiences in Bangladesh and Kenya equip her to understand and communicate with refugees of many cultures, languages, and religious traditions.  For twenty-four years, she has been an author – writing more than 50 books of Christian fiction, many of them bestsellers.  She started the Refugee Sewing Society in November 2008 and has managed the daily operations of this program ever since.    

Amy Cornett - Bead Group Teacher

Growing up in a pastor's family provided many opportunities for Amy Cornett to interact with those in need as well as with those who meet those needs.  As an adult she has hosted international students from Kenya and France while they were in U.S. study programs.   Her professional background in media production and creative arts provides insight into teaching RSS students.  She is married to Bob, a building contractor.  She has two adult children and two grandbabies.

Todd Harrison - CEO, Business Consultant

Todd Harrison is President of for-profit PureFUN!, a daycare supply company.  His experience in owning and operating several businesses allows him to give expert advice about managing and growing a business-oriented non-profit corporation.  Todd and his wife Carol have founded orphanages in Egypt and Ethiopia.  They have two sons, both of whom are musicians.   

Carol Harrison - Finance manager

As co-owner of PureFUN! daycare supply company, Carol has kept all financial records for many years.  Her organizational skills and financial knowledge allow her to manage the day-to-day monetary issues that arise in the RSS.  She and Todd make sure we are compliant with all government requirements.  They have set up a payroll and keep track of each woman’s earnings.

Tom Jones

Tom Jones Sr. is a native of Atlanta and a graduate chemical engineer from Georgia Tech. After a number of years in the plastics industry, he was called by God to be a missionary with the International Mission Board in East Africa.  Over 30 years, he was able to learn the culture of many African people groups as well as other cultures.  Primary assignments were finance and business, but he had many opportunities to counsel pastors and leaders of Baptist organizations in Kenya and Tanzania. He and Nancy have three adult children and three grandchildren, two of whom are married.

Nancy Jones

Nancy Jones grew up in a small North Georgia town, graduated from Georgia Baptist Hospital School of Nursing, and married Tom Jones almost 53 years ago. She and Tom spent 30 years in East Africa serving as Baptist missionaries for the International Mission Board and are now retired. Much of her time in Kenya was spent working with Kenyan women in the churches and operating a medical clinic in a large slum area in Nairobi. Working with women of other cultures is a special love of hers, so working with these refugee women makes her "retirement" an enjoyable time.