Jeff enjoyed a 32-year career with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) before joining Three Roots. He served in several roles at ORNL, including, internal auditor, business manager for research and operations business units, contracts administration, project manager for multiple business systems implementation projects, Accounting Manager, and Director of Logistical Services. In addition, Jeff served as the Chief Financial Officer of UT-Battelle Development Corporation for more than eight years.
Jeff is responsible for directing and supporting the accounting operations at Three Roots.
Jeff is a CPA (inactive license), with an MBA from the University of Maryland University College and a B.S. in Business Administration with a major in Accounting from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
jeff@3rootscapital.org
865.220.1717
Kim began working in a corporate setting more than 30 years ago when she took a job with a successful Ohio entrepreneur who worked with Dollar General outside of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, on a new product called voicemail. Her next few years were filled with inside sales, market research, and client training.
She moved into the healthcare industry a few years later and wore many HR-oriented hats regarding scheduling, recruitment, and onboarding new team members. In 2001, she took on the most rewarding role of all – a full-time mother to three wonderful children.
By 2011, she wanted to jump back into work and spent the following 11 years at The Pilot Company. At Pilot, she worked in wholesale fuel sales and support, portfolio analysis, cost reconciliation for fuel contracts across the U.S., and on new system implementation. She served as Manager of Commercial Contracts when she joined Three Roots Capital.
Kim joined Three Roots Capital in January 2023 as the Loan and Investment Administrator. She is responsible for loan and investment administration and tracking, including implementation and maintenance of the software platform that provides comprehensive loan and fund management from inquiry through repayment.
Dennis has a passion for helping qualified companies leverage local resources including peers, advisors, strategic partners, and capital providers. His role at Three Roots is to find these businesses and projects, and to serve as the gateway for those seeking funding. Dennis is also a provider of business technical assistance to these clients, and serves as the chair for the Three Roots Capital mentor team.
An experienced technology executive with more than 15 years of experience, Dennis ran a business located in an empowerment zone that received funding from a CDFI. He was the founder and CEO of Digital Crossing Networks, a 16,000 square foot commercial data center services company located in Knoxville, Tennessee. Prior to Digital Crossings Network, Dennis served as the Chief Technology Officer of Technology 2020, a public-private partnership whose mission was to develop and support technology companies in the Tennessee Valley Corridor. Dennis has more than 30 years of experience in the Information Technology industry. The first half of those years were spent with IBM Corporation and SAIC, where he worked in software development, client/server performance engineering, network application tuning, and as a consultant to the financial industry.
Dennis received his BS in computer science, with a minor in physics/electronics from Louisiana State University in 1985.
dennis@3rootscapital.org
Chris’ areas of responsibility include financial and administrative management of Three Roots and its access to capital programs. Chris also provides client companies with operational assistance in the areas of financial management, transaction and cash flow modeling, and preparation to raise capital.
Chris has 15 years of experience with operating and providing access to capital for small businesses. Prior to joining Three Roots Capital, Chris worked as a portfolio manager for a $150 million commercial loan portfolio with small business and middle market exposure. Prior to working in commercial banking, Chris was an associate for approximately $50 million of equity funds focused on early-stage and growth-stage investing in southern and central Appalachia. In this role, Chris was responsible for deal origination, due diligence, and portfolio administration.
Chris has an MBA with a concentration in entrepreneurship and financial management from the University of Tennessee, and a BS from the University of North Alabama. Chris has also completed additional graduate course work in private capital markets and private equity transactions.
chris@3rootscapital.org
865.220.1716
Grady Vanderhoofven has 25 years of experience in company creation and financing. He has co-founded and invested in multiple private investment funds, including Meritus Ventures, the first Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC) in the United States, and Southern Appalachian Fund (SAF), a New Markets Venture Capital Company (NMVCC). Together, these funds raised approximately $53 million and invested equity and debt in 16 companies, which attracted almost $300 million of aggregate investment. The companies are located in rural and/or low-income areas throughout central and southern Appalachia and have created more than 400 jobs to date. In addition to the capital directly invested by Meritus and SAF, the funds provided more than $4 million of technical and operational assistance to portfolio companies.
In 2016, Mr. Vanderhoofven founded Three Roots Capital, which is a 501(c)(3), certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) established to make debt and equity investments in companies in predominantly low-income areas of East Tennessee and the broader Appalachian region. Three Roots Capital has raised more than $140 million to date and has deployed and committed more than $100 million to companies and projects in Tennessee, Kentucky, and South Carolina.
Three Roots Capital has raised more than $100 million to date and has deployed and committed more than $62 million to companies in Tennessee and Kentucky.
In 2019, at the culmination of a multi-year, collaborative effort, Mr. Vanderhoofven and his partners launched the TennesSeed Fund as an evergreen, seed-stage, investment fund focused on proof of concept opportunities in Tennessee-based companies.
Prior to becoming an investor, Grady worked for more than a decade at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he participated in the creation of 12 start-up companies based on technology developed at ORNL. He previously served on the Advisory Council of the Yale University School of Engineering and Applied Science. He received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Yale University and has completed an Executive Education Program in private equity and corporate governance at Harvard Business School.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/grady-vanderhoofven-6a53371/
grady@3rootscapital.org
865.220.1714
