FOUNDING MEMBERS
James H. Miller, President/CEO, co-founded Values First and has 29 years experience in the investment industry. He previously worked as a financial advisor at American Values Investments. Prior to that he served as Vice President of two large brokerage firms. He has also been life and health insurance licensed since 1982. He holds BA, MDiv, and MRE degrees.
He served for 11 years in Christian schools in administrative positions, and also served as a pastor for much of his life. He served in both the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy; is currently serving as U.S. Treasurer of the Diospi Suyana Mission Hospital in Peru; leads mission trips to Peru, works with SCORE International in the Dominican Republic; has taken multiple mission trips to Alaska; and helps with financial guidance and budget planning for families. He has been trained by Crown Ministries and trained by Kingdom Advisors. James has been married to his wife, Mary, for more than 40 years and is the proud father of three daughters and grandparent of six grandchildren.
Alex Ellis, Vice President of Operations, co-founded Values First and serves clients’ needs through investment guidance. He also is responsible for overseeing the company's daily operations, including administering all of the compliance policies and procedures. He earned his Bachelor's degree in 1996. Prior to helping found VFA, he worked as an Investment Advisor Representative with American Values Investments where he and his partner served more than 280 clients.
He previously served as a youth minister, has served on numerous international and domestic missions trips, and enjoys writing challenging and inspiring articles/blogs. He and his wife, Terri, have been married since 1997 and are blessed with two sons and one daughter. They are all active in their church where they serve on the leadership team of the small groups ministry as well as leading a small group Bible study in their home.
Roy E. Nunn, Vice President, co-founded Values First and has 26 years experience in the financial services industry. Roy has served as an Investment Advisor Representative at American Values Investments for six years. Prior to AVI, he served as a Regional Vice President / Registered Investment Representative with a major financial services firm for 19 years.
Prior to his career in the financial services industry he worked in education. He spent eight years teaching and as a school administrator/principal. He holds a BA and MRE degrees. Roy currently provides service and advice to hundreds of families. He and his wife, Sharon, are the proud parents of three children and stay busy with many church activities.
KEY PARTNERS AND PORTFOLIO MANAGERS*
Michael D. Mitchell, Investment Analyst and Portfolio Manager, has been an employee of Values First since 2009. Michael has been researching and analyzing stocks for more than a decade. He is a former writer for the Motley Fool and has written hundreds of investment articles for multiple Christian Investment newsletters.
Michael credits his investment performance to painstaking research, dedication, and perseverance. Some of the key qualities Michael looks for in his investments, include: companies producing great products and services in an expanding industry, strong managers with significant insider ownership, strong balance sheets with little or no debt and plenty of cash, companies committed to returning value to shareholders such as paying a dividend or repurchasing shares, strong cash flows, increasing revenues and earnings, improving margins, extremely attractive valuations, and above all, a company that is not involved in immoral activities.
He holds a Masters Degree in Biochemistry. For 15 years, he worked for the world’s largest Pharmaceutical Company analyzing novel drug targets. Michael has authored and co-authored many prominent scientific publications in the pharmaceutical field.
Michael and his wife, Jennifer, have been married for 19 years and are the proud parents of four children, Gabbie, Grant, Gavin, and Gwynith. Michael and his family are all very active in the church, serving on the church council, committees, and various family-oriented programs.
George Parks, CFP, Vice-President and Chairman of the Investment Committee of American Values Investments. Through a sub-advisory relationship between American Values Investments and Values First, George makes recommendations regarding securities investments, strategic asset allocation and third party managers for Values First on AVI's behalf. George joined AVI in March 2001, and has served as Chairman of AVI's Investment Committee since 2004. George is a trusted friend to the VFA founding members and has worked with them in various capacities dating back to 2003.
Prior to entering the financial services business, George spent 20 years working for Belk, Inc., a privately - owned department store group. He began his career as a management trainee and advanced to Division President. He graduated from Davidson College in 1980 majoring in Economics.
George and his wife, Beth Parks, have one daughter, Kimberly. George has served as an Elder and Trustee for Central Presbyterian Church in Bristol, VA. He has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of King College, and as a director of the local Chamber of Commerce.
Connie and her husband, Chris, have been married for nearly 12 years and have two children, William and Samual. She enjoys volunteering with the youth at her church and also is a weekly volunteer at Advise and Aid, a crisis pregnancy center.
Ken Brewer, Investment Advisor Representative has been an employee of Values First since 2009 and previously served with the Founding Members at American Values Investments. He is passionate about helping clients match their investments with their values. His passion is revealed by Ken's current pursuit of a Master's degree in Financial Planning. Ken is a Certified Biblical Stewardship Instructor and is also licensed to sell life insurance.
Ken holds a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology and is a Licensed Professional Counselor. Previously, Ken was an Assistant Professor of Psychology for five years at a local community college. He also worked as an addiction counselor for two years.
Ken and his wife Shannon have three children and are active in their church. They serve on the church council, on several committees, and are over portions of the children's ministry. In addition, they help in both the youth and drama ministries.
CLIENT SUPPORT
Sharon K. Nunn, Executive Assistant, provides office management and assistance in client management and client services. Sharon holds a Bachelor's degree in elementary education. After 33 wonderful years of teaching and pre-school administration in Christian education, Sharon delights in office management and assistance of client needs.
She has worked more than 35 years in various children’s ministries, such as vacation Bible schools, children’s church, junior church, Bible clubs, Discovery Clubs, etc., some of which she continues. She has a new passion to serve a “more mature” group of people through Values First. Sharon and her husband Roy are the proud parents of three children. Her hard work and dedication adds much to the VFA team.
[Photo] Mary Willis, Administrative Assistant, provides office assistance in client services and administration. She has a Bachelor's degree from East Tennessee State University in General Studies (concentration in Education) and a Minor in Social Work. Mary and her husband, Bryan, have three sons. She and her family are active in their church where she volunteers in the Preschool Kids Room and is a member of the Virtuous Women Committee.
* At Values First, our Founding Members work with our Portfolio Managers and other employees to oversee our client accounts. In addition, we have established and continue to develop industry relationships to enhance the experience, range and depth of our internal Team. These relationships include our relationships with American Values Investments, Inc. (AVI), which serves as a sub-advisor to our firm, and our independent investment advisor representatives (IARs) who work with our Founding Members and Portfolio Managers to service our clients and their accounts. Bios for key personnel in our AVI relationship, IARs and Portfolio Managers of our firm appear under "Key Partners and Portfolio Managers."
