Show Hope™ has appointed Mike Hamilton as their new Executive Director, effective December 1. Hamilton is replacing longtime staff member Scott Hasenbalg who has led Show Hope since its inception. Show Hope, founded in 2003 by multi-award winning Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife Mary Beth, a New York Times’ best-selling author, is a nonprofit organization that helps restore the hope of a family to orphans in distress.
Prior to joining the Show Hope team, Mike Hamilton served as the President of Engagement with Blood:Water Mission. Hamilton has extensive experience in leadership and development, serving 26 years in intercollegiate athletics at Clemson University, Wake Forest University and the University of Tennessee. He served at the University of Tennessee for nearly 20 years, eight as Athletic Director. Hamilton also served on the board for Show Hope and Blood:Water Mission, among other local, regional and national nonprofits. While in Knoxville, he chaired the Knoxville Chamber Partnership and the United Way. He was named National Fundraiser of the Year in college athletics in 1998, has been named by Business TN as a member of the “Power 100,” and has been awarded numerous honors for his work with youth and children, including being named on the UN Foundation’s 2014 list of 10 Fathers Creating a Better World for Girls and Women.
Steven Curtis Chapman, Vice President of Show Hope, shares, “Mike has walked alongside us as an adoptive dad and board member. He brings not only a great passion for the purposes and mission of Show Hope but incredible gifts, strengths and experience to lead us.”
Hamilton and his wife, Beth have five children through adoption, three of whom are from Ethiopia. Their youngest daughter is named Kalu, meaning “get the word out” and that’s exactly what Hamilton has been doing as it pertains to the orphan crisis since 2009. At Show Hope, he will continue to use his gifts to bring hope to the millions of orphans worldwide who need someone to “get the word out” on their behalf.
