Meet the Team
Lee Mitchell
Executive Director
"I have a heart for reaching lost men and women in the marketplace with the love of God because for so many years, I was one of them."
Lee came to Needle's Eye the way many people do: through a season of searching. Over 15 years in executive banking, he experienced firsthand the hunger that so many marketplace professionals carry beneath the surface. Needle's Eye met him there, and the relationship grew deep: he served six years on the Board of Directors, led the ministry's 40th anniversary fundraising campaign, and along the way met his wife Erica at a Young Professional group, one of many Needle's Eye couples, as he and Erica like to say. He has also served as a bi-vocational pastor and is an alumnus of the Richmond Christian Leadership Institute. Lee brings to the Executive Director role not just leadership experience, but a genuinely personal investment in this community and the city it serves. On weekends, he and Erica are usually loading their two daughters into the car with no real plan, chasing good food in Virginia's small towns, a Flying Squirrels game, or anything near the water.
Leanne Lytle
Director of Ministry
"More than anything, I want people to experience the wholeness that comes from knowing they have been designed intentionally, loved completely, and promised full healing and restoration by the Creator of the World."
Leanne came to Needle's Eye from a career in education, already a long-time believer, and still found something here she hadn't encountered anywhere else: a community that took seriously what faithfulness looks like from 9 to 5. That experience shapes everything about how she leads as Director of Ministry. Leanne believes that God uses our work to form and shape us, and that sustained community with others on the same journey is what turns good intentions into real transformation. She is convinced that every person who engages with Needle's Eye carries a story worth telling, and her deepest hope is that they leave more equipped to tell it through their work. A committed morning person (rarely sleeping past 5am), Leanne starts each day in silence before the rest of the world wakes up, which might surprise anyone who knows her as the extrovert she is.
Pamela Padgett
Office Manager
"Nearly everyone I have led to the Lord was a colleague I worked alongside for months before God's moment came."
Pam knows that ordinary workdays are rarely ordinary. In 25 years as a travel agent, and in the ministry roles that ran alongside that career, she watched God move quietly and persistently through the proximity of shared work. That conviction is part of what makes her such a natural fit at Needle's Eye, where the belief that the workplace is sacred ground isn't just a tagline. Pam keeps the office running with warmth and steadiness, and brings decades of experience navigating people, details, and the unexpected. When she's not at work, you might find her planning her next trip or settled into the lobby of the Jefferson Hotel with a cup of tea and a good book, her favorite Richmond spot and a place she likes to show every out-of-town guest.
Michael Ferreira
Operations and Accounting Administrator
"We need to be reminded always of our identity in Christ and challenged to live out the great commission specifically in our day-to-day vocation."
Michael sees Needle's Eye as more than a place to work. He sees it as a prophetic witness to Richmond. The conviction that God pursues the lost through ordinary people in ordinary workplaces is something Michael finds both compelling and personal. He came to Richmond a few years ago, found his footing through ministry and nonprofit work, and landed at Needle's Eye in what he describes as an almost perfectly fitted role. Beyond the operations and accounting work that keeps the ministry running, Michael is passionate about emotional and relational health and is quick to recommend The Connected Life podcast to just about anyone. Outside the office, he's happiest outdoors: mountain biking, paddling, or skiing depending on the season.
Aimee O’Flaherty
Director of Communications & Digital Engagement
"I believe the best stories are the ones that make people feel like they belong to something bigger than themselves — and I am excited to help tell that story every day."
Aimee brings over 10 years of experience in communications, operations, and people engagement to her role at Needle's Eye. She is passionate about storytelling that draws people in and creates a sense of belonging — helping others see themselves as part of something bigger than themselves.
Faith has been the thread woven through her entire life, and it's what drives the way she works — with intention, care, and a genuine desire to connect with the hearts and stories of the people around her.
She is here to listen, to connect, and to help tell the story of what God is doing in and through this ministry in a way that resonates and invites others in.
Roxanne Crosby
Organizational Strategy Partner
“It was two different co-workers who brought the love and power of Jesus to me when I was a new believer in a high-stress corporate job. I have personal experience of the power of a witness to Christ.”
Roxanne doesn’t have to imagine what it means to encounter God through a colleague. She lived it. That experience is why Needle’s Eye’s mission isn’t abstract to her; it’s the story of her own faith. She brings deep strategic and organizational experience to the team, and approaches her work here with the conviction that every person has a real, lasting contribution to make to God’s redemptive purposes in the world. Lately, she’s been shaped by N. T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope, a reminder that what we do in our workplaces and communities is never wasted. Roxanne serves NEM as a volunteer partner.