Becca Stevens (priest)

Rev. Becca Stevens is an Episcopal priest and writer who is chaplain at Vanderbilt University's St. Augustine's Chapel in Nashville, Tennessee. She is notable for her work helping former prostitutes leave the sex industry and start new lives. She was the 2000 Nashvillian of the Year and in 2013 was inducted into the Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame.

Becca Stevens was born on April 1, 1963 in Connecticut to Anne and Rev. Gladston Hudson Stevens, Jr. When she was four years old, her family relocated to Nashville, Tennessee and a year later, her father was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. After completing her secondary education at John Overton High School, Stevens enrolled in her father's alma mater The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee studying math. When she graduated, she completed an internship at Bread for the World and led the Kanuga Conference Center's youth program near Hendersonville, North Carolina before returning to Nashville in 1987. Stevens enrolled in Vanderbilt Divinity School, where she met her future husband Marcus Hummon, whom she married in 1988. During her schooling, she volunteered in projects to help homeless women and those dealing with addiction.

Stevens was ordained in June 1991 and delivered her first child the following month. After her ordination, Stevens began working at the Church of the Resurrection in Franklin, Tennessee, continuing her work with those in need. When in 1995, the Chaplain of St. Augustine’s Chapel at Vanderbilt retired, Stevens accepted the post. She founded Magdalene in 1997, a two-year residential program for former prostitutes overcoming addiction(s) and wanting to restart their lives. She also started Thistle Farms, which employs the same group of women to make products sold in stores like Whole Foods and on the Internet. In 2000, Stevens was selected as the Nashvillian of the year and in 2013, she was inducted into the Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. In 2013, Thistle Farms opened a café, employing ex-prostitutes as baristas.

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