Leadership Tennessee announces 2019-20 class of community leaders

Leadership Tennessee announced Monday its 46 Class VII members, a group of leaders who will collaborate and engage in nonpartisan dialogue on issues of importance throughout the state. 

Each year Leadership Tennessee, an organization dedicated to connecting leaders in Tennessee to solve statewide issues through "strategic dialogue," picks new leaders from urban and rural communities. The organization is a part of the College of Leadership and Public Service at Lipscomb University.

The seventh annual group will take part in a statewide study course and will travel to different parts of the state to pinpoint issues that are faced by Tennesseans. Among many others, the new class includes Tennessean storytelling columnist Jessica Bliss. 

According to a Leadership Tennessee news release, the organization has assembled a network of 246 leaders thus far. This year's class represents all three geographical regions of Tennessee, with leaders from Athens to Nashville. 

“Tennessee has a lot of momentum right now, but Tennesseans continue to face significant challenges that require new and innovative partnerships to overcome them. Each class brings its own unique perspective and insight to the conversation, and we’re excited about Class VII joining the Leadership Tennessee network,” Leadership Tennessee Executive Director Cathy Cate said in a news release. “Each class comes together during the course of the year, having difficult conversations that challenge their points of view on issues in their communities, and we’re looking forward to Class VII and developing our seventh cohort around their chosen focus areas.”

Leadership Tennessee announced it would helm the "Vote Tennessee" initiative, a statewide effort to increase voter registration, in April. Additionally, the organization announced in January the first class of Leadership Tennessee NEXT, which offers professionals career and personal development and a deeper understanding of the state.

The new Leadership Tennessee class will first meet in August, and will meet seven times through June 2020. The leaders include: 

Athens

C. Seth Sumner, City Manager, City of Athens

Blountville

Bethany Flora, President, Northeast State Community College

Brentwood

Damon T. Hininger, President/CEO, CoreCivic

Chattanooga

Dr. Kelly Arnold, Founder and Medical Director, Clínica Medicas

Dr. Rebecca Ashford, President, Chattanooga State Community College

Christy Gillenwater, President/CEO, Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce

Dr. Bryan Johnson, Superintendent, Hamilton County Schools

Scott Pierce, EVP & Chief Operating Officer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee

Marcus K. Shaw, CEO, CO.LAB

Britt Tabor, EVP & CFO/Treasurer, Erlanger Health System

Columbia

Mayor Chaz Molder, City of Columbia

Cookeville

Kevin Christopher, Principal, Rockridge Venture Law

Crossville

State Rep. Cameron Sexton, Tennessee General Assembly

Dyersburg

Chad Davis, Owner, Davis Wealth Services

Jackson

Ryan Porter, COO & General Counsel, Jackson Chamber of Commerce

Johnson City

Eric Deaton, Senior VP for Market & Hospital Operations, Ballad Health

Lottie Ryans, Director, Workforce & Literacy Initiatives, First Tennessee Development District

Dr. Randy Wykoff, Dean, College of Public Health, East Tennessee State University

Kingsport

Heath Guinn, Founder, Sync Space

Knoxville

Dr. Jerry Askew, President, Alliance for Better Nonprofits

David Brace, Deputy to the Mayor and COO, City of Knoxville

Sen. Richard Briggs, Tennessee General Assembly

Claudia Caballero, Executive Director, Centro Hispano

Tyvi Small, Interim Vice Chancellor Diversity and Inclusion, University of Tennessee Knoxville

Avice Evans Reid, Senior Director, Knoxville City Government

Patrick Wilson, President, Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority

Maryville

Tammy Wilson, Vice President, Treasurer & Chief Risk Officer, TVA

Memphis

Jason Farmer, Founder/CEO, Black Lens Productions

Mike Keeney, Attorney, Lewis Thomason

Justice Holly Kirby, Tennessee Supreme Court 

Commissioner Mickell Lowery, Shelby County Government

Billy Orgel, President, Tower Ventures

Lauren Taylor, Vice President of Programs and Learning, Hyde Family Foundation

Amy Weirich, District Attorney General, 30th Judicial District

Nashville

Jessica Bliss, Storytelling Columnist, The Tennessean

Michelle Gaskin Brown, Manager, Public Policy, Amazon

Commissioner Beth DeBauche, Ohio Valley Conference

Alfred Degrafinreid II, Associate Vice Chancellor for Community Relations, Vanderbilt University

Margaret Dolan, President/CEO, Launch Tennessee

Bradley Jackson, President/CEO, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Commissioner Julie McPeak, TN Department of Commerce & Insurance

Hugh Queener, Chief Administrative Officer & EVP, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc.

Dr. Sharon Roberts, Chief K-12 Impact Officer, TN State Collaborative on Reforming Education

Patrick Sheehan, Director, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency

Stephen Smith, Deputy Director/Chief of Staff, TennCare

Commissioner Marie Williams, TN Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services

Reach Andrew Wigdor at awigdor@tennessean.com and on Twitter @andrew_wigdor.