Jane Alvis, Nashville, TN

Jane Alvis has been in and around state government for over 27 years. She began her career with Governor Lamar Alexander, followed by M. Lee Smith Publishers and Printers as the Associate Editor of The Tennessee Joural. She later joined The Fulton Group and then The Ingram Group before joining the Office of the Mayor as Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell’s Director of Legislative Affairs. In 2005, she started her own Government, Public and Community Relations Consulting firm, Alvis Company. Jane is the Chair of the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and a board member of the Actor’s Bridge Ensemble.

Judy Bowers, Humboldt, TN

Leadership Development Committee Chair

Judy has spent a large portion of her life actively involved with the arts and politics. As the director and teacher for the Presbyterian Dayschool, she taught music and wrote original plays for children to perform. Judy also directed fundraising projects for multiple community groups by writing and directing large scale musicals. She was the county chairperson for city, state and national elections for Lamar Alexander, Winfield Dunn, Don Sundquist, Bill Frist, Fred Thompson, State Senator Bobby Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush and John McCain. She also served as Vice President of the GOP 8th District for the state republican women, and was honored by the state party as Statesman of the Year.

Stephanie Conner, Nashville, TN

President

After gradating from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Stephanie Conner served in several capacities within state and federal government. She worked on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. for four years as a legislative researcher and assistant. After leaving Washington, she served as assistant to the governor for boards and commissions, deputy policy director, and executive director of the Film, Entertainment and Music Commission. During her time in state and federal government, Conner served as chair of the Southern Governors’ Association staff advisory committee, completed the Danforth Foundation policy maker’s program, served on the Tennessee State Healthcare Planning Commission and the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission. In 2002, Conner was appointed by the governor to a five-year term on the Tennessee Arts Commission. She served as chair of the State Museum Committee, and as TAC chair the last two years of her term. Conner is an active board member of Watkins College of Art, Design and Film and the Southern Arts Federation.

Justine Gregory, Nashville, TN

Vice President – Middle Tennessee

Ms. Gregory has sixteen years of experience as an educator in museum settings and public school classrooms. She has served as the director of education at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum for nine years. Prior to joining the museum staff, she was a classroom teacher in an elementary school in the Baltimore City Public School System. She also worked in visitor services and educational programming and outreach at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. She is actively involved in professional organizations such as Museum Advocates of Nashville, Inter-museum Council of Nashville, and the Tennessee Association of Museums. She has served on grant review panels for the Metro Nashville Arts Commission and the Tennessee Arts Commission over the past five years

Berry Holt, Nashville, TN

Berry Holt is a Partner with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings and focuses his practice primarily on the health care industry. He has handled a wide range of health care provider and other business matters over the past 31+ years. Berry is very active in civic and community affairs. He has been a participant in Leadership Nashville, a member of the Caduceus Society - Baptist Hospital Foundation, a founding board member of the Tennessee Chapter of the Leukemia Society of America and was appointed by Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen to a five-year term on the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission. In addition, Berry was a former board member of Friends of Tennessee Crafts, Friends of Metro Dance, Nashville CARES, the Comprehensive Care Clinic and Middle Tennessee Medical Center. He is a former founding director of Homeplace, Inc. and a former member of the Vanderbilt University Law School Alumni Board and of the Nashville Healthcare Council.

Tari Hughes, Nashville, TN

Secretary

Tari has been the Executive Director of the Nashville Public Library Foundation since January of 2005. Prior to this position, she spent nearly five years as Vice President of Development for the Tennessee Performing Arts Center where she was responsible for raising approximately $2.5 million annually. Before TPAC, Tari served Vanderbilt University in several alumni and development capacities, most recently with the Owen Graduate School of Management. Currently, Tari serves on the Boards of the Center for Nonprofit Management and Hume-Fogg Academic High School. Her community involvement includes many years with the Junior League of Nashville where she concentrated her efforts as Executive Producer of Heart of the Matter, a weekly community affairs television program.

Leslie Hull, Knoxville, TN

Leslie Hull is a lawyer, Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 mediator and serves on the Board of Directors of Greeneville Federal Bank. She is passionate about the arts and has participated in different arts organizations in East Tennessee for many years. Presently, she is a singer with the Knoxville Choral Society and she is Vice-President of the WordPlayers theatre group. She serves on the Worship, Music and Arts Committee at Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Whitney Jo, Memphis, TN

Vice President, West Tennessee

Whitney Joe has been Managing Director of Playhouse on the Square since 1993. Whitney is the Director/Founder of the Memphis Arts Advocacy Group, a member of the Safety Committee for the Cooper-Young Community Association, a member of Mpact Memphis, and on the Program Committee for Leadership Memphis. Previous accomplishments include serving on the Tennessee Arts Commission Theatre Grant Approval Committee, Vice President of the Board of Directors for Voices of the South, and a participant in Johns Hopkins University’s Listening Post. Whitney is a graduate of Leadership Memphis FastTrack and was recognized in 2003 by Memphis Woman Magazine as one of the 50 Women in Memphis Who Make A Difference.

Debbie Koch, Nashville, TN

Debby Patterson Koch is a communications and marketing professional who currently serves as Director of Communications & Marketing for Governor Bredesen’s Cover Tennessee program. Prior to this, Debbie held several roles such as Vice President of Communications and Marketing and Vice President of Administration for Baptist Hospital. Debbie is also the former Deputy Press Secretary to Gov. Lamar Alexander. She has served in leadership positions on numerous boards including the Tennessee Arts Commission, the Tennessee Arts Foundation, the Cumberland Valley Girl Scouts of America Board of Directors, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, the Nashville Symphony, the Tennessee Arts Foundation, the Ladies Hermitage Association, and The Blakeford at Green Hills.

Bob Kucher, Dickson, TN

Advocacy Committee Chair

Bob Kucher, the Senior Director of Fine Arts at The Renaissance Center, is a native of Indiana, Pennsylvania. Mr. Kucher frequently serves as an adjudicator and lecturer for arts organizations across the Southeast. In addition, he is a member or has held a board chair for organizations such as the National Art Education Association, the Museum Advocates group, the Tennessee Art Education Association, Nashville in Motion, and Community Arts Development of Dickson County. In 2000, Mr. Kucher was recognized by the International Who's Who of Public Service and was also presented the Tennessee Governors School for the Arts Outstanding Teacher Award. The Tennessee Art Education Association awarded Mr. Kucher with the 2004 Outstanding Art Administrator Award. Before his current position, Mr. Kucher served as Tennessee's Deputy Director for The Tennessee Arts Commission and still currently acts as an evaluator for the arts integration Value Plus project, which is funded by the US Department of Education.

Marie Murphy, Nashville, TN

Marie Murphy is Senior Projects Advisor with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. An attorney, Ms. Murphy served previously as Executive Director of the County Officials Association of Tennessee and as a staff attorney with The University of Tennessee’s County Technical Assistance Service. Ms. Murphy is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association (having served on its legislative committee), the Nashville Bar Association, and the Lawyers Association for Women (having served on its board and as editor of its newsletter) and served on the board of directors of the Guest House (now merged with the Campus for Human Development).

Jonah Rabinowitz, Nashville, TN

Treasurer

As a native of New York, Jonah’s performing career includes positions as the principal trumpet of the National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic, principal trumpet of the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, Atlanta Opera, and performances and recordings with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He has also been a faculty member at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta. He is the former Director of the Georgia Academy of Music in Atlanta, GA and has been the Executive Director of the W.O. Smith Music School in Nashville since 1995. Jonah is an alumnus of Leadership Music and his professional affiliations include voting membership of National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts.

Betsy Reid, Brownsville, TN

Membership & Marketing Committee Chair

Betsy has worked for the Wireless Group, a broadcasting and publishing company based in Brownsville, since 1991. She is currently Senior Marketing Consultant at WNWS-FM, popularly known as NewsTalk Radio, in Jackson, TN. Before moving home to Brownsville, Betsy served as Executive Director of the Arts Council of Greater Kingsport from 1988 until 1991. She was a constituent services specialist for then-Senator Albert Gore, Jr. from 1985 through 1988. Betsy served as West Tennessee fundraiser for Governor Phil Bredesen and Congressman Harold Ford Jr., and was finance director of the Tennessee Democratic Party. She was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2004 and 2008, and has been chairman of the Haywood County Democratic Party since 2002. While in Kingsport, Betsy administered a three-year National Endowment for the Arts Locals grant and started Kingsport’s first major performing arts series, in partnership with Tennessee Eastman Company. In 2003, Governor Bredesen appointed her to a five-year term on the Arts Commission. Betsy was the first female president of the Brownsville Rotary Club, and she served two terms as president of the Brownsville-Haywood County Arts Council.

Susan Robinson, Chattanooga, TN

Vice President – East Tennessee

Susan Robinson, Executive Director of the Chattanooga Arts & Education Council, began working for the organization in 1992. She is President-Elect of the Southeastern Tennessee chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and is a charter member of the Tennessee Presenters Corporation where she currently serves as Treasurer. She volunteers for the Southern Arts Federation and Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga. Ms. Robinson also serves as Executive Director of the Fellowship of Southern Writers.

Bo Spessard, Nashville, TN

Since 2006, Bo has served as the Director of Operations for an email service provider, Emma. Prior to coming on board at Emma, he was an associate at the law firm of Baker Donelson. In 2005, Bo and Casey Gill Summar began working on an idea which would eventually evolve into the Tennessee Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts ("TNVLA"). As the Chairman of the Board for TNVLA, he worked with Casey and the TNVLA board to grow TNVLA into a successful organization providing pro bono legal services for artists and non-profit arts organizations throughout Nashville. In the winter of 2009, TNVLA and The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville merged into one organization, and TNVLA has expanded its offering under the Arts & Business Council to include Volunteer Lawyers and Professionals for the Arts. Bo continues to serve on the Board of Directors for the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville.

Bob Willie, Chattanooga, TN

Past President

Since assuming the position of General Director at Chattanooga Ballet in 1987, Bob has helped to guide the organization to new levels of professional development. While obtaining his degree at East Carolina University, Bob was the recipient of the Chancellor Messick Scholarship for excellence in theatre performance. He continued his training in the M.F.A. acting/directing program at the University of Louisville and at H.B. Studios in New York. As an actor, director and fight choreographer, Bob has over sixty professional credits ranging from Shakespeare to musical comedy. Bob has directed several award winning productions at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre. He served as president of the Tennessee Association of Dance and was the recipient of the organization’s prestigious Margaret Martin Award for exceptional and significant service to dance in Tennessee. He has also served as a grant panelist for the Tennessee Arts Commission, Louisiana Division of the Arts, and the Southern Arts Federation.

Cathy Wilson, Memphis, TN

Cathy Wilson has been an active leader in education and arts education for K-16 in Tennessee for 32 years. She has served as a classroom teacher, art teacher, K-12 Fine Arts Supervisor, K-12 General Education Supervisor, Assistant Principal, Principal, Education Consultant, Assistant Professor and Associate Professor. She has served as a member of the Praxis Art Education National Advisory Council through Educational Testing Services, and attended the National Art Education Association Distinguished Fellows Institute. Cathy has been recognized as The SCS Outstanding Service Award: Tennessee Education Association Administrator of the Year; TAEA Higher Education Educator of the Year; SCS Administrator of the Year; Tennessee Art Education Association Administrator of the Year; Outstanding Teacher of the Humanities; School, System, and State finalist Teacher of the Year; and University of Memphis Department of Leadership Mortar Board Graduate Student of the Year. Her artwork has been exhibited at several invitational shows, and she is an active painter and writer with a manuscript currently under review.

Celeste Wilson, Nashville, TN

Celeste is a consultant in U.S.-Japanese trade and has had a command of the Japanese language since her year in Japan as a foreign exchange student in 1970-71. She spent 12 years as vice president of a U.S.-Japanese trading firm based in Tokyo and Dallas. Presently, she is a principal at NMG Advisers, Inc., a firm offering businesses and organizations executive skills for business transition, project management, interim management, leadership development, and executive search. During the course of her 20 years in Nashville, Celeste has been involved in a range of community initiatives, including board positions at the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission, St. Luke’s Community Center, the Sister Cities of Nashville, McNeilly Center for Children, the Susan Gray School, and Harding Academy. She also has been an active member of the Japan-America Society of Tennessee, the Downtown Nashville Rotary Club, CABLE, and the Junior League.

Liza Zenni, Knoxville, TN

Liza Zenni’s career in arts administration has spanned nearly twenty years. Since 2002 she has served as Executive Director of the Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville, a membership-driven organization of artists, arts and culture organizations, historic homes, and arts aficionados in the eleven counties of East Tennessee. Liza has performed as an effective advocate on behalf of East Tennessee’s arts and culture community earning appointments on the Knoxville Tourism & Sports Corporation Board of Directors, Maryville College’s Civic Arts Center Board, the City of Knoxville Mayor’s Public Art Task Force, and as a panelist and consultant to numerous funding entities, arts organizations, and redevelopment projects.

Resource Persons

Rich Boyd, Nashville, TN

Tennessee Arts Commission Director. 615.741.1704

Rich Boyd was named Executive Director of the Tennessee Arts Commission in 1999 after serving 15 years as deputy director. He began his career as an educator in Murfreesboro, teaching on the elementary level and then devoting over four years developing a high school speech and theater program that included broadcasting and filmmaking. His work continued in community and professional theater as a writer/director. Rich’s interests are as broad as his accomplishments as a published playwright and composer, show doctor, historic restoration consultant, and his love of the environment inspired him to become involved in landscape design projects concentrating on historic gardens. He serves as president of Historic Germantown Nashville, Inc and has chaired the Oktoberfest neighborhood festival and led in the creation of the new Germantown Street Festival serving as chair and welcoming 45,000 attendees each year. His design projects have received national media attention through shows such as HGTV and in highly respected print media.

Molly Pratt, Nashville, TN

Government & Community Relations Consultant, TFTA. 615.440.9758

Molly Leach Pratt is a principal in the firm of Pratt, Pratt & Rice, Inc., a government and community relations consulting group. Pratt has more than twenty-five years of experience working in and around all levels of government. Pratt worked on the legislative team of former Governor Lamar Alexander, has served as the lobbyist for a major Tennessee trade association and as the head of government and community relations for Knox County government. In 1999, Pratt was appointed to the Tennessee Arts Commission and to the Tennessee Residence Foundation in 2003. She is currently Vice-Chair of Nashville’s Metro Arts Commission. Before moving to Nashville from Knoxville, Pratt served on the boards of the Knoxville Opera and The Arts and Cultural Alliance. She is a member of The Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts Board of Directors and serves on the board of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.

Sameera Lowe, Nashville, TN

Executive Director, TFTA. 615.668.0222. Sameera@comcast.net

Sameera has over 15 years of experience in marketing, public relations and event planning experience through a wide array of projects. She started a consulting business, Loud & Clear Communications, nearly 7 years ago and enjoys providing these services, as well as association management, to Tennesseans for the Arts and others. She began her career as an intern with Congressman John Tanner and government relations firm, McMahan Vaughan, before joining Tom Jackson & Associates to work with a wide array of clients on public relations and marketing projects. Prior to starting her own business, Sameera was the Marketing Director for Comcast High Speed Internet for nearly six years.

TFTA board criteria: “The TFTA Board should be an appropriate mix of professionals and executives in the arts, practicing artists, and business and community leaders with interest in and/or support of the arts in their communities and across the State.” - TFTA bylaws (revised 2008)

TFTA board members should:

Maintain a non-organizational membership (individual, family, etc.) in TFTA and assist in building local, regional, and statewide membership in the organization.
Regularly attend Board meetings*, serve on at least one board committee each year, participate actively in the organization’s arts advocacy and fundraising activities such as Arts Advocacy Day on the Hill, and be willing to serve periodically as an officer.
Serve as ambassadors for all arts organizations, arts educators, and artists throughout the state, and be proactive spokespersons in support of the Tennesseans For the Arts, The sale of Specialty License plates The Tennessee Arts Commission, and the Tennessee Arts Caucus in the General Assembly.

*The by-laws state that the term of any board member who is absent from three consecutive meetings shall terminate unless the Executive Committee determines that good cause exists for such absences. TFTA meets quarterly in Nashville.