Judea S. Davis is joining Bradley Arant Boult Cummings as an associate in the Litigation Practice Group.

Previously, Davis clerked for Judge Michelle Childs of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina and Judge Garrison Hill of the South Carolina Court of Appeals. She served as a law fellow and law clerk for the Equal Justice Initiative, researching constitutional and criminal law issues and representing clients before the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Davis earned her J.D. from Duke University School of Law. She also holds a master’s degree from Duke University and a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University.

The Litigation Practice Group is Bradley’s largest practice and includes nearly half of the firm’s more than 500 attorneys who represent clients in litigation and arbitration in every U.S. state and U.S. District Court across the country, as well as internationally.

Legal Aid promotes Jones to managing attorney

Patricia Jones is the new managing attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands’ Columbia office, providing free legal assistance to residents of Giles, Hickman, Lawrence, Marshall, Maury, Lewis, Perry and Wayne counties.

She replaces Josh Thomas, who has moved to the Metro Nashville legal department.

Jones has served as a staff attorney in Legal Aid Society’s Nashville office since 2014, leading the Mortgage Foreclosure Practice Group since August 2016.

She has represented clients in a variety of civil matters, focusing on family law, landlord tenant law, mortgage foreclosure defense, juvenile court matters, school-related issues and unemployment. She has participated in numerous community events to further community legal education and assisted and educated members of the firm in racial justice matters.

Previously, Jones was a volunteer/pro bono counsel for Legal Aid of East Tennessee. She also briefly was in private practice, representing parents or children in dependent neglect proceedings as a court-appointed attorney.

Jones earned her J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law. She has a degree in psychology from the University of Tennessee.

NCVC adds George, 3 others to its board

The Nashville Convention & Visitors Center has announced four new members have joined its board of directors:

• Eddie George, actor, businessman and former NFL player

• Kevin P. Lavender, executive vice president and head of corporate banking at Fifth Third Bancorp

• Eric Opron, managing director of Omni Nashville Hotel

• Jonathan Perlin, president, clinical services and chief medical officer at HCA Healthcare.

Additionally, Bob Fisher, president of Belmont University, will serve as chair of the board of directors for Fiscal Year 2019-2020.

Other members of the executive committee include John Esposito of Warner Music Nashville serving as chair elect; Ronnie Smith of Regions Bank as immediate past chair; Lavender as Finance and Audit Committee Chair; and Kevin Green of Chartwell Hospitality as Sales and Marketing Chair.

George, Lavender, Opron and Perlin join existing NCVC board members for FY 2019-2020: Shannon Bowles, formerly of the Nashville Airport Marriott; Patrick Chaffin, Ryman Hospitality Properties; Maneet Chauhan, Morph Hospitality Group; Max Goldberg, Strategic Hospitality; Ed Hardy, Hardy Media & Entertainment; Ken Levitan, Vector Management; Kimberly Lewis, Emerson Grace; Joelle Phillips, AT&T Tennessee; Ellen Pryor, Frist Art Museum; Brian Tibbs, Moody Nolan; and Marcus Whitney, Health:Further.

Ex officio members include Butch Spyridon, NCVC; Charles Robert Bone, legal counsel; Howard Kittell of Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage, who serves as chair of the Metro Tourism and Convention Commission; and Sarah Trahern, CMA.

The 23-member volunteer board are community and business leaders who represent diverse voices in the Nashville area.

Saint Thomas Rutherford selects Yang as CMO

Julian Yang, M.D., MBA, has been appointed new chief medical officer for Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital.

Yang acquired extensive experience at Duke University Health System, where he served as medical director for meurosciences and vice chair for contracts and strategy in the department of neurology.

A graduate of the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, Yang completed his residency at Barrow Neurological Institute at Saint Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. He went on to complete Duke University’s Neurocritical Care Fellowship program.

As a faculty physician, he has published on stroke systems of care with a focus on quality metrics for telemedicine. Yang earned an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

FBMM hires Yoanidis as vice president/operations

Dorian Yoanidis, a music industry finance and operations specialist with more than 25 years of experience, has joined FBMM as vice president of operations.

Yoanidis moved to Nashville in 1997 for a position at BMI, where he worked for nearly 20 years as director of external audit, senior director of financial planning and audit, assistant vice president of finance and operations and the vice president and controller of Landmark Digital Services, a BMI technology venture.

Yoanidis most recently worked as the vice president, corporate controller for SESAC, where he was responsible for finance and accounting for the entire enterprise.

At FBMM, Yoanidis is directly responsible for overseeing the information technology, facilities and operations of the firm. He works closely with FBMM’s owners to maintain the company’s track record as a leader in business management. His responsibility includes ensuring FBMM maintains its premier work environment for its employees, and continues to provide the highest-quality service to its clients.

Yoanidis holds a degree in accounting from Penn State University. He became a registered CPA in 1994.

Willow Branch welcomes Caruth as vice president

Jeffrey Caruth has been named vice president of sales and marketing at Willow Branch Partners.

The company is a new homebuilder based in Brentwood that designs custom-made luxurious floorplans for Williamson County.

Caruth will assume responsibility of the sales and marketing team, working closely with executive vice president Paul Winegar, the construction team, the purchasing team, and lending partners to increase Willow Branch Partner’s market presence.

SCORE adds chief postsecondary officer

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education is adding Russ Wigginton as its first chief postsecondary impact officer.

Wiggington was formerly vice president at Rhodes College in Memphis. He earned a degree in history from Rhodes and a doctorate in history from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He taught history for eight years at Rhodes before moving into administrative roles.

He will support SCORE’s expansion into postsecondary education research, policy and advocacy. He will lead SCORE’s efforts to build and maintain relationships with leaders at postsecondary institutions, governing agencies, and organizations while seeking opportunities and identifying gaps in advocacy, policy, and practice for postsecondary work at SCORE.

During his 23-year career at Rhodes, Wigginton served most recently as vice president of student life and dean of students. His higher education experience includes roles at Rhodes as a professor, chair of the Department of Urban Studies and the African American Studies Program Committee, special assistant to the president, vice president for college relations, and vice president for external programs.

He worked across the spectrum on improving the college experience for students as well as the college’s internal and external relationship-building, strategic planning and community engagement. His responsibilities encompassed academic support, career services, multicultural affairs, grants and foundations, government relations and communications.

Business comm. group honors Gold Pen winners

The International Association of Business Communicators Nashville Chapter has presented its 2019 Music City Gold Pen Awards

IABC Nashville is the local chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators, serving Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky.

This year’s award winners include:

• Kerry Burke, Cigna

• Jacob Burns, MP&F Strategic Communications

• Nancy Cooper & Dr. Forbes Walker, Aries Clean Energy

• Kellie Davie, Keycom, Nashville Fashion Week

• Julie Davis and Sharon Harper, Brookdale Senior Living

• Laura Haynes, MP&F Strategic Communications, First Bank

• Drew Ruble and Carol Stuart, Middle Tennessee State University

• Genma Holmes, GSH Media

• Jessica Hopson, Lovell Communications

• Sarah Hunt-Blackwell, MP&F Strategic Communications

• Paul Ladd, World Christian Broadcasting

• Birdie Loeffler, NDC, Inc.

• Sara Salisbury, MP&F Strategic Communications

• Julia Stump, Volkert

• Millie Wert, MP&F Strategic Communications

Healthcare Management taps managing director

Healthcare Management Partners LLC, a turnaround and consulting firm specializing in supporting health care organizations facing financial challenges, has announced the hiring of Don Bivacca as a managing director.

Bivacca has held senior level leadership positions at Capella Health, LifePoint Health, and HCA. Bivacca will serve HMP clients nationally from the company’s Nashville headquarters and specifically be tasked with furthering HMP’s skilled nursing and assisted living facilities management practice.

Bivacca has a MBA from Nova Southeastern University and a degree in business administration from Bloomsburg University.