Wealth Strategies Partners founder Paul Allen, CFP, MS, has been named a member of the Raymond James Financial Services’ 2021 Chairman’s Council, a distinction given to those financial advisers who have demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to personal service and lead the largest revenue-producing branches. This marks the second year that he has received this prestigious recognition.

Allen founded Wealth Strategies Partners in 2014 to provide comprehensive financial planning services to retirees, entrepreneurs, business owners, executives and high-net-worth individuals.

Dell’s Gibson receives LGBTQ advocate award

Dell Technologies Nashville co-site director and human resources compliance consultant Nicole Gibson has been awarded the LGBTQ Corporate Advocate of the Year award by Out & Equal Workplace Advocates.

This award recognizes an LGBTQ individual who is actively advocating to improve their organization’s inclusion efforts, pushing significant adoption of innovative practice, benefiting LGBTQ employees and advancing their organizations standing as a true leader in this work.

In addition to her role as co-site director, Gibson is also the North American Lead for Pride, Dell’s LGBTQ employee resource group. Gibson is a board member of the Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates partners with Fortune 1000 companies, government agencies and organizations across industries to provide LGBTQ executive leadership development, comprehensive diversity and inclusion training and consultation and professional networking opportunities that build inclusive and welcoming work environments.

Sherrard Roe adds 2 new associates

Alice E. Haston and William D. Pugh have joined Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison as associates in the business litigation and transactional practice groups.

Haston is a 2020 graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School where she served as the managing editor of the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law and was a member of the Order of the Coif. She holds a degree in political science and American studies from the University of Tennessee.

Haston taught eighth grade through Teach for America in Marksville, Louisiana, and Atlanta.

Pugh is a 2019 graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, where he served as senior editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review and was a member of the Order of the Coif. He earned a degree in business and economics at Wheaton College in Chicago.

Before attending law school, Pugh served as the director of strategy for atlasRFIDstore.com, an eCommerce startup located in Birmingham.

WeGo welcomes Griffin to board of directors

Mary Griffin, an attorney and advocate for underserved communities and individuals, has been appointed to the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority board of directors, confirmed by Metro Council.

Griffin is a life fellow of the American Bar Foundation. She has received a Tennessee Supreme Court Attorney for Justice award and has chaired the Tennessee Bar Association Attorney Well-Being Committee, the Law Office Technology and Management Committee and the Metropolitan Davidson County Transportation Licensing Commission.

She earned a degree in fine arts and photography from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts in 1987, her juris doctor from the University of Tennessee School of Law in 1994 and her LL.M. in litigation management from Baylor Law School in 2020.

Lose Design adds Nashville project manager

Robert Armstrong, AIA, NCARB, has joined Lose Design as a project manager in the Nashville office.

Armstrong, who has more than six years of experience, was previously with HNTB Corporation as an architect. Projects included working on Tampa International Airport and the start of renovations at JFK. He spent two years at NSPJ Architects specializing in multifamily projects.

He earned a master of architecture at Kansas State University and is working on an MBA from University of Missouri, Kansas City.

Allen named director of IngramSpark

Ingram Content Group has hired Paige Allen as director of IngramSpark, Ingram’s award-winning self-publishing platform.

Allen most recently served as chief operating officer of the Horton Group, where she worked for four years. Before that, she worked as senior manager of digital content and international communications, customer solutions at Asurion.

Allen holds a degree in public policy studies and political science from Vanderbilt University. She also was part of the Owen Graduate School of Management’s accelerator program, business sales & marketing, and attended Harvard Business School’s Summer Venture and Management Program.

Longtime IngramSpark director Robin Cutler will become an IngramSpark consultant and mentor to the team before her official retirement in late November.

Charter School Center hires, promotes personnel

The Tennessee Charter School Center has hired Elizabeth Fiveash as its new chief policy officer. Fiveash has extensive experience with K-12 education policies in Tennessee and will be joining the team from her role as director of state government relations at ACT.

Fiveash will be responsible for creating policy and advocacy agendas, as well as building a roadmap for the future, regulatory, and advocacy work on behalf of the public charter school sector in Tennessee.

In addition, Emily Lilley has been promoted to vice president of external affairs. Lilley has been with the Center for nearly eight years and most recently served as the director of government relations.

This new role represents an intersection of communication and external partnerships that are crucial to the Center’s success in advocating for public charter schools in the state.

Nossi College adds advisory board members

Nossi College of Art, the only private art college in Tennessee, has announced new additions to its 2020-2021 advisory boards across its associate and bachelor’s degree programs. These boards expand on the school’s vision of providing top talent to the creative industries while deepening subject matter expertise and tying coursework to current skill needs in the marketplace.

2020-21 program advisory board members include:

GRAPHIC AND WEB DESIGN: Ross Jones (CEO, 2theTop Design & Marketing), Steve Lomas (CEO, Mojo Media Pros), Jack Massari (retired, owner – ICG Link), Grant Swertfeger (founder, Swordsweeper Industries, LLC) and Kenneth White (web developer).

ILLUSTRATION: Robert Blake (book author& illustrator), Chuck Creasy (art director, Norman Rockwell (Retired)), Susan Demay (book author & illustrator), David Fisher (painter, sculptor, owner/publisher/art director), S.A. Habib (owner, Locomotion Creative), Christine Pilkinton (Owner, portrait creations) and Mike Summers (environmental graphic design, Gresham Smith).

PHOTOGRAPHY: Sue Henry (fine art photographer and educator), Mollie Jannasch (managing member, Agency MJ), Michelle Morrow (photographer), John Russell (NHL & Vanderbilt photographer), Sam Simpkins (staff photographer, Belmont) and George Walker IV (Tennessean photographer).

VIDEO & FILM: Zac Adams (CEO, Skydive Films), Kyle Copeland (studio engineer & lighting director, Studio615), Chad & Liz Denning (owners, Gamma Blast Studios), Matt Horvath (videographer), John Moessner (director & cinematographer), Casey Pierce (director, videographer) and Jared Rauso (owner, Bolo Brothers Creative).