Edward “Ed” D. Lanquist Jr., a co-founder and former shareholder at Patterson Intellectual Property Law, has joined Baker Donelson’s Intellectual Property Group as shareholder in the Nashville office.

Lanquist focuses his practice on patent, trademark and copyright litigation, as well as intellectual property counseling, trademark prosecution and technology law. With more than three decades of IP law experience, he has prosecuted over 150-plus patent applications and 1,400-plus trademark registration applications.

He serves as vice president of the Tennessee Bar Association and will be the TBA’s president-elect in 2023 and president in 2024. He is a past president of the Nashville Bar Association and the Tennessee Intellectual Property Association.

He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law.

Bar Foundation names 2023 Leadership class

The Nashville Bar Association has announced its 2023 Leadership Class, which will include the following attorneys:

• Benjamin Aaron, Neal & Harwell

• Rachel Berg, TN Center for Civil Rights

• LizAnne Bowden, Montecito Medical Real Estate

• Seth Cline, Collins Legal

• Wesley Dozier, Klein Solomon Mills

• Nicole Keefe, Burr & Forman

• Cynthia Lee, Waller

• Billy Leslie, TN Dept. of Human Services

• Joshua Lewis, Frost Brown Todd

• Kimberly MacDonald, Polsinelli

• Raven Mosley-Otey, Nashville Defenders Office

• Kaitlin Parham, Wiseman Ashworth Trauger

• Chad Phillips, Sutherland & Belk

• Tabitha Robinson, Nashville Electric Service

• George Scoville, Lewis Thomason

• Lindsey Shepard, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

• Marcus Shute, Jr., Shute Law

• Sarah Staples, K&L Gates

The Nashville Bar Foundation established the NBF Leadership Forum – a local leadership program for lawyers with three to eight years of experience – in 2014. It is designed to bring together emerging leaders who participate in monthly workshops for nine months to help them realize their potential and to benefit the legal profession and our local community.

Thistle Farms names Kennard CEO, Ryder CFO

Thistle Farms, a nonprofit social justice enterprise serving women survivors of trafficking, prostitution and addiction, has announced the appointments of two executive leaders.

Tasha Kennard, the organization’s new CEO, brings experience at the executive level in financial oversight and organizational development. She has served as executive director of the Nashville Farmers’ Market, and, most recently, at Southall Farms, a farm resort and hospitality company. She also has served as vice president of marketing and communications for Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.

She will partner with founder and president, Becca Stevens, the board of directors and the leadership team to implement a long-range strategy to fulfill the mission of Thistle Farms and support its rapid growth.

Kennard follows Hal Cato, who recently stepped down after six years at Thistle Farms.

Scott Ryder has joined as Thistle Farms’ first chief financial officer. The elevation in financial leadership was set in motion as the organization grew from $8.5 million to $12.6 million over the last 12 months.

Most recently, Ryder served as CFO of Casa de Amparo, an organization addressing child abuse and neglect in San Diego County and beyond. He earned an MBA from the Paul Merage School of Business at U.C. Irvine, and a degree in economics from University of Redlands.

Centerstone announces Barr’s retirement

Centerstone, a nonprofit health system specializing in mental health and substance use disorder treatments, has announced the retirement of Dr. Ralph Barr, senior regional psychiatrist, after nearly 42 years with the company.

Before moving to Columbia in 1980 to assume the position of medical director of the Columbia Area Mental Health Center, Barr was an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University and served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Barr served on the medical staff of Maury Regional Medical Center and was a partner in Psychiatric and Counseling Associates and served on the executive committee as chief of psychiatry.

Metro Arts Commission names executive director

The Metro Arts Commission has named Daniel Phoenix Singh, an international and multilingual performing artist and arts leader, as its next executive director.

Most recently, Singh served on the board of Maryland Citizens for the Arts, an advocacy arm for Maryland State Arts Council. He worked on increasing funding for the arts, advancing equitable funding practices and championing direct grants to artists through both state and county arts agencies. In July 2022, he completed a yearlong training program with the Government Alliance for Racial Equity on reimagining municipal processes and systems through an equity lens.

Singh grew up in India and moved to the United States to attend the University of Maryland. In 2003, he founded a nationally acclaimed dance company. Later, he obtained master’s degrees in fine arts from the University of Maryland and in business administration from Georgetown University.

Pierce Public Relations welcomes 2 new hires

Pierce Public Relations, a Nashville-based B2B-focused public relations firm, has hired Mckenzie Masters as senior account manager and Kallie Butler as account coordinator.

Masters previously served as a senior communications manager at Asurion, a Nashville-based technology repair and solutions company, where she led internal communications strategy for C-Suite executives. Her experience also includes five-plus years as a senior publicist for Ramsey Solutions. She holds a degree in public relations and an MBA from Union University.

Butler has more than five years of experience in social media management, media relations, graphic design and copywriting. She most recently managed internal and external efforts at North Alabama’s largest behavioral health care provider.

Butler graduated from the University of North Alabama with a degree in communications.

Brentwood’s Reinke takes Beko VP role

Justin Reinke, a 22-year integrated marketing veteran, has been named to fill the newly created position of vice president of marketing for Beko U.S.

Introduced to U.S. homeowners in 2016 following a 67-year history as one of the top appliance brands in Europe, and the most sustainable brand globally, Beko specializes in cooking, cooling and cleaning appliances equipped with proprietary technologies that empower customers to live healthier, more sustainable lives.

Reinke, a Brentwood resident, will assume the lead for consumer and industry marketing duties from Beko Vice President of Product Management Salih (Sazi) Bugay, who will now concentrate exclusively on product design, development and strategy and in the product build-out of the company’s Healthy Kitchen initiative.

Reinke will be responsible for all facets of marketing, including advertising, consumer and industry communications, PR, social media and CRM, and will direct Beko’s creative, PR and media agencies tasked with launching the Beko brand in the U.S.

Reinke was previously with TruGreen, the country’s largest lawn and yard care provider, where he led integrated marketing efforts as vice president of product management, brand marketing and PR. He also has served as director of brand and product marketing for Bridgestone.

Reinke earned a degree in marketing from Michigan State University and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame.

O’Conner named to industry leadership class

Nashville-based HMP Senior Solutions, a provider of operational management and leadership for senior living and care facilities across the U.S., has announced that Chief Business Development Officer Shawn O’Conner has been named to Aging Media’s Skilled Nursing Future Leaders Class of 2022 for his contribution to providing leadership and innovative solutions that raise the bar for patient care in health care facilities across the country.

The Future Leaders program recognizes leaders 40 and younger across the care continuum.

O’Conner has more than a decade in health care leadership and success in leading the operations of health care organizations. Before joining HMP Senior Solutions, he served as the senior vice president of operations for Signature Healthcare, LLC, where he was responsible for the overall management and operations of 50 skilled nursing and assisted living communities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.

O’Conner has an MBA from Bethel University and a degree in business administration from Cumberland University.

Dickinson Wright adds Melcher as member

Jeffrey Melcher has joined Dickinson Wright as a member in the firm’s Nashville office.

Melcher has 30-plus years of experience in commercial, business and liability defense litigation and acts as regional defense and coverage counsel for numerous transportation entities.

His experience further includes representing clients in the medical and allied health care fields, trucking and transportation fields, insurance and bad faith claims, and toxic tort and product liability matters. He also has handled real estate litigation.

Melcher is a member of the Defense Research Institute, the Trucking Industry Defense Association, the Claims and Management Alliance and the International Association of Defense Counsel. He is an AV-Preeminent Peer Review Rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell and has been recognized by Best’s as an Elite Lawyer of the South.

He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and earned his J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law. He is admitted and actively practices in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama.