The Nashville office of Burr & Forman LLP has hired Summer J. Melton and Katherine “Kiki” R. Rogers.

Melton joins the construction & project development practice group as an associate. Her practice focuses on civil litigation, complex construction litigation and labor and employment law. She is a graduate of Belmont College of Law, where she coaches two undergraduate mock trial teams and teaches inaugural undergraduate trial advocacy classes.

Rogers joins as an associate in the financial service litigation practice group. She represents banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions in consumer lawsuits involving federal and state laws, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Rogers is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, where she was the publications editor of the Tennessee Journal of Law and Policies.

New officers, board for Conflict Resolution Center

Nashville Conflict Resolution Center recently announced new officers and welcomed four new board members.

Danielle DuPriest, GLLC, was named board chair for the 2023-2025 term. Terrell Bell, Tennessee Board of Regents, will continue in his role as treasurer. Sondra Wade, Middle Tennessee State University, will begin her three-year term as the board’s secretary.

New board members for 2023 are: Nina Kumar, Ardent Health Services; Randall McCathren, BLC Associates; Kay Quinn, Quinn Stauffer Financial; and Heather Wright, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP. Sara Figal is the organization’s president and executive director.

Founded in 2000, Nashville Conflict Resolution Center provides free and low-cost mediation to help people of all ages resolve and move beyond conflict. Through referrals from local courts and community partners, NCRC mediators assist people in settling eviction issues, custody agreements, youth disciplinary charges, and small business or neighborhood conflicts.

CoreTrust appoints Shah as CEO

CoreTrust, a commercial group purchasing organization, has appointed Mahesh Shah as CEO of the company.

Mahesh previously was executive vice president and chief product and technology officer at CDK Global, where he was instrumental in driving improvements in the user experience of CDK Global products while launching a new data platform and API/app marketplace, supporting $2B in software and data revenue.

Before that, Mahesh was at DXC technology, where he ran a $4.5 billion global technology business.

Mahesh is a graduate of Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, specializing in information systems management. He earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Conrad Nashville names new general manager

Northwood Hospitality has announced the appointment of Eumi Koh to general manager at Conrad Nashville.

Before joining Conrad Nashville, Koh served as general manager of the Darcy Hotel, a boutique hotel in Washington, D.C., where she was honored as one of Modern Luxury’s DC Power Players in both 2020 and 2021.

Koh started her hospitality career more than 20 years ago and is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego with a degree in management science. She also has an MBA with a focus in hospitality and finance from Les Roches International School of Hotel Management in Switzerland.

Vet association selects 2023-24 executive board

The Tennessee Veterinary Medical Association recently named its 2023-24 executive board, which will be led by Forrest Reynolds, DVM, Williamson County Animal Hospital in Franklin, as president.

Other members include:

• President-elect: Marissa Shulman, DVM, Riverview Animal Hospital, Chattanooga

• Vice president: Cindy Schmidt, DVM, North Madison Animal Hospital, Jackson

• Secretary/treasurer: Mary Chorney-Carter, DVM, Fayetteville Animal Clinic, Fayetteville

• Immediate past president: Bob Parker, DVM, Main Street Animal Clinic, Oakland

Six members-at-large were also elected to represent East, West and Middle Tennessee. They are: Karin Collins, DVM, Animal Wellness Vet Hospital, White Pine; Dean Baird, DVM, Mountain Empire Small Animal Hospital, Johnson City; James Russell, DVM, Jackson Animal Clinic, Jackson; Paige Underwood, DVM, Brooks Road Animal Hospital, Memphis; Madeleine Hendrix, DVM, GoodVets Germantown, Nashville; and Cason McInturff, DVM, Cupola Animal Hospitals, Franklin.

Susan Moon, DVM, Brooks Road Animal Hospital, Memphis, is the AVMA delegate. Joe Ed Conn, DVM, Belle Meade Animal Hospital, Nashville, is the AVMA Alternate Delegate.

Pharmacists Association taps executive fellows

The Tennessee Pharmacists Association, the only professional association representing pharmacists in all practice areas across the state, is welcoming Pearson B. Balatow and Keaton Higgins into its Executive Fellowship in Association Management program.

As executive fellows, Balatow and Higgins will work during the next year to expand TPA’s clinical initiatives, attend state and national pharmacy meetings, gain exposure to all aspects of association work and provide insight and assistance to the association and its members.

Balatow will graduate from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s College of Pharmacy with a doctorate of pharmacy in May 2023. He previously worked in the biotechnology industry with EDP BiotechCorp and has conducted medical research through the UTHSC and the University of Tennessee Medical Center. He also co-wrote multiple articles published by medical publications on infectious disease.

Higgins will graduate from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy in May 2023. During his time in pharmacy school, he held leadership positions in several organizations, including Phi Lambda Sigma, the national Pharmacy Leadership Society, the National Community Pharmacists Association and the Industry Pharmacists Organization.

Following recently awarded grant funding, the TPA expanded its fellowship program to include two pharmacists during the 2023-2024 year. Professionals who complete the one-year fellowship program are well prepared for leadership positions in a variety of settings in the profession of pharmacy and health care.

Business Roundtable hires Felkins as manager

Tennessee Business Roundtable has hired Jared Felkins as its new communications and member events manager.

Felkins will work to increase the overall visibility and awareness of the organization, as well as plan membership events and strengthen communication channels between the Roundtable, its more than 50 member companies and the organization’s external stakeholders in business, government, education and the nonprofit sector.

Felkins brings more than two decades of experience to the Roundtable, most recently through his work as a community newspaper editor. He was the director of content and audience development for Lebanon Publishing Company, publisher of the Lebanon Democrat, Mt. Juliet News and Hartsville Vidette. During Felkins’ nearly eight-year stint as editor of The Democrat, he and his newsroom staff won back-to-back Tennessee Press Association general excellence awards in 2016 and 2017. He also has taught journalism writing as an adjunct professor for two years at Middle Tennessee State University.

Felkins also served as editor of the Times-Journal of Fort Payne, Alabama. He holds an English degree from the University of Alabama and is a master’s candidate in public service management at Cumberland University in Lebanon.

Jennings joins HMP Senior Solutions

Nashville-based HMP Senior Solutions, a provider of turnaround and operational management and leadership for senior living and skilled nursing facilities, today announced that Kalyn Jennings has joined the organization as senior accounting manager.

Jennings has spent her career providing high-level accounting and financial systems support to clients in the health care industry and brings vast experience in month-end closing, cost reporting and financial auditing.

Jennings previously served as a senior accountant for National HealthCare Corporation, where she was responsible for cost reporting, completing financial audits and filing unclaimed property.

She holds a degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting from Tennessee Tech University.

Father Ryan names Espinosa principal

Father Ryan High School has named Francisco “Frank” Espinosa, Jr. the school’s new principal, effective July 1.

Espinosa comes to Father Ryan from Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore, where he has been principal since July 2020.

Espinosa brings more than 30 years of experience as an educator and administrator to Father Ryan. Prior to his position at Mount Saint Joseph, he was the principal and senior vice president of Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition, Espinosa is a member of the board of directors of Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, New York, and serves as the chair of its educational programs committee.

Espinosa earned a degree in history from the University of Louisville, in addition to a Master of Education in secondary education and administration and a certification in school leadership-principalship, both from Spalding University in Louisville.

TDCI hires director of PBM compliance

Robert Judson “Jud” Jones has joined the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance as director of pharmacy benefits manager compliance.

A licensed clinical pharmacist and former TennCare provider educator, Jones has served Tennessee as a community pharmacist and pharmaceutical educator for 20-plus years. He was directly involved with PBMs during his career and in 2020 was recognized for his work by the Tennessee Pharmacists Association with the Tom C. Sharp Pharmacist of the Year Award.

With the passage of Public Chapter 1070 in 2022 by the Tennessee General Assembly, pharmacy providers may now appeal their reimbursement from PBMs for drugs and devices to the Department. Additionally, Tennessee pharmacy providers may now file formal complaints about PBMs.

Jones will oversee the appeal and complaint process in accordance with state statute.