Brandi Maiorino has joined Husch Blackwell as a partner in its real estate, development & construction industry group. Maiorino is based in the firm’s virtual link office and is resident in Nashville. She is part of the firm’s growing presence in the Nashville area and is the firm’s 10th attorney based in the area.

Maiorino advises developers, owners, investors and tenants on a variety of real estate-related transactions. She is a native of Alabama and holds a B.A. in political science from Jacksonville State University. She earned her J.D. from Cumberland School of Law.

Three Nashville attorneys make Lawdragon 500 list

Three Nashville attorneys – Matthew C. Lonergan and Chuck Mataya of Bradley and Robert W. Horton of Bass Berry and Sims – have been selected to the 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers Guide.

The list honors more than 200 attorneys who specialize in employment litigation, defending trade secret, discrimination, ERISA, wage and hour and other claims, as well as immigration specialists and employee benefits and executive compensation gurus.

Lonergan practices almost exclusively in the area of labor relations and employment law on behalf of management. He has represented companies throughout the country in the areas of union organizing, collective bargaining negotiations, grievance and arbitration, employment discrimination litigation in both federal and state courts, the National Labor Relations Act, wrongful discharge, wage and hour law, and other employment-related areas.

Mataya has developed a focused practice of litigation and counseling in various areas of labor and employment law, including the defense of class and collective individual actions in both state and federal courts. He has acted as lead counsel for prominent employers throughout the United States in the counsel and defense of employment and labor claims, including claims of wrongful discharge, breach of an employment contract, illegal discrimination under the various federal and state laws, and myriad other areas of employment and labor law.

Horton serves as chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Group and represents management in all areas of labor and employment law. His practice consists primarily of counseling clients regarding employment issues and defending companies against all manner of employment claims throughout the U.S.

Architecture firm ESa adds 14 principals

ESa has announced that 14 new principals have been added to the firm’s leadership. They are:

• Thomas Bauman, IIDA, ASID, NCIDQ, EDAC, with 28 years of experience, all with ESa. He holds a BS in interior design from University of Cincinnati.

• Misty Chambers, MSN, RN, associate AIA, EDAC, has been working in the health care arena for 39 years, 17 of those with ESa. She holds a degree in nursing from Emory University and an MS in nursing administration from Vanderbilt.

• Jason Cowan, associate AIA, has spent the last 25 years with ESa and is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with 21 years of service. He attended Nashville State, where he studied architectural engineering, and Middle Tennessee State University, where he studied construction management.

• Lee Davis, AIA, NCARB, LEED® AP BD+C, has 19 years of experience, all with ESa and holds a degree in architecture from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

• John Falco, AIA, NCARB, CDT, has 18 years professional experience, 11 of those with ESa. He has a degree in architecture from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

• Meghan Hartwell, AIA, NCARB, EDAC, holds a degree in environmental design, a master’s of architecture and a certificate in health systems and design from Texas A&M. She has been with ESa for 18 years.

• Craig Holloway, AIA, has spent 32 of his 39 years of professional experience with ESa. He earned a degree in architecture from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

• Charles Jorgensen, AIA, NCARB, LEED® AP, has spent 14 of his 18 years practicing architecture with ESa. He has a degree in architecture from Auburn University.

• Patrick Kilgore, associate AIA, has 35 years of experience, 25 at ESa. He earned an AAS degree in computer-aided drafting technology from ITT Technical Institute.

• Sherry Wessel Mendel, AIA, LEED® AP BD+C, has spent 15 years as an architect, all with ESa. She has a degree in Architecture from Ball State and a master’s degree in architecture from Clemson University.

• Benjamin Metz, AIA, LEED® AP BD+C, has 17 years of architecture experience, all with ESa. He earned degree in architecture from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

• Alana Morris, IIDA, NCIDQ, EDAC, has 22 years of experience as an interior designer with ESa. She holds a degree in interior design from the University of Tennessee at Martin.

• Jill Romano, AIA, LEED® AP BD+C, has spent nine of her 19 years as an architect with ESa. She holds a degree in architecture from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

• Scott Satterfield, associate AIA, has 24 years of professional experience with 11 years working at ESa. He has an AAS degree in computer-aided drafting technology from ITT Technical Institute.

The new roles became effective Sept. 1.

Blood Assurance names senior VP of operations

Blood Assurance has selected Garry D. Allison Jr. as senior vice president of operations.

Allison will oversee the nonprofit’s collections, community development, marketing and recruitment efforts. He brings 20 years of experience in blood banking, and comes to Blood Assurance from the Alabama-Mississippi-Tennessee Region of the American Red Cross, where he most recently served as regional donor services executive for four years. He has held various other positions within the American Red Cross, including director of donor recruitment and director of blood collections.

Allison earned his M.S. from Oakland City University in Indiana, and a bachelor’s degree from Mid-Continent University in Kentucky.

Allison replaces Christopher Swafford, who departed the company in June to become the new president and CEO of Mississippi Blood Services.

ENCORE picks Rivas for executive director

ENCORE Ministry, the official older adult ministry of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference of The United Methodist Church, has named John Rivas its executive director.

He succeeds Kent McNish, the ministry’s founding executive director, who will retire at the end of 2023.

Rivas previously was senior donor legacy planning adviser at The Gideons International, where he helped individuals and families navigate legacy and philanthropic decisions through their wills, trusts and estates.

Rivas collaborated with estate planning attorneys, financial advisers and other professionals to raise more than $20 million in current and legacy gifts for The Gideons International since 2020.

Rivas has held the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) designation since 2001. He earned master’s degrees in philanthropy and development from LaGrange College and in religious education from Nazarene Theological Seminary after earning a bachelor’s degree from Southern Nazarene University.

YMCA selects Steele for chief growth officer

LaTisha Steele has been named chief growth officer of the Midstate association of YMCAs, which includes 13 family wellness centers, a 300-acre day- and resident-camp facility, the region’s largest network of before- and afterschool care sites and a number of community-based outreach programs for youth and adults.

Steele most recently served as chief operating officer at Democracy Works, a civic technology nonprofit. She also brings nearly 20 years of YMCA experience and has consulted with numerous YMCAs and State Alliances on business growth and development over the last five years.

Steele also served as the vice president of operations for the YMCA of Western Carolina and was later named senior director of membership for YMCA of the USA. Steele started her Y career as a summer camp counselor.

Steele holds a degree in history education from Mars Hill University and an MBA and project management degree from Capella University.