Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP’s Christopher C. Puri has been appointed to a two-year term as chair of the American Health Care Association’s Legal Committee, which began in January 2024. He also was named a member of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee.

Puri is a nationally recognized professional in long-term care and senior housing who handles a full array of legal issues for providers. As a member of Bradley’s long-term care & senior housing team, he works with clients to develop long-term care policy at both the state and national levels, as well as educates clients and attorneys in those areas.

AHCA is the largest association in the United States representing long term and post-acute care providers, with more than 14,000 member facilities.

Hinkle joins HMC Civil Rights Law

HMC Civil Rights Law, a law firm focused on employment discrimination cases, has hired Katherine X. Hinkle as an associate attorney.

Hinkle was most recently a law clerk with Lackey McDonald, LLC, and previously interned with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance and The Bowen Law Group. She earned a degree in political science from The Ohio State University, then graduated from the Belmont University College of Law.

Former HCA leader joins FB Financial Board

Milton Johnson, former chairperson and CEO of HCA Healthcare, has been appointed to the board of directors of the bank and FB Financial Corporation, its holding company.

Johnson had a 37-year tenure at HCA and served in various financial and senior management positions before retiring as chairman of the board in 2019. HCA is one of the largest health care providers in the U.S. with 186 hospitals and approximately 2,400 sites of care in 20 states and the UK.

Johnson has served with various organizations and boards, including the Belmont University board of trustees, his alma mater, and has also served on the board’s executive committee and academic affairs committee. Additionally, Johnson is past chairman of the board of the Nashville Health Care Council and past chairman of the board of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Cheekwood welcomes new board trustees

Cheekwood Estate & Gardens has added eight board trustees. Three standing members of the board of trustees have moved into roles as officers for 2024-25, including Ronald Roberts, chair, Matthew Kisber, vice chair, and Katherine Crosthwaite, secretary. Remaining in his position is returning officer Josh Trusley as treasurer.

Roberts is a managing partner for Finn’s Nashville office and leads its client retention program. He is a member of DVL Seigenthaler’s crisis communications team and is certified in crisis communications management via the Institute for Crisis Management. He also specializes in media training, message development, media relations and strategic planning and has expertise in corporate communication and conflict resolution.

Kisber, Vice Chair, is a co-founder of Silicon Ranch and served as CEO of the company until becoming chairman in July 2019. He also served eight years as Tennessee Commissioner of Economic Development, is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and served 10 terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives.

He also served as chairman of the Tennessee Business Roundtable, the Adventure Science Center’s board, the Nashville Public Library Foundation, Studio Bank and is a founding board member and former chairman of the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council.

Trusley is a partner at Ernst & Young, where he leads audit engagements for public and private companies, assists companies with capital raising activities, M&A, and leads consulting engagements related to the deployment of new technologies. He has served on the Cheekwood Finance Committee since 2020.

Crosthwaite studied theater at University of Tennessee and then attended Columbia College before working as a corporate secretary and event planner.

New board trustees include:

• Seth P. Bernstein, president and CEO, Alliance Bernstein

• Stephanie Biggs, Cheekwood board intern, Young Leaders Council

• Lucie Wallace Cammack, retired from Goodwill of Middle Tennessee

• Lisa DeBartolo, CEO, DeBartolo Family Foundation

• Larry Keele, advisory partner, Oaktree Capital Management

• Ben L. Rechter, chairman, Rogers Group, Inc.

• Bob Rolfe, co-founder and managing partner, West End Holdings, and chairman, EnviroKlean, Inc.

• Mimi Vaughn, president, CEO and board chair of Genesco Inc.

• Sissy Wilson, civic volunteer and philanthropist

WeGo Public Transit CFO Oliphant retiring

Edward W. Oliphant is retiring as the chief financial officer for WeGo Public Transit, effective June 1. He was appointed to the position in October 2002, serving as Metropolitan Transit Authority’s first CFO.

Since 2008, he also has served as CFO of the Regional Transportation Authority of Middle Tennessee as part of a management agreement with the Nashville MTA.

Oliphant has been on the Davidson Transit Organization board of directors, the 501c3 nonprofit that serves as the employment arm of WeGo Public Transit, throughout his tenure, holding the office of DTO president 2014-2022. He also held the position of secretary and treasurer on the DTO pension board, which manages more than $70 million in assets.

In 2014, he served as interim chief executive officer for WeGo. During his time as CFO, the annual operating budget has grown from approximately $26 million and 325 employees to an annual budget of more than $130 million and 800 employees.

Before WeGo, Oliphant was the director of finance at Private Business Inc. in Brentwood. He is a certified public accountant and has more than 40 years of professional experience in accounting and finance. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

WeGo will be conducting a nationwide search for his replacement.

Ascend appoints Sudbury as chief legal officer

Ascend Federal Credit Union, the largest credit union in Middle Tennessee, has appointed Josh Sudbury as chief legal officer. Sudbury is responsible for providing strategic legal and risk management advice to Ascend senior management on corporate, regulatory and compliance matters. He will also lead, direct and control the activities of the legal department, compliance, asset recovery department, and security department.

A veteran attorney, Sudbury has worked in various industries with both established and high-growth companies. Before joining Ascend, he was senior associate general counsel for Smile Direct Club. Previously, he was an attorney at Nashville law firms Ford Harrison, LLP and King & Ballow.

He is a graduate of Presbyterian College and the University of Memphis School of Law.

Belmont selects Schiftan as Jewish student adviser

Belmont University, in collaboration with The Rev. Charlie Curb Center for Faith Leadership, has named Rabbi Mark Schiftan its Jewish Faith student adviser.

Serving as adviser, mentor and chaplain to Jewish students at Belmont, Schiftan will hold regular office hours, lead biweekly meetings and provide learning opportunities, leadership and council to the Jewish Student Organization and individuals within the campus community. In this part-time advisory role, he will plan and lead on-campus services during Jewish holidays, as well as a monthly Shabbat service.

Schiftan’s new role will expand the work of the University’s Initiative for Jewish Engagement. Launched in 2021, the initiative is a multipronged endeavor including lectures, classes, travel experiences and conversations to provide dialog, perspective and understanding across two major faith traditions.

Rabbi Schiftan and Dr. Jon Roebuck, director of the Rev. Charlie Curb Center for Faith Leadership, have long collaborated on interfaith initiatives, including webinars and discussions exploring faith and culture. Their friendship has been instrumental in fostering a deeper understanding between Jewish and Christian communities.

Named a top 25 pulpit rabbi in the country by “Newsweek,” Schiftan has served the last 25 years in Nashville at The Temple. He is a graduate of San Francisco State University and later trained at Hebrew Union College, where he earned his Master of Art and Doctor of Divinity degrees.

Positively Living hires Bartlett as senior director

Positively Living has hired Angela Bartlett as senior director of development and marketing to assist the organization with creating and implementing effective fundraising campaigns, boosting the donor base and expanding its reach.

Bartlett has more than 10 years of experience in public health and managing donor engagement and fundraising campaigns, most recently as senior manager of community engagement and capacity building for Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee Office on Aging.

Positively Living, the nonprofit arm of the organization, serves more than 6,000 individuals affected by the challenges of HIV, homelessness, mental health, substance use and LGBTQ+ discrimination. The organization has offices in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis and the Upper Cumberland.

Bartlett is a graduate of the University of North Georgia and holds a master’s degree in public health at the University of Kentucky.