Siskin Children’s Institute has named Don Mueller its new president and chief executive officer. Mueller succeeds Derek Bullard, who announced his retirement in 2023.

Mueller brings over two decades of experience to Siskin Children’s Institute. His most recent role is as president and CEO of St. Christophers Hospital for Children in Philadelphia.

Mueller also served as CEO at the Children’s Hospital at Erlanger in Chattanooga, where he served for five years and was instrumental in leading one of four Comprehensive Regional Pediatric Centers in Tennessee. Before his tenure at Erlanger, Mueller was part of the executive leadership team at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta – Emory University for 15 years, where he oversaw care for more than half a million patients annually.

Mueller holds a degree in financial management from The Catholic University of America and an MBA in health care administration and marketing from Loyola College. He also is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and an alumnus of the Young American Leadership Program at Harvard University.

Siskin Children’s Institute is a nonprofit developmental health care organization serving Tennessee and Georgia. The Institute provides developmental pediatric health care services, home and community-based early intervention, and offers family support through health care navigation services.

Alive Announces new board members

Marilyn Dubree (MSN, RN), Pamela Kellar, Osei Mevs, James Nunnery, M.D., and Molly Sudderth have joined Alive Hospice’s board of directors. The only nonprofit hospice in Middle Tennessee, Alive provides nearly $1.5 million in charity care each year so no one in our community has to die alone.

Dubree is the executive chief nursing officer at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is retiring from this role but will remain in her position until a successor is found and will also continue to support VUMC in a part-time role afterward.

Dubree came to Vanderbilt University School of Nursing for her master’s degree in 1976 and has been involved with the institution ever since. She has served as assistant professor, assistant dean for clinical practice and senior associate dean for clinical practice.

Kellar is the pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church and director of the Fellowship for Women of Color in Ministry, Nashville chapter. She served as the assistant director of Meharry Medical College’s National Alumni Association for 11 years. She began her career in ministry as the Christian education specialist for the R. B. Boyd Publishing Corporation. She is a 2025 candidate for a master’s divinity degree at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Mevs is the vice president of government relations at Acadia Healthcare. Before joining Acadia, Mevs served as regional executive for the American Hospital Association and held leadership positions at LifePoint Health, including chief of staff to the CEO and director of government relations. He earned a degree from New York University and a master’s degree in public health/health policy and management from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York.

Nunnery specializes in hospice and palliative care. He has served as medical director of palliative medicine at the Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro. He did his fellowship in hospice and palliative medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

He previously was a medical consultant for the Primary Care and Hope Clinic. Nunnery served as a general surgeon at the Murfreesboro Medical Clinic for 24 years and also served as president there from 1996-1999. Nunnery served as a captain in the United States Air Force and as an Air Force flight medical officer. He earned his M.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis.

Sudderth has worked in communications and community engagement in both the public and private sectors in Tennessee for more than 20 years. In her current role at The Ingram Group, she provides strategic communications, organizational analysis and general consulting services to clients.

Before joining Ingram, Sudderth led NashvilleHealth, a nonprofit community health collaborative founded by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. She’s also held senior positions with the Nashville Convention & Visitor’s Corporation, the Office of former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell, the Governor’s Foundation for Health and Wellness and the Tennessee Departments of Economic and Community Development and Children’s Services. She holds a degree in journalism and public relations from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

They join board members Denise Alper, David Barton, M.D., founder, Lynn Barton, LCSW, co-founder, Nick Birren, Mike Edgeworth, M.D., George Huddleston, Jr, Edward Jackson, Jordan Kendig, Keri McInnis, Michael Payne.

The executive committee includes Mary Flipse, chair; C.T. Stevens, treasurer and finance chair; Robert Taylor, M.D., secretary; Joe Hampe, interim president/CEO and chief operating officer; Claire Haltom, governance chair and chair-elect; and Susan Simons, development and advancement chair

Burchfield joins FirstBank as senior HR business partner

Richard Burchfield has joined FirstBank’s HR team, serving as senior human resources business partner.

Based out of the Knoxville office, Burchfield will be responsible for supporting FirstBank’s East Region, the manufactured housing sector and other corporate departments in Nashville.

Burchfield has two decades of HR experience and plans to leverage his expertise in people management, strategic planning and organizational development for his new role in the financial sector.

Originally from Hendersonville, Burchfield is a graduate of Maryville College and has lived in East Tennessee since.

Davidson Co. Democratics hire Capp as executive director

The Davidson County Democratic Party has hired Metro Council member Clay Capp as the organization’s executive director.

Capp’s initial priorities will be building on voter engagement and fundraising efforts to expand the DCDP’s organizational capacity.

A Nashville native, Capp graduated from Harvard in 2006 and took his first job after college as a paid organizer with the Davidson County Democratic Party. He then graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and has spent most of his career since as a public defender.

Vellutini promoted to VP, safety, risk, at Waste Pro

Waste Pro has promoted Romeo Vellutini to vice president of safety and risk.

Originally from Denver, Vellutini spent much of his life in Las Vegas. He joined the Waste Pro team in 2017 and has more than 29 years of experience in the solid waste industry.

Before joining Waste Pro in 2017, he was an area safety manager for Republic Services.