White

Corrections Corporation of America has promoted Kim White to vice president of the Correctional Programs Division. She formerly served as managing director of inmate programs.

White replaces John Robinson, who will now be leading Business Unit 1 as vice president of facility operations.

White joined CCA in August 2012, after serving 25 plus years with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. While at the BOP, she held a variety of leadership roles, including warden and regional director, and most recently, assistant director of the Human Resource Management Division. In that capacity, she had oversight for the hiring, training and retention of the Bureau’s 38,000 employees.

In her new role, White will oversee operational security and staffing, in addition to continuing her leadership with inmate programs.

She began her career as a correctional officer, holds a degree from Kent State University and completed Harvard University’s executive education program for senior managers in government.

Education advocate wins Davis-Galloway Award

The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., Metropolitan Nashville Chapter has named long-time education advocate Gracie Porter as the 2013 Davis-Galloway Empowerment Award recipient.

Porter received the award during the annual Sister-for-Sister Conference and Women of Color Luncheon. Her nomination was sponsored by the Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc., Nashville Capitol City Chapter.

The Davis-Galloway Empowerment Award recognizes and honors African-American women who ascend to leadership through outstanding advocacy, effective networking and superlative community service. Porter, who was among several nominees submitted by supporting organizations across the city, has served as an educator for more than 40 years in numerous capacities, including teacher, librarian and principal with the Metropolitan Nashville Public School System. In 2006, she was elected to the Metropolitan Nashville Board of Education for a two-year term and ran unopposed for re-election in 2008-2012.

She was twice elected by her peers to serve in the position of vice chair, and twice as chair – the position she held until August 2012. She spent seven years at Middle Tennessee State University as an adjunct professor in the department of Elementary and Special Education from 2004-2007.

LBMC Strategic Staffing adds IT Recruiting

LBMC Strategic Staffing, LLC, a member of the Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, PC family of companies, has hired IT recruitment specialist Vanessa Taylor for its new information technology staffing group.

Taylor has more than 15 years combined experience in information services/technology and previously served as the risk & compliance manager for the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, which serves as the central clearinghouse for the computer-based CPA exam, representing 55 jurisdictions.

Prior to NASBA, Ms. Taylor worked as a security and risk services professional with LBMC and an IT auditor with HCA.

Corizon announces new VP of operations

Corizon, a Brentwood-based provider of correctional health care solutions, has hired Vickie Bybee as vice president of operations.

Bybee has more than 25 years of experience with Corizon. She was hired in 1985 as a staff nurse at Pontiac Correctional Center in Illinois, and was quickly promoted to director of nursing at that facility before ultimately being named chief operating officer in 2006. She has been retired since 2011 prior to being named VPO.

She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s in health care administration at the College of Saint Francis in Joliet, Ill.

Barge Waggoner names manager of client services

Architecture and engineering firm Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon, Inc., has named Joe Ledford, PE, chairman, manager of client services for Industrial and Building Services. Ledford has more than 30 years of experience, 27 years at Barge Waggoner, including management of large facility projects for industrial operations.

As manager of client services, Ledford will remain the Knoxville Office Manager and continue to serve on the board of directors as chairman.

A graduate from the University of Tennessee, Ledford earned a civil engineering degree and is registered as a professional engineer in six states, including Tennessee, Alabama and North Carolina with a structural discipline.

Three surgeons join Tristar Centennial staff

Three board-certified orthopaedic surgeons – William Cooper Beazley, William Devries and Kurtis Kowalski – have joined the TriStar Centennial Medical Center staff. The team practices with Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance in Clarksville.

Beazley earned his medical degree at University of Tennessee Medical School and completed a residency in orthopaedics at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. His specialties include general orthopaedics and joint replacement.

Devries earned his medical degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and completed a residency in orthopaedic surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. His specialties include general orthopaedics, sports medicine, and joint replacement. He has been practicing in Clarksville for 15 years.

Kowalski earned his medical degree at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and completed his residency at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash. His specialties include general orthopaedics and sports medicine. He has been practicing in Clarksville since 2010.

Hastings adds director of interior design

Hastings Architecture Associates, LLC has named Heather Mathias as an associate principal and leader of the firm’s interior design strategies.

Mathias began her career with Hastings as a junior interior designer. During her seven year term with Hastings, Mathias was heavily involved in The Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Freeman Webb’s Headquarters in Green Hills and Ovation Corporate Offices in Green Hills, among other projects.

Mathias left Hastings in 2009 to join Herman Miller, Inc. as Tennessee territory manager.

Mathias is a LEED Accredited Professional as well as a National Council for Interior Design Qualification certificate holder. She serves on the University of Tennessee College of Architecture Advisory Council and is a member of the International Interior Design Association.

White admitted to College of Trial Lawyers

Nashville attorney Thomas V. White has become a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in America.

Founded in 1950, the college is composed of the best of the trial bar from the United States and Canada. Fellowship in the College is extended by invitation only and only after careful investigation, to those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. Lawyers must have a minimum of fifteen years trial experience before they can be considered for Fellowship.

Membership in the College cannot exceed one per cent of the total lawyer population of any state or province. There are currently 5,879 members in the United States and Canada, including active Fellows, Emeritus Fellows, Judicial Fellows (who ascended to the bench after their induction) and Honorary Fellows.

White is a founding partner in the firm of Tune, Entrekin & White and has been practicing law in the Nashville area for more than 40 years. He is an alumnus of the Vanderbilt University School of Law (Class of 1972) and is a past president of the Nashville Bar Association.

Nashville Medical Group welcomes new neurologist

Nashville Medical Group, a member of Saint Thomas Health, has added Dr. Kita Morgan Williams to its medical staff.

Williams is a general neurologist with a special interest in headache management, for which she uses various treatment methods, including occipital nerve blocks and Botox. She also treats seizures, neuropathy, multiple sclerosis and stroke.

Williams earned her medical degree from Meharry Medical College and completed her neurology residency at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, Va.

Williams is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, American Medical Association and Tennessee Medical Association. She is also an American Academy of Neurology Sanofi-Aventis Award Recipient.

Brooks leads Avenue’s small business emphasis

Mark Brooks has joined Avenue Bank in the role of senior vice president and director of business banking.

Brooks, who has 25 years experience in commercial banker, was most recently at American Security/Capstar Bank. He joined Avenue Bank to lead the company’s focus on Business Banking. He is a graduate of Lipscomb University.

Other recent hires at Avenue include:

Deborah Hennessee Thomas, senior vice president, private client banker. She also brings more than 25 years of experience in banking to her role, having been in the Middle Tennessee market for her banking career, most recently worked at CapStar Bank.

Tracy Knight joins the commercial banking team as a commercial real estate relationship manager. She has more than 19 years of experience in commercial real estate lending in Nashville. Knight is a Nashville native and a graduate of Lipscomb University. Prior to joining Avenue, she worked for 13 years as a commercial mortgage broker.

Darryl Williams is a new small business and consumer loan credit underwriter. He brings more than 18 years of credit underwriting experience, most recently at Regions Bank.

Bradford Group adds account executive

The Bradford Group, a Nashville-based public relations, social media and marketing agency, has hired Caitlin Varley as an account executive.

Varley comes to the Bradford Group from Sanderson & Associates, where she managed several national publicity accounts as a senior account executive.