Truell

Russ Truell, Franklin’s assistant city administrator and chief financial officer, has announced his retirement effective December 15.

Truell has worked for the city for the last 13 years and oversees Water Management, Sanitation and Environmental Services, Finance, Information Technology, Municipal Court, Purchasing and Transit.

The Vanderbilt (engineering) and University of London (master’s degree) graduate began his career with Franklin in 2004 as the finance director. In the fall of 2007, he was named assistant city administrator for finance.

Tallent

Kristine Tallent of Maryville has been hired to fill the position of assistant city administrator/chief financial officer. She currently serves as director of management and budget for the City of Maryville.

Prior to her service in Maryville, Tallent worked for Gwinnett County, Georgia as budget director. She has also worked in the private sector for Public Financial Management as a senior managing consultant.

Tallent holds a master’s degree in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University. She also is a graduate of Maryville College.

Kachnic elected president of radiology board

Kachnic

Lisa Kachnic, M.D., chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been elected president of the American Board of Radiology. She assumed the role of president after being chosen president-elect of the organization in March 2014 and succeeds former ABR President Milton J. Guiberteau, M.D.

Kachnic officially began her role as president on Oct. 26 at the completion of the fall ABR meeting in California. Over the years, she has served in a volunteer role on many of the organization’s oversight committees and has been an elected member of their board since 2010.

Kachnic heads the radiation oncology service at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Prior to joining VUMC and VICC, Kachnic served as chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Boston Medical Center and professor of Radiation Oncology at Boston University School of Medicine. She also served on the Radiation Oncology faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital.

She earned her undergraduate degree from Boston College and her medical degree from Tufts University. She completed her residency in radiation oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital where she served as chief resident in her final year.

Wojciechowski joins Nashville School of Law

Wojciechowski

Nashville School of Law 2012 alumna Michele Wojciechowski has joined the school’s administration team as director of communications and engagement. The position is new to the non-profit law school.

Wojciechowski served as the communications director for the Tennessee judiciary since 2012, responsible for the communications and outreach efforts of the state appellate and trial courts, including the Tennessee Supreme Court. Prior to that, she spent more than 20 years in a variety of newspaper industry roles for The Tennessean and the Daily Herald, a Chicago-area publication.

Wojciechowski also is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

Trice selected as YWCA Family Literacy director

Trice

Dr. Tonja Y. Trice has been named director of the Family Literacy Center for YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee.

She will oversee four components of the FLC, which include Parent and Child Time, Children’s Education, Parent Education Workshops and Adult Education, including HiSET classes, goal setting and employment skills training.

Trice brings more than a decade of experience to YWCA, having worked in urban and rural schools with an emphasis on improving literacy awareness across various sectors. She served as dean of instruction for middle schools for the Metro Nashville Public School District, and worked for the Sumner County Schools as a district coordinator of instruction and English teacher.

Trice earned her doctorate in leadership from Trevecca Nazarene University, a master’s +30 degree in educational leadership, a master’s in curriculum and instruction and a bachelor’s in elementary education from Tennessee State University.

Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance welcomes 2 new physicians

Burton

Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance has added two new physicians, Lucas J. Burton, M.D. and Robert Lowe III, M.D.

Burton is a board certified, fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon specializing in joint replacement, specifically hip and knee reconstruction.

Lowe

Lowe is a board certified, fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon specializing in spine, with a special interest in Scoliosis and spinal deformity.

Burton earned an undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and completed his medical degree at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He completed his subspecialty fellowship training at the University of Louisville in Louisville.

Lowe earned his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and completed his medical degree at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He completed his orthopaedic surgery residency and internship at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Lowe completed his subspecialty fellowship training in Spine with the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Rush University in Chicago, Illinois.

Burton is accepting patients at TOA’s Centennial location, and Lowe at Centennial, Cookeville and Spring Hill locations.

West appointed state deputy commissioner

West

Commissioner Marie Williams has named Sejal West as the deputy commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

West, 41, started with the department in 2010 and has served as assistant commissioner of Mental Health Services since January of 2012. In that role, she directly managed the daily operations and budget for the division of mental health services, which is responsible for providing a comprehensive array of mental health services, programs and supports across Tennessee.

Under her leadership, the division of mental health services was able to secure an unprecedented amount of federal discretionary grant funding in excess of $53 million dollars. Under her leadership, the department has grown the system of care work resulting in children and families receiving high quality coordinated services and supports tailored to meet their individual needs.

She has also led the implementation of OnTrackTN, an innovative approach based on the OnTrackUSA model providing recovery oriented treatment to youth and young adults who have recently begin experiencing psychotic symptoms.

West earned her undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Virginia and her master’s degree in counseling psychology from Trevecca Nazarene University.

Adult Literacy Council gets new executive director

Karesh

The Nashville Adult Literacy Council – Davidson County’s largest literacy nonprofit – has named Kim Karesh its executive director.

Karesh will lead NALC, which celebrates its 35th anniversary in 2017, as it continues to empower adults in Nashville through literacy.

Karesh began her career as a reporter for WLAC-AM and quickly moved into public service as a communications director for the State of Tennessee. Ten years ago, she transitioned to a position in corporate health care, most recently as vice president of account management for Matrix Medical Network.