Burks

The law firm of Baker Donelson has named Ashby Q. Burks co-chair of Baker Ober Health Law, one of the largest health law practices in the country.

Burks will serve as co-chair of the group alongside Julie E. Kass, a shareholder in the Firm’s Baltimore and Washington, D.C., offices, assuming the role previously held for 10 years by Philip McSween, who has recently been named executive vice president and general counsel for TeamHealth.

Burks, a shareholder in Baker Donelson’s Nashville office, engages in a broad corporate practice, emphasizing mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other business transactions and has served as counsel in the purchase, sale or joint venture of more than 150 hospitals and other investor-owned and not-for-profit health care businesses.

Prior to joining the Firm, he served as vice president, secretary and general counsel for Quorum Health Group, developing strategy, setting policy for the company and leading the legal team which oversaw the negotiation and completion of the company’s acquisition by Triad Hospitals, Inc.

He also served in the legal department of Hospital Corporation of America for more than 10 years, concluding his tenure as vice president and assistant general counsel. Since 2008, Burks has been recognized as a leading health care lawyer in Tennessee by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers. He has also been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 2007 in the areas of corporate law, health care law and mergers and acquisitions law.

Tennessee Justice Center welcomes new board

Tennessee Justice Center, a non-profit public interest law and advocacy firm serving Tennessee’s families, has elected eight new board members. They are:

• Jeff Gibson, of Bass, Berry & Sims PLC in Nashville
• Joe Haase, recently retired from HCA in Nashville
• Phillis Sheppard, Associate Professor, Vanderbilt University
• Steve Thomas, of Thomas and Company in Nashville
• John Tishler, of Waller Landsen Dortch & Davis, LLP in Nashville
• Scott Crosby, of Burch, Porter & Johnson, PLLC in Memphis
• Jeff Gibson, of Bass, Berry & Sims PLC in Nashville
• Joe Haase, recently retired from HCA in Nashville
• Phillis Sheppard, Associate Professor, Vanderbilt University
• Steve Thomas, of Thomas and Company in Nashville
• Shannon Egle, of Kramer Rayson LLP in Knoxville
• Myra Gammon, of Methodist LeBonheur Health Care

Officers and continuing members are:

• Chair: Alexandra MacKay, Stites & Harbison
• Treasurer: Kathryn Beasley, KraftCPAs
• Secretary: Mary Falls, The Middle GroundTN
• Michael Abelow: Sherrard & Roe, co-chair, nominations committee
• Carl Q. Carter: International Paper, co-chair, nominations committee
• Laura Creekmore, Creek Content, co-chair, development committee
• Mika Moser, bank director, co-chair, development committee
• Monica Mackie: Nashville Bar Association, chair, PR committee
• Ronette Adams-Taylor, Meharry Medical College
• Marvin Berry, Jr., community volunteer
• Robb Bigelow, Bigelow Legal
• David Cañas, Thompson Burton
• Terri Lynn Casola, community volunteer
• Deborah Farringer, Belmont University College of Law
• Nancy Fraas MacLean, author, Thomson Reuters
• Rebecca McKelvey Castañeda, Stites & Harbison
• Robert F. Miller, M.D., Hillsboro Medical Group
• Brad Morgan, University of Tennessee College of Law
• Dr. Charles “Buzz” Sienknecht, rheumatologist, private practice
• Jerry Taylor, Burr Forman
• Joshua Williams, Ph.D., clinical psychologist, private practice
• Lisa Wyatt: HCA Healthcare

TJC is a non-profit public interest law and advocacy firm serving Tennessee’s families focused on policy issues and civil cases in which the most basic necessities of life are at stake and advocacy can benefit vulnerable families statewide. TJC works to empower its clients by holding the government accountable.

Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison hires Osborne

Osborne

Attorney Eric G. Osborne has joined Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison as counsel.

Osborne was previously with Andrews Kurth LLP in Houston, Texas, where he served as a litigation associate. He has worked in appellate, commercial real estate, health care, oil & gas and religious institutions litigation.

He has participated in eight cases before the United States Supreme Court, as well as multiple cases before various state Supreme Courts. He served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Julie Smith Gibbons, Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Memphis. He has been recognized as a Texas Lawyer Rising Star for the past two years for his appellate work.

He earned his J.D. at Stanford Law School in 2010, where he served as chair of the graduate student council. He graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary with a master of divinity, and earned his undergraduate degree from Amherst College.

Wingo elected to board of transportation group

Wingo

The Transportation Management Association Group has elected Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney John Wingo to its 2017-19 board of directors.

The nonprofit group was established in 1988 as a public-private partnership of business, governmental and community leaders who understand that transportation can either make or break communities. The organization customizes alternative transportation, money-saving solutions for employers, property managers and commuters in 14 Middle Tennessee counties.

Wingo is a member based in Stites & Harbison’s Nashville office. He is a member of the firm’s Business Litigation Service Group and provides advice and representation to regional and national clients regarding their business transactions.

Financial advisor joins Pinnacle Financial

Barrett

Eric Barrett has joined Pinnacle Financial Partners as a senior vice president and financial advisor for its commercial real estate team. He is based at the firm’s downtown Nashville office at Pinnacle at Symphony Place.

O'Bannon

Barrett was previously at U.S. Bank, where he was Tennessee market manager for its commercial real estate group. Prior roles included serving as a commercial real estate lender and manager for Commerce Bank, commercial real estate lender for First Tennessee Bank and a partner with Pride Brokerage Services in Brentwood, where he managed commercial real estate brokerage relationships.

Young

Also:

Jennifer O’Bannon and Tiffany Young have joined Pinnacle Financial Partners’ in Murfreesboro.

O’Bannon brings 12 years of experience to her role of financial specialist. She was most recently from CapStar Bank, where she was a loan operations specialist. Prior roles include serving as a retail operations specialist for Reliant Bank and as a teller for SunTrust Bank. She earned holds a mass communications degree from MTSU.

Young joins Pinnacle as a card services specialist. Before coming to Pinnacle, she was an assistant vice president for Franklin Synergy Bank. She is a graduate of MTSU.

MTSU names Torsney, Cunningham vice provosts

Torsney

The MTSU Provost’s Office is assigning separate administrators to oversee academics and professors in order to facilitate greater student success.

As part of the restructuring process, which does not increase staff size, Cheryl Torsney was hired as vice provost for faculty affairs and Peter Cunningham was designated vice provost for academic affairs.

Torsney, a new hire, comes to MTSU from the University of Texas at El Paso, where she was senior vice provost from 2012 to 2015. She assisted in hiring and evaluating faculty, provided professional development for faculty and mediated faculty complaints.

In her new position, Torsney is responsible for recruitment and retention of faculty, promotion and tenure, faculty development and retirement planning. She earned her double bachelor’s degrees in English and French from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in English from Louisiana State University and her doctorate in English from the University of Florida in 1982.

Cunningham

Cunningham has performed numerous administrative and faculty functions since coming to MTSU in 1991, including special assistant to the provost for curricular initiatives, associate dean of the College of Graduate Studies and professor of recreation and leisure services in the Department of Health and Human Performance.

As vice provost for academic affairs, Cunningham will be responsible for oversight of all academic programs and the establishment of new degree programs and serve as the liaison between MTSU and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission on matters related to academic programs and policies.

Cunningham earned a degree in health, physical education and recreation from Austin Peay State University, a master’s degree in recreation and physical education from Murray State University in 1977 and his doctorate in recreation and park administration from Indiana University in 1985.

Siloam Health expands board of directors with 5

Siloam Health has added five business and community leaders to its board of directors. They are:

• Vaughn Frigon, M.D., medical director, Tennessee Health Care Finance and Administration Bureau of TennCare
• Steve Joiner, D.Min., dean of the College of Leadership and Public Service, managing director for the Institute for Conflict Management, Lipscomb University
• Ann H Price, M.D., associate dean for alumni affairs, Vanderbilt University
• April Savoy, senior vice president and general counsel, Acceptance Insurance
• Ryan Wells, founder and CEO, Health Here

Siloam, located at 820 Gale Lane in the Melrose area, now boasts a staff of 45 working in concert with approximately 400 volunteers and dozens of collaborating partners to serve roughly 5,000 individual patients annually from all over Middle Tennessee.

Many of Siloam’s patients are immigrants and refugees representing more than 80 countries around the world.