Executive director departing Legal Aid

Friday, October 13, 2017, Vol. 41, No. 41

Gary Housepian is stepping down as executive director of Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Tennessee’s largest non-profit law firm.

Housepian has served as executive director of Legal Aid Society since July 2007 and will continue to head the organization until a new director is hired through a national search.

He joined Legal Aid Society after it merged with Legal Services of South Central Tennessee and Rural Legal Services. He integrated the satellite offices across Middle Tennessee and the Cumberland Plateau, encouraging them to operate cohesively as one law firm – a place for low-income families and individuals to be strengthened with assistance in pressing legal issues.

Housepian recently spearheaded the organization’s effort to establish practice groups across the firm, expanding the staff’s expertise across all offices. The new practice groups focus on specific needs within the community, such as domestic violence issues, allowing Legal Aid Society to better serve those in need.

He began his legal career working with the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program providing assistance to migrant farmworkers in Arizona and joined Knoxville Legal Aid Society as a staff attorney in 1978. He then spent a year in the state Attorney General’s office as an assistant attorney general before joining the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation as general counsel.

From 1990 to 1991, he served as general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Human Services, after which he worked in private practice for five years. Housepian became the managing attorney of the Murfreesboro office of Legal Aid Society in 1997 and staff attorney for the Tennessee Justice Center in 2001.

From 2002 to 2007, he served as managing attorney of the Disability Law and Advocacy Center of Tennessee.

Crownover honored as Attorney for Justice

Dickinson Wright PLLC partner Derek C. Crownover has been honored as a 2017 Attorney for Justice by the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission.

Crownover was recognized for his pro bono service in 2016, which included work filing disability claims for individuals, work with songwriters and artists, and the T.J. Martell Foundation, a cancer research foundation.

The Supreme Court will present him with a certificate signed by the members of the Court and bearing the Attorney for Justice seal at an upcoming event.

Crownover is the International Practice leader for Dickinson Wright’s Entertainment, Sports and Media Law practice group, counseling various entertainment and media executives and company owners. His artist, producer, publisher and songwriter clients have sold in excess of 100 million units and have more than 100 billion streams.

Odom named director of Metro Parks Dept.

The Metro Parks Board of Directors has named Monique Odom, currently serving as interim director, to be the director of the Metro Parks Department. The selection follows a cross-departmental review of applicants for the position, in which Odom scored highest among all applicants.

Odom is a native Nashvillian who has been with Metro Government for more than 15 years, 11 of which have been with the Parks and Recreation Department. Since joining Parks in 2006, Odom’s responsibilities have primarily focused on the department’s fiscal matters.

Odom will now head one of the largest parks department in Tennessee, overseeing almost 16,000 acres of open space, which includes 185 parks, 85 miles of greenway, seven municipal golf courses, seven regional community centers, 19 neighborhood centers, seven dog parks, 171 sports fields, four nature centers and seven historical sites, including The Parthenon and Fort Negley.

In addition to her duties with the Parks Board, Odom will work with the Nashville Parks Foundation, and more than a dozen officially designated Friends groups. She also will guide Plan to Play: the Parks and Greenways Master Plan, which sets out the vision for the Nashville Parks and Greenways system for the next ten years.

Odom is a graduate of Fisk University and holds a master of public administration degree from Tennessee State University’s College Institute of Government. She previously served as the program coordinator for the Metro Human Relations Commission.

Metro Codes director to retire after 28 years

Metro Codes Director Terry Cobb, who will have served as director of the Department of Codes & Building Safety for more than 28 years under five Nashville mayors, plans to retire in April.

Having begun his Codes career as director in January 1990, Cobb, 67, is believed to be the longest-serving department head in the history of Metro Government, which was established in 1963.

Cobb, who was appointed by Mayor Bill Boner and also served under mayors Phil Bredesen, Bill Purcell and Karl Dean, recently told Mayor Barry’s administration about his plans to retire.

Metro will soon begin a search for the next Director of Codes, with a goal of filling the position around April 1.

Firestone Ind. Products names Schneider president

Craig Schneider has been named president, Firestone Industrial Products. Schneider succeeds Scott Damon, who recently was named president, commercial group, U.S. and Canada for Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO).

As president, Schneider will oversee all aspects of the Firestone Industrial Products business, including management of the more than 1,500 employees around the world who have helped position the company as a leader in manufacturing and marketing products for technologically advanced air suspensions.

Headquartered in Nashville, a European office and technical center in the Netherlands, two North American plants, manufacturing facilities in Brazil, Poland, India and Costa Rica and an assembly facility in China, Firestone Industrial Products has the global footprint to supply customers in the industrial, heavy duty and light duty markets.

Schneider joins Bridgestone after more than 13 years in leadership roles with Shell Oil Company, including international assignments. He most recently served as senior vice president and general manager of retail sales, lubricants. Prior to that role, Schneider served as vice president and general manager retail of fuels marketing.

He holds a civil engineering degree from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Rice University.

Nashville SC hires first technical director

Nashville SC has appointed Mike Jacobs to be the club’s technical director and vice president of soccer operations. The hire rounds out the senior management team that includes a mix of local and national talent, with experience from the MLS, MLB, NBA and Nashville SC’s grassroots beginnings.

In his role as technical director, Jacobs will manage and oversee all player and coaching development within the club. Working closely with technical staff from the youth level to the senior team, Jacobs is responsible for cultivating a cohesive pathway across all playing levels within the club. He reports to CEO Court Jeske and head coach Gary Smith.

Jacobs comes to Nashville SC from Sporting KC, Kansas City’s MLS team, where he had served as the assistant technical director since 2015, including during its championship run in the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. His previous experience includes: president, National Soccer Coaches Association of America, now known as United Soccer Coaches; executive vice president and technical director, United Soccer League; head coach, University of Evansville Men’s Team; assistant men’s soccer coach, Duke University.

He was National Assistant Coach of the Year with Duke University in 2004.

SBA advisor Rhodes joins Pinnacle

Pinnacle Financial Partners continues to expand its capabilities in Small Business Administration lending with the addition of veteran advisor Lane Rhodes. She will serve as senior vice president within the Government Guaranteed Lending Group at Pinnacle Financial Partners.

Rhodes has worked in financial services for 18 years, including 10 years specializing in SBA lending. She most recently comes from Regions Bank, where she helped build their SBA division and consistently performed as one of Regions top producers. Prior to that, she worked in SBA Lending for Wells Fargo, Fifth Third and CIT. Rhodes specializes in business acquisitions and mergers, partner buy-outs and commercial real estate transactions.

Rhodes is the co-founder of Barefoot Republic Camp, a nonprofit summer camp for children of diverse backgrounds that has served Middle Tennessee families for 19 years.

She earned a degree in finance from Belmont University and a lender diploma from the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders.

Savor Health welcomes Warren as exec. VP

Savor Health, an evidence-based cancer nutrition resource, has selected Nashvillian Stryker Warren as executive vice president of corporate partnerships.

With more than 40 years of senior management experience, navigating health care services and population management, Warren has spent his career changing patient behavior in chronic disease patients with a holistic approach to patient education.

Warren was previously with FOCUS Healthcare Partners, Meridian Occupational Health and Urologix.

A.O. Smith names Reynolds VP-engineering

The North American Water Heating business unit of A.O. Smith Corporation has named Gregory A. Reynolds vice president-engineering.

Reynolds will be responsible for leading the residential and commercial water heater product engineering function for North America. Reynolds succeeds Darrell Schuh, who was promoted recently to the vice president and general manager of Water Systems and APCOM.

FBMM leaders named to Billboard honor rolls

Business managers and owners at entertainment business management firm Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc., have been named to two of Billboard’s 2017 lists – Country Power Players and Top Business Managers.

Mary Ann McCready, Jamie Cheek and Duane Clark were recognized under the Business & Branding section of the Country Power Players list. Each year, Billboard chooses the top 100 honorees based on their involvement, leadership and influence in the country music industry.

Cheek, Clark and McCready, along with Julie Boos and Carmen Romano, were named among Billboard Music’s Top Business Managers. Honorees are chosen based on their abilities to manage artists’ and executives’ money in the most prudent way possible.