Attorney Russ Overby is retiring from Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee, where he began practicing in 1974.
Before his retirement, Overby was lead attorney of the firm’s Health, Income and Education Practice Group, specializing in poverty law. He worked at Legal Aid Society’s Nashville office from 1974 until 1993, serving as lead counsel in a number of significant federal and state cases involving public benefits and the rights of children in state institutions. He was managing attorney of the Legal Aid Society’s Murfreesboro office from 1993 to 1997, then left the firm from 1997 to 2005 to work as a welfare reform lawyer at the Tennessee Justice Center. He rejoined Legal Aid Society in 2006.
Among his major accomplishments: In 1979, he fought for major reforms of broken, abusive youth detention centers in Doe v. Henderson, resulting in the closure of several old state correctional facilities, the reduction of inmate populations and the opening of more modern facilities. In 1986, in Samuels v. Heckler, the largest class-action case in Legal Aid Society’s history, Overby secured more than $500 million in retroactive Social Security benefits for roughly 70,000 disabled Tennesseans.
In the 1998 case John B. v. Goetz, he fought for changes in Tennessee law requiring the state to pay for any medically necessary service for children, allowing disabled children to thrive. And in 1999, he advocated for fair Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policies that prioritized critical services and subsidies, empowering families and providing them with a real opportunity to return to work.
Overby is a graduate of Wheaton College near Chicago, and a 1974 graduate of Vanderbilt Law School. While working at Legal Aid Society, he was also a clinical instructor at Vanderbilt from 1974 to 1977. He has received a number of awards throughout his career, including the State Advocate of the Year Award from the Tennessee Conference on Social Welfare in 1998.
In 2008, he received the Ashley T. Wiltshire Public Service Attorney of the Year Award from the Tennessee Bar Association. And in 2011, he received the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services’ B. Riney Green Award in recognition of his commitment to improving collaboration among public interest advocates in the state.
Overby has also written extensively about public benefits issues and conducted training on the topic for national audiences.
Moses is named FCS board president
Marlene Eskind Moses of MTR Family Law has been named president of the board of directors for Family & Children’s Service, one of the city’s most respected nonprofit agencies.
She succeeds James Kelley of Neal & Harwell, who continues his service as immediate past president.
FCS Board Officers for the 2020-2021 fiscal year include:
• Vice president: Cullen Douglass (Integrum Wealth)
• Secretary/finance chair: Don Holmes (consultant/community volunteer)
• Governance Chair: Irwin Fisher (community volunteer)
• Board Representatives to the Executive Committee: Marees Choppin (Community Volunteer), Tracey Silverman (PNC Bank), Earle Simmons (Truist Bank) and immediate past president, James Kelley (Neal & Harwell).
New and returning members to the FCS board of directors include William Liles (The Liles Group -R.W. Baird), Anna Norton (community volunteer), Scott Pohlman (Truist Bank), Erin Samuelson (HCA), Nancy Stabell (Wood Stabell Law Group) and Kaylee Wilson (Spoke & Weal).
Board members continuing terms of service include Leslee Alexander (TN International Trade Center), Charley Bairnsfather (Sir Speedy BNA), Jean Brandon (Community Volunteer), George H. Cate, II (Bradley), Amy Colton (Community Volunteer) Honoree Corder (Honoree Corder Publishing), Andrew Galbierz (Contessa Health), Tena Mayberry (community volunteer), Rob McNeilly (Synovus), Perri duGard Owens (owner, duGard Communications), Kevin Roddey (Pinnacle Financial Partners), Tony Rose, Jr. (Rose Capital), Alyse Sprintz (community volunteer), Alex Ryerson (Luxor Capital), Chad Tuck (KBC Advisors), Joyce Vise (Community Volunteer), Joni P. Werthan (community volunteer) and Battle Williford (Financial Federal).
Grindon honored with Susan E. Rich Award
Baker Donelson has recognized Tonya Mitchem Grindon with the firm’s 2020 Susan E. Rich Award for excellence in the promotion of and commitment to women in the legal profession.
Grindon, a shareholder in Baker Donelson’s Nashville office, serves as chair of the business department, is a member of the firm’s audit and finance committee and is a former member of Baker Donelson’s board of directors. She is past chair of the firm’s Corporate Finance & Securities Group.
Baker Donelson established the Susan E. Rich award in honor of Susan Elliot Rich, a shareholder in the firm’s Chattanooga office, who was the firm’s first woman shareholder, the first woman to be appointed an office managing shareholder and the first woman appointed to the Firm’s board of directors. This award is given annually to a recipient who exemplifies ongoing commitment and effort to strengthen the role of women attorneys at the firm.
Former IBM executive named VP at Lipscomb
Jeffrey A. Baughn, a veteran of the financial services industry, has been appointed senior vice president of finance and technology at Lipscomb University.
Baughn has served for more than 30 years in various leadership roles in the financial service industry at IBM, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Andersen Consulting. At Lipscomb, Baughn will lead the business operations, finance and information technology functions.
During his 15-year tenure at IBM, Baughn also served as a senior executive in a variety of other sales and operational roles. He was the global relationship partner for a large regional retail bank, leading IBM’s client relationship development and global service delivery for consulting, application management and technology services. He was also the vice president and senior project executive for a US-based wireless customer care provider, where he oversaw service delivery and relationship management for IBM.
Most recently Baughn, along with his two sons, established a family owned and operated business, Atlanta Motor Gallery, which is focused on delivering a superior customer experience for purchasers of previously owned highline vehicles.
Also at Lipscomb:
Internationally renowned archaeology scholars Steven Ortiz and Tom Davis have founded the Lanier Center for Archaeology at Lipscomb University.
The Lanier Center is the first of its kind that is part of a university instead of a seminary setting. The center will offer academic programs and field research projects as well as bring extensive resources and artifacts to Lipscomb University.
It plans to offer a doctor of philosophy in archaeology of the ancient Near East and a master’s in archaeology and biblical studies beginning in January 2021. In addition, the center will feature archaeological research libraries, an extensive artifact study collection and a ceramic restoration lab. It will also engage in field research projects, including four active projects: Tel Gezer excavation and publication project, Israel; Kourion Urban Space project, Cyprus; Karnak epigraphic survey, Egypt; and the Tel Burna excavation project, Israel. The center is housed in Lipscomb’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.
The Lanier Center for Archaeology is made possible by Becky and Mark Lanier, J.D. Mark Lanier is a member of the Lipscomb board of trustees and a 1981 Lipscomb graduate. The Laniers are known for their passion for theology and archaeology and are ardent supporters of this work. They also founded the Lanier Theological Library in Houston, Texas.
Ortiz and Davis are known around the world for their work in the field of archaeology. Both Ortiz and Davis were part of the team that produced the recent ESV Archaeology Study Bible.
Ortiz will join the faculty of Lipscomb University in August as a professor of archaeology and director of the Lanier Center. He was formerly director of the Tandy Institute for Archaeology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where he was professor of archaeology and biblical backgrounds. He earned his Ph.D. in Near Eastern archaeology from the University of Arizona. He is the principal investigator and co-director of the Tel Gezer Excavation Project and is now a senior staff member at Tel Burna.
Davis also is joining the Lipscomb faculty in August and will be associate director of the center. He has 40 years of experience as an archaeologist, working extensively in Cyprus, the Near East, Egypt, Central Asia and the United States. He has held positions across the spectrum of archaeology.
Approval for master’s and Ph.D. programs from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges is pending. Based on SASCOC approval, the programs will begin in January. Information: [email protected].
MTSU names vice provost of international affairs
Robert Summers has been hired as Middle Tennessee State University vice provost of international affairs.
Most recently, Summers was assistant provost for global engagement at State University of New York-Buffalo State in Buffalo, New York, and also previously held leadership positions at universities in Alabama, New York and Florida.
There are almost 500 international students enrolled for the fall 2020 semester at MTSU.
A Putnam County native and son of a schoolteacher, Summers earned bachelor’s degree in French and history from Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee, a master’s degree in French from MTSU and his doctorate in second language acquisition/industrial technology from the University of South Florida.
Previously, Summers was director of international programs in the College of Education and assistant professor of educational linguistics at the University of Alabama.
Brooks, Adams to lead VUMC advisory boards
Two volunteer leaders have been named to positions on Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s advisory boards.
Grammy Award-winning country music artist Kix Brooks is the new chair of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt Advisory Board, taking over for outgoing chair Allison DeMarcus. Louise Adams, who succeeds Judge Les Smith, was recently named the chair of the Vanderbilt Eye Institute (VEI) Advisory Board.
Approximately 100 community members serve as volunteers on VUMC’s advisory boards and are philanthropic supporters and advocates in the community. They are critical to VUMC’s mission to provide expert specialty care and advance discovery research and world-class clinical training.
The Children’s Hospital Advisory Board was formed in 1975 and is a philanthropic and advocacy board. Advisory board members are actively involved in education and outreach to important constituents in the community to raise funds for the hospital’s highest priorities.
A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Brooks started his career as a songwriter. A decade later, he teamed up with Ronnie Dunn to form Brooks & Dunn, who are the highest selling duo in the history of country music. In 2019, they were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
He also is co-owner of Arrington Vineyards and has hosted the annual Arrington Vineyards Harvest Party for the past eight years, raising funds and awareness for the hospital and its programs.
Adams, named the VEI Advisory Board’s new chair in September 2019, has been a member of the VEI Advisory Board since its formation.
A graduate of Vanderbilt University (BA 1972) and Vanderbilt University Law School (JD 1978), she spent her entire legal career in the Atlanta office of the law firm Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan.