Ascension Saint Thomas has concluded a national search with the selection of Shubhada Jagasia, M.D., MMHC, as president and CEO of Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital, Midtown and West campuses, effective May 1.
Jagasia, who has nearly 30 years of clinical and health care administration experience, is chief of staff for the adult hospital and ambulatory clinics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. There, she has led the COVID service line as part of the pandemic response, created an innovative discharge and transitions program and developed a patient and caregiver-centered end-of-life program.
She also helped develop multiple new clinical programs, including a specialized service line catering to patients with high health care resources utilization. Her previous roles include medical director of the Eskind Diabetes Clinic and vice-chair of clinical affairs for the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt.
Jagasia moved to Tennessee in 1994 to complete a postdoctoral fellowship at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis after graduating from King Edward Memorial Medical College in Mumbai, India. She then relocated to Nashville for her internal medicine residency, which she completed on the Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown and West campuses through the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
Jagasia continued her clinical training at Vanderbilt with a fellowship in diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism. She also obtained a masters of management in health care from the Owen Graduate School of Management.
She joins Ascension Saint Thomas amid major expansion of the Heart, Transplant, Neuroscience and Critical Care programs on the West campus and a $300 million modernization of the Midtown campus.
Jagasia succeeds Fahad Tahir, who assumes the role of system chief strategy officer for Ascension Saint Thomas.
Butler Snow adds Barksdale, Yoshikawa
M. Alyssa Barksdale and Jin Yoshikawa have joined Butler Snow’s Nashville office. Barksdale will practice with the firm’s business services group, and Yoshikawa will practice with the firm’s pharmaceutical, medical device and health care litigation group.
Barksdale focuses her practice on intellectual property and technology. She earned her juris doctor from the University of Alabama School of Law and her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Mississippi State University.
Yoshikawa earned his juris doctor from Vanderbilt University Law School, where he served as editor-in-chief of Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law. He also is a graduate of Columbia University.
Taylor joins MTR Family Law
Blake A. Taylor has joined MTR Family Law as an associate.
Taylor previously served as a paralegal with the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General, assisting state agencies with collection-related matters. Before that, he served as a paralegal to five attorneys at Spicer Rudstrom, PLLC, managing domestic and civil defense matters.
Taylor is a 2020 graduate of Nashville School of Law. He earned a B.S. in International Relations at Middle Tennessee State University. He is a member of the Nashville Bar Association, Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association and Tennessee Bar Association.
Waller hires accomplished tech specialist as CIO
Legal technology veteran Steve Novak has joined Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP, as its chief information officer.
Novak joins Waller from Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP, an Indianapolis firm that is now part of Dentons. Previously, he was director of legal technology operations for Abbvie, where he built a technology and operations organization to support legal services in more than 170 countries.
Novak also served as director of enterprise information technology services and chief technology officer at Sidley Austin LLP, the 2,000-attorney law firm headquartered in Chicago, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where he built a technology service organization to support more than 2,500 attorneys worldwide.
Novak has written numerous articles focused on law firm technology operational improvement and operational excellence and he is a sought-after speaker at industry events, seminars, workshops and user forums.
Novak earned his B.S. degree from Arizona State University where he graduated with certifications in general and international business.
Lutz named VU vice chancellor
John M. Lutz, who has served as Vanderbilt University’s interim vice chancellor for development and alumni relations since April 2020, will assume the role permanently, effective immediately.
The strong engagement of current and future Vanderbilt alumni was evident in the overwhelming success of this year’s Giving Day April 7 – held for the first time since the pandemic began –which raised more than $5 million to advance the university’s mission of education, discovery and leadership.
Also at Vanderbilt, Brett C. Sweet, vice chancellor for finance, information technology and chief financial officer, will assume leadership of Vanderbilt University Information Technology in addition to his finance leadership role.
Sweet will continue to be responsible for all university financial and business operations, accounting, capital markets/investor management, risk management, tax and procure-to-pay operations.
Sweet brings to his role a long history of information technology leadership, beginning early in his career as a special projects officer at the National Security Agency, followed by technical leadership roles as a nuclear submarine officer. More recently, as dean for finance and administration, Sweet led and had responsibility for the IT operations within Harvard University’s $1.6 billion Faculty of Arts and Sciences and, before that, he was executive vice president for finance and administration at the $2 billion Baylor College of Medicine.
Southeast Venture fills out property management team
Commercial real estate and design firm Southeast Venture has promoted Adam Upton to director of property management and Corbin Cox to assistant property manager.
Upton joined Southeast Venture in 2016. He has more than 15 years of customer relations experience and has been in the commercial real estate industry for eight years. He specializes in budget development and forecasting, vendor service management, and contract and lease negotiations.
Cox comes to the team with more than eight years of real estate and project management experience. Most recently, he worked for the John W. McDougall Company as a project manager, overseeing contract values of over $1.5 million.
He holds a degree in managerial finance from the University of Mississippi School of Business.
Vanderbilt’s Clair receives Harvard Medal for service
Walter Clair, M.D., MPH, who earned his bachelor’s degree, medical degree and Master of Public Health from Harvard University, is one three 2021 recipients of Harvard University’s highest honor, the Harvard Medal.
Clair, professor of Clinical Medicine and vice chair for Diversity and Inclusion in the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, will receive the award virtually from the Harvard Alumni Association at its annual meeting June 4.
The Harvard Medal is awarded to recognize “extraordinary service” to Harvard University, where Clair has been a longtime leader and mentor, serving on numerous committees and boards including the University’s Board of Overseers from 2009-2016 and as vice chair of Harvard’s Board of Overseers Executive Committee for 2014-2015.
Clair has supported diversity and students of color throughout his career, most recently working with VUSM students and staff to rename Dixie Place to Vivien Thomas Way on the VUMC campus. He also mentors students through the nonprofit program 100 Black Men of Middle Tennessee, which provides resources to further the academic and social development of students in Middle Tennessee schools.
In addition to earning degrees from Harvard College, Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, Clair was an intern, resident and primary care chief resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital from 1981 to 1984.
Clair received Cardiology Faculty Teaching Awards in 2007 and 2008 from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and the Levi Watkins Jr. Faculty Award for Commitment to Diversity in 2012.
He is married to Deborah Webster Clair, M.D., who is an obstetrician-gynecologist. They have two sons, Brian Clair, M.D., MBA, a hand surgeon, and Matthew Clair, Ph.D., who is an assistant professor in the Stanford Department of Sociology.
Tristar Centennial welcomes new COO
James Newman has joined TriStar Centennial Medical Center as chief operating officer.
Newman previously served as chief operating officer at HCA Medical City Fort Worth, a 348-bed tertiary facility. He served in that role since 2019, following his role as associate COO at HCA Medical City Dallas Hospital and Medical City Children Children’s Hospital.
Newman earned a degree in business administration in managerial finance from the University of Mississippi and his master of health care administration from Trinity University in San Antonio. He also is a 2018 graduate of the HCA Executive Development Program.
HarperCollins names Guzman senior editor
HarperCollins Christian Publishing has named Angela Guzman senior editor for the publishing team that works on refreshing and revitalizing previously published material.
Guzman has worked for HCCP for four years and has more than 15 years of writing, editing and publicity experience. She has worked with authors including Jack Countryman, John Eldredge, Bob Goff, Emily Ley, and Max Lucado.