Baker Donelson has named Michaela D. Poizner, a shareholder in Baker Donelson’s Nashville office, chair of the firm’s health law group, one of the largest health law practices in the country.
Poizner assumes the role from previous co-chairs Ashby Q. Burks and S. Craig Holden, both of whom are returning to a full-time focus on their health law practices. She will maintain her legal practice focused on working with provider organizations in the behavioral, medical and long-term health care industries to accomplish their operational compliance and strategic business goals.
Poizner, who also founded the firm’s behavioral health initiative, assists clients in buying and selling health care assets and guides them through matters ranging from privacy and security concerns and fraud and abuse analysis to development of policies and procedures and navigation of licensure and Medicare enrollment.
A graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, Poizner has served on the board and is the incoming chair of Leadership Health Care. She has been recognized in the area of health care law by both The Best Lawyers in America and Mid-South Super Lawyers. Before joining Baker Donelson, she clerked for the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Office of General Counsel.
Wagner joins Nashville Conflict Resolution Center
Shannon Wagner has joined Nashville Conflict Resolution Center as the new assistant director. Wagner will work in tandem with Sara Figal, executive director, focusing particularly on financial and programmatic capacity building.
Wagner was previously director of development at Renewal House, where she oversaw all agency fundraising initiatives and campaigns and implemented a framework for tracking volunteer engagement and marketing. She has worked in development with the Nashville Public Library Foundation, Martha O’Bryan Center, the Nashville Ballet and Lupus Foundation of America, Mid-South, and has a track record of exceeding organizational fundraising goals.
Wagner is a graduate of Arizona State University, where she earned degrees in communications and political science, as well as a Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership. She expects to complete a master’s degree in conflict management at Lipscomb University in May.
Founded in 2000, Nashville Conflict Resolution Center provides free and low-cost mediation to help people of all ages resolve conflict quickly and effectively. Through referrals from local courts, schools and community partners, NCRC mediators assist people in settling eviction issues, custody agreements, youth disciplinary charges and small business or neighborhood conflicts.
Pyle named president of BELL Construction
Sixteen-year company veteran Eric Pyle has been named president of BELL Construction, assuming day-to-day leadership of the company following his most recent role as member and executive vice president of building operations.
Keith Pyle, who served as president of BELL since 2005, has been named chairman of the company’s board of directors.
Keith Pyle has served BELL for more than 37 years, including the past 18 years as president.
Eric Pyle joined BELL in 2002 as a team member in the field. After graduating with a degree in construction engineering technology from Murray State University in 2007, he was hired by the company as a full-time project engineer. He continued to rise through the ranks into leadership as owner and project executive and, most recently, led the company’s building division.
Eric Pyle is past chair of the Associated Builders and Contractors - Greater Tennessee Chapter, an organization he has been involved with for more than 15 years, including three years as board member. He previously served as chair of the legislative committee, helping advance the organization’s principles of free enterprise and merit in the construction industry by focusing lobbying efforts on business-critical issues.
Womble adds Herndon for corporate, securities
Howard W. Herndon has joined Womble Bond Dickinson as a partner in the corporate and securities group.
Herndon focuses his practice on the electronic transaction industry and regularly advises emerging businesses, private equity firms and venture capital investors. For two-plus decades, he has represented public and private payments companies in significant industry transactions ranging from $100 million to more than $1 billion.
Herndon’s experience in the payments industry broadly encompasses mergers and acquisitions, deal structuring, operations and compliance. He also provides strategic counsel to fintech companies and next-generation artificial intelligence initiatives in various industries.
In addition to private practice, Herndon founded BlackLine Advisory Group, a consulting firm that provides clients with practical experience in payments processing, financial technology and compliance.
Within Tennessee, Herndon has been active in civic leadership, serving three governors in various roles, including chairman of the Tennessee Arts Commission, chairman of the Tennessee State Museum Foundation and founding member and treasurer of the Tennessee Executive Residence Foundation.
He earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and B.A. from Washington & Lee University.
Beverly, Jackson join Ascension board
Dr. Shanna L. Jackson, president of Nashville State Community College, and Gil Beverly, senior vice president and chief marketing and strategy officer for the Tennessee Titans, are joining Ascension Saint Thomas’ board of directors.
Under Dr. Jackson’s leadership since 2018, Nashville State Community College has opened new campuses while investing in existing ones, established additional transfer pathways for graduates to enroll seamlessly in bachelor’s programs, and launched new ventures with Metro Nashville Public Schools and Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools to help students prepare for, attend and complete college.
Since joining the Tennessee Titans in 2019, Beverly has led several key initiatives, including partnerships with Metro Nashville Public Schools and Williamson County Schools to launch the state’s first Girls Flag Football leagues. Beverly created opportunities for Martin’s Barbecue, Slim & Husky’s Pizza and Party Fowl to open locations inside Nissan Stadium and launched “Battle of the Bands,” an opportunity for up-and-coming bands to play at halftime.
Southwestern adds Holmes as development/analysis VP
Southwestern Family of Companies has hired Dana Holmes as vice president of business development and analysis. Holmes will work with the new business development team and will be responsible for analyzing business operations, financial data, market research and competitor data to improve the company’s strategies, competitiveness and profitability.
During his more than 30 years in private practice as a corporate adviser, Holmes has filled a variety of roles for advisory firms and client companies across many industries and has served on multiple corporate boards for corporations and nonprofit entities. Before joining SWFC, Holmes was the managing member of 2nd Generation Capital, an affiliate of Kraft CPAs, and was a founder and managing partner of Phoenix Partners.
Holmes is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and earned an MBA from Florida State University’s College of Business.
Ingram Ind. promotes Dowell to executive vice president, CFO
Alfred Dowell has been promoted by Ingram Industries to executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Dowell will succeed Mary Cavarra as CFO for Ingram Industries as she retires after more than 25 years at the company. Cavarra will continue to work with the Ingram family office, as well as handling a variety of soccer matters. She also will remain on the board of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and serve as board chair-elect of the Nashville Symphony.
Dowell will continue to serve as co-chair of the companywide diversity, equity and inclusion steering committee.
Dowell joined Ingram in July 2013 as senior treasury manager. He has held the positions of assistant treasurer and assistant controller, and most recently served as senior vice president and controller.
Dowell also serves on the board of the Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee and has served as treasurer since 2020.
Clarus adds two to executive team
Clarus, which provides call management technology for physician offices, has hired Blake Butler as chief revenue officer and Sean Farrell as chief customer officer.
Butler previously was with Cecilia Health, where he served as vice president of enterprise strategy. He is a 25-year health care veteran having worked for Pfizer, McKesson, athenahealth and United Healthcare.
Farrell was previously chief revenue officer for Healthcare Leadership, where he provided fractional leadership to health care companies needing to build, expand or professionalize their organizations. Before that, he was vice president of sales and strategy for RDx BioScience.
Pierce Public Relations has 2 hires, promotion
Pierce Public Relations has added Amelie Smith as an account manager and Carson Grace Burchette as an account coordinator. Carson Brown has been promoted to the account manager.
Smith brings seven years of industry experience to the team. She previously was an account supervisor at MSLGROUP, a global communications agency, where she managed account activities for The Home Depot. Her experience also includes a tenure with FleishmanHillard in Atlanta.
She earned a degree in marketing and public relations from The University of Alabama and her master’s degree in teaching from The University of Georgia.
Burchette manages social media, content creation, graphic design and email strategy and development across multiple accounts. She previously served in an account coordinator role at Bais Creative & Public Relations, a boutique PR firm in Tampa. She earned a degree in media and communications from East Tennessee State University.
Brown joined Pierce PR in early 2021 and most recently served as an account coordinator. She earned a degree in advertising with a minor in business administration from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.