Nationwide employment law firm Jackson Lewis P.C. has hired Kaya Grace Porter as an associate for the firms Nashville and Atlanta offices.
Porter joins Jackson Lewis from Littler Mendelson P.C. and focuses her practice on representing employers in all aspects of employment law, including litigation and preventive counseling.
She began her career as an attorney at a Tennessee general civil litigation law firm, where she defended clients in education law, employment law, premises liability and products liability matters. She actively maintains her Tennessee license along with her Georgia license.
Porter has been honored by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America and Super Lawyers. She is a member of the Nashville Bar Association and serves on its board of directors and is a two-time recipient of the Nashville Bar Association’s President’s Award for her work in diversity, equity and inclusion. She was selected to the Nashville Emerging Leaders Class of 2020.
She earned her J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law and her B.A. from the University of Georgia.
Cushman & Wakefield brokers start new firm
Three brokers formerly with Cushman & Wakefield’s Nashville office have founded a new commercial real estate brokerage firm – RealSite Commercial – with offices in Brentwood’s Maryland Farms.
The firm’s principals – Ronnie Wenzler, Michael Havens and Madison Wenzler – bring significant experience in commercial, industrial, retail and mixed-use real estate to the new venture. The team has closed hundreds of millions of dollars of real estate leases and sales throughout their careers in the Middle Tennessee market, including nearly half a billion dollars’ worth of transactions in the past two years alone.
The founding team also includes Kelsey Thomasson as senior director. Thomasson formerly served as senior research analyst for CBRE’s Southeast Region and as director of research for the Nashville office of Colliers International.
Recent transactions by firm principals in Middle Tennessee include the $56 million purchase and ongoing renovation of The Factory at Franklin, the $62 million sale of Airport Logistics Park Phase I and II and the $20 million sale of a 300,000-square-foot industrial park at 730 Freeland Station Road.
Overall, the three principals of RealSite Commercial have closed 382 real estate transactions valued at $493 million since 2021, and in the past decade have generated more than $1 billion in total sales/lease volume.
Educational Media Foundation adds to leadership team
Educational Media Foundation (EMF), the parent organization of leading Christian radio networks K-LOVE and Air1, has appointed three to its executive leadership team.
David Pierce has been named chief media officer and oversees content on both K-LOVE and Air1 radio networks and their accompanying music streaming platforms, as well as video streaming platform K-LOVE On Demand. He also oversees AccessMore, the ministry’s podcasting platform, as well as its publishing and film divisions.
Pierce joined EMF in 1991 after working at KLTY in Dallas and KSBJ in Houston. He recently was named chief partnership officer.
Matt Reynolds was named chief financial officer in September 2023. He joined the organization in 2022 and has served in roles of increasing responsibility, including director of financial analysis and treasury and vice president of finance.
Before joining EMF, Reynolds spent six years at Denison Ministries in Dallas serving in various leadership roles including chief financial officer. He is a certified public accountant and serves as EMF treasurer. Reynolds holds both graduate and undergraduate business degrees from Texas A&M University.
Bethany Davis is now senior vice president of communications, overseeing communications and marketing operations. Davis comes to EMF with 20 years of experience, including nine years as senior director of communications at Brentwood-based CoreCivic, Inc. Previously, she served as senior manager of public relations with Varallo Public Relations following nine years at WTVF.
She holds a master’s degree in business from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, and a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green.
Genesco names Gray president of Journeys
Genesco has appointed Andy Gray president of the Journeys Group, effective Jan. 3.
Gray will drive strategic growth for the company’s largest business group. He succeeds Journeys Group president Mario Gallione, whose planned retirement was announced in August.
Gray joins Genesco from Foot Locker, Inc., where he served as global president, overseeing brand building, business innovation and all product functions.
Gray joins a strong and dedicated Journeys leadership team, including Journeys’ chief operating officer Mike Sypert, who was appointed in August, and has been managing the day-to-day responsibilities for Journeys, Journeys Kidz and Little Burgundy’s business, including stores and websites in the U.S. and Canada.
Nashville Symphony hires chief financial officer
The Nashville Symphony announced today the appointment of Jenneen D. Reed as the organization’s new chief financial officer. Reed comes to the Nashville Symphony with more than 30 years of experience in executive finance, having served in leadership positions with Arthur Andersen, LLP, the American Cancer Society, the Tennessee Titans and, most recently, the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, where she served as the deputy finance director and chief accountant.
Reed’s nonprofit leadership and experience includes current and former board member positions with United Way of Middle Tennessee, Downtown Partnership, Tennessee Society of CPAs, Music City Grand Prix and US Figure Skating Championship. She has also served on committees and advisory boards for Ascension Saint Thomas, Lipscomb University, University of Tennessee and First Lutheran Church.
Reed was a finalist for Nashville Business Journal’s CFO of the Year Award in 2018, recipient of University of Tennessee’s Alumni Professional Achievement Award in 2018, a Forbes NFL Female Financial Scorekeeper in 2015 and recognized by Nashville Post as one of Nashville’s Most Powerful Women in 2011.
Reed will actively participate in structuring, developing, and maintaining the Nashville Symphony’s status as a sustainable major performing arts organization with a current annual budget of $28 million. The CFO is a strategic thought partner with the management team as well as with the executive and finance committees of the board of directors.
Reed is a graduate of the University of Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business with a degree in business administration.
OneOncology taps Flinn as chief scientific officer
OneOncology, a national platform for independent oncology practices, has appointed Ian Flinn, M.D., Ph.D., as chief scientific officer. Flinn will oversee OneR, OneOncology’s research network.
Flinn is the former director of Blood Cancer Research at Sarah Cannon Research Institute and has written more than 240 scientific manuscripts. He also led clinical research for the Sydney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins and was an associate professor of oncology.
He earned a Ph.D. in clinical investigations and conducted his clinical fellowship in oncology and hematology while at Johns Hopkins. Flinn will also serve as chief scientific officer at Tennessee Oncology.