Commission Members
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Ambassador Victor H. Ashe The Honorable Victor Ashe is the 24th United States Ambassador to Poland. He was elected mayor of Knoxville, TN in 1988 and served until 2003, making him the city's longest serving mayor. He also served six years as a Tennessee state representative (1968 to 1974) and nine years as a state senator (1975 to 1984). Ashe has been appointed by former U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama to federal positions. Among his accomplishments, Ashe authored Tennessee's Natural Areas Preservation Act and Tennessee's Presidential Primary Law. As Knoxville's mayor he tripled the size of the city's park system and added 40 miles of greenways. He was formerly president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors as well as president of the Tennessee Municipal League. Ashe received a bachelor of arts degree in history from Yale University. He received his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. He currently serves on the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors. |
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Charles W. Cook, Jr. Charles W. Cook, Jr. became chairman of the Board of Nashville Bank and Trust Co. in January 2010. He has more than 50 years experience in the Nashville banking industry, serving in various executive offices for Nashville Bank and Trust Co., SunTrust Banks, Inc., Union Planters Bank of Middle Tennessee, and Third National Bank and its parent, Third National Corporation. Cook also served as Director of Finance for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County for two years. Cook is an alumnus of Yale University with a bachelor of science degree in industrial administration. He graduated from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University and attended the Harvard University Business School, where he took courses on managing corporate planning and control. Active in community affairs throughout his career, Cook currently serves as chairman of Nashville Public Television Corp., president of the Tennessee Historical Society and finance chairman for the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee's Finance Committee. He is also the former chairman of the United Way Campaign for Middle Tennessee, Salvation Army Nashville Advisory Board, St. Luke's Community House, The PENCIL Foundation, Centennial Medical Center, and president of the Nashville Exchange Club. He was a Commissioner of the Metro Social Services Commission for 15 years. |
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Mary Ann Clark Mary Ann Clark has served as a leader and entrepreneur in the West Tennessee area. She has more than 40 years experience owning and independently operating a variety of businesses, contributing to local campaigns and actively supporting her community. Clark began her career in Memphis, where she owned and operated Mr. Roberts Nob Hill, her first small business, but soon relocated to Jackson and began her lifelong career in real estate. She started as an affiliate with Hamilton Hills Realty. Afterwards, she joined partners with Coldwell Banker Stonehaven Realty, where she acted as owner and broker in acquisitions of commercial and residential real estate; concurrently, she founded J & M Construction Company, specializing in the design and construction of custom homes. In 1985, Clark began a new adventure with a company she founded, Laundry Unlimited, LLC, a garment processing plant. She managed all aspects of sales and operations, including human resources, and financials. Then, in 1998, she opened an Atlanta Bread Company franchise, where she was the sole proprietor and chief of operations. Currently, Clark is an investor in the local economy through various real estate development projects. |
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Nancy De Friece Nancy De Friece is the president of Landmark Realty, Inc., a company she founded as sole proprietor in 1977. She also serves as a managing partner of Sikorski-De Friece Properties. As a successful businesswoman and longtime patron of the arts, De Friece has lent her expertise to several nonprofit organizations. A former chairman of the Tennessee Arts Commission, she has also served on the boards of the Bristol School of Ballet and the Appalachian Girl Scout Council. She was a charter member of the Hands On! Regional Museum and served on the museum's Business Council. She currently serves as an Advisory Board Member of "The Birthplace of Country Music" and as a vice president of the Barter Theatre Foundation Board of Trustees in Abingdon, Virginia. As well as being active in many other community organizations, De Friece has received numerous honors, including the "Arts in Tennessee Award" presented by International Storytelling Center and Bristol Regional Medical Center's Citizen's Hall of Fame. De Friece attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She was recognized in 2000 as an Honorary Alumni of East Tennessee State University in Bristol, Tennessee and served on the King College Board of Trustees in Bristol, Virginia from 1994 to 2002. |
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Deborah S. DiPietro Deborah S. DiPietro worked for many years as an environmental educator at the Anita Purves Nature Center in Urbana, Illinois. Following a move to Gainesville, Florida, she began working at the Florida Museum of Natural History, serving as a docent for four years and then as school programs coordinator for five years. In 2006, she and husband, Joe, moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. DiPietro has always been a volunteer, working primarily as a tutor and mentor for at-risk children and teens. Currently she volunteers as a math tutor for adult learners in a GED program. An active member of the Smoky Mountain Quilters Guild, DiPietro is also a member of the East Tennessee Historical Society, the Knoxville Zoo, Friends of the University of Tennessee Gardens, and Friends of Literacy. DiPietro earned a bachelor of science degree in zoology and a masters in forestry with an emphasis on ecology education from the University of Illinois. |
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TN Speaker of the House Beth Harwell The Honorable Beth Halteman Harwell is a Tennessee state representative from Nashville, and was the chairman of the state's Republican Party from 2001 through 2004. A member of the Tennessee House of Representatives since 1988, Harwell is the chairman of the House Commerce Committee. Harwell has been an active member of the Nashville community. She has served as a member of the Tennessee State Museum Foundation Board, Centennial Medical Center Board of Directors, the David Lipscomb University Advisory Council, Senior Citizens Board of Directors, and is an alumna of Leadership Nashville. She has also served on the Board of Directors of Agape, the American Heart Association, the Exchange Club Family Center, and Middle Tennessee Mental Health Center. Harwell received her bachelor of arts from Lipscomb University, a masters from George Peabody College and a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University. She has been an assistant professor of political science at Belmont University. Recently, Harwell received the Guardian of Small Business award from the National Federation of Independent Business. She has also received the Harold Bradley Legislative Leadership Award, American Cancer Society's Legislative Leadership Award, Champion for Children Award, and Nashville Junior League's Legislator of the Year award. |
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Senator Douglas Henry The Honorable Douglas Selph Henry, is a State Senator for the 21st Senatorial District of Tennessee, which comprises the western and southern parts of Nashville and Davidson County. He keeps a private law office in Nashville. He was formerly assistant vice president and Counsel, Insurance for the National Life and Accident Insurance Company. Henry attended school in Nashville and Chattanooga, later graduating from Vanderbilt University. He holds the B.A. and LL.B. degrees from Vanderbilt and the designation of CLU from the American College of Life Underwriters in Philadelphia. He is a member of the Nashville, Tennessee and American Bar Associations and of the Association of Life Insurance Counsel. He was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives in the 79th General Assembly. Since two and one-half years of service in the Army in World War II, he has been a member of the American Legion. He also belongs to the Kiwanis Club, other organizations and the YMCA which he has served in different capacities. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Tennessee Historical Society and the Tennessee State Museum Foundation Board. He was chairman of the Southern Legislative Conference for 1987-88. He currently serves on the Executive Committees of the Southern Legislative Conference and of the Council of State Governments. Henry has been a member of 87th through 106th General Assemblies. His committee assignments in the 106th General Assembly include: vice-chairman, Committee on Finance, Ways and Means; chairman, Joint Select Committee on Business Taxes; member of the General Welfare Health and Human Resources Committee; Fiscal Review Committee; Council on Pensions and Insurance and TACIR. |
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Representative Steve K. McDaniel The Honorable Steve K. McDaniel has been a member of the Tennessee General Assembly representing House District 72 since 1988. He was elected by his colleagues to serve in the Republican leadership, fulfilling two terms as Caucus Chairman, and three terms as House Minority Leader. He is currently Deputy Speaker. McDaniel, with a long and distinguished career as a public servant, currently serves as City Manager for the City of Parkers Crossroads, where he resides with his wife, Phyllis. He is also a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council, the nation's largest legislative member organization and served as the organization's 2001 National Chairman. McDaniel has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the UDC's Jefferson Davis Award; the SCV's Robert E. Lee Award for Heritage Preservation and its Distinguished Service Medal; the Dr. Frank Vandiver Award, presented by the Houston Civil War Roundtable in Houston, Texas, and the Civil War Preservation Trust's State Leadership Award in 2002. A dedicated supporter of battlefield preservation efforts in Tennessee, McDaniel served four terms as President of the Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association. He was appointed by Governor Phil Bredesen to the Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, which is planning the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States. McDaniel, a past president of the Henderson County Historical Society, served as the inaugural president of the Parkers Crossroads Battlefield Association in 1993 and now holds the position of historian. |
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Evadine O. McMahan Evadine McMahan is the former museum educator, chief curator of education, administrative assistant, director of administration, and, in 1996, was named the deputy executive director of the Tennessee State Museum. In this position she supervised the day-to-day museum operations, prepared the budget document and supervised the expenditure of funds allocated to the museum; facilitated personnel procedures; initiated and implemented policy and procedure review and enforcement; assisted with fund-raising activities; was project manager for the Bicentennial Trucks and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame; was a liaison to the National Civil Rights Museum, and other state departments, as well as the general public. She retired from state government in 2005. McMahan has a B.S. degree from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in education with majors in mathematics and English, and pursued graduate studies at Cleveland State and at Columbia State. She has taught in both the Knoxville and Chattanooga public schools in Tennessee and in Fairfax County Schools in Virginia. She recruited and trained volunteers to assist "living history" farms and areas of McLean, Virginia, the National Gallery of Art, and Washington, D.C.'s Smithsonian Institution. McMahan is a former member of the American Association of Museums, the American Association for State and Local History, the Southeastern Museum Conference, the Tennessee Association of Museums, and the InterMuseum Council of Nashville. |
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Johnny B. Moore, Jr. Johnny B. Moore, Jr. is the president & CEO of SunTrust Bank Memphis. With more than 17 years of banking experience with SunTrust and National Bank of Commerce (its predecessor institution), Moore previously held the position of executive vice president and head of the Memphis Region's Commercial Line of Business, which included Metropolitan Lending, Asset Based Lending, and Commodity divisions. His previous experience at National Bank of Commerce included division head for Metropolitan Lending, Asset Based Lending and the Commodity/ International Division, relationship manager in Metropolitan Lending, division head for Home Equity Lending and Community Reinvestment Act compliance officer. Prior to entering the banking business, Moore was a senior accountant at Ernst and Young and earned his CPA certification. Moore, a 1988 graduate of Rhodes College, holds a bachelor of arts in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting. Active in the community, Moore currently serves as a board member of the Memphis & Shelby County Port Commission, Center City Revenue Finance Board, and the boards of directors for Rhodes College, Orpheum Theatre, Leadership Academy, National Civil Rights Museum, and Hutchison School. He is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (a community service fraternity) and the Southwind Neighborhood Association. In 2006, he was recognized by the Memphis Business Journal as one of Memphis's "Top 40 Under 40." |
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Representative Charles Michael Sargent, Jr. The Honorable Charles Michael Sargent represents District 61 in the House of Representatives in the 107th General Assembly, a position he has held since the 100th General Assembly. He currently serves as the Chairman of House Finance, Ways & Means, as well as a member of Commerce, Insurance and Pensions, Ad Hoc Rules, and Business Tax Committees. He was honored as the Outstanding Representative of 2001 by The County Officials Association of Tennessee and was named Honored Legislator of the Year by the Tennessee Development District Association for 2002 and 2003. Sargent was the Republican Caucus Chairman of the 103rd and 104th General Assemblies, and served as Republican Whip during the previous four years. Sargent is an active member of Williamson County Chamber of Commerce, the Williamson County Republican Party, and the Brentwood Chamber of Commerce. He is a Williamson Medical Foundation Board Member, and a court-appointed special advocate board member. He was Williamson County Commissioner from 1990-1996, and was part of the Williamson County Planning Commission from 1989-1997. He is also the co-founder and past president of Grassland Athletic Association. A graduate of Pace University in New York, Sargent served in the United States Navy from 1965-1967 in Corpus Christi, Texas. He relocated to Nashville in 1970 and moved to Franklin in 1977. A manager of John Hancock Insurance from 1967-1975, Sargent has been a State Farm Insurance agent for the past 36 years. |
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Dr. Jan Simek Dr. Jan Simek became interim president of the University of Tennessee on July 1, 2009, after having served as acting president since March 2009. He is to be interim president for a period of up to two years. In his current role, Simek serves as the chief executive officer of a statewide university system which includes the flagship campus in Knoxville, campuses in Chattanooga and Martin, the Health Science Center in Memphis, the Space Institute in Tullahoma, and statewide institutes of agriculture and public service. As president, Simek serves as chairman of the UT-Battelle Board of Governors and as a member of the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees. Most of Simek's academic career has been spent at UT Knoxville, where he has served in various academic and administrative posts with the campus during a 25-year period. He previously served as interim chancellor of UT Knoxville and prior to that was chief of staff to former Chancellor Loren Crabtree from 2005 to 2008. Simek is an archaeologist who came to UT in 1984 as an assistant professor of anthropology. He is now a Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and has served as head of the Anthropology Department, the interim director of the School of Art and interim dean of the College of Architecture and Design. After receiving a bachelor's degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz, Simek earned a master's and doctorate from the State University of New York in Binghamton. He has carried out archaeological research in France, Italy, Croatia, California, and Tennessee and received research funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society, and the French Ministry of Culture. He has held visiting faculty appointments at the University of Washington, the University of Bordeaux, France, and the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. |
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Anna Durham Windrow Anna Durham Windrow is a veteran government relations specialist who has spent more than 20 years working for a variety of businesses, local governments, and other organizations. After beginning her career in the public affairs and marketing department at First American National Bank, she moved quickly into the political arena. Her career in the political world began with Senator Jim Sasser of Tennessee, who later became ambassador to China. Working in the Senator's 1982 campaign as a fundraiser, she next moved to Sasser's personal Senate staff. Later, she became executive director of the Tennessee Building Material Dealers Association. After merging the Association with a similar group in the Carolinas, Windrow joined the Nashville law firm of Bass, Berry & Sims PLC, working in their government relations practice with former Lieutenant Governor Frank Gorrell. She spent 10 years at the firm representing business clients and their interests before the Tennessee General Assembly. While at the firm, she and several other lobbyists co-founded the Tennessee Lobbyist Association and she later served as president of the group. In the mid-1990s, Windrow founded Anna Windrow & Associates, a new government relations practice. She closed the company in 2002 in order to join Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen's new administration as Senior Advisor to the Governor. Windrow, who resigned from state government in December of 2004, reopened her government relations practice as The Windrow Group in January of 2005. |
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Lois Riggins-Ezzell Since 1981, Lois Riggins-Ezzell has served as executive director of the Tennessee State Museum and its oversight properties, which include the Military Branch in the War Memorial Building, and the historic Tennessee State Capitol. She manages the museum's $3.9 million general operating budget and serves as an ex-officio member of the Douglas Henry State Museum Commission, the institution's governing authority. A Nashville native, Riggins-Ezzell received her undergraduate degree at Belmont College and pursued graduate work at Western Kentucky State University. During her extensive career, she has been an educator, historic site interpreter, curator, and public administrator and was one of five national grant recipients of a one-year sabbatical in museum studies at George Washington University and the Smithsonian Institute. A graduate of the 1988 class of Leadership Nashville, she has served as an ex-officio member of the Capitol Restoration Committee; as a commission member of Homecoming 86; as one of five key note speakers selected from the national membership of the American Association of Museums to present to the International Council of Museums Education Committee (ICOM/EDCOM) meeting in Washington, D.C.; and as a member of the commissioning committee of the U.S.S. TENNESSEE (Trident Nuclear Submarine). She has participated on numerous boards and committees of the American Association of Museums (AAM) and was selected as one of only 14 museum administrators in the nation to serve on the AAM Museum Review Assessment Committee and the National Education Committee of the American Association for State and Local History. She was a member of the host committee for a visit of the United Nations to Tennessee, and was a Lears Magazine "Woman for Lears." She is a member of the American Association for State and Local History, the Southeastern Museum Conference, the InterMuseum Council of Nashville, and a board member of the Documentary Channel (DOC). |
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Sharon Dennis Sharon Dennis is the executive assistant to the museum's executive director and serves as the staff liaison to the Douglas Henry State Museum Commission. She is the founder of Music Row's Dennis Management and 1002 Productions, as well as a former faculty member at IBI Global, an entrepreneurial educational forum. She is also a former Parish Administrator, and a professional touring musician. |