Bob Rolfe serves as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. The department is responsible for recruiting business and industry to the state, supporting existing companies, expanding economic opportunities across rural Tennessee and boosting the state’s overall economic prosperity. Rolfe has served as TNECD commissioner since March 2017. Under his leadership, TNECD Read More »

On July 1, 2017, Dr. Kevin D. Rome, Sr. became the 16th President of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to beginning the presidency at Fisk, Rome served as the 19th President of Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri from June 2013 to June 2017. The Fisk Jubilee Singers are vocal artists and students at Read More »

Kelley Henry is the supervisor of the Capital Habeas Unit (“CHU”) of the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Nashville. The Nashville CHU represents nearly half of Tennessee’s death row. She began her career in capital work as an intern for the Missouri Capital Punishment Resource Center in 1989. Kelley has represented indigent clients charged with capital crimes at Read More »

Alice Randall is an author, songwriter, educator, and essayist, known for her work exploring African-American history and identity. Her novels include Pushkin and the Queen of Spades, Rebel Yell, Ada’s Rules, and the New York Times Bestseller, The Wind Done Gone. A self-proclaimed “food activist”— committed to reforms that support healthy bodies and healthy communities Read More »

John Cooper is the ninth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Born in Nashville and raised in Shelbyville, John served as an At-Large Member of Metro Council from 2015 to 2019. John is married to Laura Fitzgerald Cooper, a former Constitutional law professor and they have three teenage sons and four Read More »

Dr. Adrienne Battle is interim director of Metro Nashville Public Schools. She has spent almost her entire career at MNPS, previously serving as a math, reading and language arts teacher; an assistant principal, academic principal and executive principal; a turnaround coach for principals of the district’s priority schools; and as a community superintendent overseeing all Read More »

Jennifer Turner is the new President and CEO of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Prior to coming to TPAC, Jennifer Turner served as the Executive Vice President and Managing Director for Segerstrom Center for the Arts, an acclaimed arts institution in Southern California with an annual budget of over $60 million and serving one million Read More »