|
 |
Meet Our Board
|
President
Don Brown
Don Brown, our president, has a BA with a major in business communications. Currently, he is a corporate trainer for J. D. Power and Associates which is headquartered in Orange, CA. His accounts include many Fortune 500 companies including GM, Mazda, Volkswagon and Marriott Hotels. Past positions have included sales manager for Gibson Guitars, training manager for Saturn Corporation, and trainer at the Disney Institute.
He is very excited about the future of Nashville in Harmony. "Not only are we a great sounding chorus, but the passion and dedication that each chorus member shows through at every practice and at each performance. I strongly believe that we're fulfilling our mission to "build community and create social change through music" in our city, but I look forward to what more we can accomplish in the future." His one hope is that he can make a difference as president to a chorus who has made such a huge difference in his life.
President-elect
Julie Reliford
Julie Reliford, our president-elect, has a BBA from Belmont University with a double major in international marketing and music business, and brings a range of experience in marketing and public relations to our board. Currently, she is the director of marketing for The Retirement Plan Company, headquartered in Brentwood, TN. Past positions have included marketing and public relations for a major record label, marketing and management of an 800-seat dinner theatre, and senior writer for a regional magazine.
She enjoys the challenges that come with serving on the board of directors. “I have been a member of Nashville in Harmony for two and a half years,” she says, “and I feel very strongly about the choir and about our mission. I’ve sung in church, school and community choirs all of my life, but there is something very special about Nashville in Harmony. Not only do we sing music that is both beautiful and challenging musically, but it has a message that is beautiful and challenging as well. Our mission, ‘using music to build community and create social change,’ really resonates with me, and I’m very excited about the opportunity to help further that mission.”
Julie will become our president in July '08. Previously, she served for a year as alto section representative.
Secretary
Laura Boggan
Laura Boggan is our '07-'08 secretary and holds a bachelor of arts in psychology with a minor in music from the University of Mississippi. While at Ole Miss, she played in symphonic, marching, and jazz bands, and in a wind ensemble that toured in England and Ireland. Also, she worked as a piano accompanist and served as an officer in the national band honorary sorority, Tau Beta Sigma. Laura went on to earn her master of science in psychology at the University of Memphis, with an emphasis in social development.
Laura worked for Pre-Sentence Investigation as a state probation officer in Memphis, Tennessee for five years. Since entering the mental health field, she has worked as an outpatient psychotherapist in Nashville and for the Mobile Crisis Team for Davidson County, which intervenes with individuals in psychiatric crisis. She served in middle management for behavioral admissions at Tennessee Christian Medical Center for many years, and currently does emergency triage at Centennial Medical Center's Parthenon Pavilion.
Historically having enjoyed working with people from diverse backgrounds and believing that the betterment of one group leads to the empowerment of many, Laura was drawn to NiH by the knowledge that it was established by gay and straight people together at a First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville ministry. She was able to bring music back into her life after a long hiatus through involvement with NiH in the spring of its first year, and continues to experience the inspiration of our message as it carries onward.
Treasurer
Ray Register
Ray Register is the 2007-08 treasurer and chair of our Finance Committee. He is happy to lend his skills for the benefit of the chorus.
Ray earned a BBA in accounting from Middle Tennessee State University and is employed by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation as a contract administrator. He has been with state government for 22 years and began his career conducting financial audits of nonprofit organizations for the Department of Human Services.
After singing in school and church choirs from grade school through college, Ray took a nearly twenty-year break before becoming a founding member of Nashville in Harmony. “I didn’t realize how much I’d missed it until I started singing again. Nashville in Harmony was just what I was waiting for.” The commitment to excellence and the constant focus on the NiH mission makes it a truly rewarding experience for Ray.
Member-at-large
Robbie Bryan
Robbie Bryan is currently serving in his third year as board member-at-large and is chair of the Publicity Committee. He served as chair for the By-laws Committee, which created our current by-laws, and also served as chair for the Outreach Committee.
Robbie earned a bachelor of music in voice and a bachelor of art in biology from Columbus State University. He has completed coursework at the masters level in voice, choral music and composition as well as in microbiology at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He currently works as the community relations manager for Barnes & Noble in Cool Springs, organizing events and developing strategic partnerships with literacy, educational, and arts organizations.
He is very excited about the continued growth and maturing of the chorus and its significant impact on Middle Tennessee. He hopes to continue developing and refining the infrastructure to maintain Nashville in Harmony for many years to come. "I can honestly say that few organizations exist that embody both my love for music and deep desire for peace and justice for all people, and Nashville in Harmony is the finest of the lot! It has been both an honor and pleasure to serve."
Member-at-large
Georgia L. Sims
Georgia L. Sims is making NiH history, serving as one of our first non-singing board members. She is co-chair of our Outreach Committee.
Georgia earned a BA in psychology and anthropology from Transylvania University, and minored in Spanish. She currently attends Vanderbilt University Law School, and will finish her JD in May 2009. she plans to practice law in a public interest or government position after graduation.
Georgia is inspired by the picture of social change that the music and members of Nashville in Harmony create daily. she finds the members' willingness to stretch themselves and try new things to be one of the most unique aspects of the organization. She says, "The individuals that make up Nashville in Harmony truly believe that they can create social change through their music. Their passion for their cause is unmistakable, and it is contagious!" She is honored to server Nashville in Harmony and believes there are many more excellent seasons to come!
Member-at-large
Terry Sweeton
Terry Sweeton serves as a member-at-large. He is co-chair of our Outreach Committee.
Terry was born in Winchester, Tennessee, and spent childhood in Maine and California. His family moved back to Tennessee when he was a teenager. Terry graduated from Lebanon High School, attended The University of the South as a Wilkins Scholar, and has studied art and literature in New York City and Nashville. His primary vocations have been in the fields of horticulture and environmental protection. Terry operated an organic farm for five years, was a manager at Greenpeace, a gardener at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens, the director of a Citizens for Smart Choices (which stopped the building a nuclear facility outside Nashville in 2003), and for the past 11 years, has owned and operated a landscape design company here in Nashville.
|
|
