Meet the Leaders Carrying Middle Tennessee's Future

2015 Nashville Emerging Leader Awards Winners

	Architecture, Engineering & Construction Ashley Smith Project Manager, Stantec Consulting Services Inc. In her role as project manager with Stantec Consulting Services, Ashley Smith focuses on water, wastewater and urban land design. She prepares proposals and contract documents, manages projects and ensures design compliance with regulatory agencies. In 2011, Smith served as president of the Nashville branch of American Society of Civil Engineers and currently serves as vice president of the Tennessee branch. She has been involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters for the past eight years and annually raises money for their Bowl for Kids’ Sake event. She is the president of the Vanderbilt Chi Omega House Corporation and manages three house employees, presides over a board of 12 people and is responsible for the six officers living in the house.
	Arts, Entertainment & Music Marcia Masulla Editor & Community Manager, 12th & Broad Within six weeks of starting at 12th & Broad, Marcia Masulla revamped their entire digital lineup by adding more than 14 new contributors to the editorial calendar. She also overhauled the quarterly print journal by creating a sophisticated new design and widened distribution. She is cofounder and managing partner of Nashville Fashion Week, and founder of Tiny but Mighty, raising awareness and funds for animal welfare and rescue groups in Middle Tennessee. Masulla was named to Nashville Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 in 2015.
	Business Services Dan Stephenson Founder, Chef & CEO, Dan's Gourmet Mac & Cheese Since its inception in 2010, Dan’s Gourmet Mac & Cheese has grown in popularity, and is now sold in 2,000 grocery stores in 35 states. In August 2014, his company was named the fastest-growing small business by the Nashville Business Journal after experiencing 2,598 percent growth over three years. He has been named to Nashville’s Top 30 Under 30 and Top 40 Under 40 lists, and received the Nashville Downtown Partnership’s Entrepreneur of the Year award. Stephenson is a member of the Entrepreneur Organization Catalyst program, and shares his business acumen with local elementary school students through Junior Achievement. He also serves on the Make-A-Wish Young Leaders board.
	Community Service & Nonprofit Corinne Bergeron Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, Jackson National Life Insurance Co. As Jackson National Life’s corporate social responsibility manager, Corinne C. Bergeron is responsible for managing the charitable giving and external community partnerships for the company. She develops university partnerships and manages government relations responsibilities, as well as assists with internal communications and media relations on special projects. Bergeron is a member of the 2011 Nashville Emerging Leaders class, was selected as one of the top 45 under 45 by the NAACP in 2008, and is a 2014 graduate of the Young Leaders Council. She serves on the boards of directors for Ronald McDonald House Charities, Williamson County CASA and Williamson, Inc.
	Education Sanjana Ballal Dean of Culture, Cameron College Prep As the dean of culture at Cameron College Prep, Sanjana Ballal facilitates school-wide positive behavior systems, coaches teachers on strong classroom culture and assists parents to help engage with and support their children’s education. She redesigned her school’s discipline system to move to a restorative system, rather than punitive. These changes resulted in a decrease of 40 percent of students involved in the disciplinary system to 15 percent. Ballal is a member of the 2015 class of Nashville Emerging Leaders. She is an alumna of Teach for America, having served in 2007 in New Orleans. She volunteers as a board member with the Davidson County Juvenile Court’s Foster Care Review Board and is an active member in Bunts Association of North America.
	Environment & Sustainability Janey Camp Research Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Vanderbilt University Janey Camp researches various topics, such as the impact of climate change and natural hazards on freight transportation infrastructure and the interdisciplinary study of coupled human and natural system factors leading to human migration in developing countries. Camp is highly involved in her community through serving as the education outreach chair for the Nashville branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers and as an advisory board member for local high schools. She is a member of many professional associations, such as the fifth Transit Citizen Leadership Academy of Middle Tennessee and the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers.
	Financial Services Aaron Dorn Senior Vice President – Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer, Avenue Bank As the senior vice president and chief strategy & marketing officer at Avenue Bank, Aaron Dorn is responsible for corporate strategic planning and special projects, management of all branding, marketing, and communications activities of the bank and oversight of the bank’s retail banking team and four branch locations. Additionally, he has served as a U.S. Marine as an intelligence officer in Afghanistan and is the recipient of the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal. He is also an alumnus of Nashville Emerging Leaders and serves on the board of directors of Rocketown, with assignments on the governance and finance committees.
	Government and Public Affairs Erin Holt Deputy Communications Director, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Erin Holt is responsible for writing speeches, coordinating press releases and developing web and social media content, and has created a video series to promote economic and community development throughout Tennessee. That series was nominated for a 2014 Mid-South regional Emmy. With a background in reporting, she was an anchor for the local ABC affiliate in Nashville. Gov. Haslam appointed Holt to the Keep Tennessee Beautiful Advisory Council in 2014. She serves on the board of directors for the Music City Youth Orchestra and enjoys playing violin with the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra.
	Hospitality & Tourism Claire Crowell Director of Operations, Marshall Family Foods In 2013, Claire Crowell was named director of operations for A. Marshall Family Foods Inc., which was named to the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in America. She manages operations for all the locations of Pucketts Gro. & Restaurant throughout the Middle Tennessee region and Chattanooga. Crowell serves as vice chair for the DISTRICT organization. Additionally, she serves on the board of directors for the city’s independent restaurant association, Nashville Originals, where she has been nominated to be 2015-2016 president. She is a Maury County Alliance board member and sits on their Chamber Council.
	Human Resources Kaylee Osland Partner/Executive Recruiter, Vaco Nashville, LLC Kaylee Osland specializes in financial and accounting permanent placements, as well as business development, in the finance division at Vaco. During her first year in this role, she received the National Rookie of the Year honor, and is now Vaco’s top-ranked financial executive recruiter. She has been recognized as one of Nashville’s Top 30 Under 30 by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and is an alumna of Young Leaders Council. Her involvement in Young Leaders Council led her to be selected for an internship on the board of Friends of Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Osland is a member of the Junior League of Nashville and has been selected as the 2014 Junior League liaison for the Young Leaders Council.
	Legal Services Joycelyn Stevenson Shareholder, Littler Mendelson, PC Joycelyn Stevenson is a shareholder at Littler Mendelson, P.C., where she represents local and national corporate clients on workplace issues dealing with race, sex and age discrimination, as well as labor relations. She was one of the first African-American women at her former law firm to make partner. She has been active in the law community for several years, serving as past president of the Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women. In 2013, Stevenson received the Rising Star award from Mid-South Super Lawyers, and was named a Nashville ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award recipient by Nashville CABLE. She is completing a two-year term as president of the Council on Aging of Greater Nashville, and also serves as the secretary of the board for the Nashville Farmers’ Market.
	Medical & Health Care Services Reggie Ramsey Director of Commercial Strategy, Healthways In his role as Healthways, Inc.’s director of commercial strategy, Reggie Ramsey works with organizations to help them successfully navigate the transition to a value-based health care system. He contributes to the development of enhancements for current wellness programs in order to optimize program efficiency, and has helped create and analyze the world’s largest data set on well-being. Ramsey is a certified personal trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine. He chairs the American Heart Association PULSE junior board and is a member of Leadership Health Care, as well as a board member of the LIVESTRONG: Young Leaders Cancer Council. In addition to completing numerous marathons, half-marathons and relays, Ramsey worked to bring the Ragnar Relay series to Tennessee – an event where teams of 12 compete in a continuous 197-mile relay event to raise money for charity.
	PR, Advertising & Marketing Emily Richard Director of Communications, Bridgestone Americas Emily Richard is the director of communications for Bridgestone Americas. She serves as a strategic partner to the manufacturing sites and communities, working closely with plant leadership and local resources to articulate and synchronize brand messaging, teammate communications, community engagement and crisis response protocols. Richard drives global corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability initiatives, supporting Bridgestone’s environment, safety and CSR teams. Previously, former Gov. Phil Bredesen appointed her to be the first marketing and communications director for Cover Tennessee, an insurance program for small business owners and the self-employed. She serves on the board of Renewal House and as a member of the marketing and public relations committee for the United Way of Tennessee.
	Real Estate Services Christie Bradley Affiliate Broker, The Wilson Group During Christie Bradley’s first year as a realtor, she received the Award of Excellence from the Greater Nashville Association of REALTORS® (GNAR). GNAR also recognized her as an industry leader early in her career, when its members asked her to sit on the Top Producer Panel. Bradley is a founding member and fundraising chair of Mended Little Hearts Nashville, serves on the family advisory board at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and leads the hospital’s heart defect support group. She is also an active board member of Historic Edgefield, a team organized to raise funds to support local elementary schools and beautification projects.
	Technology Rob Bellenfant CEO & Founder, TechnologyAdvice Rob Bellenfant has created dozens of businesses over the past 20 years, starting at age seven. He found success as the CEO of TechnologyAdvice, which has maintained average revenue growth of 40 percent over the past six years and cleared $7 million in 2014. His company was named to the top half of the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing companies for 2014. Bellenfant is active in Leadership Brentwood and as an affiliate advisory board member for NuCura Partners, LLC.