Leadership Chattanooga prepares promising local professionals for prominent business, cultural and political roles through a 10-month leadership development program. Sponsored by the Chattanooga Chamber Foundation, Leadership Chattanooga provides comprehensive leadership training through:
- Monthly meetings exploring aspects of leadership and challenges facing our community
- Experiential learning opportunities including a police ride along
- Interaction with the community’s top leadership, including meeting with state leaders in Nashville
- Community service projects
Members of the 2016-17 class are:
Brandon Abney, J.P.
Morgan Chase Foundation
Paul Abraham, Chattanooga Times Free Press
Jessica Baker, Tennessee Valley Authority
James Brown, Cohutta Banking Company
Andrew Childress, Hamilton County Government
William Copeland, EPB Electric Power
Erin Creal, Chattanooga Room in the Inn
Melissa Woodall Curtis, Woodall Agency Insurance
Mario Duarte, Volkswagen Chattanooga
Jessica Dumitru, Art Creations
Ashley Ewing, Vision Hospitality Group, Inc.
H. Nicole Flowers, First Tennessee
Cortney Geary, Chattanooga Hamilton County RPA
Tanner Goodrich, Erlanger Health System
Jennifer Harper, Bridge Financial Planning, LLC
Jill Hartness, Boyd-Buchanan School
Jenny Hill, Papercut Interactive
Larissa Huskey, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
Zach Hutcherson, Henderson, Hutcherson & McCullough
Sarah Lane, Hamilton County Department of Education
Jeana Lee, Unum
Patrick Long, United Way of Greater Chattanooga
Douglas MacMillan, Baylor School
Daisy Maura-Smith, Parkridge Medical Center
Charles McDaniel, Legal Aid of East Tennessee
Charlie Milburn, True North Custom
Rebecca Miller, Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, PC
Charles Mitchell, Hamilton County Department of Education
Kathleen Morgan, Chattanooga Housing Authority
Emily O’Donnell, Public Education Foundation
Lori Quillen, The Benwood Foundation
Donyel Scruggs, Girls Inc. of Chattanooga
Mark Smeltzer, Chattanooga Police Department
Reginald Smith, Bethlehem Community Center
David Steele, Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce
John Sweet, Niedlov’s Breadworks, Inc.
Samantha Teter, Chattanooga Symphony & Opera
Chris Topel, Northside Neighborhood House
Amanda Varnell, Dish T’Pass Cooking School & Catering Co.
Kyle Wilson, Miller & Martin PLLC
“One of the core components of the program are small group projects that benefit our community,” said Diane Parks, Director of Leadership and Community Development for the Chamber.
“Every class comes up with different solutions and it’s exciting to see how each team project impacts the lives of people in our community in different ways.”
The Leadership Chattanooga class of 2015-16 completed five projects that impacted 1,042 students in 25 Hamilton County schools.