We are excited to announce that MAM President & CEO Jonathan Torres has been selected to join SCORE’s seventh cohort of Complete Tennessee Leadership Institute. He joins an incredible team of leaders across the state of Tennessee in the year-long program aimed to equip individuals with strategies, tools, and knowledge to work towards eliminating barriers to postsecondary education.
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NASHVILLE – Thirty-two leaders from higher education, K-12 education, government, business, and nonprofit organizations have been selected for the seventh cohort of the Complete Tennessee Leadership Institute (CTLI), a joint initiative of the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) and The Hunt Institute. CTLI is a one-year program aimed at equipping community and state leaders from across Tennessee with the strategies, tools, and knowledge to play a leading role in eliminating barriers to postsecondary education and completion in Tennessee. In partnership with The Hunt Institute, SCORE will provide learning opportunities for the 2022-23 CTLI participants and support cohort members in translating that learning into action.
“In light of the recent drop in Tennessee’s college-going rate, the leadership of this next cohort is more important than ever in ensuring more Tennesseans are prepared for the workforce and a life of economic independence,” SCORE President and CEO David Mansouri said. “While Tennessee has made progress toward ensuring that students have access to and are prepared for higher education, the declining college-going rate numbers released earlier this year — a decline of nine percentage points over two years — show that the COVID-19 pandemic and a changing economy have had a deeply concerning impact on students and their families, particularly for students of color and economically disadvantaged students. The leaders in this cohort will drive the next wave of collective and community action in our state to ensure that every Tennessee student has the opportunity and supports needed to complete postsecondary education.”
Since 2019, SCORE has partnered with The Hunt Institute to not only engage deeply on solutions in Tennessee, but also to provide access to national perspectives, experts, and best practices for CTLI participants. Over the course of a year, cohort members will meet four times to expand their knowledge about postsecondary policy and practice, learn about best practices to improve postsecondary access and success, and build action plans to accelerate postsecondary success in their own communities. This diverse group of leaders will work to identify the barriers and equity gaps that exist in Tennessee’s postsecondary system and advocate within their own communities to drive change.
“The CTLI program has been a meaningful way of bringing together leaders across Tennessee to address issues in higher education, and I’m thrilled to see our partnership with SCORE continue in support of this program,” said Dr. Javaid Siddiqi, president and CEO of The Hunt Institute. “By addressing critical issues regarding postsecondary access and success, these collaborative efforts across state lines ensure future improvements in higher education.”
The participants chosen for this cohort bring varied expertise and perspectives to the program and were selected through a competitive nomination and selection process. The leaders selected for CTLI are:
• James Barbee, Director of Technology & Communications, Lauderdale County Schools
• Dr. John Barker, Deputy Superintendent, Strategic Operations & Finance, Memphis-Shelby County Schools
• Dr. Michelle Caldwell, Director of College and Career Success, Public Education Foundation
• Scott Campbell, Executive Director, Persist Nashville
• Kelly A. Chaney, President, Tennessee College of Applied Technology – Knoxville
• Ryan Crews, Director, Student Success Resources, University of Memphis
• Schanda Doughty, Director of Curriculum & Instruction, Grades 9-12, Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools
• Ryan Egly, President & CEO, Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce
• Dr. Kae Brock Fleming, Ed.D., R.T.(R), Dean, Health Sciences; Professor, Radiologic Technology, Columbia State Community College
• Dr. Melinda Gibbons, Professor of Counselor Education, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• Koedy B. Harper, School Administrator, Memphis-Shelby County Schools
• Jennifer Hill, Vice President, Policy and Programming, Nashville Public Education Foundation
• Dr. Tachaka Hollins, Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Tennessee Board of Regents
• Amy Humphrey, Director of Student Success and Advising, Walters State Community College
• Melissa Hunter, Director of Research, Tennessee Board of Regents
• Chad Jaynes, Dean, Business and Industry, Chattanooga State Community College
• Renee Kelly, Senior Advisor of ESSER, Knox County Schools
• Heidi Leming, Ph.D., Vice-Chancellor for Student Success, Tennessee Board of Regents
• Jessica Macey, Senior Director of Communication and High School Partnerships, tnAchieves
• Sherry Marlow Ormsby, Executive Director, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
• Teshanda R. Middleton, Interim CEO & Chief Program Officer, Communities in Schools in Memphis
• Laura Moran, Executive Director of Enrollment Services, Nashville State Community College
• Matt Nelson, Executive Director, College & Career Readiness, Metro Nashville Public Schools
• Dr. Jeffery Norfleet, Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies, Trevecca Nazarene University
• Marco Perez, Director of Finance and Operations, La Paz Chattanooga; School Board Member, Hamilton County Schools
• Kevin Reeves, Director of Strategic Initiatives, University of Tennessee
• Cara Robinson, Interim Executive Director of Academic Initiatives, Tennessee State University
• Alissa Roebuck, Executive Administrator and Executive Assistant to the President of Motlow State Community College, Motlow State Community College
• Claire Ruegg, Senior Policy Consultant, P3 Consulting LLC
• Serena A. Sayles, Director of Charter Schools, Tennessee Department of Education
• Jonathan Torres, President & CEO, Memphis Athletic Ministries
• Russell VanZomeren, Director of Fiscal Policy, Tennessee Higher Education Commission
“CTLI was an amazing opportunity to build a network with higher education leaders across the state who share the same goal of increasing the number of Tennesseans who are able to obtain a postsecondary credential,” said Mike Whitehead, president of TCAT Pulaski and a member of the 2021-22 cohort. “The experiences I gained through the cohort have better equipped me in my efforts to bring together education and industry partners to provide the training that will help our students succeed in the workforce and beyond.”
