Once upon a time, somebody wrote that Knoxville is run by 12 white guys. For years after, lots of us tried to discern who were the 12 white guys. Lists were made. Then folks pondered whether Sharon Pryse and Cynthia Moxley could be designated as “white guys.”
Anyhow, now it’s 2025 and the Knoxville Chamber has a board of directors that has more than 12 members. And they’re only about half white guys.
Take a look:
Board of Directors – Officers
The Knoxville Chamber’s overall direction and policy stances are guided by our board of directors, chaired by Rob Stivers. A member of the board leads each of the organization’s five councils: Business Climate, Economic Development, Infrastructure, Innovation, and Talent.
• Rob Stivers, Market Executive, Regions Bank; Board Chair
• Dave Miller, Director of Strategy & Performance, First Horizon; Past Board Chair
• Kim Ciukowski, Senior Vice President, Treasury Management Manager, Pinnacle Financial Partners; Board Treasurer
• Mark Mamantov, Member, Bass Berry & Sims; General Counsel
• Nikitia Thompson, Owner/Broker, Realty Executives- Nikitia Thompson Realty LLC; Board Secretary
• Debbie Billings, Investor & Commercial Realtor, Heritage Realty; Vice Chair, Infrastructure
• Harry Boston, Founder, Boston Government Services LLC; Vice Chair, Business Climate
• Marty Brown, President and CEO, PYA P.C.; Vice Chair, Innovation
• Matthew Kittrell, Director, CGI; Vice Chair, Talent
• Jim VanderSteeg, President and CEO, Covenant Health; Vice Chair, Economic Development
Board of Directors – Members
• Justin Bailey, CEO, Realty Executives
• Andrea Baker, Sr. Vice President, Director of HR, Bush Brothers & Company
• Myles Baker, Director of Safety Risk and Environments, Clayton Homes
• Heather Beck, Vice President and Director of Communications, BarberMcMurry Architects
• Patricia Bible, CEO/Board Chair, KaTom Restaurant Supply Inc.
• Jim Biggs, Executive Director, Knoxville Entrepreneur Center
• Claudia Caballero, President and CEO, Centro Hispano de East Tennessee
• Chris Caldwell, CFO/Co-Chief of Staff, Knox County Government
• Kelli Chaney, President, TCAT Knoxville
• Allison Comer, Executive Director, Muse Knoxville
• John Cook, President & CEO, Cook Bros. Homes
• Alfonso Cruz, Owner, Spray-Net Knoxville
• Susan Dakak, President, Smart Views LLC
• Jamie Davis, Senior Vice President Fiber & Chief Technology Officer, Knoxville Utilities Board
• Stephen Deucker, Vice President & General Manager, Vision Center, Cirrus Aircraft
• Ali Fraley, Vice President of Learning & Development, Axle Logistics
• Dr. Shaun Gleason, Director of Partnerships ORNL
• Charles Houston, Vice President Business Development, Edison Electric
• Mike Howard, CEO Emeritus, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
• Justin Irick, CFO, Tombras
• Randy Jenkins, CFO, Partners Development
• Nadim Jubran, CEO, PIER Group
• Jamie Landis, Senior Vice President, Business Planning & Execution, Pilot Company
• Gay Lyons, Chief Development Officer, East Tennessee Historical Society
• Misty Mayes, CEO, Management Solutions LLC
• Bridgett McMahan, President, Besco
• Lauren Miller, CEO & Partner, MoxCar Marketing + Communications
• Jordan Mollenhour, Co-CEO, Mollenhour Gross LLC
• Dr. Susana Navarro, President/CEO, Navarro Research & Engineering Inc.
• Bert Robinson, Senior State Director, Government & Community Relations, TVA
• Grant Rosenberg, Chief Operating Officer, City of Knoxville
• Deana Sanabria, Director of Government Sales, Expoquip Inc.
• Matt Schaefer, President/CEO, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital
• Matthew Scoggins, Chief of Staff, Office of the Chancellor, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• Dr. James Shamiyeh, Executive Vice President and COO, The University of Tennessee Medical Center
• Richard Stair, Design Director, Texas Instruments
• Wes Stowers, Chairman, Stowers Machinery Corporation
• Abhijit (AV) Verekar, President/CEO, Avero Advisors
• Jenny Vipperman, President/CEO, ORNL Federal Credit Union
• Erin Wakefield, CEO, The Wakefield Corporation
• Dr. Patty Weaver, Vice President External Affairs, Pellissippi State Community College
• Patrick Wilson, President/CEO, Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority
In the news
Jaydeep Kolape
Elysia Mann
Jaydeep Kolape from the Advanced Imaging and Microscopy Center and
Elysia Mann, staff member of the UT School of Art, were awarded Outstanding Technical Support awards at the UT Knoxville College of Arts and Sciences Summer Jam.
This award recognizes staff members who exhibited extraordinary technical support in the college during the past academic year.
Carol Zachary Mitchell, coach of the Gibbs High School softball team, was named Coach of the Year by the TSSAA. Good things happen to teams that win the state tournament. Gibbs won this spring in 3A and three players were named to the Tennessee Sports Writers Association All-State Team: Lacy Keck, Malyiah Smith and Shelby Williams.
Gibbs High has won 12 state championships (records since 1982) and was runner-up four times.
