Charleson Sherard Bell, PhD
Mid-South I-Corps Hub Director + CREST Director
Vanderbilt University
Charleson Sherard Bell, PhD, leads the Innovation Hubs and Workforce Initiatives within the Science and Technology Strategy team in the Vanderbilt Office of the Chancellor. He is a recognized leader seeking to establish an innovation ecosystem across the Mid-South to foster a prosperous innovation economy. Dr. Bell is Hub Director of the NSF Mid-South I-Corps Hub and serves as co-PI & State Director of the NIH Mid-South Research, Evaluation, and Commercialization Hub, both led by Vanderbilt. Additionally, Dr. Bell heads the NSF ExLENT Coalition Responsible for Excellence in Skills Training (CREST) workforce development initiative. As a Research Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Associate Director of the Medical Innovators Development Program at Vanderbilt School of Medicine, he is a parallel innovator, 3x serial entrepreneur, 10x published researcher, and 3x patented inventor with over a decade of experience launching ventures and new products. A ‘triple-Dore’ alumnus, Charleson is the first graduate student at Vanderbilt to receive venture capital investment to launch a startup during his graduate studies. Dr. Bell champions convergent innovation, believing it essential for enhancing empathy among innovators and ideating financially sustainable solutions for global challenges. His commitment fosters a collaborative culture, uniting instructors, innovators, mentors, founders, enterprise, government, and community in the pursuit of shared prosperity.
Elizabeth Williams Owner/Creative Director
New Hat Projects
Elizabeth Williams, native Tennesseean, is the co-founder and owner of New Hat Projects, a surface design studio specializing in custom artwork for wallcoverings & art installations. New Hat combines history & craft with uncommon technique to create conceptual decoration that transforms surfaces for brands & designers who want something they can’t find anywhere else.
New Hat has been featured in many publications from the New York Times to Domino Magazine. They were the founding design team for Nashville Design Week and most recently completed a 177′ long handwoven art installation made from tyvek wristbands at the Nashville International Airport. In her spare time, Williams can be found identifying mushrooms and plants with her partner on their nature trai lin Ashland City and generally dabbling in art, crafts & yoga as a personal practice.
Eric Cook
Director
So+Co Community Initiatives
Eric Cook is the Director of So+Co Community Initiatives, a philanthropic fund dedicated to facilitating arts education and professional training opportunities for underrepresented and emerging creatives in Nashville, Tennessee.
Launched in 2021 and self-funded by Mr. Cook and his husband Jason Somerville, So+Co Community Initiatives was born out of their mutual appreciation of the arts, and their recognition of the profound contribution that creatives make to the cultural fabric of the city of Nashville. Mr. Cook’s dual focus is on expanding access to Nashville’s existing programs, as well as working with national institutions to establish new programs for emerging artists to live, work, and create in the city.
Prior to his work with their fund, Mr. Cook was previously an employment defense attorney with over 15 years of experience litigating single-plaintiff, multi-plaintiff, and class action lawsuits in California state and federal courts, and before arbitration tribunals. Most recently, he served as Senior Counsel, Employment and Litigation, for rideshare giant Lyft, where he oversaw national operations and litigation strategy for the company’s portfolio of driver arbitration claims.
Mr. Cook holds a B.A. in political science, with a specialization in business administration, from the University of California Los Angeles. He also holds a J.D. and M.B.A. from Boston College. He and his husband currently reside in Oak Hill, Tennessee.
Shannon Sanders
Executive Director of Creative
BMI
In his role, at Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), Shannon Sanders signs and develops top talent while supporting BMI’s songwriters and publishers. He fosters both emerging and established songwriters through educational programs, networking, and showcase events.
With over 25+ years in the music industry, Sanders is a three-time GRAMMY, two-time Emmy, and Dove Award-winning songwriter/producer. He founded and served as Program Director of Nashville’s 102.1 The VILLE, a radio station dedicated to classic soul, R&B, and local artists. He has been co-musical director for India.Arie and the Fisk Jubilee Singers. In 2024, Sanders received the Academy of Country Music’s Lifting Voices Award.
A respected industry advocate, Sanders is active in organizations like the Recording Academy and Leadership Music. He also sits on the boards of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation (NCVC), the Country Music Association (CMA), and the Academy of Country Music (ACM) and National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM). In 2016, Black Enterprise named him one of its 100 Modern Men of Distinction.
An alumnus of Tennessee State University, Sanders was inducted into its Hall of Fame for Distinguished Alumni.
Don’t miss your chance to be the first to see what’s next for Nashville’s creative community!
Periscope Pitch + Artist Entrepreneur Showcase is the culmination of the Arts & Business Council’s Periscope: Artist Entrepreneur Training program, and is presented by Amazon. Program support is generously provided by FifthThird Bank, Piedmont Natural Gas, Southwest Airlines, and the Tennessee Entertainment Commission.