The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville (ABC) proudly announces the selection of 11 business professionals for the spring cohort of Arts Board Matching! This is the first of two cohorts in 2023, continuing ABC’s efforts to expand the reach of this instrumental program that prepares business professionals for nonprofit board service and matches them with Nashville-based arts organizations.
“As Nashville continues to evolve, it’s more and more critical for arts organizations to build strong relationships across industries for long term success and sustainability,” said Jaclyn Johnson Tidwell, Director of Operations & Strategic Initiatives of the Arts & Business Council. “We are thrilled these exceptional business professionals are seeking to champion the vital work of these arts organizations as future board members and celebrate the companies they represent for supporting them in this journey.”
The Arts Board Matching Class of Spring 2023:
Bud Akers
Ottie Akers Law Firm | Data Routers, Inc | Cardinal Hill Capital, Inc
Ottie “Bud” Akers is a lawyer and financial manager who has worked with and for a number of movie companies and musicians. He loves art and has represented several graphic artists and studios. He assisted a company of musicians to incorporate a chamber orchestra. He has written plays which were performed, and he wrote reviews of the arts for a small weekly publication.
Akers grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and practiced law in Birmingham for many years. He is still active, now working with a Los Angeles-based movie company and publishing movie reviews for his blog, Cinema Bebop.
Married for over fifty years to his college sweetheart, Akers has one daughter and one Granddaughter.
Haley Beckham-Shetty
Bex Interiors
Haley Beckham-Shetty is a talented and experienced Interior Designer with over 4 years in the industry. She received a certificate of Interior Design from The New School at Parsons, in addition to taking interior design courses at Mississippi State University. Her passion for creating beautiful and functional spaces is evident in her work, which has earned her a reputation for delivering high-end residential and hospitality designs that exceed her clients’ expectations.
Haley has a deep commitment to her craft and the design community, having volunteered for the Nashville Design Week. With a focus on creating spaces that invite people to create memories and experiences, she started her own interior design company, Bex Interiors, in 2022. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for pushing the boundaries, she is always exploring new ideas and trends in the industry. In 2023, she is launching a home decor line, offering her unique touch to homes everywhere.
Case Bloom
Tucker-Bloom
Case Bloom is a small business owner, event promoter, and creative professional based in Nashville Tennessee. Born on the East Coast but raised in Music City, he earned a degree from MTSU in business administration and marketing while frequenting record shops and promoting DJ events in the independent Nashville music scene.
He now runs a design studio Bloom Creative in East Nashville, where he manages the boutique brand he founded with his father, Tucker & Bloom. The brand focuses on organizational products and offers a line of high-quality record bags that are carried around the world.
Micah Bradley
Sherrard Roe Voigt and Harbison
Micah is an attorney with Sherrard Roe Voigt and Harbison and counsels clients on a range of business disputes and commercial litigation matters. She earned her Doctor of Jurisprudence from Vanderbilt Law School, where she received the Founder’s Medal for first honors. At Vanderbilt, she worked as the Senior En Banc Editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review and as an articles editor for the Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review. Micah graduated summa cum laude from Rollins College with an Artium Baccalaureus Honoris in English. Before joining Sherrard Roe Voigt and Harbison, Micah was a law clerk for the Honorable Eli Richardson in the Middle District of Tennessee.
Kate Giordan
Artist (Tennessee Art League, Membership Chair)
Born in the Midwest to a long line of creatives, Kate discovered her propensity for the arts in early childhood. Primarily self-educated, she finds inspiration in both the human form and in nature. Through oil, pastel and charcoal, she works to capture raw life experience, memory and ephemera. Dedication to enhancing the accessibility and relevance of fine art has led her to successfully complete terms as Co-President of the Northwest Area Arts Council (IL) board member of Daybreak Arts (formerly Poverty and the Arts). Her current non-profit work consists of service on the Board of Directors of Tennessee Art League and The Next Chapter Society Council.
She dedicates much of her spare time to opening creative opportunities and expanding arts access to all individuals across Middle Tennessee. Kate is committed to being of service to her organizations, its beneficiaries and inspiring others to give of their time and resources to their community. Kate currently resides in Nashville, TN with her family and connects with her community through her work with children, art and non-profit involvement.
Daniel Judy
Earl Swensson Associates
Daniel Judy is an architect with Earl Swensson Associates in Nashville, Tennessee. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he studied architecture at Kent State University in Ohio. He strives to provide for people’s needs through careful and inspired design for the built environment.
As a Project Manager, his experience with a variety of project types provides a robust body of knowledge that he brings to each client. He enjoys traveling overseas, has been to 20 countries, and lived in Florence, Italy and Seoul, South Korea. One of his goals is to travel to a new country every year.
Pastor Aaron Marble
Jefferson St Missionary Baptist Church
Pastor Marble has served as senior pastor of the historic Jefferson Street Missionary Baptist Church (Nashville, TN) since 2017. Under his leadership, the congregation has increased in membership, made significant technological and structural renovations, become debt free, created relevant ministries, and positioned herself to make meaningful community impact by clinging to the mission that she is “loved by Christ to love like Christ.”
He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration from Xavier University (Cincinnati, OH). He earned the Master of Divinity in Pastoral Leadership from Cincinnati Christian University. In addition to the pastorate, Pastor Marble provided two fortune 100 companies with human resource management and consultation focused on employee relations, benefits, and DEI. He is currently a lecturer in Church and Ministry for the Vanderbilt Divinity School. He holds several leadership positions and memberships in various organizations including the Interdenominational Ministers Fellowship, Life Member of the NAACP, Board Member Meharry-Vanderbilt Community Engaged Research Core, and Alpha Phi Alpha, Fraternity, Inc.
Pastor Marble counts his wife, Lydia, as his life’s greatest blessing. They are the proud parents of Noelle Grace and Eden Joy.
Mary Meeuwis
Nashville Mural Tours, LLC
Mary Meeuwis is the owner-operator of Nashville Mural Tours with more than five years of art tourism experience leading guests through an authentic and unique experience through Nashville’s street art, mural, and underground art scene. Holding a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and a master’s degree in Education, Mary leverages her unique academic background, experience as a teacher, and extensive travel experience to provide thought-provoking local and global approaches to her work. A veteran teacher and Tennessee native, Meeuwis, pronounced Mavis, (it’s Dutch), dedicated 14 years to public education in Tennessee. After her tenure as an award-winning teacher, she transitioned her teaching from the public school classroom to the public streets.
“I am a lover of all things street art related. I travel the world to see it. Mama to Jack and Milo, wife to Frank. I gather the most out of life through painting, piano, roller skating, and nature.” – Mary Meeuwis
LeAndra Crystal
Artist (Tennessee Art League, President, Board Member)
LeAndra developed a deep love for all forms of art early in life, and graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Art from the historic Fisk University in Nashville. Inspired by life, love, culture, the spiritual, and experience, she enjoys experimenting with different mediums and creating whatever is placed on her heart. Most recently she has expanded her heart into offering therapeutic art, private art events, and classes. LeAndra currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Tennessee Art League. LeAndra has work that can be seen in various locations across the US and Nashville.
Christopher Yarnell
Vanderbilt University Department of Biological Sciences (Unscripted, Grants Manager)
Chris is originally from a small town in Upstate New York called Watertown. He is the Grants Specialist in the Department of Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University and the Volunteer Grants Manager at Unscripted. He first got involved with Unscripted to become more involved in the Nashville improv community, and feels grateful to be part of such a positive, impactful organization.
Chris is a student of the Third Coast Training Center at Third Coast Comedy Club and a member of the Vanderbilt Community Chorus. In his free time enjoys attending music and theatre performances, practicing/performing improv comedy, and hiking. The most memorable hike he has done was the Summit Track at Rangitoto, a volcanic island just off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand. He is the loving father of two houseplants named Francesca and Felix.