A new chapter has opened in Chattanooga’s legal community with the launch of Abbott, Weiss, Faith & Darnell, a newly restructured law firm that combines decades of legal experience with a deep commitment to client advocacy.
The firm has welcomed two new named members, Brittany Thomas Faith and Zachery Darnell, and selected Joshua P. Weiss as its new managing member.
“We are excited to bring together this talented team under a shared vision of client-centered, forward-thinking legal representation,” the firm states in a news release.
The firm is expanding its services to include a full-service immigration practice group led by Faith, a nationally recognized leader in immigration law.
Faith brings experience in employment-based and family-based immigration. She currently serves as an elected director on the American Immigration Lawyers Association board of governors, and her work has earned numerous national honors, including the 2021 Joseph Minsky Young Lawyer Award from AILA, the 2019 ABA “On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers” award, and the 2023 University of Tennessee Volunteer 40 Under 40 Award.
Joining the firm as a member is Darnell, a litigator with a focus on multi-jurisdictional civil litigation, particularly in commercial and construction disputes. Darnell was named a Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2023.
With the restructuring, Weiss steps into the role of managing member. The firm said his guidance will support continued growth while maintaining its focus on high-quality, personalized legal service.
Abbott, Weiss, Faith & Darnell now offers legal services across a broad range of areas including criminal defense, civil litigation, immigration, construction and real estate law.
Information: www.abbottweiss.com; 423 265-8804
Historic land protected on Missionary Ridge
In a signing ceremony on Ridgecrest Drive, the city of Chattanooga and Trust for Public Land finalized the donation of five historically and environmentally significant land parcels on Missionary Ridge, securing their permanent protection.
Approved earlier this year by the Chattanooga City Council, the agreement officially transfers ownership of the five parcels valued at $107,800 across Districts 5 and 9 to the city. The sites will become part of Chattanooga’s Urban Ecology Preserve System and are safeguarded by restrictive covenants that prevent future development.
The properties include battlefield terrain from the 1863 Battle of Missionary Ridge, with visible Civil War entrenchments in the area known as Billy Goat Hill, and a mature hardwood forest bordering East Lake Park.
“These parcels are more than just open space – they hold an immense amount of this region’s unique history and deserve every measure of protection we can afford them,” says David Johnson, parks and schoolyards program manager for the Tennessee office of TPL.
The conveyance supports TPL’s broader mission to preserve landscapes tied to defining moments in American history, including Indigenous stewardship, the Trail of Tears and the Civil War. Preserving these cultural sites and enhancing access to nature were key factors in Chattanooga’s designation as North America’s first National Park City.
Trust for Public Land is a national nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to outdoor spaces, particularly in underserved communities. Since 1972, the organization has protected over 4 million acres of public land and created more than 5,500 parks, trails and schoolyards nationwide. In Tennessee, TPL has protected over 21,000 acres and brought nearly 30,000 people within a 10-minute walk of a park.
Information: tpl.org
Blue & Co. expands to Chattanooga market
Blue & Co., an accounting and advisory firm, has opened its newest office in downtown Chattanooga, marking a strategic expansion into Tennessee and deepening the firm’s commitment to serving clients across the Southeast.
Located inside the Pioneer Building at 801 Broad Street, Suite 640, the Chattanooga office strengthens Blue & Co.’s regional presence and positions the firm to better support the area’s business and health care communities.
“Our expansion into Tennessee reflects our firm’s dedication to building strong relationships and delivering personalized service that drives long-term success,” says Brad Shaw, managing director at Blue & Co. “We’re excited to join a community known for its entrepreneurial spirit and collaborative business environment. By establishing a local presence, our team will be better positioned to deliver proactive guidance and responsive service that helps organizations and individuals thrive.”
The Chattanooga office will be led by Todd Schiavone, a director with over 25 years of experience in health care consulting and reimbursement. Schiavone plans to build partnerships with local health care organizations and associations to help advance economic development throughout the region.
Joining Schiavone in Chattanooga are two senior managers: Meghan Campbell, who brings more than 20 years of experience in health care and reimbursement consulting; and Mark Daffer, with over 18 years of experience in accounting and health care audit.
Founded in 1970, Blue & Co. is an independent accounting and advisory firm with more than 550 professionals across 13 offices in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee.
UTC, city partner on research grants pursuit
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the city of Chattanooga have entered into a strategic research partnership designed to streamline how the two entities pursue and manage collaborative federal research grants. Formalized through an interlocal agreement approved by the Chattanooga City Council, the initiative is aimed at bolstering innovation, economic development and public impact.
The agreement simplifies coordination between UTC and the city by aligning resources, budgets and administrative processes, allowing for more efficient pursuit of competitive national research funding.
Siskin earns dual AHA certification
Siskin Subacute West has become the first skilled nursing facility in Tennessee – and only the second in the nation – to receive dual certification from the American Heart Association for its stroke rehabilitation and heart failure programs.
The national recognition underscores Siskin’s commitment to improving patient outcomes and quality of life, especially for individuals recovering from stroke or heart-related conditions. The AHA certifications are awarded only after a rigorous evaluation process that reviews a facility’s adherence to clinical standards, program management, patient education and coordinated care practices.
“We want to be trailblazers in the skilled nursing field and continue to use innovative methods to give our patients the best care,” says Ariel Ketchersid, facility administrator. “The American Heart Association has armed us with additional tools and acknowledged our success.”
Siskin Subacute West offers a tailored interdisciplinary therapy program that’s less intensive than inpatient rehabilitation but still designed to meet the complex needs of patients recovering from major medical events.
The American Heart Association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization focused on cardiovascular disease and stroke. Its certification process is a national benchmark for clinical excellence in post-acute care.
Information: www.siskinrehab.org/subacute-rehabilitation; 423-634-1277
UTC awarded mental $2.4 million health grant
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has received a $2.4 million federal grant to strengthen the pipeline of behavioral health professionals serving children, adolescents and young adults in underserved areas of Southeast Tennessee.
The four-year award from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will fund UTC’s newly launched B-HIP initiative – short for “Behavioral Healthcare through Interprofessional Training.” The project aims to expand and diversify the region’s behavioral health workforce while improving access to care in medically underserved and provider-shortage areas.
The grant comes through HRSA’s Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program, which supports team-based, interprofessional education for students entering behavioral health careers.
“We live in an area where we have a lack of mental health providers in general, but in particular for our rural folks, there’s a real lack of opportunity and services for mental health care,” says Dr. Elizabeth O’Brien, the project’s lead principal investigator and director of UTC’s School of Professional Studies.
Led by a six-member team from the UTC College of Health, Education and Professional Studies, B-HIP brings together faculty expertise from mental health counseling, school counseling, social work and school psychology. The collaborative model is designed to mirror the integrated environments where graduates are likely to work – such as schools, clinics and community agencies.
The faculty team includes: Dr. Kevin Doyle, mental health counseling program coordinator; Dr. Alexandra Frank, school counseling program coordinator; Dr. Amy Doolittle, master of social work program director; Dr. Bethany Womack, associate professor of social work; and Dr. Amanda J. Hardin, school psychology program director.
The B-HIP program will engage graduate students in hands-on learning opportunities designed to prepare them for high-demand behavioral health roles across an 11-county region. Each year, 12 students will be selected for a specialized traineeship that includes placements with local community partners, quarterly simulation symposia, annual conferences and enhanced mentoring.
A key focus of the grant is to reduce barriers for graduate students – many of whom are the first in their families to pursue higher education.
“Part of this grant was being able to support our students,” O’Brien says. “At UTC, we work with a lot of first-generation college students who then subsequently become first-generation graduate students. This grant creates an opportunity to find them scholarships during that internship year when they can’t work for pay because they’re working full time in the agencies that they’re serving.”
UTC will also use the funding to launch a digital learning library with video-based tutorials, simulation modules, and telehealth training that students across programs can access. The telehealth component is especially important for expanding care to remote or underserved communities.
In addition to student training, the grant will support expanded supervisor development and strengthen the broader regional pipeline of behavioral health professionals.
According to HRSA, the BHWET Program was created to improve access to mental health care by preparing professionals to work in integrated, interprofessional teams and to serve high-risk populations affected by trauma and behavioral health conditions.
The counties targeted through B-HIP include areas where the ratio of residents to mental health providers exceeds 3,000 to 1.
InternshipCha.com launches in Chattanooga
A new online hub is helping Chattanooga-area students land internships – and giving local employers a direct line to emerging talent.
InternshipCha.com launched this month as a community-driven platform dedicated to connecting students in Chattanooga and Hamilton County with internship opportunities close to home. Unlike national sites, InternshipCha.com aims to bridge the gap between local students and employers.
“We lose too much talent to bigger cities simply because students don’t realize what’s available to them right here,” says Wade Hinton, CEO of Hinton & Company. “Too often, access to internships depends on who you know. This platform changes that by making opportunities visible and accessible to all students – no matter their background or connections.”
InternshipCha.com was created in partnership with Chattanooga 2.0, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, Benwood Foundation, The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga and Hinton & Company. Organizations can post internships to the platform for free, and listings are shared through local colleges, career centers and community networks.
Early adopters like Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union (TVFCU) are already using the site to find interns who want to grow their careers without leaving the region.