Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly has appointed Anthony Byrd to the position of city court clerk. Byrd served for more than 20 years at the Hamilton County Criminal Court clerk’s office before resigning from his position in 2017 to become a Chattanooga city councilman.
During his time as an elected lawmaker, Byrd chaired City Council’s Public Safety and Economic and Community Development committees. He advocated for public safety reform and helped to form the city’s Police Advisory and Review Committee as part of those endeavors.
Byrd has been active in public service for many years. He received a key to the city at age 13 from then-Chattanooga Mayor Gene Roberts for musical contributions to the community as part of singing group The Happy Clowns. Byrd used music to take a stand against drug addiction and signed a record deal to continue this mission worldwide.
Byrd will resign his council seat in order to take on his new assignment, which will become effective once the City Council confirms it.
Erlanger Foundation Board welcomes 5
Rachel Allred, John Clark, Donna Elle Harrison, Marcus Cade Johnson and Dr. Rachael Tindell have joined the Erlanger Health System Foundation Board for 2022.
Allred is a lawyer with Electric Power Board of Chattanooga, where she manages and negotiates EPB’s contracts and insurance.
After her son was born with a congenital heart defect requiring surgery and routine care, Allred discovered a passion for connecting with patient families and raising awareness for Erlanger’s needs.
Allred currently serves on the Forrest Spence Fund Chattanooga Advisory Board and the Children’s Miracle Networks Hospitals Corporate Pillars Committee for the Erlanger Foundation.
Clark has over 30 years of experience as a real estate developer. He focuses his work on downtown Chattanooga and has served as the lead developer on many projects in the retail, office and multifamily spaces.
Clark has served as a volunteer leader for many organizations including the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, Bright School, Rotary Club, the University of the South: Sewanee, Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprises and the Carpenters Fund.
Harrison has 20 years of experience leading teams in marketing, brand awareness and media relations. She currently works with Chattanooga Tourism Company as the director of cultural tourism and inclusive marketing and is a media personality and producer for Brewer Media Group.
Johnson is a business lender at Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union, where he serves on the Inclusion Council and Mentorship Committee. He also serves as youth football coach for the River City Bills and on the boards of The Urban League Chattanooga, LAUNCH and The Northside Neighborhood House.
Johnson is a graduate of Urban League’s 2018 Inclusion by Design Leadership Program and Leadership Chattanooga.
Tindell is a board-certified and fellowship-trained neonatologist at Children’s Hospital at Erlanger. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and completed medical school at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. Tindell completed her residency and fellowship at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.
Tindell and her husband, a local veterinarian, are both Chattanooga natives.
Former mayor named to broadband role at NTIA
Former Chattanooga mayor Andy Berke is joining the National Telecommunications and Information Administration as a special representative for broadband. Berke served as the mayor of Chattanooga from 2013-2021.
Under his leadership, Chattanooga established several digital equity programs, including Tech Goes Home, which offers technology training, skills and access to families.
At the end of his term, Berke led a partnership to provide high speed broadband at no cost to every family with a child on free or reduced lunch, making Chattanooga the first community in the country with such a benefit.
A native of Chattanooga, Berke served in the Tennessee Senate for five years before becoming mayor.
Culkeen to participate in media diversity program
WTCI President and CEO Bob Culkeen will be a part of a national class designed to explore opportunities and challenges related to diversity, equity and inclusion in the public media sector.
Culkeen joins public media leaders from across the country to participate in the Public Media Diversity Leaders Initiative, a program of the Riley Institute at Furman University.
Culkeen is one of 33 individuals to be a part of the initiative’s third cohort. Participants will take part in an interactive curriculum comprising scenario analyses and other learning tools that support public media leaders in their efforts to apply diversity, equity and inclusion principles to behaviors, systems and cultures within their organizations.
Upon graduating from the program in June, members of the class will help identify future program participants.