The board of directors for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga has selected Michael Brown to serve as the nonprofit’s next president and CEO.
Brown’s background includes operations, financial stewardship and strategic development. He will follow Jane Kaylor, who plans to retire June 1 after 32 years with Ronald McDonald House.
Brown’s nonprofit career began 30-plus years ago when he created a summer youth camp in his hometown of Nashville. Brown also planned and initiated the merger and acquisition between a local Tampa office and the National Epilepsy Foundation, created and implemented a YMCA swimming program and led a Tampa initiative to support under-resourced Title 1 schools with free after-school programming.
Brown holds undergraduate degrees in behavioral science and theology, two master’s degrees in nonprofit management and leadership and is nearing completion of a doctorate in human and social services.
Hassevoort director of UTC Men’s Chorus
UTC’s Department of Performing Arts: Music Division has tapped Darrin Hassevoort to be the new director of the men’s chorus.
Hassevoort currently serves as the chorus master for the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, artistic director for Choral Arts of Chattanooga and director of music and worship at First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga.
His professional resume also includes serving as dean of Humanities and Fine Arts at Chattanooga State Community College, where he was a tenured associate professor of music.
Hassevoort made his operatic debut in the role of Borsa from Verdi’s Rigoletto and has performed roles in “Madama Butterfly,” “The Barber of Seville,” “Lucia di Lammermoor,” “Faust,” “Amahl and the Night Visitors” and “La Boheme.”
Hassevoort has sung with numerous companies including the Bob Jones University Opera, The Classic Players of South Carolina, Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, The Chattanooga Theatre Centre and Cartersville Opera.
Other career highlights include being a featured soloist in the Chattanooga Symphony’s Christmas Pops “It’s a Wonderful Night’’ concert with conductor Bob Bernhardt, working with musician Harry Connick Jr., and performing in many oratorio productions.
Hassevoort has also soloed with Choral Arts of Chattanooga and the renowned Atlanta Sacred Chorale.
Harthorn joins East Ridge Residence
Former NewsChannel 9 morning anchor Jessica Harthorn is the new community relations director at independent living community East Ridge Residence.
Harthorn was an anchor for WTVC NewsChannel 9’s “Good Morning Chattanooga.” She spent 16 years in television news. Her journalism career took her across the country, where her work was recognized with several prestigious awards in Wyoming, New York, Michigan and Tennessee.
She was also an adjunct professor for the department of communication at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Harthorn is a Michigan native and graduate of Calvin University in Grand Rapids.
EPB promotes Keel to senior VP
EPB has promoted Ryan Keel to senior vice president of technical operations, a position that makes him responsible for all business systems, technical operations and facilities for both EPB Energy and EPB Fiber Optics.
Keel played a critical role in the initial design and build out of EPB’s Smart Grid. In 2014, EPB promoted him to vice president of technical operations with responsibility for technical operations for both EPB Energy and EPB Fiber Optics.
In addition to leading efforts to utilize Chattanooga’s Smart Grid to reduce the incidence and duration of outages by as much as 55% each year, Keel is spearheading an upgrade of EPB’s fiber optic system to next-generation network technology.
Keel is a native Chattanoogan who earned a degree in electrical engineering from Tennessee Tech University and an MBA from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
He began working at EPB in 1997 and has held positions in engineering, operations and leadership.
Lipski joins staff of Jewish Federation
Lorraine Lipski has joined the staff of the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga as director of social services.
With a background in case management, Lipski has worked for the Volunteer Behavioral Health Care System, Maple Valley Food Bank and Emergency Services and Sound Mental Health in Tennessee and Washington.
Lipski has also worked with at-risk youth and adolescents in North Carolina and Mississippi.