Kirsten Yates is the newly appointed senior adviser for communications and digital strategy for Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. Working with the mayor and his chief of staff, as well as other senior administration officials, Yates will lead the development and implementation of a communications strategy for the city of Chattanooga.
Yates will also manage the mayor’s office of communications.
Yates comes to the city with more than 12 years of experience leading communications for government programs, social marketing campaigns and crisis and emergency responses.
She spent more than eight years in various leadership roles at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including two recent deployments to lead communications for federal COVID-19 vaccine distribution programs and the agency’s vaccine effectiveness research efforts.
Before joining the Kelly administration, Yates was serving as deputy lead of the CDC’s new health care infection control education and partnership collaborative.
Yates earned a master’s degree in public health from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, where a large portion of her studies focused on how to effectively use communication and education principles to motivate positive behavior change in communities. She also holds an English degree from Vanderbilt University.
Chamber Chamber names leadership development director
The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce has named Toya Moore the incoming director of leadership development.
Moore will direct the administration of the Chattanooga Chamber Foundation’s suite of programs, which include Leadership Chattanooga, Young Professionals of Chattanooga, Protégé Chattanooga, the Leadership Chattanooga Alumni Association and ChattaNewbies.
Her work will focus on professional development and civic engagement among early career, mid-career and established professionals.
Moore comes to the Chattanooga Chamber from LBMC, where she served as talent development adviser, a role that tasked her with directing programs for leadership development as well as an executive coaching program.
Moore holds extended certification in DiSC, a personality and behavioral assessment tool used to improve teamwork, communication and productivity.
Originally from Cleveland, Tennessee, Moore served as director of The Acorn School at Vanderbilt University and as an instructional specialist for the District of Columbia Public Schools.
She has also worked with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga State Community College, Signal Centers and the United Way of Greater Chattanooga.
Moore earned her Master of Education in educational leadership as well as a Bachelor of Science in applied human science from East Tennessee State University. In 2020, Vanderbilt honored her with its Division of Administration Service Champion Award.
Kennedy joins Surgical Associates
Dr. Clark Kennedy has joined CHI Memorial Surgical Associates. Kennedy earned his medical degree from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis. He completed an internship and residency in general surgery at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga.
Kennedy is certified by the American Board of Surgery and is a member of the American College of Surgeons.
He will practice at CHI Memorial Parkway, located at 4700 Battlefield Parkway in Ringgold, Georgia.