25th Anniversary Gala
A Celebration of Making Tennessee a Better Home for All
Saturday, October 23 @ 6 pm
National Museum of African American Music
510 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203
NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES
Twenty-five years ago, Congress laid siege to the American ideal of equal justice under law by severely restricting the activities and funding of Legal Services programs across the country. Out of response to those restrictions, the Tennessee Justice Center was born. Community and bar leaders from across the state and different political persuasions came together to make sure the legal needs of vulnerable Tennesseans would still be met.
Since our founding, TJC has individually represented nearly 15,000 children and adults. We have worked tirelessly with those clients and other allies to advocate for policy reforms that benefit low-income Tennesseans statewide. We have enabled our donors’ investment to generate billions of dollars of benefits for millions of Tennessee families in need.
Every year, the Tennessee Justice Center takes the time to recognize the greatest champions of whole communities in our state as members of our Hall of Fame. These fearless fighters embody a commitment to the same mission that TJC has believed since 1996: that all our neighbors deserve the opportunity to thrive and that our laws, policies, and programs should be protected and improved to reflect these shared beliefs.
On October 23, 2021, TJC will celebrate our 25-year anniversary by honoring visionary leaders who have seen us through these years and remain some of the greatest champions of health equity and access in our state: Marvin Berry, Jr., Judge Richard Dinkins, and Dr. Robert Miller. Join us in celebrating these righteous beacons of hope and change, all while helping us in achieving our ultimate goal of dignity and opportunity for all.
2021 HALL OF FAME HONOREES
MARVIN BERRY, JR.
MARVIN BERRY, JR.
Since 1998, Marvin Berry, Jr. has inspired, supported, and led TJC, first as a client, and then as a volunteer, donor, and board member. When Marvin was seven years old, an accidental shooting left him paralyzed from the neck down. He persevered through a childhood marked by multiple surgeries and medical crises. He was poised to attend college when TennCare notified him he would be spending the rest of his life in a nursing home. TennCare told him, as it routinely told other young adults with severe disabilities, that it would no longer provide the services and supports needed to continue living in the community.
Marvin hadn’t let a bullet destroy his life, and he wasn’t going to let bureaucracy do that either. He became a plaintiff in TJC’s Newberry case, challenging the state’s practice of institutionalizing people with disabilities. A 2003 settlement in that case led to TennCare’s investment of hundreds of millions in home and community-based services, enabling thousands of Tennesseans to continue living in their homes and avoid nursing home placement.
With the support of services won in his lawsuit, Marvin attended Austin Peay State University, where he received the Valor Award and a degree in business administration. A resourceful entrepreneur, Marvin generously shares his gifts as a motivational speaker, volunteer tax preparer, and TJC Board member. Though he just left the board, he remains a valued part of TJC.
JUDGE RICHARD DINKINS
JUDGE RICHARD DINKINS
Judge Richard Dinkins began his legal career in 1977 working with the legendary civil rights attorney, Senator Avon Williams, Jr., in the private law firm that would become Williams and Dinkins. During his two decades at that firm, he served as a cooperating attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in numerous civil rights cases and handled the legal affairs of Fisk University and many other respected individuals and institutions. As lead attorney for the plaintiffs during the last decade of the historic Kelley school desegregation case, he improved equity and opportunity for a generation of Nashville school children. He was a judge in the Chancery Court for Davidson County from 2003-2008 and has served on the Tennessee Court of Appeals since 2008. Judge Dinkins has received numerous awards for his devotion to justice and service to the community.
Judge Dinkins made it possible for TJC to open its doors 25 years ago. When he learned of the effort to launch TJC and that we had no home, he invited us to share part of Williams and Dinkins offices for nominal rent. During those lonely early years when a vulnerable TJC was struggling to get off the ground, his generosity provided not just an office but validation, moral support, camaraderie, and the opportunity to share space with inspiring colleagues. TJC and its clients will always be indebted to Judge Dinkins for extending us a crucial helping hand.
DR. ROBERT MILLER
DR. ROBERT MILLER
Dr. Robert F. Miller is a compassionate healer and visionary advocate for health justice. A Vanderbilt researcher, teacher, and clinician, Dr. Miller is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, and Critical Care. His colleagues have expressed their respect for him by repeatedly electing him to positions of professional leadership, and he is the recipient of numerous awards. His patients leave glowing, grateful reviews online. For all of that, Dr. Miller is modest and unassuming. In 2004, he established the Shade Tree Clinic in Nashville, where volunteer faculty and students from Vanderbilt Medical and Nursing Schools serve uninsured patients. Even as Dr. Miller has dedicated himself to these and other volunteer efforts, he has kept his eyes on a larger prize. He has advocated for a more just and inclusive health care system in which such private charity will no longer be necessary because everyone is assured of receiving care as a matter of human right. Dr. Miller imparts that vision to his medical and nursing students, inspiring them by personal example.
Dr. Miller inspires us, too. As a member of TJC’s board for the past 15 years, he has provided invaluable insights and strategic direction. He and his wife, Dr. Bonnie Miller, who is also a respected Vanderbilt physician, honor TJC by their generous, unstinting support. Our goal is to one day achieve for all Tennesseans the excellent, compassionate care they give their patients.
Unable to Attend?
If you are unable to attend this year’s lunch, but would still like to show your support, please consider making a donation to the Tennessee Justice Center.
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2021 HALL OF FAME HONOREES
MARVIN BERRY, JR.
MARVIN BERRY, JR.
Since 1998, Marvin Berry, Jr. has inspired, supported, and led TJC, first as a client, and then as a volunteer, donor, and board member. When Marvin was seven years old, an accidental shooting left him paralyzed from the neck down. He persevered through a childhood marked by multiple surgeries and medical crises. He was poised to attend college when TennCare notified him he would be spending the rest of his life in a nursing home. TennCare told him, as it routinely told other young adults with severe disabilities, that it would no longer provide the services and supports needed to continue living in the community.
Marvin hadn’t let a bullet destroy his life, and he wasn’t going to let bureaucracy do that either. He became a plaintiff in TJC’s Newberry case, challenging the state’s practice of institutionalizing people with disabilities. A 2003 settlement in that case led to TennCare’s investment of hundreds of millions in home and community-based services, enabling thousands of Tennesseans to continue living in their homes and avoid nursing home placement.
With the support of services won in his lawsuit, Marvin attended Austin Peay State University, where he received the Valor Award and a degree in business administration. A resourceful entrepreneur, Marvin generously shares his gifts as a motivational speaker, volunteer tax preparer, and TJC Board member. Though he just left the board, he remains a valued part of TJC.
JUDGE RICHARD DINKINS
JUDGE RICHARD DINKINS
Judge Richard Dinkins began his legal career in 1977 working with the legendary civil rights attorney, Senator Avon Williams, Jr., in the private law firm that would become Williams and Dinkins. During his two decades at that firm, he served as a cooperating attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in numerous civil rights cases and handled the legal affairs of Fisk University and many other respected individuals and institutions. As lead attorney for the plaintiffs during the last decade of the historic Kelley school desegregation case, he improved equity and opportunity for a generation of Nashville school children. He was a judge in the Chancery Court for Davidson County from 2003-2008 and has served on the Tennessee Court of Appeals since 2008. Judge Dinkins has received numerous awards for his devotion to justice and service to the community.
Judge Dinkins made it possible for TJC to open its doors 25 years ago. When he learned of the effort to launch TJC and that we had no home, he invited us to share part of Williams and Dinkins offices for nominal rent. During those lonely early years when a vulnerable TJC was struggling to get off the ground, his generosity provided not just an office but validation, moral support, camaraderie, and the opportunity to share space with inspiring colleagues. TJC and its clients will always be indebted to Judge Dinkins for extending us a crucial helping hand.
DR. ROBERT MILLER
DR. ROBERT MILLER
Dr. Robert F. Miller is a compassionate healer and visionary advocate for health justice. A Vanderbilt researcher, teacher, and clinician, Dr. Miller is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, and Critical Care. His colleagues have expressed their respect for him by repeatedly electing him to positions of professional leadership, and he is the recipient of numerous awards. His patients leave glowing, grateful reviews online. For all of that, Dr. Miller is modest and unassuming. In 2004, he established the Shade Tree Clinic in Nashville, where volunteer faculty and students from Vanderbilt Medical and Nursing Schools serve uninsured patients. Even as Dr. Miller has dedicated himself to these and other volunteer efforts, he has kept his eyes on a larger prize. He has advocated for a more just and inclusive health care system in which such private charity will no longer be necessary because everyone is assured of receiving care as a matter of human right. Dr. Miller imparts that vision to his medical and nursing students, inspiring them by personal example.
Dr. Miller inspires us, too. As a member of TJC’s board for the past 15 years, he has provided invaluable insights and strategic direction. He and his wife, Dr. Bonnie Miller, who is also a respected Vanderbilt physician, honor TJC by their generous, unstinting support. Our goal is to one day achieve for all Tennesseans the excellent, compassionate care they give their patients.
PAST HONOREES
2020
ROBERT ASHFORD (honored posthumously) & SADIATOU JALLOW
ROBERT ASHFORD & SADIATOU JALLOW
Robert Ashford and Sadiatou Jallow are honored for their incredible devotion to their child Binta, for their courage to fight for better health care for all families of kids with special needs, and for their amazing generosity.
Robert and Sadia were something of an unlikely couple. Robert was born in Knoxville and lived his whole life in East Tennessee. He faced many barriers as a boy and a young man, but he refused to let that dampen his light. Robert worked at the Union Carbide Y-12 Plant for many years. He was a force for goodness in the community and his church.
Sadiatou grew up on the other side of the world – literally – in Gambia. She and her immediate family came to Knoxville in 1990 with help from Alex Haley, author of Roots. Sadiatou’s daughter Binta is a direct descendent of Kunta Kinte, of Roots fame. (Binta is named after Kunta Kinte’s mother.) Binta was born with severe disabilities and needs around the clock care to keep her safe in the community.
For 24 years, Sadiatou has been a dogged advocate for her daughter’s health care. She has worked with Tennessee Justice Center to ensure Binta has the care she needs since shortly after her birth. She has been featured in state and national media, testified before courts and lawmakers, and courageously shared her family’s story to educate people and put a human face to policy issues impacting people with special needs. She has provided heartfelt advice to countless other parents. All while serving as Binta’s primary caregiver and struggling with her own health issues.
The stresses of caring for a child with special needs took a toll on Sadia’s life and relationships, and she spent many years alone caring for Binta and advocating for her. That is until she met Robert. Robert was a charmer, but his charm didn’t immediately work on Sadia, who was not ready for a relationship. She turned him down several times, but Robert eventually managed to get Sadia to go on a date.
Robert quickly became an integral part of their family. He was a rock for Sadia, helping her through many challenges and tiring days. He was beloved by Binta, for whom he served as a main caregiver. In 2017, Robert was diagnosed with cancer and went downhill quickly. He passed away in August. But Robert left a legacy gift to Tennessee Justice Center which came at a critical moment in the fight regarding the future for Medicaid in our state. Robert’s gift helped support a full staff position at TJC. Robert and Sadia’s amazing love and devotion to each other, to Binta, and to working for a state that protects the needs of children like Binta will have a long-lasting, life-changing impact.
TONY GARR
TONY GARR
As a young man, Tony led a coalition of patient advocacy organizations that helped win creation of a high risk insurance pool so that people with pre-existing medical conditions might have a chance to buy health coverage. He helped establish and in 1989 became the first executive director of the Tennessee Health Care Campaign, to advocate for affordable quality health care for all Tennesseans. He filled that role for 21 years, but after retirement continued to volunteer 60 hours a week helping connect people to coverage. After the Affordable Care Act took effect, he was part of an amazing volunteer effort across the state to help people sign up for the coverage available under the new law. Enroll America, the national organization supporting enrollment efforts, hired Tony to manage their activities across several states. He retired again in 2015, but as before, that only meant that he stopped being paid. As a volunteer, he has continued to enroll hundreds of people in insurance, and to advocate for more humane and effective state health policies.
JUDGE WILLIAM J. HAYNES JR.
JUDGE WILLIAM J. HAYNES JR.
As a judge, William J. Haynes, Jr. was entrusted with the responsibility of making decisions that critically affected the lives of his fellow citizens. He discharged that responsibility with compassion, courage, integrity, skill, a tireless work ethic and, most importantly, a passion for justice. Those qualities were never more needed, and were never more evident, than in the cases that the Tennessee Justice Center brought to Judge Haynes’ court. Our clients, too often disregarded and devalued outside of the courthouse, received the same full measure of respect and concern that he extended to the powerful institutions and individuals who were their adversaries. Hundreds of thousands of Tennessee mothers and children were never aware that Judge Haynes was responsible for their being able to get the quality health care guaranteed to them by law, but that powerful institutions would have denied them.
CAROL WESTLAKE
CAROL WESTLAKE
Carol Westlake is the founding executive director of the Tennessee Disability Coalition, which is about to celebrate 30 years of advocacy under Carol’s dedicated leadership. When Carol organized the Coalition, there were dedicated disability advocates in Tennessee, and good work was being done to improve opportunities for people with disabilities. But Tennessee lacked an organized disability movement, a structure to enable collective action that would move our state forward. That was the need that Carol recognized, and she brought her formidable talents to the creation and development of the Disability Coalition. The coalition recognizes that disabilities are distinctive, and it is founded on respect for the uniqueness of every person with a disability. But it also reflects an understanding that, when everyone brings their gifts and insights to the table, the results are better for all. The Coalition has enabled people with disabilities to make their voices heard, and to create opportunities where none existed before. It is impossible to count all of the ways our state is better, and lives are better, because of the Tennessee Disability Coalition. Carol has been crucial to the Coalition’s success.
TJC and the Disability Coalition worked for many years for the creation of a Katy Beckett program, named for a little girl who inspired President Reagan to expand Medicaid to serve children with special health care needs. Last year, with extraordinary moms and kids taking the lead, we won, and the Coalition’s skill and reputation among state leaders were critical to that success.
2019
Nancy Anness
Nancy Anness
Nancy Anness is a Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years of experience caring for patients. For 20 years, she has held clinical and administrative leadership roles at Saint Thomas Health, where she currently serves as Vice President of Advocacy, Access, and Community Outreach. She has organized medical missions serving the poor throughout North, Central and South America, including downtown Nashville. She was formerly an Associate Professor of Nursing at Vanderbilt, where she provided clinical leadership at Vine Hill Community Clinic. The embodiment of the compassionate and thoughtful nurse leader, Nancy is also a devoted mother. Whether providing direct patient care or advocating for more humane and inclusive health policies, Nancy is always striving to enable other mothers to provide for their children the care that she wants for her beloved son, Grayson.
Rev. Henry Blaze, III
Rev. Henry Blaze, III
Rev. Henry Blaze, III moved to Tennessee from his native Houston in 1990 to attend Vanderbilt Divinity School. He held leadership roles at American Baptist College, working alongside the Civil Rights champion Rev. Bernard Lafayette. Rev. Blaze then succeeded Rev. Lafayette in the pulpit of Nashville’s historic Progressive Baptist Church. Rev. Blaze and his wife, Cynthia, worked tirelessly so that Progressive might reflect Rev. Martin Luther King’s vision of “the beloved community,” inclusive of people of all backgrounds, from the well off to the left out. Rev. Blaze is a persistent, consistent voice for social justice. In 2005-2006, Rev. Blaze co-chaired the Coalition to Save Lives, a statewide effort to prevent or mitigate the mass disenrollment of 300,000 vulnerable Tennesseans from TennCare. In 2009-2010, when Metro General Hospital was threatened with closure, Rev. Blaze convened white and African-American clergy to undertake a successful public education campaign about the importance of the hospital for disadvantaged Nashvillians and as the primary teaching facility for Meharry Medical College. Those efforts helped gain support of the Metro Council and the Mayor’s Office for full funding for the hospital. Rev. Blaze does not promote himself, but he is always listening for the voices of those the rest of us too often fail to hear.
Pamela Cardoso (honored posthumously)
Pamela Cardoso
Pam Cardoso was a force of nature. Her son, Sammy, was blind and non-verbal with many serious health problems, leading Pam to become involved as a remarkable advocate for children with special health care needs. While still in her 20’s, she served as president of The Arc of Davidson County, co-chaired a parents’ advisory committee for Nashville’s public schools and served on the Tennessee Medicaid Medical Care Advisory Committee. She helped establish a network of moms to support each other in advocating for their children with special needs. At a crucial moment in 1993, she and two other mothers met with then-Governor Ned McWherter to urge him to expand Medicaid to working families. He was so moved by her passion and eloquence that he invited Pam and Sammy to stand with him in the well of the state House of Representatives as he asked the legislature to approve the creation of the TennCare program. Within a few months, Pam was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer, but she lived long enough to see the program established, and it would eventually provide lifegiving care to hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans. Governor McWherter called her in the hospital as she was near death to thank her for the impact she had had on his life and on the lives of so many others. Only 31 at the time of her death, Pam embodied the love and dedication that we honor on Mother’s Day.
David Manning
David Manning
David Manning is one of those people whose dedication to government service is largely unrecognized and yet has had an immeasurable impact for the good. As Finance Commissioner of the state under Governor Ned McWherter, and then as Finance Commissioner of Metro Nashville under Mayor Bill Purcell, David understood that a budget is a moral document. Budgets are statements of our priorities, reflections of what – and whom – we value. An ever-vigilant steward of taxpayers’ money, he devoted decades to the largely invisible work of making government more transparent, efficient and accountable. With Governor McWherter’s steadfast support, he and Manny Martins conceived, designed and implemented the TennCare program. By dramatically improving the efficiency of the Medicaid program and making skillful use of federal funding, TennCare raised rates of health coverage to levels that no other state would match until implementation of the Affordable Care Act two decades later. Because TennCare reallocated resources from vested commercial interests for the benefit of the working poor, it was always controversial, and David and Manny got more brickbats than thanks. TennCare’s unmatched success in both expanding access to care and stabilizing the Medicaid budget was confirmed, however, by numerous independent studies. That success was obscured by political actions taken by their successors that fatally altered the program’s original design. But David and Manny’s courage, skill and incredible dedication enabled hundreds of thousands of families to enjoy health and financial security that would have otherwise been beyond their reach.
Manny Martins
Manny Martins
Manny Martins brought creativity, courage and tenacity to a lifetime of dedicated public service. As a young public health administrator, he took on the multinational corporate giants that dominated the infant formula market. He used a bidding process to compel them to dramatically lower the price they charged the Women, Infants and Children (“WIC”) program that provides nutrition supplements to pregnant and nursing mothers and their small children. Braving fierce political pressure, Manny thereby enabled the program to serve many thousands more families. Other states soon followed suit, with beneficial health effects for our nation’s most vulnerable children. Manny went on to direct the Medicaid program under three governors, and to work with David Manning to implement TennCare. Manny’s credentials would have made him wealthy in the private sector, but he remained in government service. Working prodigious hours and bearing incredible stress, Manny used his talents and energies on behalf of those most in need. Inspired by David and Manny’s leadership, TJC continues to lead the effort to expand Medicaid and restore coverage to the families that TennCare once served.2018
Honorable Shelia Calloway
Honorable Shelia Calloway
Judge Calloway is the Juvenile Judge for Davidson County. After earning her undergraduate and law degrees from Vanderbilt, she served for many years in the Metro Public Defender’s Office representing children in Juvenile Court. In 2004, she was appointed Juvenile Court Magistrate and in 2014 was elected Juvenile Court Judge. In that capacity, she not only presides over the court’s cases but also oversees the extensive children’s services administered by the court. In addition to her day job, Judge Calloway is involved in too many community service activities to name. She is deeply respected for her devotion to children, her empathy for families, and her passion for justice. Early in her career as a public defender, we had the privilege of working with her when she skillfully represented James, one of the plaintiffs in the John B. case, on criminal charges while we worked together to get him appropriate mental health care. Over the years TJC has worked with Judge Calloway to champion improvements in our state’s social safety net so that all children have an opportunity to thrive. 
Rev. Kaki Friskis-Warren
Rev. Kaki Friskis-Warren
Kaki has spent her entire ministry supporting parents and strengthening vulnerable families. She has led innovative and creative efforts to reintegrate offenders into their families. Her leadership of Renewal House enabled women to conquer their addictions and become the nurturing mothers they always longed to be. As executive director of the Dan and Margaret Maddox Charitable Fund, Kaki is currently guiding a major philanthropy that makes strategic grants to improve the lives of children and youth. While doing these important jobs, Kaki has for many years also played a critical role behind the scenes at TJC. A gifted administrator and social entrepreneur, she has given TJC hundreds of hours of mentoring on management, fundraising and team building. Her generous wisdom and tough love got TJC through difficult times and made us stronger, more effective advocates for Tennessee’s children.
Dr. Craig Anne Heflinger
Dr. Craig Anne Heflinger
Craig Anne retired last spring after a career in child-and-family focused psychology. She mentored two generations of Vanderbilt students who have gone on to serve children and families throughout the country. Her research provided nationally influential insights that have improved services to and systems of care for children with mental health needs and their families. She founded the first Girl Scout troop for girls in state custody and ran the troop for 8 years, building on her experience of 10 years with her daughter’s troop. Craig Anne volunteered to serve as our mental health expert in the John B. case. Over more than a decade, she donated countless hours in that case and endured grueling cross-examination, enabling TJC to win important gains for the more than 600,000 children enrolled in TennCare. Craig Anne established internships at TJC for students from Vanderbilt’s Department of Human and Organizational Development, and those internships continue to enrich the students’ lives as they serve TJC’s clients. Her joy now is having time to spend with her twin grandchildren in Michigan as well as doing some great traveling with her husband of 45 years, Scott. 
Linda O’Neal
Linda O'Neal
Linda O’Neal is retiring after a lifetime of advocating for children and the parents who care for them. She began her career working with children in foster care. She then led the successful effort to modernize Tennessee’s juvenile justice system, including the removal of children from adult jails. For the past thirty years, Linda has served as executive director of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth. Linda’s wise and skillful leadership has helped make the Commission one of Tennessee’s most effective and influential government agencies. Respected throughout Tennessee for her integrity, courage and expertise in child welfare policy, she has kept the Commission above the political fray and relentlessly focused on advancing the wellbeing of our children. Linda’s devotion to children and the adults in their lives is reflected in service in numerous volunteer activities, including as a longtime Girl Scout leader. TJC shares the worries of all children’s advocates about how we will all carry on without Linda’s leadership, but she leaves the Commission in good shape and we are glad that she will now have more time to enjoy being a proud mother and grandmother. 
Russell J. Overby
Russell J. Overby
Russ has devoted his entire legal career to advocacy for vulnerable families. He has spent most of those more than 40 years as an attorney at the Legal Aid Society in Nashville, representing many thousands of individual clients and winning landmark cases involving juvenile justice, disability rights and health care. Russ is a nationally respected expert on public assistance programs, so when Tennessee undertook welfare reform in the 1990’s, we lured him away from the Legal Aid Society for a one-year gig, which turned into a ten year run at TJC. While at TJC, Russ played a critical advocacy role in the design of the Families First program, which was widely recognized as among the most humane and effective of state welfare reform initiatives. Russ continues as a TJC volunteer to generously share his expertise with us and has been instrumental in the expansion of our nutrition advocacy. Russ, his wife, Sara, and their son Erik have inspired countless professionals and other families in the way in which the three of them have courageously and lovingly overcome the challenges posed by Erik’s disabilities. 2017
Don Enright and Cheryl Rowley
Don Enright and Cheryl Rowley
One morning in January 1996, Don Enright, an Emmy-winning television producer, was on-set reading a New York Times he’d snatched away from the director. He happened across a feature about a tiny nonprofit law firm in Tennessee. The article told of the recent founding of the Tennessee Justice Center to serve vulnerable families impacted by congressional restrictions on federally funded Legal Aid. Don is passionate about issues of justice and has a soft spot for scrappy underdogs. He immediately sent a generous donation and quickly became a friend. He has faithfully supported TJC for two decades, not just financially but with notes of inspiration and encouragement in difficult times. Don used to anchor the Los Angeles chapter of the TJC Fan Club. A dual Canadian-US citizen, he now lives with his family and produces films in Victoria, B.C., where he embodies TJC’s international footprint. Don is a reminder of the universality of love and justice that are at the core of TJC’s mission. 
Ruth Ann Harnisch
Ruth Ann Harnisch
Ruth Ann Harnisch has always been a pioneering champion for justice in both her personal and professional life. Known as Ruth Ann Leach to those who remember her work at WLAC/WTVF-TV, WLAC-AM and WWGM-AM, the Nashville Banner, and the Harpeth Herald, she broke the glass ceiling as Nashville’s first female TV news anchor. As a talk show host and newspaper columnist, she focused public attention on issues of justice for girls and women and for the poor. When TJC opened on a wing and a prayer in 1996, Ruth Ann became the first donor, and she used her newspaper column to urge her readers to support the fledgling organization. After retiring from journalism and moving to New York, Ruth Ann and her husband, Bill Harnisch, founded The Harnisch Foundation, which awarded one of its first grants to TJC. A visionary who promotes the transformative roles of philanthropy and art, Ruth Ann has supported the production of critically acclaimed films that enhance public awareness of issues of social justice. 
Greg Horowitz and Ellen Levy
Greg Horowitz and Ellen Levy
When Vanderbilt brought Ellen Levy and Gregg Horowitz to Tennessee, they wanted to be strategic in deciding how to give back to their new community. Gregg was among the first members of his family to attend college, and Ellen had lived in Detroit through that city’s tragic decline, so they have a special concern for families and communities that carry extra burdens. The couple sought to invest in organizations where their philanthropy would have the greatest impact on the quality of life and on justice in their new state. Their inquiries led them to TJC. Ellen’s and Gregg’s generosity helped sustain TJC during years of great financial difficulty, enabling TJC to win hundreds of millions of dollars of medical care for vulnerable children and families. They have since moved to New York City to join the faculty of the Pratt Institute, but their sustaining generosity during their years in Tennessee continues to benefit vulnerable families across our state. 
Robin and Bill King
Robin and Bill King
Bill and Robin King have long played a pivotal role in the celebration and promotion of social and racial justice. Their generosity and vision led to the development of the Nashville Public Library’s Civil Rights Room and Collection that educates and inspires thousands of visitors annually by preserving and telling the story of the Civil Rights struggle in Nashville and across the South. We are proud and grateful that Bill and Robin’s promotion of justice has long included generous support for TJC’s work. Among their other contributions, Bill and Robin have funded fellowships for recent graduates of Princeton University, Bill’s alma mater, to enable them to work for a year at TJC advocating for policies that will improve the health of Tennessee’s at-risk children. Bill is a Vanderbilt law graduate and successful entrepreneur who serves on many corporate and nonprofit boards. He and Robin are active with a number of community organizations in Tennessee. 
Nancy MacLean
Nancy MacLean
Nancy Fraas MacLean has been one of TJC’s earliest and most generous friends. As the author or editor of over a dozen legal treatises and practice manuals relied upon by Tennessee lawyers in diverse areas of practice, Nancy has played an unsung but important role in elevating the quality of justice across Tennessee. A faithful member of the Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women and of Nashville’s Marian Griffin Chapter of the Lawyers Association for Women, she is a fellow of both the Nashville and Tennessee Bar Foundations in recognition of her contributions to justice. We are honored that her dedication to improving justice has included two decades of financial support for TJC and thousands of hours of volunteer service. Nancy has taken on any task, big or small, from recruiting volunteer photographers for our Mother’s Day honorees, to personally catering every event we had for many years, and working to establish a fellowship to honor her friend Charlie Warfield. Many of TJC’s other generous donors were drawn to TJC through their friendship with Nancy and their admiration of her. As TJC’s longest serving board member, she continues to help TJC develop to meet client needs in an increasingly challenging environment. 
Jeanne and Steve Thomas
Jeanne and Steve Thomas
Steve and Jeanne Thomas’ support for TJC reflects their shared dedication to compassion and justice. That dedication found early expression in Steve’s work as a counselor of severely disturbed children, and in Jeanne’s pro bono legal work, which began as a Vanderbilt law student representing children in juvenile court. They have continued to generously donate their time and talents to their church and numerous Nashville charities while pursuing highly successful careers in business. Steve is the Chairman of the Board and Co-founder of Thomas & Company, which provides unemployment insurance cost management, employment verification and tax credit services to businesses throughout the country. Jeanne Thomas is Managing Counsel, Labor and Employment, for HCA Healthcare. Within weeks of TJC’s founding, and without waiting to be asked, Steve and Jeanne made their first donation, and they have consistently and generously supported TJC ever since. Steve also volunteers his time and leadership skills as a member of TJC’s Board of Directors. 2015
Margaret Behm
Margaret Behm
Margaret L. Behm has earned a reputation as the go-to person in over 30 years of representing clients and forging coalitions for change.After beginning her legal career in 1976 at Legal Services of Middle Tennessee, Inc., Behm and Marietta Shipley in 1980 founded Shipley and Behm, the city’s first all-woman law firm.
Behm’s advocacy has been lauded locally and nationally. In 2001, she received the John C. Tune Public Service Award, the highest honor given by the Nashville Bar Association. She also received the prestigious Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, given nationally to five lawyers a year by the American Bar Association. Behm has been honored with the YWCA Women of Achievement Award and the Athena Award. In 2011, Tennessee State University named her one of its Women of Merit and Legend. In 2012, the she received the David C. Rutherford Award from the Nashville Bar Foundation, recognizing the highest standards of professionalism, charitable contribution in the legal field and community as a whole. In 2013, she was named a member of the Tennessee Women’s Hall of Fame, an honor given to women who have made outstanding, unique and lasting contributions to the economic, political, and cultural well-being of Tennessee.
Currently, Behm is general counsel for the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency in Nashville and the Metropolitan Transit Authority. From 1996 to 2002, she served on the board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, which serves banks and thrifts in Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio, and chaired the Audit and Budget Committees. In 1994, Behm was appointed by the Speaker of the House to the Tennessee Judicial Selection Commission. She was the Commission’s first chair and served as a member for ten years.
Behm also serves as the 2015 Campaign Chair of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands’ Campaign for Equal Justice, an annual initiative that raises funds for Legal Aid Society, Tennessee’s largest non-profit law firm.
In April 2009, Behm was appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court for a three-year term as Chair of the newly created Access to Justice Commission to help address the growing civil legal needs crisis in Tennessee. In 2006, she was one of three finalists for appointment by the Tennessee Supreme Court as state Attorney General.
Behm was named by Mayor Bill Purcell as co-chairman of Celebrate Nashville, Nashville’s year-long celebration of its 200th birthday in 2006. She has been a key advisor to numerous political candidates and is particularly known for her encouragement of, and support for, women candidates.
A big basketball fan, Behm co-chaired with Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors the city’s successful effort to host the Women’s Final Four in 2014. She chaired the Nashville Sports Council’s sponsorship of the 2002 S.E.C. Women’s Basketball tournament and served as legal counsel for the Nashville Sports Council. Currently, she is a board member and Vice Chair of the Metropolitan Sports Authority, which oversees the professional sports facilities in Nashville.
Behm recently completed service on the board and executive committee of the YWCA. For many years, Behm has been involved with scouting as a Girl Scout leader and member of the board and executive committee of Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee, Inc. From 1999 to 2008, Behm served as a member of the Board of Health for the Metropolitan Health Department.
Behm’s practice concentrates on employment, business law, municipal law, bankruptcy, estate planning, land use and general litigation. She has taught legal writing, trial advocacy, and clinic at Vanderbilt University Law School for more than thirty years. In addition, she taught Professionalism and Practice from 2008 to 2014.
Behm has been selected by her peers for inclusion in editions of The Best Lawyers in America in the field of labor & employment law each year since 2001. She was named the 2013 Best Lawyers® Nashville Lawyer of the Year for Labor and Employment Litigation and the 2016 Best Lawyers® Lawyer of the Year for Municipal Law in the Nashville area. For the 2016 edition of the publication, she was selected for inclusion in eight practice areas: corporate law, employment law (for both employees and management), municipal law, labor & employment litigation, non-profit/charities, and commercial litigation.
Behm received her B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Tennessee. She is married to her law partner Harlan Dodson. The couple has two children.
Michael Cody
Michael Cody
Mike Cody was first drawn to TJC because of the critical needs in the state and his experience with Gordon Bonnyman when they both fighting to make the prison system more humane. “I have great respect for Gordon as a visionary leader,” remarked Cody. At the time of founding in 1995, Cody knew that if there were sick and poor people in Nashville that needed legal help then there had to be twice that number living in Memphis. In 1968, Cody had organized the Memphis Neighborhood Services Program which would become Memphis Area Legal Services. The cutting of state legal aid funding would bring issues and restrictions to MALS. Everyone there knew that TJC was the group that could bring the manpower, the ability, and the independence required to help the sick and the poor in Nashville, and in Memphis. At some point, Gordon asked Cody to set up an advisory board in Memphis to support the effort. He agreed without hesitation. Ever since, Cody has been a strong supporter of the Tennessee Justice Center and a force of change in Memphis.
Harlan Dodson III
Harlan Dodson III
Harlan grew up in Nashville and went off to college at Duke University. He then returned home and attended Vanderbilt Law School. He has been practicing law since 1969 and teaching estate planning since 1975 at the Nashville School of Law. In 2007, he received the Distinguished Faculty Award. He is a regular author and speaker on business, limited liability companies, and estate planning services. He has also written books on estate planning. He is a member of the Nashville Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, and the Tennessee Association for Justice. In 2012, Dodson received the John C. Tune Public Service Award for his contributions to the community from the Nashville Bar Association. Dodson is married to his law partner, Margaret Behm. They have two children.
B. Riney Green
B. Riney Green
Riney Green helped found the Tennessee Justice Center and guide TJC through its first decade of success. Green is a respected Nashville business lawyer and nationally recognized leader in the provision of pro bono services for those in need. In 1995, his vision brought together bar leaders from across the state to found TJC. He then served as Chair of TJC’s Board of Directors from its beginning to 2006.
David Herbert
David Herbert
David B. Herbert was born on October 22, 1936 in Nashville, Tennessee and has been a lifelong resident. He attended Georgia Institute of Technology and received his law degree from the Nashville School of Law. He was admitted to practice before the courts in Tennessee in 1967. He is a member of the American, Tennessee and Nashville Bar Associations; he is a Fellow in the Nashville and Tennessee Bar Foundations. He has served on the Board of the Nashville Bar Association and as Chairman of the Tennessee Bar Foundation. Mr. Herbert is a founding Partner of the law firm of Ortale, Kelley, Herbert & Crawford in Nashville. Prior to practicing law he was an Officer in the United States Air Force serving as a Weather Officer, attaining the rank of Major; thereafter he was Secretary of Jersey Farms Milk Service, Inc. He is married to Dana Hundley and they have 3 children, 5 grandchildren and 3 step grandchildren. He is a member of St. George’s Episcopal Church and has served on the Diocesan level as Chancellor and as a Deputy to the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, six times. He has received the “Bishop’s Cross” from the Diocese as an outstanding layman and has been named the honoree graduate of the Nashville School of Law in 2003.
Howard Vogel
Howard Vogel
Howard H. Vogel was born in Paris, Tennessee, on September 4, 1949. He was admitted to the practice of law in Tennessee on April 19, 1975. Mr. Vogel received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University in 1971. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in December of 1974. He was a member of Phi Alpha Delta.He served as the president of the Knoxville Bar Association for 1993, and a member of the Board of Governors for 1978; 1981-82; and 1992-94. He served as president of the Barristers Club of the Knoxville Bar Association.
He was the president of the Tennessee Bar Association for 1995-96. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the Tennessee Bar Association for 1980-81 and 1990-97. He was the president of the Tennessee Young Lawyers Conference of the Tennessee Bar Association for 1980-1981. He is a member of the Founders of the Supreme Court of Tennessee Historical Society.
His first term of service in the American Bar Association House of Delegates was from 1983 through 1990. He served as a member of the Council of the ABA Section of Litigation and the Executive Council of the Young Lawyers Division of the ABA. Mr. Vogel served as Editor-in-Chief of the Barrister magazine of the American Bar Association from 1983 through 1985.
He served as a member of the American Bar Association Board of Governors from 1985 – 1988, and he was vice-chairman of the Board Finance Committee for l987 – 1988. He served as chairman of the ABA Special Committee on Meetings and Travel from 1988-90, and he served as the chairman of the ABA Standing Committee on Meetings and Travel for 1990-92. He served as the chairman of the ABA Task Force on Outreach to the Public for 1988 – 1989. He is a past member of the Board of Editors for the ABA Journal. He served as the chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Public Education for 1996-97. He is a former chair of the ABA Commission on Public Understanding About the Law. He was the chair of the ABA Committee on Scope & Correlation of Work for 1997-98. He is a former member of the ABA Standing Committee on Strategic Communications. He is a former State Delegate for Tennessee in the ABA House of Delegates. He is a former member of the ABA Standing Committee on Constitution & Bylaws. He is a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Governmental Affairs.
He served as the District 6 member of the ABA Board of Governors for a term from 2008 to 2011. He served as the chair of the Finance Committee and a member of the Executive Committee for 2009-2010.
He is a member of the American Bar Endowment Board of Directors.
Mr. Vogel participated as a member of the Domestic and International Law Commission at the US/USSR Emerging Leaders Summit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in December of 1988.
He is a former member of the Board of Trustees for the Tennessee Bar Foundation, and he served as Chair of the Board for 2007-2008. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, Knoxville Bar Foundation and Tennessee Bar Foundation. He served as President of the Fellows of the Tennessee Young Lawyers Conference for 1991-92. He is an emeritus member of the Hamilton Burnett American Inn of Court in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is a member of the American Counsel Association.
He was a member of the Leadership Knoxville Class of 1995.
Mr. Vogel is admitted to practice before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. He is a Life Member of the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference.
He is a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 civil mediator and a member of the mediation panel for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. He has mediated over 2000 civil disputes.
He is a Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators, and a former president of that organization.
He is a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission of the Tennessee Supreme Court (2002-2016), and currently serves as the Chair of the Commission.
Since 2004, he has been recognized by various organizations that select Best Lawyer designees. For the past several years, he has been was recognized as one of “The Best Lawyers in America”.
He is a member of the American Law Institute.
He is a member of the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority Board of Commissioners, and currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners.
In December of 2007, he was presented with the Knoxville Bar Association’s Governors Award. In June of 2011, he was given the William M. Leech, Jr. Public Service Award by the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.
HOST COMMITTEE
Josh and Ellie Hedrick
Monica Mackie
Nancy MacLean
Freida Outlaw
SPONSORS
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2020 HIGHLIGHTS
THE BLOG
20 Years Celebrating Moms: Not All Heroes Wear Capes
Nicole Leonard2020-05-08T14:48:35-05:00
MOTY BLOG NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES May, 2020 // 20 Years Celebrating Moms Over the last three blogs we have given
20 Years Celebrating Moms: How the Wall Changes Us All
Nicole Leonard2020-05-08T14:44:40-05:00
MOTY BLOG HOW THE WALL CHANGES US ALL May, 2020 // 20 Years Celebrating Moms Over the years many extraordinary lawyers, paralegals,
20 Years Celebrating Moms: Introducing the Blog
Nicole Leonard2020-05-08T14:30:02-05:00
MOTY BLOG May, 2020 // 20 Years Celebrating Moms “It's only when the tide goes out that you discover who's been swimming naked.”
20 Years Celebrating Moms: His Eye on the Sparrow
Nicole Leonard2020-05-08T14:49:59-05:00
MOTY BLOG SHAWN CASTER May, 2020 // 20 Years Celebrating Moms "His eye is on the sparrow" The first time I heard
2019 RECAP
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- Front Row: Cassandra Lawrence, Chris Hunter-Salas, Andy Hammer and Jonna Dancer; Back Row: Roger Johnson, Rob Sexton, Mike Gardener and Jeff Corley; photographed by John McLemore
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- Mary Falls, founder of Middle Ground Tennessee, co-founder of Citizens for Insure Tennessee and Tennessee Justice Center board member; Joanne Sowell, attorney; and Tony Heard, chairman of the Saint Thomas Health Board of Directors; photographed by John McLemore
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- Al Cocke, Founder & CEO at Canopy South Capital Management, LLC; Burkley Allen, councilwoman for Nashville’s Metro Council District 18; and Honorable Juliet Griffin, former federal magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee; photographed by John McLemore
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- 2019 Mother’s Day Luncheon Honorary Chairs: Carrie Wiltshire McCutcheon, attorney at Baker Donelson; Ashley Wiltshire, former Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands; Susan Wiltshire, Professor of Classical Studies Emerita at Vanderbilt University; & Matt Wiltshire, Chief Strategy and Intergovernmental Affairs Officer at Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency; photographed by John McLemore
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- Debbie McBryar Miller, Tennessee Justice Center client and 2019 Mother of the Year; Nancy Anness, Chief Advocacy Officer at Saint Thomas Health and Tennessee Justice Center’s 2019 Hall of Fame Honoree; and Michele Johnson, Executive Director of Tennessee Justice Center; photographed by Nathan Morgan
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- Tevin Thompson of Tennessee Regulatory Authority; Juvenile Court Judge Sheila Calloway; and DarKenya Waller, executive director of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands; photographed by John McLemore
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- Briana Montminy of Burr & Forman; Will Cheek of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis; LLP; Bill Penny of Burr & Forman; and Jerry Taylor of Burr & Forman; photographed by John McLemore
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- Jason Ehrlinspiel, Senior Litigation Counsel at HCA Healthcare; and Kristina Pettigrew, Senior Business Analyst at HCA; photographed by John McLemore
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- former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell, emcee for the Tennessee Justice Center’s 2019 Mother’s Day Luncheon; Jim Hall of Hall & Associates; and Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke; photographed by John McLemore
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- Kevin Crumbo, Managing Partner of Kraft Corporate Recovery Services, LLC and chair of the Nashville Symphony Board of Directors; photographed by John McLemore
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| Super Hero | Lean on Me Warrior | Light Shiner | *Righteous Partner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Logo included on promotional materials and on program for the event | YES | |||
| Mentions on social media as a sponsor | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Post-event email to all attendees with link to your corporate website | YES | YES | ||
| Recognition during welcome speech as a major sponsor | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Logo listed on all sponsorship boards and on website | YES | YES | YES | YES |
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| Tickets to attend | 10 | 4 | 2 | 2 |