Mayor Barry featured guest at Oct. 4 now that you ask ...
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
Nashville Mayor Megan Barry is the guest for the Lipscomb University Nelson & Sue Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership’s now that you ask … A Conversation Series on Tuesday, Oct. 4.
now that you ask… A Conversation Series is hosted by Tom Ingram, a leader-in-residence at the Andrews Institute, the founder of The Ingram Group and a longtime political consultant and operative in Tennessee politics.
The conversation will take place in Stowe Hall, located in Swang Business Center, at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Barry has just completed her first year in office as the seventh mayor of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County, following an historic election in which she became the first woman and first member of the Metro Council to be elected Mayor. Born in Santa Ana, California, and raised in Overland Park, Kansas, Barry moved to Nashville in 1991 to earn her MBA at Vanderbilt University. Following graduation, she built a 20-year career as an ethics compliance officer and consultant in the telecommunications and health care sectors. In 2007 and 2011, she was elected to serve as one of five at-large members of the Metro Council.
Barry’s focus as mayor is on improving the educational outcomes at our public schools, engaging regional and state partners to develop a unified vision and plan for transportation, creating more affordable housing options for residents of all backgrounds, and continuing to grow our economy while ensuring all parts of Davidson County share in the prosperity.
Barry has put an emphasis on building upon Nashville’s economic growth with a renewed focus on supporting the music industry and the city’s creative and entrepreneurial sectors. She has also focused on addressing the challenges that come with growth by creating the first ever transportation and infrastructure department within the Mayor’s Office and establishing the Office of Economic Opportunity and Empowerment, which works to make sure the most vulnerable Nashvillians gain access to jobs, affordable housing, and financial empowerment services. In building her administration, Barry has put a sharp focus on ensuring that the Mayor’s Office is reflective of the city it serves. To that end, Barry has put together the most diverse team in the history of Metro Nashville, with a majority female staff and African-Americans, Latinos and LGBT Nashvillians in key leadership positions throughout the administration. Megan Barry is married to Bruce Barry, a professor of organization studies at Vanderbilt. Their son, Max, is a junior in college, and they share their home with two rescue dogs, Hank and Boris.
Ingram, founder of The FIRST Group in Washington, D.C., and The Ingram Group in Nashville, was appointed a leader-in-residence at the Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership in September 2011. While serving in Washington, Ingram was regularly named by Roll Call as one of its “Fabulous Fifty” most influential people on the Hill.
Ingram spent most of the last decade as a top aide to Senate Republicans, holding the dual roles of chief of staff to Senator Lamar Alexander and staff director for the Senate Republican Conference. He recently served as a senior advisor to former China Ambassador Jon Huntsman’s presidential campaign and continues as an advisor to Senators Alexander and Bob Corker and Governor Bill Haslam after successfully guiding their statewide elections.
The previous editions of now that you ask… have featured one-on-ones with Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam; Tennessee’s First Lady Crissy Haslam; John Seigenthaler, a leader in American journalism and politics; Beth Harwell, Tennessee’s first female Speaker of the House; Loucas George, former producer of the ABC show “Nashville,” author Jon Meacham and David Keene, Opinion Editor for The Washington Times.