Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP partner Todd Presnell has been selected by the Defense Research Institute as the 2020 recipient of the Tom Segalla Excellence in Education Award, which honors a member of DRI whose contributions through legal scholarship exemplify the highest educational standards of DRI and further its mission of improving the skills of the defense lawyer.

DRI is the leading organization of defense attorneys and in-house counsel and provides access to resources and tools for attorneys who strive to provide high-quality, balanced and excellent service to their clients and corporations. Presnell was selected for the award from more than 20,000 DRI members across the country based on his years of leadership and service with the organization.

A member of the litigation practice group, Presnell maintains an active trial practice, serves in discovery-counsel roles and leads and advises on internal corporate investigations. He has tried 27 cases to verdict and argued before the Tennessee Supreme Court, Tennessee Court of Appeals, and the Sixth, Seventh and 10th U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals.

Waller adds Johnston as transactional attorney

W. Lee Johnston has joined the Nashville office of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP.

A partner in the firm’s corporate practice, Johnston focuses on M&A and strategic investments by private equity and corporate clients. He joins Waller after nearly a decade with Morrison & Foerster, LLP in San Francisco and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York and London.

Johnston advises private equity and corporate clients – both privately held and publicly traded – in mergers and acquisitions across telecommunications, technology, consumer products and food manufacturing, financial services and other industry sectors.

Johnston earned his J.D. in 2010 from the University of South Carolina School of Law, and an M.S. in law and finance in 2011 from the University of Oxford’s Brasenose College. He earned his B.A. in political science in 1999 from Vanderbilt University.

Gallagher Joins OneOncology as COO

OneOncology, the national partnership of independent oncology practices, has appointed Bob Gallagher chief operations officer overseeing all operations functions for the community-based oncology platform.

Gallagher previously was a division vice president at DaVita, a national dialysis provider, where he led operations in Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Alabama. Gallagher also led the home dialysis strategy for an eight-state region in the Southeast.

Before DaVita, Gallagher was in engineering leadership roles at automotive supplier, Robert Bosch, LLC. and a financial analyst at the Ford Motor Company.

Cumberland Trust assigns new management roles

Cumberland Trust, a Nashville-based independent trust company, has announced changes to its administration, corporate and operations leadership. They include:

• Chris Buckley to senior vice president & managing director, head of administration

• Caroline Bradshaw to senior vice president & managing director, administration

• Lori Thoeny to senior vice president & managing director, corporate strategy

Previously, Buckley, Bradshaw and Thoeny served as managing directors of trust administration. Bradshaw will continue in her role as senior trust officer and work closely with the Business Development Team to evaluate new opportunities.

Rounding out the administration team:

• Alex Gillott will continue to serve as vice president & director, personal trust administration.

• Chase Himes has been named vice president & director, distinctive care trust administration.

• Rachel Fuqua will continue to serve as vice president & director, estate administration.

In addition to the changes to administration, Cumberland Trust also announced the following promotions:

• Dan Jernigan to senior vice president & managing director, operations/audit

• Asha Nivison to senior vice president & managing director, operations/technology

Mark Cavender will assume the day to day management of the operations team as vice president and operations manager.

JLL Nashville adds to office leasing team

Sarah Pettigrew has joined JLL Office Leasing as executive vice president. Pettigrew brings more than a decade of commercial real estate experience to JLL, and has facilitated more than 10 million square feet of transactions across the Nashville region.

In this role, Pettigrew will work closely with the office agency leasing team to continue growing JLL’s agency leasing platform and will be instrumental in serving existing and future clients in the market. Pettigrew has an extensive background in providing strategic real estate advisory services to a variety of clients, ranging from global Fortune100 companies to local firms.

Before joining JLL, Pettigrew served as first vice president with CBRE’s occupier-advisory and transaction team. Throughout her career, she has been recognized for multiple Industry achievements, including NAIOP Office Lease of the year and Office Leasing Team of the year. Pettigrew is active in community involvement, including Nurses for Newborns and The Rotary Club of Nashville.

Vidafuel Health secures $1.075M in financing

Nashville native Bette Parolini, CEO and Founder of Vidafuel health and wellness food products, recently closed an oversubscribed $1.075 million round of financing.

Vidafuel’s product line targets geriatric nutrition, end-stage renal disease, earlier-stage chronic kidney disease, diabetes, certain cancers and the recovery from an adverse event or serious illnesses, such as COVID-19. These products are used in both inpatient and outpatient settings by consumers and health care providers.

Nelson promotes Glesne, Tresner

Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson, has promoted Mark Glesne to senior director of marketing for Nelson Books, specifically focusing on Max Lucado and Lysa TerKeurst author brands, and Stephanie Tresner director of marketing for Nelson Books.

Glesne joined the Nelson Books team in 2017 to lead the brand and marketing management for the Max Lucado and Lysa TerKeurst books and brands. Since that time, he has led the strategy and launch of New York Times bestsellers including “Unshakable Hope” by Max Lucado and “It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way” by Lysa TerKeurst.

Glesne previously served as director of marketing and digital commerce at TOL, Inc.

Tresner joined the company in 2008, serving in various marketing and brand management capacities. She has spearheaded innovative marketing campaigns for New York Times bestsellers including “Girl, Wash Your Face” by Rachel Hollis and “Uninvited” by Lysa TerKeurst.

Alive Hospice hires administrator

Alive announced today that Danielle Buchanan (MSN, RN, BSW) has joined its team as the administrator of its Nashville inpatient unit, providing 24/7 care for patients at the end of life and support for their families.

Buchanan will be responsible for providing clinical leadership to the Nashville residence staff while overseeing the quality of care provided to patients and families.

Buchanan brings more than 20 years of health care experience to Alive. Her prior experience includes serving as director of operations for AseraCare, branch director/director of nursing at Willowbrook Hospice, and team lead at St. Thomas Health. She holds a Master of Nursing degree in nursing administration from Capella University.

Interim administrator Jennifer Levi has been promoted to senior director of both of Alive’s in-patient units (in Murfreesboro and Nashville) and its Poplar home care team to guarantee quality and standardize Alive’s inpatient hospice care.

Peebles joins as co-owner of Capitol Strategy Group

Capitol Strategy Group co-founder Kim Adkins has announced that Ryan Peebles, a veteran government affairs executive with both state and national legislative experience, will join as co-owner.

The Capitol Strategy Group is a Nashville-based lobbying firm with clients ranging from the technology sector, transportation and infrastructure firms, corporations, and professional trade organizations. Former Knoxville Republican State Representative Steve Buttry will provide government relations services.

Peebles has more than 25 years of governmental affairs experience in both the public and private sector. He will focus on local, state and federal issues. Peebles previously served as the director of government affairs for National Seating & Mobility and as president of the Greater Tennessee Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors.

He also worked as a senior legislative aide in the U.S. Senate for Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and Republican Whip Senator Jon Kyl.

Peebles’ resume also includes work representing global technology companies for the Information Technology Industry Council and the nation’s largest small business trade association, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).