Have you ever had a feeling that you want to connect a bit more to your surroundings, your community, your peers, and you just aren’t sure how to gain the meaning that you need. Have you ever looked around your city and wished that you had a stronger connection to it and the people who are shaping it? Welcome to the “Climbing the Charts” podcast. Each week, your hosts - Angie Lawless and Brandon Miller will challenge you to become more involved in your community, to take on grassroot efforts ...
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Ep. 36: Paper to Playmaker: Meet Titans CEO Burke Nihill
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Four years ago, Burke Nihill ran across a job listing on LinkedIn: General Counsel for the Tennessee Titans. He applied, but he didn’t think he would be drafted. His sports “experience” included dreaming of “wanting to be the third baseman for the Chicago Cubs” and declining an offer to play basketball at a Division 3 College. Nonetheless, Nihill w…
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Ep. 35: Bob Mendes: Development Director Talks East Bank, Makes Clear His Role Covers the Broader Nashville Area
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"I came to realize that I would never have the chance to work in an administration with somebody that I [am] so closely aligned with on issues. It makes it really easy to go to work.” – Bob Mendes, speaking of his working relationship with Mayor O'Connell Climbing the Charts was excited to sit down with Bob Mendes, Chief Development Officer for the…
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Ep. 34: Housing Matters: Unpacking the Affordable Housing Puzzle
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“My whole mission is just to affect positive change with people, and housing is such a key component to people’s health, well-being, and safety.” -- Andrea Prince According to Nashville's 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force, chaired by Mayor John Cooper, the city must create 52,498 new housing units by 2030—a daunting challenge, given that only 1,34…
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Ep. 33: Michael Briggs: Choose How You Move is More Than Transportation
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“We’re not building new roads (for the most part), so it’s about trying to use that [existing] infrastructure in better ways that meet our modern needs.” --Michael Briggs, director of mobility at Vanderbilt University's Transportation and Mobility Office, currently on loan to the City of Nashville as a director of transportation planning through 20…
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Ep. 32: Derrick "Moe" Moore: How One Slim and Two Husky Longtime Friends Created an Iconoclastic Pizza Empire!
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“I knew that if I had a Plan B, I would be 50/50. I would be one foot in and one foot out, and I had to be fully dedicated.” - Derrick ‘Moe’ Moore When the Climbing the Charts podcast first launched in 2022, the co-hosts created a list of dream guests – Moe Moore was at the top of that list, being a co-founder of Slim & Husky’s. Almost two years an…
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Ep. 31: Judge Sheila Calloway, Lonnell Matthews and Julieanna Huddle: They Don't Work with Any "Bad Kids"
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“What people don’t understand about Juvenile Court is that literally two-thirds of the cases that we deal with are about the parents.” –Judge Calloway Judge Sheila Calloway, Davidson County’s Juvenile Court Judge, and Lonnell Matthews, Davidson County’s Juvenile Court Clerk, are two of Nashville’s most accomplished individuals. They are an entertai…
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Ep. 30: Jeremy Faison: The Rest of the Story from the Libertarian Chairman of the TN House Republican Caucus
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“When you’re in the middle of the battle, to be policy-driven is smart, to be politically-driven is dangerous.” - Jeremy Faison Few people have had a closer seat to the important issues, drama, and national and international garnering headlines involving Tennessee politics than Representative Jeremy Faison, Chairman of the Tennessee House Republica…
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Ep. 29: Megan Barry: Here's Why Megan Barry Knows She Can Beat Mark Green
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“It’s already a presidential race and lots of people are going to come out and vote for the President…however, we know…that about 18% of the people who go into that booth don’t keep going down the ballot… If you’re in the voting booth, don’t stop… Make your vote count all the way down.” -Megan Barry In a hotly anticipated interview, Climbing the Ch…
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Ep. 28: Dr. Isaac Addae: Embracing the Uncomfortable in Order to Fly
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“It’s a diverse world. Companies sell products to consumers that are very diverse. Their teams and technical talent should reflect the communities that they sell products to.” – Dr. Isaac Yao Addae Dr. Isaac Addae is a man with many hats – first-generation Ghanaian American, computer engineer, strategist, business professor, entrepreneur, investor,…
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Ep. 27: Sherry Deutschmann: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs So They Can 10X Their Companies
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“If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day. If you teach him to fish, he eats for a lifetime. But if you teach a woman how to fish, she feeds the village for a lifetime. The ripple effect that women entrepreneurs have on communities and the global economy is phenomenal.” — Sherry Deutschmann Climbing the Charts sits down with Sherry Stewart Deuts…
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Ep. 26: John Ingram: Nashville SC in Less Than a Year, and the Enduring Power of the Green Light
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Former Mayor Karl Dean was known to ask, rhetorically and always in good humor, what Nashville would be without music (answer: Birmingham), but he could have substituted “the Ingrams” for music and arrived at the same punchline. There are few beloved things in Music City without fingerprints, known and unknown, that in some way trace back or connec…
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Ep. 25: Heath Clark and John Brittle: The Unbelievable True Story of “Tennessee Whiskey”
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In the 1950s, Frank Sinatra famously proclaimed Jack Daniel’s the “nectar of the gods.” Sales doubled, the warehouses emptied, and Mr. Daniel’s “nectar” was on allocation for the next twenty-five years. In 2013, a state law in Tennessee established a legal definition of “Tennessee Whiskey” for the first time, better known as the “Lincoln County Pro…
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Ep. 24: Aftyn Behn and Todd Warner: The “AOC of Tennessee” and “The Unapologetic Conservative” and Their Hot Takes on the 2024 Legislative Session
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In this episode, Climbing the Charts sits down with Republican Representative Todd Warner (District 92) and Democratic Representative Aftyn Behn (District 51). Aftyn, increasingly described as the “AOC of Tennessee,” the youngest woman elected to the Tennessee House, is poised to be a fearless advocate for progressive values. Todd, by contrast, is …
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Ep. 23: Tony Giarratana: How Downtown Living Went From Illegal to Nearly 20,000 and Where We Go From Here
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On July 21, 2006, the New York Times published an article entitled: “Creating Demand for City Living in Nashville.” The piece’s author, Lisa Chamberlain, noted that at that time, the frenzied pace of downtown residential development was slowing in major cities like New York and Chicago, but in cities like Nashville, “where no residential population…
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Ep. 22: Jon Michael: From Public Servant in the Foxhole of Short-Term Rental Regulations to Private Sector Entrepreneur, He’s Always Pro-Nashville
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On this new episode of Climbing the Charts, we sat down with Jon Michael, who after 15 years of toting the metro zoning code under his arm in various roles as a lawyer with Metro, joined the local Nashville law firm of Thompson Burton PLLC to create his own land use practice. If you have ever listened to a conversation about development, attended a…
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Ep. 21: Sam Davidson: How the Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s New CEO Plans to Level-Up Music City’s Growing Entrepreneur Class
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For the launch of Episode 1 of Season 3, Climbing the Charts sat down with Sam Davidson, who on June 28, 2023, was announced as Jane Allen’s successor as the next CEO of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center (EC). Sam hit the ground running in this high visibility, high impact new role, which he describes on his Linkedin profile as: “Working to make Na…
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Ep. 20: Part I Re-Release (Alice Rolli), The Contest for Music City’s Next Mayor: Ready for Freddie, or Mayor Rolli?
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Early voting begins 20 days before an election and typically ends 5 days before Election Day. Translated to the current election for Nashville Mayor and other local runoff elections, that means early voting started August 25th and will run until September 9th, with Election Day being September 14th. In the general election, which took place on Thur…
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Ep. 19: Part I Re-Release (Freddie O'Connell), The Contest for Music City’s Next Mayor: Ready for Freddie, or Mayor Rolli?
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Early voting begins 20 days before an election and typically ends 5 days before Election Day. Translated to the current election for Nashville Mayor and other local runoff elections, that means early voting started August 25th and will run until September 9th, with Election Day being September 14th. In the general election, which took place on Thur…
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Ep. 18: Dean Stratouly: Dylan’s Nashville Skyline, Revisited
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In the recently released Travel + Leisure rankings of "The 24 Best New Luxury City Hotels Around the World,” readers likely nodded at Xenodocheio Milos in Athens.; however, #2 was likely to come as something of a surprise: Four Seasons Hotel Nashville. In the words of Travel + Leisure, “It wasn’t that long ago that a pairing of the Four Seasons and…
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Ep. 17: Vivian Wilhoite, Assessor of Property, Auditions to Become Music City’s next Mayor
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Climbing the Charts sat down with Vivian Wilhoite, a former two-term member of the Metro Council (District 29) and current Assessor of Property for Davidson County (since 2016). And on April 28th, 2023, she formally announced that she would be auditioning for her biggest role yet: Mayor of Music City. Among the top ten candidates vying to become Na…
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Ep. 16: Mayor John Cooper: The Exit Interview
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On this very special episode of Climbing the Climbs, we are joined by John Cooper, Music City’s 9th Mayor (since the consolidation of the Metro Government in 1963). One of the few things Mayor Cooper’s champions and critics can both agree on is that he served a term that was almost Biblical in nature. His first week on the job, the city was threate…
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Ep. 15: Meg Epstein: Bringing the best of CA to Music City
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Climbing the Charts sat down with Meg Epstein, Founder and CEO of CA South. Meg launched CA South in January 2016, and despite being just 7 years old now, CA South has over a billion dollars in projects and related real estate assets under its belt, notching a place as one of the leading real estate businesses in Music City. Meg has garnered numero…
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Ep. 14: Fran Bush: Charting a Path from Foster Child to Mayoral Candidate
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Climbing the Charts sat down with Fran Bush, a former Metro Nashville School Board Member and owner and director of Model Kids Learning Academy which, provides childcare services to some of Nashville’s neediest families in growing communities. While some might say that running for Mayor is Fran’s biggest challenge yet, it’s hard to agree with that …
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Ep. 13: Heidi Campbell: Oak Hill’s Songwriting Former Mayor Now Ready to Lead Music City
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Climbing the Charts sat down with Senator Heidi Campbell – a Nashville native, former Mayor of Oak Hill, the first Democrat to flip a Tennessee State Senate Seat since 2006, and now a leading candidate to become Music City’s next mayor! Heidi shares her thoughts with us about what it takes to lead in a fiscally responsible, data-based, and compassi…
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Ep. 12: Alice Rolli: Education IS the Magic Bullet to Change Life (and City) Trajectories
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Climbing the Charts sat down with Alice Rolli, a serial entrepreneur, a teacher and former special assistant to then US Tennessee Republican Senator Lamar Alexander. Alice has now worn many hats in the private and public sectors, with the common thread among those roles being education and technology, and is currently auditioning for her biggest ro…
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Ep. 11: Jeff Yarbro: Nashville’s Next Mayor Must Be Able to Manage Both Conflict and Partnership with the State of Tennessee
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Climbing the Charts sat down for an engaging, and wide-ranging, conversation with Tennessee State Senator Jeff Yarbro (District 21) who is now running to become Music City’s next Mayor. In this episode, we find out why Senator Yarbro is running for Mayor, catch up on some important legal developments (mini-spoiler alert—the State bill to eliminate …
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Ep. 10: Natisha Brooks: Education, Mental Health, and the Representation Nashville Residents Deserve
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Climbing the Charts sat down with Natisha Brooks, a retired educator and former Republican candidate for the fifth congressional district of Tennessee, who recently entered the 2023 race for Nashville mayor. Natisha has occupied various teaching roles but is best known for her position as the owner and director of Brooks Home School and Tutoring. W…
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Ep. 9: Sharon Hurt: Listen Up, Nashville -- Even Michael Jordan Needed Scottie Pippen to Bring Home the “W”
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Climbing the Charts sat down with Metro Council Member Sharon Hurt, the current Executor Director of StreetWorks, the retired CEO of the Jefferson Street United Merchants Partnership (JUMP) and a recently announced candidate for the 2023 Nashville Mayoral race. Council Member Hurt shares some of the fascinating history of Jefferson Street (includin…
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Ep. 8: Jim Gingrich: From Outsider to Fully Immersed Nashvillian, Thanks in Part to Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers
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Climbing the Charts sat down with Jim Gingrich, a Nashville Business Journal Newsmaker of the Year and former COO of Alliance Bernstein. Jim gives an insider's account of what attracted both he and Alliance Bernstein to Music City, and offers thoughts about the importance of civic engagements and what is so special about Nashville’s nonprofit secto…
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Ep. 7: Gray Sasser and TJ Ducklo: Nashvillians Who Bring Unique, Insightful Perspectives About Leadership, Democracy and the State of Play in Washington Politics
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Climbing the Charts sits down with Gray Sasser, Executive Director of The Vanderbilt Project on Unity and Democracy, and TJ Ducklo, Chief Communications Officer and Senior Adviser to Nashville Mayor John Cooper and former National Press Secretary for the Biden 2020 Campaign and Deputy Press Secretary to the President. Listen in as these two gentlem…
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Ep. 6: Bob Freeman: A Candidate who Reminds Us that a Tennessee Red District Can Be Turned Blue and a Tennessee Blue District Can Be Turned Red
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Climbing the Charts sits down with Bob Freeman, a buzzed about 2023 Nashville mayoral candidate, the current Tennessee House Representative for District 56 and the Executive Vice President of Freeman Webb Co. Bob shares his advice for young entrepreneurs with no capital or connections, his advice on how to stay motivated in Nashville real estate ev…
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Ep. 5: Freddie O'Connell for Mayor: Is Nashville Ready for Freddie?
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Climbing the Charts sits down with Davidson County Metro CouncilMember Freddie O’Connell, a candidate in the 2023 Nashville mayoral election. Ready for Freddie is not just an acclaimed 1962 Blue Note album by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, it is also the catchy campaign slogan for O’Connell, who was recently voted Best Metro CouncilMember for the sixth…
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Ep. 4: You’re Never Too Young Nor Too Old to Champion the Underdog – Hal Cato has Been Doing it his Entire Life
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Climbing the Charts sits down with Hal Cato, arguably the most influential person in the Nashville nonprofit sector and the newly named CEO of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Hal endearingly describes how he has always been attracted to the underdog, tells how Meals on Wheels was the spark that ignited him to found Hands on Nashville …
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Ep. 3: Matt Wiltshire for Mayor: Nashvillians Take the First Meeting
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Climbing the Charts sits down with Matt Wiltshire, a candidate in the 2023 Nashville mayoral election. Matt shares who makes him dream bigger, what his favorite job in politics has been and lets us in on the powerful story he would tell companies moving to Nashville when he was the Director of Mayor Dean’s Office of Economic and Community Developme…
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Ep. 2: Mayor Karl Dean: Being Mayor is a Really Good Job, Everybody Should Run
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Climbing the Charts sits down with Mayor Karl Dean, one of the most successful and admired mayors of Nashville. Mayor Dean shares his life post-politics, gives some advice to those seeking political careers and shares his thoughts on how entrepreneurs can best be involved in their communities.
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Ep. 1: Jason Martin Cannot Wait to Take His Place in the Governor’s Office. Vote on November 8th
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Jason Martin, the Democratic nominee for the Governor of Tennessee, discusses his favorite music, his position on guns, grits and God and why he believes he will be the first Democratic Governor elected in the State of Tennessee since Phil Bredesen was re-elected in 2006. https://martinfortn.com/
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Welcome to the “Climbing the Charts” podcast. Each week, your hosts - Angie Lawless and Brandon Miller - will challenge you to become more involved in your community, to take on grassroot efforts where you can find meaning whether that be in your neighborhood, church, city, to learn more about your surroundings rather than just tuning them out as y…
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