Metro Arts: Nashville Office of Arts + Culture is pleased to announce the appointment of six new commissioners to the Metro Arts Commission. They bring a wide range of experience and are deeply invested in the success of Nashville’s arts ecosystem.
Timothy Jester is a wealth manager, Certified Financial Planner™ and a partner at local independent firm, Roussel & Associates. Tim has been in the financial services industry for more than 10 years and has been both a member and a patron of the arts community for all his life.
He began playing violin at age 4 and trained classically in the Suzuki method. He played in string quartets and orchestra throughout college and then spent the next 10 years playing in bands and still gigs as often as possible.
After graduating from Southern Adventist University in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Tim started his career at Northwestern Mutual in 2005 and, as his career progressed, he has continued to be active in the arts community and sit on the boards of several non-profits. Tim and his wife live with their two sons in Nashville's Old Hickory community.
Heather Lefkowitz is a teacher, artist, and advisor to works-in-progress based in Nashville, Tennessee. She serves as a university lecturer and advising lead, teaching and managing advising efforts with students in Vanderbilt’s largest undergraduate major at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University. Additionally, she is a Certified Practitioner of Critical Response Process (CRP), devised by choreographer and MacArthur Fellow Liz Lerman. CRP emphasizes the power of inquiry and the potential of informed dialogue between a creator/maker and a group of responders, animating generative conversations and sustaining a sense of community in multiple contexts.
Her professional life is characterized by exploration of how individuals and communities find purpose and meaning through creative engagement, which informs her work in higher education, service to small arts organizations as a board member and director, and her experience as an artist and creator of new work.
John Nefflen is a litigation partner at Thompson Burton with over 20 years of experience in business and liability litigation representing clients across diverse industries in state and federal courts and ADR. Nefflen’s litigation practice includes complex business disputes, real estate, employment matters, construction defects and premises liability. He also served as in-house litigation counsel for a national addiction treatment company based in Brentwood, Tennessee.
Nefflen is deeply involved in his community. He served on the Safe Haven Family Shelter Board of Directors from 2014-2022. During that time, he served as its Board President from 2017-2020 and general counsel from 2020-2022. He has also served on the Belmont University Alumni Board and continues to serve on Belmont University’s Friends of the Arts Board. Nefflen was also a member of the American Inns of Courts at the Belmont University College of Law where he served as the Programs Chair and led several continuing legal education courses.
Dr. Arlene Nicholas-Phillips serves as Executive Assistant to the President of Tennessee State University as well as Assistant Vice President for Global Initiatives & Partnerships, the University’s Liaison to the Governing Board and to the World Bank Group HBCU Alliance. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the College of Education. Dr. Nicholas-Phillips is a 2022 Maxine Smith Fellow. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Leadership, a Masters degree in Strategic Leadership and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Administration with her research area in Global Open Education.
Dr. Nicholas-Phillips owned several successful businesses in her past, served as a financial analyst, and enjoys teaching others about finance. She recently served on the Board of Directors for the United Nations of America, Nashville Chapter, and is currently on the Tennessee State University Federal Credit Union Executive Board, as well as a member of its supervisory committee.
Dr. Nicholas-Phillips enjoys yoga and singing. She is a classically trained singer and is a proud member of the Concert Choral of Nashville. She has served on the International Music Committee of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Incorporated and is a proud member of Psi Zeta Omega Chapter.
Dawana L. Wade, the CEO of Salama Urban Ministries, Inc., is committed to continuing the stellar service Salama has provided for more than 38 years. Wade previously served in multiple leadership positions within the YMCA of Middle Tennessee and the YMCA of Greater Kansas City.
Wade is well-versed in the areas of youth and community development, strategic planning, and executive coaching, and has served as a consultant and mentor to organizations, churches, and individuals in these areas. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Aventura Community School and Invictus Nashville Charter School, having recently completed two terms of Board service with The Store and Plant the Seed.
Her service within the community has primarily been in the areas of education, justice, and equity. Her most important role, however, has been as parent to two adult children and guardian to her niece.
Beverly Watts has served as the Executive Director of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights; Director of Management Advisory Services for the Ralph G. Moore and Associates; Regional Director of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Agriculture; and Executive Director, Illinois Minority and Female Business Enterprise Council (MWBE) and as one of the first Title IX coordinators in the country during her tenure at the U.S. Office for Civil Rights.
Watts has developed collaborative partnerships throughout her career to develop events and programs in race relations, leadership development, human rights, and community building. She served as Chair of Women Executives in State Government; the Mission Advisor and Power of Inclusion Chair to the Cable Nashville Board; and as Committee Chair of the Stand Against Racism of the YWCA of Middle Tennessee.
She is a lifetime member of the NAACP where she currently serves as the Special Advisor to the Chair for Fair Housing & Equity. She is a member of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition Board where she chairs the Race, Wealth and Community Services Committee.
The next meeting of the Arts Commission is Monday, March 11 from 12:00 p.m - 1:30 p.m. More information about all Commission and committee meetings can be found on our Events page.
About Metro Arts: Nashville Office of Arts + Culture
Our mission is to drive a vibrant and equitable community through the arts. Metro Arts strives to ensure that all Nashvillians have access to a creative life, and we work toward this goal through community investments, artist and organizational training, public art, and direct programs involving residents in all forms of arts and culture. Metro Arts receives operational support from the Tennessee Arts Commission, and additional information is available online at MetroArtsNashville.com.