Will “Butch” Burns is an attorney with degrees from Middle Tennessee State University and the Nashville School of Law. Mr. Burns spent almost 30 years in state government positions largely dedicated to public policy development and implementation and representing his agencies before the General Assembly. His work was mostly in public higher education, as well as five years as the State Coordinator of Elections.

As elections coordinator, Mr. Burns worked with county election officials to seek passage of legislation to create and then implement Early Voting and agency-based voter registration in Tennessee. He also held several leadership positions in the National Association of State Election Directors.

Mr. Burns is a Colson Fellow of the Colson Center of Christian Worldview and has served on various nonprofit boards, currently including Williamson College, The Tennessee Center for Bioethics and Culture, and Graffiti Ministries Learning Center in Brooklyn, NY.

He and his wife Maribeth have been married for over 40 years, have two daughters and five grandchildren, and are active at The Village Chapel. Mr. Burns enjoys running, live music events, and spending time with his family.