Roy L. Jones, a Nashville native, graduated from Cumberland University in 2002 with a Master of Science degree in Public Service Management. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Tennessee Technology University in 1972 and his Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD) degree from the Nashville School of Law in 1986.

Mr. Jones has over 45 years of experience in the account field, working as a certified public accountant for 24 years in public and private industry before finishing his career in government service.

Mr. Jones recently retired after twenty-four years as an assistant director in one of the major departments in the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson Country where he handled all accounting and financial functions, budgets, purchasing, human resource management, and council liaison for his department.

He currently serves as a board director for four non-profit organizations, serving as treasurer for two of those organizations and as chairman of the board for a $300 million credit union.

Mr. Jones is an adjunct professor for the MSP program at Cumberland University and teaches three classes for graduate students in that program.

He is also a Certified Fraud Examiner, a Certified Government Financial Manager, a Chartered Global Financial Manager, and is a Senior Professional in Human Resources.

He currently operates his own tax and accounting business in Hendersonville, TN where he and his wife Peggy, reside. They have four children and twelve grandchildren.

Dr. Jennifer Hixson, is a mental health professional providing services in the Middle Tennessee area.  She obtained her Doctorate of Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in 2007, and has been practicing in the field of child and adolescent mental health, as well as family systems work since 1998.  She is a licensed clinical psychologist, school psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Dr. Hixson has an extensive background in studying and treating complex trauma, studying under national experts such as Dr. Dan Hughes’, who is the founder of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy; Dr. Elizabeth Warner, the developer of SMART; and Dr. Constance Lillas who is the co-developer to the Neuro-Relational Framework (NRF).  She also has a collegial and consultative relationship with David Prescott, a leading expert in trauma and Problem Sexual Behaviors. Her career has transitioned between educational institutions and in-patient mental health facilities, providing both direct services and serving in administrative positions. Her passion is in studying and remediating the effects of toxic stress across ages and systems. Finally, “rerouting the schools to prisons pipeline|” inflicting so many of our youth today affected by toxic stress, struggling family systems, and trauma is her most recent crusade.   

Sally Ham Govan has been an adjunct instructor in the Fine Arts program since 2014, teaching graphic design, 2-D computer illustration, and typography. Her industry experience brings a professional perspective to the classroom. She enjoys researching graphic design and illustration trends and mentoring students by providing them with the inspiration and resources to be successful in today’s economy.

As an art director for a national magazine publisher, Whittle Communications, she worked with renowned photographers and illustrators from around the country and collaborated with top designers. She has designed and edited marketing materials and publications for the Jones College of Business at Middle Tennessee State University, special publications for the Knoxville News Sentinel, and a variety of projects for small book publishers and other clients as a consultant. She exhibits fine art drawings and digital illustration in solo and group exhibits.

Ms. Govan holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in illustration from the University of Hartford and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio art with concentrations in drawing and graphic design from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She has regularly updated her skills by attending Milton Glaser’s summer design program at the School of Visual Arts; classes in multimedia and web design; data visualization workshops at the University of California–Berkeley; and national illustration, typography, and interactive design conferences.

A native of Massachusetts, William “Tiger” Fitzhugh attended Berklee College of Music for 3 years as a composition/arranging major, then took a 17 year summer vacation before finishing his education with a BS and MMu in Classical guitar performance from Austin Peay State University, studying with Dr. Stanley Yates. In between these colleges, he performed in nearly all states and nearly all genres, rock, jazz, gospel, country, mariachi, classical, Dixieland, and bluegrass. He performed on tour with Razzy Bailey and Alan Jackson, has played with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and the Gypsy Hombres, recorded with Vassar Clements and children’s music artist Mary LaFleur, and performed at Opryland show park for 8 years. He currently performs with the Nashville Vintage Mandolin Quartet and several other groups, as well as solo performances. He has been teaching in area colleges since 1999, and is the author of the Hal Leonard publication “Classical Guitar for the Steel String Guitarist”.