Attorney Stephany Pedigo joins the estate planning section of the Chattanooga law firm of Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C. Pedigo is licensed in both Tennessee and Georgia and has more than two decades of legal experience to assist clients from diverse backgrounds and will provide estate and trust-based solutions to her clients. Pedigo is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association and Chattanooga Bar Association. She graduated cum laude from the University of Tennessee and magna cum laude in the top 2% from Samford University's Cumberland School of Law.
John T. Manion, a renowned curator at the Kaul Wildflower Garden at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, is the new Arboretum Curator at Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center in Chattanooga. As Arboretum Curator, Manion works to establish Reflection Riding as a leader in botanical knowledge, native plant advocacy, invasive plant management and overall habitat restoration across the region. Manion brings nearly two decades of public and private gardens leadership to his new role at Reflection Riding. During his tenure at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Manion developed the native plant collection into the largest documented in the state of Alabama. Manion holds a master of professional studies in public garden leadership degree from Cornell University and a bachelor's degree in plant science from State University of New York at Cobleskill.
April Lomax is the new director of diversity and inclusion for BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. In her new role, Lomax oversees all aspects of the BlueCross diversity and inclusion program, including developing and implementing an effective strategy to maintain an environment sensitive to the needs of today's diverse workforce. Lomax has more than 10 years of experience in diversity and inclusion, and she most recently served as assistant director of diversity, equity and inclusion for Liberty Mutual. Prior to that, she was a senior manager of diversity and inclusion for Change Healthcare and served as an adjunct instructor of humanities at Georgia State University. From 2016 to 2018, Lomax worked at BlueCross, serving as a diversity and inclusion consultant.
Jeremy Sims, PE, joins the consulting firm Croy Engineering as a senior project manager. Based at Croy's Chattanooga office location, Sims will support the firm's transportation and traffic engineering practice areas, while also expanding the firm's footprint in markets across Tennessee. Over his nearly three-decade career, Sims has provided development oversight and project management for numerous transportation engineering projects. Sims joins Croy after more than six years with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, where he was responsible for the management and oversight of the Region 2 project development technical offices, including environmental, right-of-way, utilities and survey. Sims holds a bachelor of civil engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Patrick O'Hagan is named regional impact director for Chattanooga State Community College. O'Hagan has served as the Kimball Site interim director in a full-time capacity, and as regional workforce development liaison in Marion County since Julie Bennett's retirement in 2020. In his new role, O'Hagan oversees the economic and workforce development activities throughout the Kimball regional service area. O'Hagan graduated from Chattanooga State with an associate of arts transfer degree, then went on to earn a bachelor's degree in biology from Martin Methodist College and a master's degree in curriculum and instruction at Tennessee Tech University. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in higher educational leadership at East Tennessee State University and has already obtained a graduate certificate in community college leadership through ETSU.
Heather Tussing is promoted to chief operating officer of Morning Pointe Senior Living, capping off a year of company growth under her leadership. Prior to being named chief operating officer, Tussing was executive vice president of operations for Morning Pointe. She had been at the helm of various sales, operations and compliance positions in the senior living industry for the past twenty years. Tussing holds a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Kentucky and is a certified dementia practitioner, as well as a licensed assisted living facility administrator and preceptor.
Tara Konrad, RRT, is the new referral relations coordinator for Siskin Hospital. Konrad is responsible for developing and maintaining Siskin's relationships within the local and regional medical community. She educates referral sources about the inpatient and outpatient clinical programs offered by Siskin Hospital. In addition, she assists in the development of additional patient care programs that meet the needs of the hospital's medical community and the complexities of our patient population. A registered respiratory therapist with 28 years of clinical and supervisory experience, Konrad is the former director of respiratory care for Siskin Hospital. She also brings more than 10 years of healthcare sales experience to her new position. Konrad received a bachelor's degree in business management from Bryan College, and will graduate in December with an MBA from Western Governors University.
Amy Whipple, MSN, RN, PMH-BC, NE-BC, is named chief nursing officer for the Parkridge Valley family of behavioral health facilities in Chattanooga. Whipple previously served as the assistant chief nursing officer for the Parkridge Valley adult campus and Parkridge Valley west campus since 2016. In her new role, Whipple provides executive oversight of all three Parkridge Valley behavioral campuses - Parkridge Valley adult campus, Parkridge Valley child & adolescent campus and Parkridge West Hospital - as well as serve as the Parkridge Valley program director for the behavioral health service line. Whipple has more than 25 years of clinical and managerial experience in behavioral health services.
Robin Morrison promotes to private client relationship manager for First Horizon Bank. Morrison began her career with First Horizon nearly 25 years ago, and previously served as the manager of the South Broad banking center. Morrison received a bachelor's degree in finance from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The active community leader is a graduate of Leadership Chattanooga, an executive board member of the Chattanooga Ballet, a member of Chattanooga Women's Leadership Institute, a former board member of the Junior League of Chattanooga and the Chattanooga Chamber's Southside Council. In addition, Morrison is a member of the South Broad Redevelopment Group, and serves as a commissioner for the Tennessee Public Utility Commission.
Justin Wilkes, a surgical oncologist, joins CHI Memorial Surgical Associates. Wilkes earned his medical degree from the University of Iowa's Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City, Iowa. He completed a general surgery internship and residency at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine, where he served as chief resident. Wilkes then completed a complex general surgical oncology fellowship at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla. He is certified by the American Board of Surgery, and is a member of the American College of Surgeons and the Society of Surgical Oncology.
- Compiled by Brandi Dixon