EDGE On the Move

Contributed photography / Alicia Oliver
Contributed photography / Alicia Oliver

Alicia Oliver is promoted to vice president and deputy general counsel for BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. In this role, Oliver is responsible for legal support of the enterprise and will oversee planning and process improvement for those legal operations. Oliver joined BlueCross in 2015 and has served as director and deputy general counsel for business for the last two years. Prior to joining the company, she was a partner at Chambliss, Bahner and Stophel PC in Chattanooga where she focused on intellectual property, advertising, promotions, entertainment and litigation law.

Ashby M. Angell, a labor and employment lawyer, who assists clients with a range of issues including discrimination, sexual harassment and non-compete agreements, joins Baker Donelson as counsel in the firm's Chattanooga office. Angell focuses exclusively on labor and employment law across various industries including manufacturing, health care and media, according to a news release. She represents employers in legal issues involving allegations of discrimination and charges of sexual harassment, as well as non-compete agreements. She defends businesses in all aspects of labor and employment litigation and labor arbitration.

Heather Heacock joins Tennessee American Water as a senior specialist for health and safety. In her new role, Heacock leads Tennessee in the areas of safety and health claims, insurance services and loss control, and develop and implement training programs to enhance the safety and health of employees to ensure compliance with federal, state and local regulations. Heacock began her career with American Water in 2020 as lead health and safety specialist and most recently manager, health and safety programs at the American Water company headquarters in Camden, New Jersey. She has a bachelor of science in elementary education from Pennsylvania State University and a bachelor of science in environmental science from Southern New Hampshire University.

Dexter Talley joins green|spaces as the Build it Green program director. Build it Green is a local leadership and workforce development program that prepares young adults (ages 18-24) for community leadership and energy services careers. Talley graduated from the Build it Green program in 2019 and returned as a senior member the following year. In 2021, he was promoted to project manager. Since then, Talley has gained several certifications, including his duct and envelope tightness verifier certification. He scored 100% on this exam, making him one of only a handful of people to do so in the test provider's 10 years of experience.

Miranda Perez is named executive director of the Morning Pointe Foundation, where she is responsible for the strategic growth and development of the nonprofit coordinating caregiver support programs, funding for scholarships and community outreach. Perez is past executive director of the Ooltewah Harrison Education Foundation, also known as "D9," as well as a small business owner, event planner and marketing specialist. She owned the boutique Owl Cove from 2019-2022, and as the owner Perez worked with various schools and nonprofits giving back to the community.

Garrett Cox is named sales manager of the Crye-Leike Chattanooga–East Brainerd office, where he assists managing broker Jennifer Grayson with recruitment, training and management of office sales associates. Cox joined the real estate industry five months ago after leaving an automotive finance and insurance position for a local General Motors dealership. He has already earned a spot in Crye-Leike's Multi-Million Dollar Club. Cox is licensed in Tennessee and Georgia and is a member of the National Association of Realtors and the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors. In the future, he plans to continue his real estate education and earn the certified residential specialist designation.

Rebekah Gouger joins Skye Strategies has as grant development coordinator. In this role, Gouger supports the agency through varied activities to increase the amount of funding secured by the region's essential social enterprise entities. Gouger brings with her several years of community building and grant funding experience with the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga and has direct nonprofit service experience working with both the state of Tennessee and the Southeast Tennessee Development District investigating elder abuse. A graduate of Lee University, Gouger holds a BSA in Intercultural Studies.

Shannon Amos joins the business and commercial lending team for Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union. As a commercial lender, Amos helps companies in the credit union's 13-county service area obtain funds to start or expand their business. Amos started his banking career in 2003 as a part-time teller for Dalton Whitfield Bank. He later worked in banking management with Wachovia and Bank of America before transitioning into commercial and business development at FirstBank. Originally from Chatsworth, Georgia, Amos earned a degree in business and management from Dalton State College.

Hunter Phillips is named manager of the North Highway 58 financial center of First Horizon Bank, First Horizon Bank, a member of the First Horizon Corp. family of companies. Phillips has spent his entire career with First Horizon and along with his new responsibilities, the Soddy Daisy native is also licensed to sell life insurance and annuity products.

John Bilderback joins the Thrive Regional Partnership team as program director for the Natural Treasures Impact Area. He brings two decades of experience in public health and collaborative community initiatives that have informed policies and improved neighborhood environments that support better food access and active living opportunities for their residents. In his former role with the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department, Bilderback acquired and managed a $350,000 Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The work during this grant empowered residents to identify healthy food access solutions, increase physical activity opportunities, and strengthen community leadership capacity.

Upcoming Events