Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee (TAMT) has had a history of incredibly dedicated board members. It’s never easy when a passionate and knowledgeable member terms off the board, but it happens. In 2020, Gail Williams, Kerry Perkinson, and Representative Michael Curcio fulfilled their terms on the board. Their leadership was critical to the success of the organization. There can be little doubt that they will continue to find ways to exercise their expertise and guidance in the communities they serve.
Today, TAMT is pleased to announce the appointment of two new board members, Charles Sueing, President and Principal Agent at Sueing Insurance, and Jamie Dunham, Founder and President of Brand Wise. “The Board of Directors is comprised of community and business leaders committed to building support for funding regional transit through their strong and stable leadership,” said Jessica Dauphin, President and CEO of the Transit Alliance. “We look forward to the talent, expertise, and energy of Charles and Jamie helping guide the work to meet our mission.”
Charles Sueing
Jamie Dunham
“The Transit Alliance welcomes the new members and the unique strengths and perspectives they bring to the board.” said Jim Schmitz, Chair of the Transit Alliance. “By adding fresh regional perspectives to the leadership of the Alliance we are able to meet our mission effectively.”
Charles Sueing is a native Memphian and graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta who has called Nashville home since 1994. He is the principal agent and President of Sueing Insurance Agency, Inc., a full-service agency offering insurance and financial services. He began his career with Nationwide 27 years ago before starting his own agency here in Nashville. He was recognized by Nationwide Insurance Co as the 2007 Regional Community Service Award winner and 2009 District Community Service Award winner for his outstanding community and customer service work. He also received the 2008/2009 Spirit of the Chamber Award from the Nashville Chamber of Commerce for his efforts in leading Small Business Initiatives. Additionally, he was listed as a 2018 recipient of the 100 Leading African-Americans by NashvilleBusiness.net.
Charles has a passion and heart for advocacy, particularly, in the realms of service and educational equality. In 2008, he was appointed by Mayor Karl Dean to serve as a Commissioner for the TN State Fair Board and was later appointed to the Metro Board of Parks and Recreation. In 2016, Mayor Megan Barry appointed him to serve on the Greenways Commission and Greenways for Nashville Board. Charles is a member of the Downtown Rotary Club of Nashville where he has served in several capacities, including the Board of Directors, Membership Committee, Program Committee, Second Harvest Feed the Need program and the Watkins’s Park Community Center. He is an alumnus of the 2010 Class of Leadership Nashville.
“When I served on the Board for the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, I had the opportunity to attend several of the Leadership Study Mission Trips, one of which was to Denver, CO where we learned about the Denver transit system in hopes to implement some of their best practices in Nashville. This was a very enlightening and informative experience. With Nashville being so successful in so many areas of economic development, there is still room for improvement in our transit system. There are so many who do not benefit from some of the growth areas because they don’t have adequate transportation options. I’d like to serve along with others to help develop and implement strategies that will lead to improvement.” said Charles Sueing.
Jamie Dunham is the President and Founder of Brand Wise, a brand strategy firm with a focus on building cultural relevancy for brands. Her podcast and blog The Lipstick Economy offers perspectives on marketing to the 108 million adult women in the U.S. that make 85% of all consumer purchases. She is a frequent speaker and contributor to blogs and news media. Jamie has provided counsel to many consumer and non-profit sectors.
Dunham founded the popular Red Letter Day conference held in August of each year focused on marketing to women. She is a Past President of the Nashville American Marketing Association and is active in her Nashville community, currently serving on the boards of Begin Anew and YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee. She is only one of three women to receive the Silver Medalist Award from the Nashville chapter of the American Advertising Federation for contributions to advertising and her community.
“I am concerned about employees (and their employers) who may be disadvantaged because they do not have adequate access to transportation,” said Jamie Dunham.
The mission of the Transit Alliance is to build support for funding regional transit. Their award-winning educational program, Transit Citizen Leadership Academy (TCLA), is designed to give participants the tools and resources to lead conversations about transit in their networks. Other highly respected programs of The Alliance include a STEM curriculum for high schoolers that focuses on transportation and transit planning and engineering and the Neighborhood Transit Institute (NTI). You can find out more on their website thetransitalliance.org.
The 2021 TAMT Board of Directors are: Chair, Jim Schmitz, Elliott Davis; Vice-Chair, Ryan Stanton Wyman, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation; Secretary, Chris O’Neal, Goodall Homes; Treasurer, Lewis Agnew, Charles Hawkins; Debbie Henry, TMA Group; Howard Bradley, former Mayor of Robertson County; Jamie Dunham, Brand Wise; Mayor Ken Moore, the City of Franklin; Mayor Randall Hutto, Wilson County; Charles Sueing, Sueing Insurance; Richard Warren, Bradley, Pete Wooten, Pinnacle Financial Partners
####
About the Transit Alliance
The Transit Alliance was founded in 2009 and immediately began building support for funding regional transit. The Alliance believes robust multimodal transportation, including meaningful investments to improve regional transit options, is critical to the future of Middle Tennessee. Transit supports a sustainable and recovering economy, promotes healthier and safer communities, improves the environment by lowering Co2, and builds pathways toward equity by facilitating access to enhanced quality of life markers like education, jobs, and healthcare. The Alliance continues to educate, empower, and mobilize communities by highlighting the intersections of transit and the lives we live. The goal is to support improvements to the existing transportation system while supporting a push toward securing dedicated funding for transit. Dedicated funding will ensure the long-term affordability and sustainability of the heart of Tennessee.