Speakers and More

Speaker Friday, September 29, 2023 Estimates are that 1 in 4 Americans have fatty liver disease. While 4.5 million US adults have been diagnosed with liver disease, It is estimated that 80-100 million adults in the US have fatty liver disease and don’t realize they have it. Chronic liver disease is marked by the gradual destruction of liver tissue over time and includes cirrhosis…

Speaker Friday, September 22, 2023 Did you know that there have been five previous attempts at peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians? So what must happen to have peace in the Middle East? Is it even possible? Dr. Frank H. Boehm joined the Vanderbilt Medical Center faculty in 1972 and rose to the rank of professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1981. He…

Speaker Friday, September 15, 2023 “Stories constitute the single most powerful weapon in a leader’s arsenal. –Dr. Howard Gardner, professor Harvard University “Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it.”  –Hannah Arendt, political theorist, philosopher “Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can’t remember who we are or why we’re here.” — Sue Monk Kidd, author…

Speaker Friday, September 8, 2023 So how does a war machine affect world peace? Come to our meeting and hear what Paul Stumb, Ph.D. has to say. A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Dr. Paul Cavert Stumb, IV, was named President of Cumberland University on August 26, 2015. He has served Cumberland University since 2003, when he became an Adjunct Professor, a capacity in which…

Speakers Friday, August 25, 2023 Sustainability is a great and deceptively simple idea in which we operate our world in a way that we will never run out of resources or energy. A full accounting of whether a process or invention is sustainable needs to examine a host of secondary and tertiary consequences to the original idea. An example of a current debate centers…

Speakers Friday, August 18, 2023 We hear a lot about “values.” Of course, there are sales and coupons at retailers; but what about discounts on what we as individuals and communities believe? When does being flexible become such a discount in what we believe that we have nothing to add to the community conversation? When does inflexibility become intransigence that leads to needless conflict,…

Speakers Friday, August 11, 2023 Dear Friend,Jason was my youngest son. He was an average 16-year old. He got mostly B’s on his report card, and he loved sports. Especially football. He was active in his youth group and he had a lot of friends. Jason was the one who was always up for going places and trying new things. From all appearances…my son loved life.But…

Speakers Friday, August 4, 2023 Some say that small businesses are the lifeblood of our nation’s economy. Others say that the economy is rigged to support large corporations. So what is Nashville doing to promote economic growth and small businesses? Since October 2022, LaTanya has served as an appointee of Mayor John Cooper as Metro Nashville’s economic development chief – official title as the…

Speakers Friday, July 28, 2023 Juliana Ericson re-found art when she was seriously floundering and feeling like a failure. In the end, it helped crack her open and transformed her life as she discovered new ways to both view the world and express herself. It led her to become an Award-winning professional artist, teach art classes to inner-city children and raise thousands of dollars…

Speakers Friday, July 21, 2023 Have you heard of LEED, WELL or ESG? What about Embodied Carbon? Hannah Walter will present a general overview of what’s happening in the building design and construction industry in terms of sustainability and health and wellness. Ms. Walter will provide what she has seen for current projects as well as trends for the future. Ms. Walter is the…

Speakers Friday, July 14, 2023 Do corporations have any responsibilities besides making money, such as contributing to a better world? Is there a place for the ideals of Rotary International for “service above” in the corporate world or will be at loggerheads for eternity? David Weil II, JD, will give us his thoughts on whether or how corporations can contribute to the social fabric…

Speakers Friday, July 7, 2023 Do you ever find that the facts lead you to a good conclusion but you just cannot seem to follow through on the actions the facts demand? Maybe shame got in the way. Maybe there was an issue of trust or lack of support. Maybe a chemical addiction blocked progress. Many people struggle with habits they know they should…

Speakers Friday, June 16, 2023 Rotary in Tennessee has had a long history of saving lives through encouraging Tennesseans to register as organ, eye, and tissue donors and Green Hill Rotarians Boyd Fulton and Tom Meredith were the driving forces. Recognizing the need for organ and tissue donation, Boyd and Tom created the “Share Your Life” Foundation with the sole purpose of educating Rotarians…

Speakers Friday, June 9, 2023 Vice Mayor Shulman will provide his perspective on Nashville’s Mayoral Election as one who needs to work with whoever is elected. The Vice Mayor, although not connected to the Mayor’s Office, needs to be able to work with the Mayor. The Mayor’s Office drives many of the major pieces of legislation which come before the Council; the Vice Mayor…

Speakers Friday, June 2, 2023 People need help with conflict. It is our mission to empower individuals and families to resolve conflict through mediation, so they can focus on family, work, school, and community.For the past 22 years, NCRC has partnered with TN Courts, schools, and other organizations to provide free mediation services to low-income clients. Mediation is private and confidential, allowing successful participants…

Speakers Friday, May 19, 2023 “Be Prepared”, “Do a Good Turn Daily,” “A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.” Scouting has traditionally taught these values and more through its camping programs where youth are encouraged to be in charge and allowed to make their own mistakes. Middle Tennessee youth are also priviledged to have the…

Speakers Friday, May 12, 2023 Deeply poignant and astonishingly personal, this “moving story of a death in Tennessee” (Bill Moyers) shows hope can endure, grace can redeem, and humanity can exist―even in the darkest of placesIt was a clash of race, privilege, and circumstance when Alan Robertson first signed up through a church program to visit Cecil Johnson on Death Row, to offer friendship…

Speakers Friday, May 5, 2023 How do people with disabilities physically navigate a college campus where many buildings can be quite old? How could people who process information differently from the traditional mainstream successfully complete coursework? What considerations do they all need to contribute to a creative community? Lipscomb University has IDEAL just for these situations. Dr. Misty Vetter Parsley is a professor and…

Speakers Friday, April 28, 2023 Advances in the medical field are often amazing. So come to the meeting April 28 to find out what new things doctors are doing. Robbie Quinn grew up in Nashville. He attended Parmer School, then Ensworth, and graduated from MBA.  After attending college at Yale, he returned to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt University for medical school and his residency. …

Speakers Friday, April 21, 2023 Ashleigh S. Chapman, JD is a human rights lawyer, social entrepreneur, and one of USA Today’s Women of the Year. Ashleigh has spent 20+ years building solutions in education, business, legal, nonprofit, government, healthcare, and community sectors – on behalf of the world’s most vulnerable populations.Ashleigh presently serves as the President of AFRJ®, a global humanitarian aid organization that…

Speakers Friday, April 14, 2023 The Federal Reserve is tasked with ensuring full employment and ensuring inflation is within acceptable limits. It also shares regulatory authority over bank regulations with other federal entities. This regulatory oversight can affect the solvency of banks. Come and learn how much of this process works from the Federal Reserve itself. Justin ShadleyBusiness Analyst II, Regional Economic Information Network…

Speaker Friday, April 7, 2023 ChatGPT and AI are the new buzzwords in technology, but what is beneath the hype? How does ChatGPT “learn” its answers? Is AI programmed or is it becoming “sentinet?” Justin Ploof is the owner of Mull IT where the slogan is “Your business in the front, our IT solutions in the back.” He founded the business in 2018 after…

Speaker Friday, March 31, 2023 A Degree Beyond Yourself We believe your college experience should be intensely personal, intellectually challenging, and full of meaningful moments. Join a community who will help you rise and reach your greatest potential Rise and Succeed Whether you want to impact the next generation as a teacher, care with confidence in healthcare, or be a pioneer in tomorrow’s top…

Speaker Friday, March 24, 2023 The Contributor is an award-winning newspaper sold with dignity by our neighbors climbing out of homelessness. But how does it work? What does it accomplish? Cathy Jennings is the Executive Director of The Contributor in Nashville TN, a street paper empowering our homeless neighbors to achieve income, dignity, housing, and community.   She currently serves as the chair of the…