2024 Fall Impact Series
Changemakers: Business & Community Leaders Shaping the Future of Nashville
Sponsored By
Join us for the Young Leaders Council Fall 2024 Impact Series discussion with “Changemakers: Business & Community Leaders Shaping the Future of Nashville” sponsored by Fifth Third Bank. The event will be held on Thursday, September 26 from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at Location TBD. Doors will open at 11:00 a.m. for check-in and networking.
The panel will feature successful business, philanthropic, and community leaders working to make a lasting impact for Nashville, including:
Panelists Include:
– Sunny Bray (Founder and CEO / Catalyst Collective)
– Herbert Brown (Community & Citizenship Director / Turner Construction Company)
– Johari Matthews (Vice President & Executive Director, ONE Community & Titans Foundation)
– Christie Wilson (President and CEO / The Wilson Group Real Estate Services)
Thursday, September 26, 2024
11:30 a – 1:00 p
Location: Thistle Farms
Tickets are $20 and include lunch. Early bird $5 discount thru September 13th.
Event Agenda:
10:45 a.m. – Doors Open / Registration and Check-in
11:30 a.m. – Welcome & Panel Introduction – Kim James
11:35 a.m. – Moderator Remarks / Set the Tone for Event – Rachel Layton Smith
11:40 a.m. – Panel Discussion
12:30 p.m. – Q & A (10 minutes)
12:40 p.m. – Closing Remarks
1:00 p.m. – Event Concludes
Please contact Holly Clark at holly@youngleaderscouncil.org for assistance or more information.
The YLC Impact Series is a continuing education initiative, hosted twice a year to provide opportunities to network and expand collective learning around topics related to nonprofit board leadership. The Fall Impact Series is open to all YLC alumni and community partners.
Our Speakers
Sunny Bray
Founder and CEO,
Catalyst Collective
View Bio
Sunny Bray is a passionate community-builder, intentionally bringing people together to make lasting change. In 2015 she launched Network Under 40: Nashville, a successful networking organization for young professionals. She immediately immersed herself in the community and saw the challenges facing the city’s nonprofits. Three years later she founded Catalyst Collective on a mission to change the world. Sunny began her professional career in Indianapolis in corporate sales, tech start-ups and as a business development consultant. The loss of a close friend to Melanoma moved Sunny to shift her focus to more fulfilling work within the nonprofit community. Sunny has been recognized through several awards including The Nashville Post’s 2020 All-Star Board and the 2023 and 2024 In Charge list; named to the 2021 40 Under 40 list and a 2023 Women of Influence Honoree by The Nashville Business Journal; Nfocus Magazine’s 2022 Model Behavior and the 2023 Bizwomen100 list. She is an Alumni of both Young Leaders Council and Nashville Emerging Leaders.
Herbert Brown
Regional Community & Citizenship Director, Turner Construction Company
View Bio
Herbert Brown serves as the Regional Community & Citizenship Director for Turner Construction Company (Nashville/Memphis/Huntsville). In this role, Herbert helps support, align, and communicate strategic priorities relative to economic impact for underrepresented business enterprises in the construction industry. In addition to economic development, he is also responsible for leading workforce development and community outreach/engagement. With more than 14 years of experience, Herbert has held positions with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center for Health Policy at Meharry Medical College, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. He currently serves on PENCIL’s Board of Directors and the Urban League of Middle Tennessee Board of Directors. He was a 2022 National Urban League Emerging Leader Fellow and a 2022 Graduate of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Nashville Pathways to Inclusion Program. Herbert was named to the Nashville Business Journal’s 2023 40 under 40 Class and he was included in the Nashville Post In Charge List as a 2023 & 2024 Leader in Real Estate.
Johari Matthews
Vice President & Executive Director, ONE Community & Titans Foundation
View Bio
Johari Matthews serves as the Vice President and Executive Director of ONE Community and Tennessee Titans Foundation. In her role, Johari provides direct insight in elevating the Club’s community-driven priorities, supporting and driving engagement, and overseeing the Club’s philanthropic endeavors across Tennessee. Since joining the organization, Johari has worked to restructure the Club’s community involvement by using the latest announcement of the new stadium to establish a forward-facing multifaceted philanthropic platform known as ONE Community. Prior to joining the Titans, Johari spent 18 years with the YMCA of Middle Tennessee in a number of transformative leadership roles, with the most recent being Executive Director of the Northwest Family YMCA. In her personal endeavors, she serves on various boards and committees including Corner to Corner, Nashville Public Radio, PENCIL Foundation, and The Community Foundation of Middle TN. She is also a member of Junior League of Nashville, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and Rotary Club of Nashville. In 2020 Johari was named by the Nashville Business Journal as one of Nashville’s Top 40 Under 40 and most recently recognized as a 2024 “Ten People to Watch”.
Christie Wilson
President and CEO, The Wilson Group Real Estate Services
View Bio
Christie Wilson is the President / CEO of The Wilson Group Real Estate Services specializing in residential and commercial sales and property management. She is heavily engaged in the real estate community serving as Past President of the Greater Nashville Realtors; Realtor of the Year for GNR and for the State of Tennessee. Christie currently serves on the board of directors of The Nashville Wine Auction, Greater Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity, the Nashville Chapter of The Women’s Presidents Organization, charter member of The Fulcrum Society of the YWCA and Studio Bank Founder’s Advisory Board. Her professional awards include Best Places to Work, Most Admired CEO, and Best in Business from the Nashville Business Journal. The Wilson Group Real Estate Services has been consistently named among the Top 25 Women Owned Businesses and Top 25 Nashville Real Estate Firms in the Nashville Business Journal. She is a member Academy of Women of Achievement of the YWCA, is a Leadership Nashville Alumni, and named among the Nashville Business Journal’s Power 100 list in the Connectors category.
Our Moderator
Rachel Layton Smith, Sky Zone
Williamson County 2016
View Bio
Rachel Layton Smith is the Vice President of Marketing for Sky Zone, where she is responsible for developing and executing the integrated marketing strategy for more than 270 franchise and company owned locations. Prior to joining Sky Zone, Rachel served in various leadership and marketing roles at Tractor Supply Company, Fresh Hospitality, A. Marshall Hospitality, and The ONE Group. In 2021, She received numerous accolades, including Female Executive of the Year by The Stevie Awards; Woman Leadership of the Year by the TITAN Management Awards; and Top 100 F&B Leaders by The Global Summit on All Things Food. In 2017, she received the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Nashville Emerging Leader Award and the Nashville Business Journal’s Woman of Influence Award. She currently serves on the YLC Board and is past President of the Belmont University Massey Alumni Board. Rachel also previously served as a board member for Safe Haven Family Shelter Board.
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