Vanderbilt Associate Director of Community, Neighborhood and Government Relations Gail Carr Williams and others with ties to the university have been elected to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts’ Board of Trustees.
In all, five accomplished community leaders were elected, and Steve Turner and Bernice Gordon were named the Board of Trustees’ first honorary members, Chairman Billy Frist announced.
Joining the board in addition to Williams are: Jean Ann Stewart Banker, community volunteer and commissioner of the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission; Robert Alan Gordon, vice president of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney; Claire M. Gulmi, executive vice president and chief financial officer of the Amsurg Corp.; and James Stephen Turner Jr., managing director of Marketstreet Equities Company.
“We are pleased to welcome such a distinguished and accomplished group to our Board of Trustees,” Frist said. “These people are doers, involved and making valuable contributions throughout the community. As Nashville moves into a period of exciting growth and development, we are grateful to be able to call on their knowledge, enthusiasm and activism.
“Longtime members Steve Turner and Bernice Gordon have been named honorary members of our Board of Trustees,” he continued. “Both Steve and Bernice have made tremendous contributions to the Frist Center during their years of service, and it is fitting they are the first two members to become honorary trustees in recognition of all they have done. We are pleased that they will continue to be involved with us.”
Jean Ann Banker is respected in the community for her many activities benefitting a wide range of civic and nonprofit organizations. In addition to current service as a commissioner on the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and on the development council of the Frist Center, she is on the board of the Nashville Public Library Foundation. Banker is a trustee at the Madiera School in McLean, Va., and is honorary trustee at Harpeth Hall School in Nashville. Long involved with Vanderbilt University Medical Center, she served on the board of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt; co-chaired the Iroquois Steeplechase, which benefits the hospital; and served on the leadership council of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. A 1995 graduate of Leadership Nashville, Banker served on the board of the Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee and was a member of the Renewal House advisory board. She is a past co-chair of the Frist Center Gala and is a past chair of The Swan Ball, which benefits Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art.
Bob Gordon is vice president and financial adviser at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, he was affiliated with J.C. Bradford & Co. Currently, he serves on the boards of the Nashville Jewish Community Center, the Nashville Red Cross and the Nashville Jewish Federation. Gordon’s past community activities include involvement with numerous organizations, including Leadership Nashville, the Nashville Zoo, the Sexual Assault Center, Monroe Harding Children’s Home, The Temple Ohabai Sholom and Community Impact Nashville. He is a graduate of Leadership Nashville.
Claire Gulmi has worked in Nashville in corporate finance for more than three decades. She began her career in finance at Genesco, Inc. She joined Amsurg Corp. as vice president and chief financial officer in 1994, and in 2004, was elected to the Amsurg board of directors. Gulmi also serves on the board of directors of The Bank of Nashville. She has been named by the Nashville Business Journal as one of its “Healthcare 100,” and in 2011, received the Nashville Business Journal’s CFO Lifetime Achievement Award. Gulmi currently is board chair of the YWCA of Nashville, where she is a past treasurer. She has chaired the Bethlehem Centers of Nashville board and served on the boards of the Girl Scouts, the American Heart Association and All About Women.
Jay Turner is the managing director of Marketstreet Enterprises. He received his B.A. degree from Vanderbilt University in 1992 and his J.D. degree from Vanderbilt Law School in 1999. He is a member of the board of directors of Farmers National Bank Financial Corporation in Scottsville, Ky., and serves as an organizer and a member of the board of directors of CapStar Bank. Turner serves on the nonprofit boards of The Adventure Science Center, the Nashville Downtown Partnership, The Schermerhorn Symphony Center and Arts at the Airport.
Since 2001, Gail Carr Williams has been associate director of the Office of Community, Neighborhood and Government Relations at Vanderbilt. Prior to moving to Nashville in 2000, she was on the human resources staff of Ohio State University with responsibility as executive assistant of outreach and engagement for the school. She earned her B.A. degree in political science from the University of Michigan and holds a J.D. degree from the University of Detroit School of Law. Prior to moving to Columbus, Ohio, she practiced criminal defense and domestic relations law in Detroit. She is president of the University School of Nashville board of trustees and immediate past chair of the Metropolitan Transit Authority board of directors. She currently is a member of the Women’s Fund Advisory Board of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and the board of the YWCA.
Contacts: Ellen Jones Pryor, (615) 243-1311
epryor@fristcenter.org
Maggie Carrigan, (615) 744-3351
mcarrigan@fristcenter.org