KUB

Cheryl Ball	Ball is the Chief Policy Officer for the City of Knoxville which includes leading policy initiatives for the continued progression of City goals, and community advancement through outreach across the diverse composition of residents, stakeholders, community partners, and businesses. Prior to joining the City, Ball led the Community Schools initiative for Great Schools Partnership and then Knox Education Foundation. She has worked equally in the private and non-profit sectors, has owned and operated her own company, and has strong relationships in the local and regional community. Her community leadership has spanned a wide variety of charitable and professional organizations. Ball earned an MBA from University of Tennessee and has a bachelor’s degree in communications media/public relations with a minor in marketing from Appalachian State University. She is Accredited in Public Relations (APR) through the Public Relations Society of America. Cheryl loves to explore the outdoors, garden, and travel, and she currently resides in South Knoxville with her husband, Jonathan.
Nancy Friedrich	Friedrich is a retired teacher and active community volunteer. She served as Executive Director of WOW Urban Ministry from 2002 to 2009 and is a board member and past Chair of Volunteer Ministry Center. She has been an ELCA Lutheran Church Sunday School teacher for more than 35 years and currently leads an art class for unhoused individuals through Volunteer Ministry Center. Friedrich has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Butler University and a Master of Education from Arkansas State University.
Misty Goodwin	Goodwin is Chief Programs Officer for the Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee where she serves as an advocate for low-income individuals and families. She has more than 22 years of management experience and currently oversees a staff of more than 70 people in 10 different federally funded programs. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Ecology with an emphasis in Therapeutic Recreation from the University of Tennessee. Goodwin has served on multiple boards and panels, including Project Help, the Mayor’s Roundtable on Homelessness, the Affordable Housing Fund Advisory Committee, the Office on Housing Stability, and the Knoxville-Knox County Homeless Coalition.
Melissa Hinten	Hinten serves as the Executive Director of Trees Knoxville, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and expanding the urban tree canopy in Knoxville and Knox County. With a deep commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship, she joined Trees Knoxville in 2024 to further its mission of fostering greener, healthier communities. Before her role at Trees Knoxville, Hinten was the Sustainability Program Director and a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geography & Sustainability at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Over her tenure, she taught courses spanning human-environment interactions, weather and climate, ecology, and sustainability. Hinten holds a Ph.D in Geography from the University of Oklahoma, where her research focused on land use change in the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Her academic background and professional experience reflect a lifelong dedication to understanding and protecting the natural world.
Laura Johns	Johns is the Senior Manufacturing Director for Coatings Materials with Dow Chemical. She is originally from North Carolina and graduated from NC State University with a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering. Johns has been with Dow for 24 years in multiple locations, including Charleston, WV, Freeport, TX, and now Knoxville. Johns and her husband Jay have two children and enjoy spending time outdoors and traveling.
Vincent Jones, Jr.	Jones is the Pastor of Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, where he leads a diverse congregation and provides spiritual guidance in an inclusive and welcoming environment. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College and a Master of Divinity from Columbia Theological Seminary. Jones is involved in numerous community organizations, including Partnership Tennessee, the City of Knoxville African American Equity Restoration Task Force, Justice Knox - Affordable Housing and Economic Empowerment Committee, and Knox County Schools Superintendent’s Council for Accelerating Student Learning. Jones has received multiple recognitions for his work, including Rose Castle Foundation Fellow International Fellowship in Sustainable Peace, Georgia State University Carl V. Patton Community Service and Social Justice Partner of the Year, and the 2025 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Commission Grand Marshall Award. He is also a graduate of Leadership Knoxville’s Class of 2024.
Claudia Mata	Mata is originally from Guadalajara, Mexico and has been part of the Knoxville community for almost 23 years. She became a leader in the community to advocate for more resources that she saw were lacking in the Hispanic community. Over the last 7 years, Claudia has been on the frontlines of creating a more welcoming Knoxville for everyone. In August of 2020, she became Centro Hispano de East TN's first Information and Referral Coordinator, helping Hispanic families across East TN access vital resources available to them to be able to fully participate in our community. Later, she became the Housing Coordinator for the Emergency Rental Assistance program through Centro Hispano and the Knox County government, which aimed to provide housing assistance for the Hispanic community. She then served as a Mobility Mentor in partnership with United Way and the Department of Human Resources. Claudia currently serves as Centro Hispano’s Senior Resource Coordinator, overseeing the Information and Referral Coordinator, Housing Coordinator, Civic Participation Coordinator, and Mobility Mentor.
Amy Nolan	Nolan is Vice President of Regional Enhancement for the Knoxville Chamber, where she oversees the organization’s initiatives that seek to drive regional economic prosperity by improving the business climate, infrastructure, talent availability and the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Before joining the Chamber as its Vice President of Public Policy in 2016, Nolan served for 10 years as the publisher and editor of the Greater Knoxville Business Journal. She also worked as then-Mayor Bill Haslam’s press secretary during his first term. She is a member of the Sycamore Institute’s Community Council and the Executive Women’s Association. She is also a graduate of Leadership Knoxville’s Class of 2013.
Dr. John Nolt	Dr. Nolt is Professor Emeritus in Philosophy at The University of Tennessee and a Research Fellow in the Energy and Environment program of the Howard Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy. Dr. Nolt graduated with his Ph.D from Ohio State University and began his academic employment with The University of Tennessee in 1978. Throughout his career, Dr. Nolt has published numerous books, articles, and briefs discussing environmental matters, logic, intergenerational ethics, formal value theory, and more. With his environmental ethics and animal welfare courses, Dr. Nolt worked with numerous organizations on student service learning projects including Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center, Zoo Knoxville, Ijams Nature Center, and Friends of the Smokies. Dr. Nolt serves on the Executive Committee of the Harvey Broome Group of the Sierra Club. In 2024, Dr. Nolt was the Schweitzer Fellow in environmental ethics at Cambridge University.
Brian Strutz	Brian Strutz, along with his wife Jessica, are the owners of the wildly busy downtown restaurant, A Dopo Pizza, and partners at the beloved Potchke. In 2021, Strutz was recognized as a member of the Knox News 40 Under 40. He has served on the board of Nourish Knoxville and chair of the Knoxville Independent Restaurant Coalition. Strutz has a passion for the small business community in Knoxville as he believes the culture of our city is best defined by the people who live, work, and take risks here.
Janet Testerman	Testerman, a Knoxville native, is the CEO of Young-Williams Animal Center, the largest municipal nonprofit animal welfare organization in Tennessee. She earned her bachelor’s degree in communication from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, and Master of Arts in strategic communication from American University in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the local nonprofit animal welfare organization in 2016, she spent nearly a decade in communications as manager of internal communications for Scripps Networks Interactive and earlier as executive editor of E.W. Scripps’ custom publications, Knoxville Magazine and skirt! Magazine. Before returning to her communications background, she owned and operated Testerman Cooperative Catering, a full-service, off-premise catering company for nearly eight years. Testerman was elected to Knoxville City Council, At-large, Seat B in 2019, and has served on numerous boards including, Truist Bank Community Advisory Board, Metropolitan Drug Coalition, Knoxville Tourism & Sports Corporation (now Visit Knoxville), Bijou Theatre, Dogwood Arts, Leadership Knoxville, and Young-Williams Animal Center for five years prior to joining the organization full time.
Yassin Terou	Terou is owner of Yassin’s Falafel House, a staple of downtown Knoxville with locations in West Knoxville and Alcoa. In 2018, Yassin’s Falafel House was recognized by Reader’s Digest and Good Morning America as the “Nicest Place in America”. In 2022, Terou was recognized as a member of Knoxville News Sentinel’s 40 Under 40. Terou describes himself as an America Syrian man who loves his community and is honored to serve on the Community Advisory Panel.
Wes Willoughby	Wes Willoughby is the Director of Utilities & Energy Services, Facility Services at The University of Tennessee. His previous roles at the university include Assistant Director of Utilities & Energy Services and General Superintendent of Plumbing.
Keira Wyatt	Wyatt is a native of Knoxville and Executive Director and Co-Founder of C.O.N.N.E.C.T. (Community Organizations Networking Neighborhoods Encouraging Change Together) Ministries, a faith-based organization, since 2006. Mrs. Wyatt is a licensed Clergy with the A.M.E. Zion Church. She earned a master’s degree from Johnson University in Ethics and Leadership and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Tennessee. She is retired from Philip Morris USA as a Territory Sales Manager after 20+ years of service and currently owns Wyatt’s Classic Caterers (since 1996). She has previously served on various boards and committees, including Leadership Knoxville Curriculum Committee (2016-2020), Come to the Waters, a youth summer camp program, (2020-2022), Girl Talk (2012-2013), Atlantic Capital Bank Community Advisory Board (2016-2019), Johnson University Community Advisory Board-Park City Project (2009-2011), and is a Founding Member of East Tennessee Reentry Collaborative (2011-Present) and Help House (2009-2011).

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Community Advisory Panel Members