Board of Directors
As stewards of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we embrace our responsibility to inspire environmental literacy and foster a deep connection to nature. Our board is comprised of dedicated individuals committed to advancing our mission of providing transformative outdoor learning experiences. Together, we strive to cultivate an informed and engaged community, ensuring the preservation of our cherished natural resources for generations to come.
Tim graduated from Maryville College with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and has over 30 years of experience in areas of commercial and real estate lending, branch supervision, Trust and Investments, and Financial Planning. He currently serves as Executive Vice President and Area President at Mountain Commerce Bank in Knoxville. Tim holds a Principal’s License and is a registered representative with a Series 7, 66, and life and health insurance license.
Topham is devoted to the community where he serves on the Board of Knoxville Habitat for Humanity. He served on the Board of Maryville College, is former President of the Alumni Association, and the Board of Goodwill Industries. He and his wife Traci have one daughter; they are members of First United Methodist Church of Maryville.
Leslee Alexander is a Tennessee native who has lived in Colorado, North Carolina and Sydney, Australia. Her work experience includes International Trade Director for the State of Tennessee and Principal at LTA Consulting, a consulting firm that focused on economic and community development with a focus on natural resources.
She received her Master’s degree in Environmental Management from Duke University, a Master’s certificate in Publishing from the University of Denver, and degrees in English, Environmental Studies, and Sociology at University of Colorado Bolder. She has served on boards including Family & Childrn’s Services (Nashville), the State International Development Organizations, the Department of Commerce’s TN District Export Council and Discover Life in America, among others. She and her husband manage a small farm in Maryville, where she grows greenhouse and row crops and is active in the Blount County Master Gardener program. She enjoys spending time with her grown children and enjoying the outdoors.
Daniel is a proud Knoxville native and graduate from The University of Tennessee where he earned his BA in finance. Daniel joined UBS from New York City where he worked with Lord Abbett, Private Wealth Group. He worked with and supported many of the industries’ top wealth advisors throughout the country. Daniel spent several years gaining great insight and knowledge into markets, investments, and strategies all of which he brings to his team/clients. In 2015, Daniel was asked to serve as Treasurer of Wesley Neighbors HOA Board. West Hills Neighborhood has a strong presence in the community of Knoxville and consists of over 1,200 homes in west Knoxville. As a graduate of NYC’s Dale Carnegie Training Community, one of his favorite parts of his job is building strong relationships with clients. Daniel and his wife Sissy currently reside at their home in West Hills with their two children Henry and Archie.
Whitfield Bailey was born and raised in Knoxville, graduating from Webb High School in 1997 and the University of Tennessee in 2002. He has always loved the outdoors and, in particular, hiking in the Smoky Mountains. Whitfield works at Volunteer Lumber and serves on several local and national boards, including Defenders of Wildlife, Knox Youth Sports, Knoxville Opera, and Sequoyah Elementary Foundation. He has previously served on the board for Community School of the Arts.
A native of East Tennessee, Tom is a proud veteran of the U.S. Army. He obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Tennessee where he also worked as a Research Associate directing the work of dozens of students and volunteers in support of water quality research in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Upon graduation, Tom worked as an engineer and project manager for private consulting firms supporting and leading numerous environmental remediation projects. Tom is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Tennessee and has over 22 years of engineering experience.
Tom is currently the River Management General Manager at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and is responsible for the integrated management of the 41,000 square mile Tennessee River system to provide billions of dollars in benefits in the areas of flood damage reduction, navigation, power production, water quality, water supply, and recreation to deliver on TVA’s Mission and commitment to Service in making life better for the People of the Valley. He has been part of River Management since 2008 and has extensive experience in stakeholder communications across federal, state, and local agencies as well as coordination with public stakeholders.
Tom is committed to ensuring the communities where we live, work, and play are protected through responsible environmental policies and practices. He has served on numerous technical
panels, spoken at many conferences and forums, and worked with teams for sustainability and carbon reduction. He is the TVA Knox Area Safety Team sponsor, an American Water Resources Association member, and a board member for the River Ranch Property Owners Association. He volunteers with and supports various organizations such as Second Harvest, Children’s Hospital, St. Jude, and organizations supporting students and families with needed school supplies.
Tom and his wife, Whitney, an educator in a local school system, are lifelong outdoor enthusiasts and love to have fun on and around the surrounding lakes, rivers, and mountains spending many weekends camping, kayaking, canoeing, and fishing with their two daughters and water-loving dog. His government service includes being Deputy Director of the Department of Economic Research and Analysis, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and resident scholar at the Congressional Budget Office. He was appointed by President Carter to serve on the first National Credit Union Administration Board, the nation’s federal regulator of credit unions. He has served as a Director and Chairman of the Nashville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and as a public interest member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Savings Association Insurance Fund Advisory Committee.
Karen Bentz is co-founder and Partner of Anakeesta and has led the team since its inception with creative design and implementation of park facilities and planning. Since the park’s establishment in 2017, Karen has been responsible for the management of the administrative, financial, scheduling and project design aspects of Anakeesta.
Karen is a Knoxville, Tennessee, native with a BS Degree from the University of Tennessee and a master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from Louisiana State University. She co-founded Land Design South, a Landscape Architecture firm in Florida, which she managed for 32 years. Karen is on the advisory board for The Great Smoky Mountains Association, a member of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for women, a former member of the Board of Governors for Arrowmont, and a Library Vice-Chairperson for Anna Porter Library. With her 35+ years of experience in management, she is an invaluable resource to the staff at Anakeesta.
Karen designed numerous award-winning municipal parks and was the recipient of the Florida Design Art Award for several created wetland parks. She also received the highest award for Landscape Architecture in Florida for Environmental Sustainability for a regional park in Palm Beach County. Karen is an avid swimmer, mountain biker and loves to hike in the Smokies. She and Bob also love camping with their children and grandchildren throughout the national parks in the US.
Brandon loves to hike, bike, and fish in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He and his family have enjoyed camps and programs at Tremont and look forward to many more.
Brandon is currently co-founder of two software companies in Knoxville and was previously co-founder of Cirrus Insight, a sales software company that reached #41 on the Inc. 500 list. He is also the former Director of Gifts and Grants at Maryville College. Brandon serves on several nonprofit boards in the areas of entrepreneurship, education, and the great outdoors.
Alan Carmichael has provided communications counsel to national and regional clients for almost 40 years. He is the former president and part owner of Moxley Carmichael public relations in Knoxville. He and his wife, Cynthia Moxley, sold the company in 2022 and remain strategic advisors to the firm. Their clients include Pilot and the Haslam family, U.S. Cellular, Covenant Health, The Swag, The Trust Company of Tennessee, KUB and the new baseball stadium,
among others. Alan previously served as senior vice president of communications at the Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest public power producer. Prior to that, he was a reporter, Washington correspondent and assistant city editor at The Tennessean in Nashville. His professional associations have included the Public Relations Society of America and its Counselor’s Academy and the American Marketing Association Knoxville which named him Outstanding Marketer of the Year in 2018. Alan is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Communications and Information, and he serves as an honorary member of the college’s Board of Visitors. He and his wife support many worthwhile causes and organizations in the Knoxville area, including the
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, the University of Tennessee, the Tennessee Theatre, and Young-Williams Animal Center.
As a youth, Alan hiked in the Smokies with Boy Scout Troop 49 at Emerald Avenue Methodist Church. Alan and Cynthia live in downtown Knoxville with their calico cat Rexie.
Corey Clayton is President of Vee Hollow, CEO for Salubrious Farms, and Founder of Company Distilling. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Environmental Soils and Sciences from the University of Tennessee with minors in Biosystems Engineering Technology and Watershed.
In his prior role at Brasfield and Gorrie, he has managed over $75 million in projects. These projects consisted of renovations and new build of restaurants, warehouses, and process facilities.
For twenty-seven years, Bill Cobble was the CEO and owner of Cobble Staffing Companies, a temporary and permanent placement company with 15 offices, 100 permanent employees and 10,000 temporary employees/year. In 1995, the company was sold to Staffing Solutions, and Mr. Cobble was inducted into the East Tennessee Business Hall of Fame.
Shortly after, Mr. Cobble and his wife Donna purchased and began managing the family-owned farm that they reside on today. Marblegate Farm is set on a stunning 250 acres and is a short drive from Knoxville, TN.
Mr. Cobble was the founding President of Tremont’s board of directors and to this day serves on the board. His other organizational affiliations include East Tennessee Historical Society, Foothills Land Conservancy, Boy Scouts of America, Cherokee Country Club and Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church.
Jason Frederick Emert focuses his practice on international litigation and arbitration, government affairs, national security, and collegiate athletics. His clients include members of congress, diplomats, world leaders, foreign governments, and global and domestic corporations. Jason formerly led a European-based non-governmental organization (NGO) where he worked with civil society organizations, political parties, and foreign governments on human rights, rule of law, democratization, and free trade. He has a broad range of experience across several countries, particularly in Europe, West Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Jason is a frequent commentator on international law, global affairs, and foreign elections. He is also an adjunct professor of international law at Lincoln Memorial University, and previously taught undergraduate courses at various universities on international relations, world politics, national security, and U.S. foreign policy. Similarly, he has served as a legal specialist for the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative in Bosnia and chaired the International Law Committee of the ABA Young Lawyers Division. Additionally, Jason is a former collegiate athlete and coach, and also previously worked in an athletic department. He maintains deep ties in college athletics and higher education having worked on a myriad of issues, such as NCAA compliance, administration, fundraising, and Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) legislation. Jason is an officer in the U.S. Air Force, and currently serving as the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate for the 134th Air Refueling Wing in the Tennessee Air National Guard.
Elizabeth Estill retired from the US Forest Service as its Deputy Chief. A graduate of the University of Tennessee and Harvard University, she began her career as an ecologist with TVA. She later became TVA’s District Administrator in Nashville, and the Director of Land Between the Lakes.
Elizabeth joined the US Forest Service as its National Director of Recreation, Cultural Resources and Wilderness Management. In 1992 she became the first female Regional Forester (field general) in the agency’s history. She led the Rocky Mountain Region (2.2 million acres of national forests and grasslands) as well as the 13-state southeastern region prior to becoming the Deputy Chief in Washington D.C.
Elizabeth received the Distinguished Rank Award from President George W. Bush “in recognition of visionary, global leadership in involving corporations, volunteers, and communities in collaborative natural resource management.” She also garnered the government’s highest award for innovation from Vice President Albert Gore for cost savings in the Rocky Mountain Region (over $4 million) and for the Southern Forest Resource Assessment to evaluate the sustainability of natural resources and provide a common framework for decision-makers at all levels of government. She has represented the United States at numerous international conferences and negotiations on forestry, land use, wilderness, and sustainability issues.
Currently, she mentors, lectures, and consults on natural resource policy. She enjoys her grandchildren, a good book, painting, and traveling. Elizabeth is married to John Dreves. She has one son, four stepchildren, and nine grandchildren.
When Haslam founded Pilot Corporation in 1958, it was a family- owned business with one gas station. The company has grown to become the nation’s largest operator of travel centers and largest seller of over-the-road diesel fuel. Pilot Flying J operates a network of more than 650 travel centers and travel plazas across North America. In 2013, Haslam received the Hall of Fame award from NATSO, the trade association representing the truckstop and travel plaza industry.
Haslam serves on the boards of the George W. Bush Library Foundation, the National Football Foundation, the Trust Company of Knoxville and the University of Tennessee Health System. He is chairman of the board of the Baker Center at the University of Tennessee.
Haslam has been a director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, First American Bank, AmSouth Bank, and Appalachian Life Insurance Company. He was a trustee for the University of Tennessee for 27 years and was both vice chairman and chairman of the Executive Committee. He has been the chairman of the board of the Greater Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Knoxville, Webb School of Knoxville, the Public Building Authority and United Way of Greater Knoxville. He also served as the campaign chairman for United Way and was the founder and remains the chairman of the local Alexis de Tocqueville Society.
A strong believer in giving back to the community, Haslam founded the Haslam Family Foundation, which has contributed millions of dollars to charitable organizations over the years.
Haslam is married to Natalie Leach Haslam. They have six adult children, 18 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.
Jane Jolley serves as the Community Engagement Director for the Knox County Mayor’s Office. She previously served as a District Director for U.S. Senator Bob
Corker in West Tennessee and East Tennessee. While Jane truly enjoyed her time working for the U.S. Senate on state and national issues, she particularly enjoys her work on local-level issues that create opportunities for change right here in the community and region where she lives. Jane has also worked
in the legal and commercial real estate worlds before her service for Knox County and the U.S. Senate. Jane’s greatest passions are her family and getting out of the office setting, trading her high heels for hiking boots or running shoes and heading to the great outdoors. She and husband, David, moved to Townsend in 2022 to be closer to the Great Smoky Mountains. Her number one bucket list item is to hike the Appalachian Trail.
Jane currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Salvation Army, Knoxville Family Justice Center, Metro Drug Coalition, and the East Tennessee Development District.
Steve has over 35 years of experience working with a broad cross-section of industries and management teams in his practice areas of Employment and Labor, Corporate and Transactional and Sports Law. He provides sound and practical legal advice to his clients and proactively interacts with management teams in some of the most critical aspects of their businesses. He has provided numerous management training and civic group presentations on employment and sports law issues. He also serves as a Rule 31 Listed General Civil Mediator and a AAA Arbitrator.
Richard Maples is a lifelong resident of Knoxville and has a great love for the community. After graduating from the University of Tennessee with a B.S. in Logistics, he spent 47 years in transportation, warehousing, and real estate development. He has also served on the board of directors for The Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center, Helen Ross McNabb, First Utility District, and numerous other nonprofit organizations. He is happily married to Joni Maples; together they have two children and five beloved grandchildren.
Roy Milner is a sales and marketing professional who has built a reputation for operational excellence, strong leadership, and results-oriented management. Over the past 30 years, he has worked in a variety of environments, from entrepreneurial start-up ventures, to consulting and advisory roles, to multi-national
corporations. Along the way he has founded multiple ventures, and continues to deliver strategy and operational expertise to many of these companies and brands. He began his career in sales and marketing roles for what eventually became industry leading companies in Boston Beer (Samuel Adams) and Red Bull Energy Drink. He led and managed teams to deliver innovative solutions within disruptive category defining initiatives. He was selected for the Cambridge Leadership Group Program, led by faculty from Harvard, to develop internal executives. Relocating to Blount County as a founding partner in the Blackberry Farm Brewery, he has been a resident of this region for 11 years. A graduate of the University of Tennessee Knoxville, he is a lifelong outdoor enthusiast, and frequent hiker and cyclist. He is a current partner in a variety of business ventures across multiple platforms: Peaceful Side Brewery/Peaceful Side Social, Cask Catalyst Investment Accelerator, White Oak Barrel Works Investments, Art of Alchemy Spirits Co., High Wire Distilling Co., and Elsie Marshall Spirits Co. Greenway Village – Maryville.
Caesar is an attorney with Bernstein, Stair and McAdams LLP in Knoxville where he focuses his practice on business and real estate transactions. He received his undergraduate degree from Emory University and his J.D. from The University of Tennessee College of Law in 2005. Caesar currently serves on the boards of the Greater Smoky Mountains Conservation Association (past President) and the Knoxville Museum of Art (past Board Chair). He also serves as General Counsel for Knox Heritage.
Abhijit “AV” Verekar is the Founder and CEO of the Avèro group. Headquartered in Maryville, Avèro provides technology management consulting to local government agencies across North America. AV was named to the Knox 40 Under 40 in 2020 and currently serves on the United Way of Blount County, Leadership Blount, and the Knox Chamber of Commerce boards. He holds a Master’s degree in Accounting from Goa University in India, and an MBA from Cleveland State University in Ohio. AV lives in Maryville with his professional artist wife, Susan, and daughter Ellora.
Cathy has become synonymous with the best in public relations and marketing strategy in the East Tennessee region. She lives it, breathes it, and has a tenacious determination to advance the business goals of the firm’s clients. It’s the reason she’s been able to build a successful agency from the ground up over the last 30 years. When she’s not delivering high-level consultation and strategy to a wide array of organizations, Cathy spends time traveling and bicycling with her husband, hosting friends at her mountain cabin, or tending to her (very spoiled) Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
William Young Carroll, Jr. (Billy) is the President and Chief Executive Officer of SmartBank. Mr. Carroll, also a founding Director of SmartBank, has held the position since the Bank’s organization. A graduate of the University of Tennessee, he received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1990. Following his graduation, Mr. Carroll worked for Kraft CPAs in Nashville, Tennessee, where he worked primarily in the areas of audit and tax.
Mr. Carroll joined Sevierville, Tennessee, based Citizens National Bank in 1992 where he held various management positions including Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He also served on the Bank’s Board of Directors, as well as Loan Committee and Asset Liability Committee and was responsible for all operational areas of the Bank, including brokerage and insurance subsidiaries.
Mr. Carroll began organizing SmartBank in 2006 with the help of several community leaders. Their goal was to create a new, exciting banking environment focused on building a dynamic culture and recruiting outstanding associates. The organization is becoming one of the regions strongest and fastest growing new banking concepts with assets over $300 million.
During Mr. Carroll’s professional career, he has served as president of the Sevier County High School Foundation, member of the Sevierville Planning Commission, president of the Sevier County’s University of the Tennessee Alumni chapter, Board member of the Boys & Girls Club of the Smoky Mountains, Board member of Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic, member of the Sevier County Economic Development Council, president of the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the United Way of Sevier County. He is active in numerous other local organizations including Leadership Sevier and Leadership Knoxville, and has been inducted into Junior Achievement’s East Tennessee Business Hall of Fame.
Mr. Carroll currently serves on the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank, Nashville Branch.
Hank Dye retired from the University of Tennessee in July, 2012. He joined the University April 1, 2005 as Vice President for Public and Government Relations. In that role, he had responsibility for overall communications, marketing and branding activity, and for government relations at both the state and federal levels.
His UT involvements include being a past member of the Athletics Board, the Development Council, the National Alumni Board of Governors, the Public Affairs Committee and the College of Communications Board of Visitors.
In 1980 he was one of three founding partners who started the Nashville public relations agency Dye, Van Mol & Lawrence. The agency is among the 10 largest public relations agencies in the Southeast.
He is past Chairman of the Nashville Sports Council and has previously served on the executive committee of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Board, the Board of the Music City Bowl, the Advisory Board of Nashville YWCA, the board of Leadership Nashville Alumni and the executive committee of the board of Nashville Alliance for Public Education. He served as an elder at Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville. He is a Nashville Advertising Federation Silver Medalist.
A native of Portland, Tennessee and a 1963 graduate of UT, Hank is married to the former Margaret Strom and has two sons—Clay and Andrew—and six grandchildren.
Dick Ray began his career with the Aluminum Company of America at Tennessee Operations in 1953. He held metallurgical and management positions at Davenport, Iowa; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Point Henry, Australia before returning to serve as Operations Manager at Tennessee Operations, a post he held for 15 years. Under his leadership the Tennessee plant was modernized to become the most state-of-the-art aluminum rolling facility in the world.
Ray was appointed by Governor Lamar Alexander to the State of TN Board of Education where he served for 26 years, including many years as chairman. He is the past chairman of the Great Smoky Mountain Institute at Tremont and has held membership and chairmanship of many other civic groups.
Ray passed away on April 25, 2023.
L. W. (Bill) Varner, Jr. is currently the CEO of United Subcontractors, Inc., the second-largest insulation services provider in the United States. Prior to this, Bill served for seven and a half years as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Aquilex Corporation, a leading provider of specialty services to the energy sector with its headquarters located in Atlanta, Georgia.
Bill has led various businesses for domestic and foreign global technology service and engineering companies such as ABB/ Flakt AB, Zellweger Uster, and Invensys PLC. Bill’s background includes turnarounds, significant growth initiatives, acquisitions and divestitures.
Bill is a graduate of The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina and has served on various philanthropic, industry and community boards. He currently sits on the board of directors for USI, Bartlett Holdings as well as The Identity Group.
He has resided in Knoxville, Tennessee since 1991 and is married to Susan Burgess Varner. Together they have 3 daughters and seven grandchildren.
