Alive Announces New Members Joining Board of Directors

Published on February 8, 2024

Healthcare and Community Leaders Support Middle Tennessee’s Only Nonprofit Hospice

Alive announced that Marilyn Dubree (MSN, RN), Pamela Kellar, Osei Mevs, James Nunnery, MD and Molly Sudderth have joined its Board of Directors. The only nonprofit hospice in Middle Tennessee, Alive provides nearly 1.5 million dollars in charity care each year so no one in our community has to die alone.

“Our Board members are essential to our success as a nonprofit,” said Joseph K. Hampe, Alive’s COO and interim CEO. “They wholeheartedly support our community-based mission, and many serve with us because of the care their loved ones received here. We are grateful that they dedicate their time and talents to ensuring that we have the funds to care for every member of our community who needs it.”

About Alive’s New Board Members

Marilyn Dubree MSN, RN

Marilyn Dubree MSN, RN is currently the Executive Chief Nursing Officer at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is retiring from this role but will remain in her position until a successor is found and will also continue to support VUMC in a part-time role afterward. Ms. Dubree came to Vanderbilt University School of Nursing for her Master of Science in Nursing in 1976 and has been involved with the institution ever since. She has served as Assistant Professor, Assistant Dean for Clinical Practice and, currently, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Practice. She oversaw the growth of VUMC’s nursing team, to more than 9,000 nurses across the main campus, three community hospitals, and outpatient clinics throughout Tennessee and in surrounding states. In 2016, she was inducted into the YWCA’s Academy for Women of Achievement, and in 2022, she was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

Pamela Kellar

Pamela Kellar is the Pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church and the Director of the Fellowship for Women of Color in Ministry, Nashville chapter. Ms. Kellar is an experienced administrator with expertise in nonprofit organizations, conflict resolution, team building, collaboration and fundraising. She served as the Assistant Director of Meharry Medical College’s National Alumni Association for eleven years, preparing and managing the division’s $3.5 million operating budget. She began her career in ministry as the Christian education specialist for the R. B. Boyd Publishing Corporation, designing programs of study for the National Baptist Sunday School Congress and curriculum for its distance learning programs. Ms. Kellar created the National Association for Creative Arts Ministries (NAFCAM®) and is the owner of Clef and Notes Music. She is also a published musical composer and a second-generation minister of the gospel in Antioch, TN. She is a 2025 Candidate for a master’s divinity degree at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Osei Mevs

Osei Mevs is the Vice President of Government Relations at Acadia Healthcare. Mr. Mevs oversees Acadia’s government relations, public policy and strategy at all levels of government. In addition, he is responsible for identifying and engaging on legislative, regulatory, and industry risks and opportunities. Before joining Acadia, Mr. Mevs served as Regional Executive for the American Hospital Association. In this role, he worked with the executive teams of healthcare systems and stand-alone providers in the New England region, advocating for and developing healthcare policy. Prior to this he held leadership positions at LifePoint Health, including Chief of Staff to the CEO and Director of Government Relations. In addition, he led the creation of an enterprise-wide diversity, inclusion and equity program, which formed one of the company’s most diverse boards of Directors. Mr. Mevs earned a Bachelor’s Psychology Degree from New York University and a master’s degree in public health/health policy and management from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York.

James Nunnery, MD

James Nunnery, MD specializes in hospice and palliative care. Most recently, Dr. Nunnery was Medical Director of Palliative Medicine at the Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro, TN. He did his Fellowship in Hospice and Palliative medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Prior to that, he was a Medical Consultant for the Primary Care and Hope Clinic. Dr. Nunnery served as a General Surgeon at the Murfreesboro Medical Clinic for twenty-four years and also served as President there from 1996-1999. He was a Surveyor for the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer, is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and was a Member of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine American Medical Association. Dr. Nunnery served as a Captain in the United States Air Force and as an Air Force Flight Medical Officer. He received his M.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, TN.

Molly Sudderth

Molly Sudderth has worked in communications and community engagement in both the public and private sectors in Tennessee for more than 20 years. In her current role at The Ingram Group, she provides strategic communications, organizational analysis and general consulting services to clients. Prior to joining Ingram, Ms. Sudderth led NashvilleHealth, a non-profit community health collaborative founded by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. She’s also held senior positions with the Nashville Convention & Visitor’s Corporation, the Office of former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell, the Governor’s Foundation for Health and Wellness and the Tennessee Departments of Economic and Community Development and Children’s Services. A Nashville native, she holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

These new members join a strong and dedicated Board team that already includes members Denise Alper; David Barton, MD, Founder; Lynn Barton, LCSW, Co-Founder; Nick Birren; Mike Edgeworth, MD; George Huddleston, Jr; Edward Jackson; Jordan Kendig; Keri McInnis; Michael Payne and the Executive Committee:

• Mary Flipse, Board Chair
• C.T. Stevens, Treasurer and Finance Chair
• Robert Taylor, MD, Secretary
• Joe Hampe, Interim President/CEO and COO
• Claire Haltom, Governance Chair and Chair-Elect
• Susan Simons, Development and Advancement Chair

For more information, visit Our Leadership page

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