July 1, 2024
Nashville, Tenn., – Nashville Public Library Foundation (NPLF), a non-profit organization advancing the impact and reach of Nashville Public Library (NPL) programs and initiatives, welcomes six new members to its Board of Directors for fiscal year 2025. These new members will enhance NPLF’s strategic initiatives and join a dedicated board of leaders, learners, and innovators committed to empowering one of our city’s most vital resources. Together, NPLF and its board fund, advocate for, and amplify Nashville Public Library to foster literacy, life skills, and community connections for all.
“It’s an honor to welcome Lucy Haynes as the new chair of our board and to introduce our new members,” stated Shawn Bakker, president of NPLF. “Don Holmes, who has completed a successful term as our chair, has provided invaluable leadership. Under his guidance, we raised $17.2 million to support NPL programming. Looking ahead, the coming year promises many exciting opportunities to expand our impact within the Nashville community. With this incredible team behind us, we are enthusiastic about continuing to raise awareness and financial support for the library.”
NPLF is honored to welcome the following new board members:
2025 New Board
Samantha Boyd is the Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager at Jeffrey Fiduciary Company. Samantha advises clients on a variety of financial matters. She has two decades of public accounting and consulting experience, and most recently served as the Chief Investment Officer of a family office. Samantha has served as a board member and treasurer of the Nashville Zoo and the Nashville Opera. She has also been a classroom reader for Book’Em and has been serving on NPLF’s Finance Committee, is a Carnegie Society member and has attended Picnic with the Library. Samantha, her husband, Chris, and their three children are avid readers and can often be found at their local Green Hills library branch.
Michelle Gaskin Brown is Amazon’s Senior Manager of Public Policy, overseeing all advocacy efforts in Tennessee. Previously, she held roles such as Vice President of Metro Policy at the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and legislative attorney at the Tennessee General Assembly. Michelle, originally from Nashville, earned her BA in Political Science from Spelman College and her JD from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. Beyond her career, she is involved in numerous boards and organizations including the Music City Bowl and Nashville Public Education Foundation. Michelle is the daughter of Drs. Hubert and Angela Gaskin and married to Herbert J. Brown and the proud mom of Emerson Brown.
Monica Cintado is the Vice President of Corporate Development at HCA Healthcare, where she has been instrumental since January 2015, initially focusing on outreach to not-for-profit health systems and hospitals. In August 2019, Monica expanded her role to lead the Corporate Development team, overseeing strategic evaluations, transaction valuations, negotiations, due diligence investigations, and regulatory approvals for hospital and health services transactions. Monica holds an interdisciplinary degree in Communications from Vanderbilt University and an MBA with a Finance concentration from Rollins College in Florida. Actively involved in the community, she serves on the boards of the Centennial Park Conservancy and Equal Chance for Education and previously contributed to the Nashville Ballet and YWCA of Nashville and Middle Tennessee boards. Monica and her husband, Daniel Scokin, MD are parents to twin daughters, Marina (sophomore at University School of Nashville) and Lucia (sophomore at St Cecilia Academy). Additionally, Ms. Cintado has four stepchildren, Alex, Sarah, Elliott and Blythe.
Nathan Green is Vanderbilt University’s Vice Chancellor for Government and Community Relations, overseeing advocacy across governmental branches and leading community initiatives. Since his appointment in December 2018, he has championed the university’s interests in key policy areas such as student aid, COVID response, and tax issues. Green directs Vanderbilt’s community involvement strategy, including economic development and the Community Impact Fund supporting over 300 Nashville nonprofits. With a background in government relations, including founding RobinsonGreen, he joined Vanderbilt in 2014 as assistant vice chancellor. A Tennessee native and University of Memphis graduate, Nathan began in local government and serves on several boards, including the Nashville Downtown Partnership and the Education Commission of the States since 2023.
Lonnell Matthews, Jr., serves as the Juvenile Court Clerk. The Honorable Lonnell Matthews, Jr. has had a storied career in public service, from being the youngest African American elected to Nashville’s City Council at age 27, in 2007, to being most recently elected as Nashville’s first African American Juvenile Court Clerk in 2018, and re-elected to this position in 2022. In addition to his elected office, Lonnell serves as the Co-Founder of the My Brother’s Keeper Nashville Alliance, where he works with partners to close achievement gaps for boys and young men of color. Lonnell co-chaired NPLF’s 2022 Picnic with the Library and the 2023 Literary Award Gala. Clerk Matthews is also a media and entertainment entrepreneur, podcasting and DJing in his spare time. Lonnell and his wife, Johari Matthews, have two children, Ari (9) and Pilar (7).
Kristin Paine is a dedicated community volunteer with extensive experience in Nashville’s arts and cultural sector. Recently, she co-chaired the 2023 Nashville Public Library Award Weekend and previously led the “Once in a Blue Moon” fundraiser for The Land Trust for Tennessee in 2022, where she serves on the Trustee Council and Development Committee and joined the Board of Trustees in May 2024. With over a decade at Cheekwood Estate & Gardens, Kristin held roles including Deputy Director, Chief Advancement Officer, and Director of Campaign, now serves in a very limited capacity as a Senior Director of Special Projects. Before coming to Nashville, she was at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco and Sotheby’s in New York. Kristin is also enrolled in the Tennessee Extension’s Master Gardener Program and completed the Tennessee Naturalist Program at Owl’s Hill. She is active at Christ Church Cathedral and serves as Communications Chairman for the Parent Association at Ensworth School, where her children Palmer and Fite attend.
Young Leaders Council Board Interns
Dr. Tamika Williams has worked in higher education for approximately 16 years. Currently, she serves as the Vice President Student Formation and Dean of Students at Belmont University, located in Nashville, TN. In this capacity, she is the senior student affairs officer and is responsible for 11 departments that comprise the division for student formation. Dr. Williams has a heart for service and is a lifelong learner. She has presented at national conferences, facilitated workshops, and initiated student leadership institutes. She is a member of several professional associations, including but not limited to the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association (TICUA), and Junior League of Nashville (JLN). She was selected as a 2022-2023 TICUA Executive Leadership Institute Pressnell Fellow and most recently, was selected to participate in Young Leaders Council (Spring 2024 cohort). She is a proud and active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas and first-generation college student, Dr. Williams earned her doctor of education in educational leadership at East Carolina University, a masters in public administration at the University of Arkansas, and a bachelors in political science at Fisk University. Dr. Williams lives by the motto, explore your passions and pursue your purpose!
Sara Thomas is a nonprofit professional passionate about building authentic and meaningful community. She currently leans into this passion as the Annual Giving Manager at Thistle Farms and has a background in trauma informed life skill programming and community partnerships. Originally from Kodiak, Alaska, she now calls Nashville home and is grateful to be a part of this incredible community. Sara is a Spring 2024 Young Leaders Council Graduate and is honored to serve as the YLC intern on the NPLF board. As the child of teachers, Sara feels most at home in the company of good books and is an avid reader and writer. Off the clock, she’s exploring her new home, making her way through her Goodreads list, and trying to keep her houseplants alive.
The new fiscal year also welcomes Lucy Haynes as the incoming Board Chair, Ronette Adams-Taylor as secretary and Patrick Theobald as treasurer.
Continuing Board Members
- Kasar Abdulla
- Ronette Adams-Taylor
- Melinda Balser
- McLean Barbieri
- Tricia Carswell
- Kate Ezell
- Imaan Ferdowsi
- Meg Harris
- Lucy Haynes
- Don Holmes
- Matt Kisber
- Neil Krugman
- Frank Loughlin
- Alvaro Manrique Barrenechea
- Brant Phillips
- Maria Salas
- Joyce Espy Searcy
- Renata Soto
- Rhonda Taylor
- Patrick Theobald
- Christi Turner
- Ryan McLaughlin Wood
- Katy Varney
- Nahed Zehr
About Nashville Public Library Foundation
Nashville Public Library Foundation (NPLF), founded in 1997, is a 501(c)3 organization with focus on supporting and fundraising for Nashville Public Library (NPL). As a department of Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, the library depends on public funding to support operations and maintenance; however, it thrives because of private investment. NPLF has raised over $68 million to advance the impact of NPL programs and initiatives, as well as extend the reach and essential nature of NPL. These gifts allow the library to encourage young minds to read, give teens a safe space to explore state-of-the-art technologies and provide training and resources to adults and new Americans in need of support.
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