Nashville Resident Selected to Collaborate With Professionals Statewide to Address Tennessee’s Most Serious Issues

Leadership Tennessee, a collective with a mission to foster non-partisan dialogue on issues of state importance, has named Terrance Gibson to its 2025–2026 Signature Program Class XII.

In Leadership Tennessee’s 12th Signature Program, 13 different Tennessee counties are represented with diverse professional experience in the business, government, education and nonprofit sectors.

Over the course of 10 months, the cohort will visit all corners of the state, analyzing challenges that Tennessee faces, and will work together to identify the best solutions and opportunities. The statewide study will result in concrete plans to continue dialogue and actions addressing the most serious issues uncovered.

“The opportunity to participate in this year’s Signature Program is one I do not take lightly,” said Terrance Gibson, Executive Director of the Tennessee Education Association, Class XI member. “As a parent, a former educator, and executive director of the largest professional organization in Tennessee, I am acutely aware of the challenges our state faces, and I am personally invested in seeing Tennessee succeed and function as a role model for other states. Tennessee’s success is directly tied to the success of our public schools: strong schools, strong communities, strong Tennessee.”

The group was selected by an anonymous selection committee based on the following criteria: leadership experience, a history of addressing statewide issues in both a personal and professional capacity, and a strong understanding of what challenges Tennessee faces today.

“We take great pride in challenging our cohorts to think deeply and act boldly in advancing Tennessee,” said Dr. Alfred Degrafinreid II, president and CEO of Leadership Tennessee. “The 2025 class brings together a remarkable group of leaders, selected for their proven leadership and potential to influence the future of our state. Through this program, they gain the tools, relationships and perspective needed to drive meaningful change – and this group is sure to harness that power to make a lasting impact across Tennessee.”

Previous classes have facilitated numerous community engagement sessions across the state. Since Leadership Tennessee’s founding, 850 Tennessee residents have become class members of the Signature Program and Leadership Tennessee NEXT, which is dedicated to emerging leaders.

The cohort’s work will begin in August and run through June 2026.

ABOUT LEADERSHIP TENNESSEE

Leadership Tennessee was founded in 2013 as an initiative of the College of Leadership and Public Service at Lipscomb University, and in 2021, it launched as an independent 501(c)(3). The program fosters collaborative, non-partisan dialogue on issues of state importance, connecting a network of diverse leaders and engaged citizens. Citizens with demonstrated community and professional leadership from every region of the state bring their diverse backgrounds and experiences to an in-depth exploration of the complex issues facing Tennessee, with a focus on how leaders can collaborate to effectively address those issues.