A dancer and singer at heart, Jennifer “Ennie” Brosius first caught the nonprofit arts bug while working in the offices of The Repertory Project (now Ohio Contemporary Ballet) in her hometown of Cleveland, OH. Though not on stage, she quickly recognized the value of being part of a supportive structure allowing artists to focus on their creative work. She later transitioned into the corporate world, building skills in sales, marketing, and project management across multiple industries. Even then, she continued to volunteer for arts organizations, applying her growing expertise and creative spirit to missions she cared about—supporting groups like Cleveland Opera, the Fremont Arts Council (Seattle), and Kindling Arts Festival (Nashville). After relocating to Nashville in 2019, she quickly found her way into the local creative community and joined the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville full time in 2021. As Program Manager, she oversees long-term education programs like Periscope: Artist Entrepreneur Training and Arts Board Matching, organizes short-form seminars, and manages special projects with artists and business clients. Whether it’s visual art, music, performance, culinary craft, or something completely offbeat, Ennie wants to experience it all, and help make it easier for creators to thrive.

Sai Clayton (she/her) is a Nashville-based visual artist and independent curator. Clayton’s work situates self portraiture and cultural icons as representations of transcultural paradoxes. Her recent solo exhibitions include: [Freeze Frame], OZ Arts (2025), neutral zone, The Forge (2024); Game of Two Halves, Electric Shed (2024); and HĀFU, Random Sample (2023). Select group exhibitions include Flux, Haley Gallery (2025), Summer Break, Sheet Cake Gallery (2025), and Rise Above, Zeitgeist Gallery (2024). Residencies include the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, State Gallery, Stove Works, and the Hamblet Artist-in-Residence at Vanderbilt University. She currently serves on the board of COOP Gallery and is the Executive Director of Number: INC magazine. She was previously an American for the Arts Diversity in Arts Leadership intern at OZ Arts, and was the 2021-22 Curatorial Fellow at the Frist Art Museum. She holds a B.A. in Visual Arts from Middle Tennessee State University.

Working at the intersection of arts and business, Jonathan Harwell-Dye is passionate about empowering artists, arts organizations, and creative entrepreneurs with the resources they need to thrive. As director of programs for the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville, he drives the strategic vision for the organization's key programs providing resources, opportunities, and education to Tennessee's thriving creative sector. With a diverse professional background, Jonathan has held several leadership roles. He served as senior communications manager for a global art and design university, as well as director of communications for a nonprofit arts organization and local arts agency. His creative career began as a graphic artist in the newspaper industry, progressing through roles including online manager, creative director, and editor. Jonathan's educational journey reflects his dedication to both art and business. He holds a B.F.A. in interdisciplinary studies/scientific illustration from the University of Georgia and a certification in creative placemaking from The Ohio State University. He studied business design and arts leadership at the Savannah College of Art and Design, completing graduate-level coursework in business, finance, accounting, and strategic decision-making. Jonathan resides in Nashville, Tennessee with his partner Stacey, an energetic Huskydoodle named Cici, and a dinosaur-obsessed toddler who attacks every day with a roar.

Daniel Jones (he/him) is a Nashville-based creative producer, dramaturg, writer, and director passionate about facilitating shared live arts experiences that ignite social change. In 2022, the Nashville Scene named him "Best Advocate for Artists." As the Co-Founder & Producing Artistic Director of the nonprofit organization Kindling Arts, Daniel has worked with hundreds of Nashville-based artists to launch more than 150 unique artistic experiences since the organization was founded in 2018. Kindling's programming has been hailed by the Nashville Scene as "freewheeling, uncensored and full of heart, pushing the boundaries of what we imagine performance art to be." Daniel also serves as the Associate Director of Programming & Partnerships at OZ Arts Nashville where he has supported hundreds of visiting artists from around the world, including companies from Brazil, Japan, Chile, Germany, South Africa, France, and more. He also works closely with Nashville artists as they develop new works in OZ's unique 10,000 square-foot creative warehouse, including the annual Brave New Works Lab. Daniel's creative producing credits include The Naughty Tree, an interdisciplinary, queer retelling of the Garden of Eden creation story (named "Best Local Theater Performance" in 2022; two installments of Heroic Couplets: Poetry into Film Collaborations with Defy Film Festival; and HAUNTED, a multimedia, immersive experience inspired by the deadliest train crash in American history.

Thea N. Jones is a Nashville native, a seasoned performing artist, educator, and cultural curator passionate about building and nurturing communities through the arts. After earning a BFA in Dance from Howard University and performing extensively in New York City with companies like Rod Rodgers Dance Company, she returned to Nashville in 2015. She holds an M.S.Ed. from Mercy College, bringing a strong educational background to her work. She co-founded shackled feet DANCE! in 2017 with Shabaz Ujima, established Skylark Creative Alliance in 2018 and executed "Intimate. See: An Interdisciplinary Women’s Project," an internationally recognized initiative that led to a historic all-women's performance in Tanzania. As the current Director of Community Engagement at OZ Arts Nashville, Thea leverages her diverse background to cultivate strategic partnerships, develop community-centered collaborations, and design impactful arts-integrated programs. Praised for her execution of LITTLE AMAL | THE WALK Nashville in 2023 and recognized as a "Hidden Gem," Thea N. Jones champions the arts as a powerful tool for community building and fostering cross-cultural understanding.

Dr. Megan Jordan (aka Dr. Meg) is a Southern, self-taught artist who operates at the intersection of art, social justice, and research in Nashville, TN by way of Huntsville, AL. With a PhD in Sociology from Vanderbilt University, Dr. Meg is a National Award-Winning multidisciplinary artist, community organizer, and researcher. Her creative practice centers on whimsy, imagination, well-being, and the interconnectedness of all people, weaving these elements together to explore themes of justice, healing, and collective action.

As Executive Director of the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville, Jill McMillan Palm provides entrepreneurial education and capacity-building resources to nearly 10,000 individual artists, arts nonprofit leaders, creative businesses and arts enthusiasts annually. Prior to landing in Nashville in 207, her professional experience spanned positions in fundraising, marketing, sales, advocacy, and more at nonprofit arts organizations and for-profit creative businesses in her hometown of Valparaiso, IN, as well as Los Angeles, CA; Phoenix, AZ; and Boston, MA. Jill is a graduate of Pepperdine University with a degree in Integrated Marketing Communication, and completed an intensive Masters-level arts administration workshop at Valparaiso University. She is recognized as a thought leader and advocate for the arts sector, having served on Americans for the Arts’ Private Sector Council from 2018-2022 (as Co-Chair from 2021-2022) and as a member of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Music Industry Advisory Group since 2018. Her accolades include being elected to the Nashville Emerging Leaders class of 2019, and being named as a finalist for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Emerging Leaders Award in the Arts, Entertainment, and Music Business category in 2021 and winner in 2022. She was also a founding board member of the Museum of Contemporary Art Nashville (MOCAN), on which she served from 2022-2024, and recently graduated from the Leadership Middle Tennessee Class of 2025.

Benjamin Smith is executive director of Southern Word, which he has led for the past fifteen and a half years. Based in spoken word youth development and education programs, Southern Word reaches more than 6,500 young people each in 8 Tennessee Counties. He worked for six years in various youth development organizations including the YMCA, Conservations Corps, and Summerbridge. This experience included designing programs, developing lesson plans, and teaching creative writing in various forms. He subsequently worked for six years at Levi Strauss & Co. planning sizable events and managing Dockers® licensed businesses. He is a singer-songwriter who has played in country, jazz, rock and americana bands.