Chapter Leadership

Jessica serves as the Assistant to the City Manager of Kingsport and was a Senior Planner for Kingsport and Bristol. She is also an adjunct instructor for East Tennessee State University. Jessica served as the Chapter Vice President from 2020 to 2022 before being elected President in 2023. She was also the Section Director for the State of Franklin Section from 2012-2016 and has also served as the Chapter Secretary before that.

Micah is the Planning Director for the Town of Thompson’s Station. Before being elected Vice President in 2023, he served as the Middle Tennessee Section Director from 2016 to 2022. Having more than 18 years of planning experience, he has worked for the Local Planning Assistance Office, the City of Franklin, the City of Columbia, and Volkert, Inc during his career.

Troy is the Planning Supervisor for TDOT Region 1's Long-Range Planning Division in the Office of Community Transportation. He served as the TAPA State of Franklin Section Director starting in 2016. His Planning Experience includes land use planning with the Tennessee Local Planning Assistance Office, First Tennessee Development District, and Washington County, TN. Troy moved on to Transportation Planning for the Kingsport MPO and then to TDOT. Troy supervises all transportation planning in the 24 counties, cities, and MPOs of East Tennessee.

Amy holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree with an emphasis on transportation and land use planning from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and Political Science from Maryville College. She is a member of the American Institute for Certified Planners, a nationally. Certified Public Manager and a graduate of East Tennessee Regional Leadership. Prior to her position at Planning, she worked as a researcher for small nonprofits, transit consultant, and as a planner at the regional and local levels in Northern California.

Sam is an Attorney and Counselor at Law.

Lynn is the Northeast Tennessee Regional Director for the Tennessee Economic and Community Development. She served as the TAPA President in 2021 and 2022. Previously, she held the role of Vice President.

Caryn is a graduate student at the University of Memphis City and Regional Planning Program. She was elected by her peers to represent Memphis planning students on the Executive Board, a position she was first elected to in September 2020.

Ian manages professional development activities for TAPA’s membership and serves as the CM provider for the Chapter. Ian also distributes resources for individuals preparing for the AICP exam and hosts in-person AICP information sessions at the Chapter’s Spring and Fall conferences. Ian has served as the Professional Development Officer for TAPA since 2022.

ian.preston@greshamsmith.com

Bill is a Planning Consultant.

Rick is the National Legislative Liaison for TAPA.

John Zeanah, AICP, is the Director of the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development. In this role, he leads a cross-functional agency responsible for planning, zoning, and construction permitting throughout the largest county in Tennessee. Among his accomplishments, John led the development and adoption of the Memphis 3.0 Comprehensive Plan, the City’s first comprehensive plan in 40 years and winner of the American Planning Association’s Daniel Burnham Award of Excellence for a Comprehensive Plan in 2020 and a Charter Award from the Congress for the New Urbanism in 2021. John has also led the city and county’s housing policy plan, climate action and resilience plans, and improvements to development review and permitting. John holds a BA in Political Science from Rhodes College and a Master of City and Regional Planning from the University of Memphis.

Ian is a Planner for Gresham Smith in downtown Nashville. Ian holds a Master’s Degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of Memphis and an Environmental Studies BA from Rhodes College.

Chuck is the Director of Planning and Community Development with the Southeast Tennessee Development District in Chattanooga.

Logan is the Director of Planning and Economic Development for the City of Elizabethton.

lengle@cityofelizabethton.org

Melody Butler graduated in 2009 from Georgia Tech with a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering and completed her Master’s degree in 2012 in Civil Engineering. She moved to Knoxville in 2017 after several years in Atlanta and Orlando. She is currently a transportation engineer/planner with CDM Smith.