Staff Bios
Sydney Rogers, Executive Director
Sydney completed a 30 year career in higher education with Nashville State Community College in 2005, retiring from the college as the Vice President of Community and Economic Development. During her tenure there, she was a faculty member, a department chair, and Dean of Technology and Executive Vice President. While at the college, she led a 10-year effort to develop collaborative work force development initiatives with support and funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) where she founded a regional Center for Information Technology Education (CITE) and The Case Files project. While at Nashville State, she developed the design for the Tennessee Board of Regents on-line degree program (RODP). She has served on many local and national non-profit boards and NSF National Visiting Committees.
Melissa Jaggers, Associate Director
Melissa came to Alignment Nashville after serving as Director of Grant Development at Nashville State Community College for six years, where she worked to secure several federally funded grants from the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Education, and other sources. She also served as Nashville State’s Director of Development, raising private funds for the institution and working with the Nashville State Foundation. Previously, Melissa was Director of Marketing at the Renaissance Center in Dickson, Tennessee, and Account Manager at Fletcher & Rowley Political Consulting. Melissa holds a BA in Political Science from Western Kentucky University.
Glen Biggs, Associate Director
Glen brings over twenty-five years of diverse professional experience to Alignment Nashville. His experience spans the corporate, non-profit, and private sectors with various managerial responsibilities including marketing, technology and resource management. Glen proudly served at the Oasis Center, a Nashville non-profit agency dedicated to youth and teens, for ten years. While at Oasis, his areas of oversight included technology and systems administration, resource development, grants management, and staff development. Glen holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) from Aquinas College and is a certified Life and Business Coach (NLPC).
Anthony Johnson, America's Promise Collaborative Coordinator
Anthony B. Johnson, Esq., is a native of Memphis, TN. He has a Bachelor’s of Science and Master’s of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee State University (TSU) and a Juris Doctorate from Howard University School of Law. Mr. Johnson is member of the Wisconsin State Bar. He has extensive legal experience in corporate and securities law, business and contract law, real estate development and intellectual property law. Mr. Johnson has taught engineering and engineering ethics classes in the Mechanical and Manufacturing Department in the College of Engineering, Technology and Computer Science at TSU. Anthony joins Alignment Nashville from CommunityNashville, where he was Vice President of Program Services. He spends a lot of time nurturing, coaching and mentoring youth and is well versed in youth empowerment and service learning initiatives. Mr. Johnson is an experienced and gifted facilitator and well read on issues of race, diversity, privilege and inclusiveness.
Sandra Harris, Art to STEM Program Manager
Sandra Harris is a graduate of The University of West Florida and a multimedia professional since 1987. She made the leap from Pensacola, FL, to Nashville for work at WKRN-TV as a newscast director. Sandra moved into entertainment broadcasting, working on “The Crook and Chase Show,” where she created graphics and occasionally directed, “This Week In Country Music.” When the Renaissance Center called, Sandra joined the Emmy-winning Multimedia Department as a director/community coordinator/internship & volunteer coordinator. Sandra is also a professional actor/model and voice-over talent, and is often singing with the radio in her car.
Lindsey Kurtz, Culture Re-Tooling Support
Lindsey is a senior at Vanderbilt University pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Human and Organizational Development. Her field of study within the department is Community Leadership and Development which has led her to intern for Alignment Nashville. Lindsey is most interested in collaborative efforts of community organizations as well as working with children. As an honors student, she is also an assistant researcher doing network analysis. Originally from just outside of Detroit, Michigan, Lindsey hopes to bring a new perspective to Alignment Nashville as an intern this fall and actively apply her theoretical background of communities.
Diane Long, Grants Developer
Diane comes to Alignment after more than 30 years in the complementary fields of communication and education. As a veteran journalist, she has earned national recognition for her coverage of education, including a series on No Child Left Behind. She has also worked with the communication department of Metro Schools to further her goal of helping the public understand the challenges and accomplishments of public education. Diane is a certified secondary English teacher, with a BA degree from Peabody College of Education, and is just two classes away from a Masters Degree in Educational Administration at Tennessee State University.
Rachel Moore, Administrative Assistant
Rachel holds a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre and Speech with a concentration in Production Design and Management from the University of Tennessee – Chattanooga. Rachel came to Alignment Nashville from Management Solutions Group, LLC, a company that provides consultation and facilitation in the arenas of management and organizational development. She is an alumna of the 2008 Nashville Emerging Leaders and serves as the administrative support for the program. Rachel spends most of her time investing in the lives of others and in conversations with her community of faith. She also volunteers at a number of organizations in the area.
Bob Teague, Office Manager
Bob began working with Alignment Nashville on planning committees and special projects after serving as Public Information Liaison with MNPS. In addition to being a successful entrepreneur, corporate executive, and professional business and technology consultant, Bob continues to hold numerous leadership positions in business, industry, civic, and community organizations. An alum of the University of West Florida, Belmont University, Nashville State Community College, and Austin Peay State University, Bob earned advanced degrees in Technology, Management, and Marketing.
