The Vanderbilt University Board of Trust elected a slate of new trustees during its annual spring meeting in early May. Philip Bredesen, Mark Howard Carter, BE'98, and Dina Powell McCormick will serve five-year terms beginning July 1. Todd Graham, BE'96, will serve a two-year term as the alumni trustee, bringing the alumni perspective to the board.
"Vanderbilt is fortunate to welcome this exceptional group to the Board of Trust," Chairman Bruce Evans said. "Each brings a particular depth of experience, sound judgment and a strong commitment to service that will help guide the university as it builds on its momentum and advances its mission. I am also grateful to our returning trustees and emeriti members for their dedication and stewardship."
The board reelected Jennifer Frist, BS'93, George Huber, BA'79, Justin Ishbia, JD'04, Conner Searcy, BA'96, and Dr. Makeba Williams, BS'98, to second five-year terms. In addition, the board elected outgoing board members Greg S. Allen, BA'84, Kathleen Justice-Moore, JD'91, Robert M. Levy, BA'72, and Mark Wilf as trustees emeriti. The following trustees were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the board as they conclude their terms on June 30: Sean Connolly, BA'88, who will complete one five-year term; Somto Okoye, BE'19, who will complete one two-year young alumni leader term; and Anu Pardeshi, BS'00, MS'02, MBA'04, who will complete one two-year alumni trustee term.
Trustees emeriti Greg S. Allen, Robert M. Levy and Mark Wilf will serve as community members on various committees to provide their expertise in the areas of philanthropy, investment and athletics. Lastly, notable comedian and actor Nate Bargatze will serve as a community member on the Athletics Committee. Community members are individuals who are not voting trustees and who serve on select Board of Trust committees-specifically Athletics, Development and External Engagement, and Investment-to strengthen expertise. They participate fully in their assigned committee discussions and decisions, but they do not hold Board of Trust voting rights or authority beyond their committee role.
"Vanderbilt's vision is to define and be the great university of the 21st century, and our trustees are vital to bringing that vision to life," Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said. "I am delighted to welcome these outstanding, innovative individuals to the board. Their perspectives and expertise will be invaluable as we strengthen our academic excellence, expand our research enterprise, build cross-sector partnerships and increase engagement with Nashville and communities coast to coast. I join Chairman Evans in thanking our returning trustees and emeriti members for their enduring contributions to the university."
MEET THE NEW TRUSTEES
Philip Bredesen started HealthAmerica, an HMO management company, out of his home in 1980 and led it as CEO and chairman to become a public company in 1983. After its sale in 1986, he was a founder of several other healthcare companies, including Coventry Corporation, which is now a part of Aetna.
He served as mayor of Nashville from 1991 to 1999, focusing on downtown revitalization, rebuilding public school infrastructure, and expansion of the park and library systems. He recruited the NFL Tennessee Titans to Nashville from Houston, and he obtained the NHL expansion franchise, the Nashville Predators. In 2003, Bredesen was elected governor of Tennessee and served until 2011. His efforts as governor were directed at stabilizing the state's finances, including restructuring the state's Medicaid program and improving its public secondary and higher education systems.
After his terms as governor, he and two associates founded Silicon Ranch, a developer and owner of utility-scale solar farms; he is the founding chairman. Silicon Ranch is recognized as one of the nation's largest independent power producers.
Bredesen was awarded honorary doctorates by Meharry Medical College, the University of Tennessee and the University of the South (Sewanee). He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2012 and serves on its Board of Directors.
Mark Howard Carter, BE'98, is a senior adviser at TA Associates Management LP. He joined the company in 2005. Carter has more than 25 years of experience in the private equity and investment banking industries and has led numerous investments totaling billions in enterprise value.
Carter has partnered with management teams to accelerate growth through acquisitions, product development and various organic initiatives. As a managing director, Carter was head of the Healthcare Franchise at TA and served on the Management Committee and Investment Committee.
Dina Powell McCormick is president and vice chairman at Meta Platforms Inc. and part of the leadership team driving the company's overall strategy and operations. She co-leads Meta Compute, the team responsible for the capital formation and investment to build, deploy, invest in and finance Meta's infrastructure.
Powell McCormick spent 16 years at Goldman Sachs as a partner in senior leadership roles, including serving on the firm's Management Committee and leading its Global Sovereign Investment Banking business. During her tenure, she spearheaded some of the firm's most influential and successful economic development initiatives, including 10,000 Women, 10,000 Small Businesses and One Million Black Women-programs that have driven long-term economic growth and opportunity around the world.
She also served as deputy national security adviser to President Donald J. Trump and as a senior White House adviser and assistant secretary of state for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice under President George W. Bush. She has been on the Board of Directors at ExxonMobil since 2024.
Todd Graham, BE'96, is a vice president, federal business development leader at GHD Inc., based in McLean, Virginia, with more than 27 years of professional experience in the management consulting and defense industry. He is responsible for the opportunity capture, client delivery and management, and profit target objectives for infrastructure and environmental opportunities within the federal market sector, including U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, of a global engineering firm.
As a senior Air Force reservist, Graham serves as the Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Chief, Asset Management Division, Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection at Headquarters Air Force, the Pentagon. He has been an active duty Air Force and Air National Guard civil engineer with deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Graham is president of Kenya Mercy Ministries, a 501(c)(3) public charity that exists to financially support the Mamlaka Foundation, whose mission is to serve the urban poor in Nairobi, Kenya. He is also treasurer for Ligonier Camp and Conference Center's Board of Directors.
TRUSTEES REELECTED
The following trustees were reelected to second five-year terms:
Jennifer Frist, BS'93, is a philanthropist and investor and is a principal of the investment management firm Champion. She is also a director for the Frist Foundation, one of the largest Tennessee family foundations that focuses on philanthropic giving in Middle Tennessee. She is on the Frist Art Museum Gala Executive Committee and is actively involved in the museum. Frist is also on the advisory board of The Precisionists Inc., the Dean's Advisory Council for the Vanderbilt University College of Connected Computing, and the advisory board for the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation at Vanderbilt University.
George B. Huber, BA'79, is the co-founder and managing partner of Finback Investment Partners, a Miami-based private equity firm. He is also the founder and managing partner of Equity Investment Group Inc., a diversified private investment holding company based in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Justin Ishbia, JD'04, is the founder and managing partner of Shore Capital, where he is responsible for investment sourcing and valuation, transaction structuring, the securing of financing, fundraising and administrative activities. Since the firm's inception in 2009, Ishbia and the team have grown Shore from four to approximately 225 team members managing more than $17 billion in regulatory assets under management across more than 84 platforms. Outside of the office, Ishbia serves on the Board of Directors of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization. He also serves as an alternate governor of the Phoenix Suns, the Phoenix Mercury and Nashville SC, and is a minority owner of the Chicago White Sox.
Conner Searcy, BA'96, is the founder and managing partner of Trive Capital, where he is responsible for overseeing all facets of the firm's investment activities, including managing six investment strategies with aggregate assets under management exceeding $12 billion. Over his private equity career, Searcy has completed more than 90 platform investments across more than a dozen industry sectors, representing more than $15 billion in revenue. Searcy is the principal of Audare Legacy Group, a family office focused primarily on strategic philanthropy, and he has signed the Giving Pledge.
Dr. Makeba Williams, BS'98, is a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Chicago and Peoria and founding clinical director of the Center for Health, Awareness, and Research on Menopause. A nationally recognized expert in women's midlife health and president-elect of The Menopause Society, Williams' academic program development and commitment to cultivating leaders have earned her national recognition, including several prestigious teaching and leadership awards.
NEW TRUSTEES EMERITI
Trustee Greg S. Allen, BA'84, has been elected to emeritus status.
Allen is a principal and managing partner of SJ Investment Management, providing capital and management support for a portfolio of closely held companies and related investments. Before his investment and asset management activities, he enjoyed a 25-year career in operating and leadership positions at several companies in the food and beverage industry. Allen is on the board of directors for Airrosti Rehab Centers, the Houston Astros, Liga MX's Querétaro Fútbol Club, as well as several nonprofit entities.
Trustee Kathleen Justice-Moore, JD'91, has been elected to emerita status.
Justice-Moore began practicing law upon her graduation from Vanderbilt Law School, specializing in employment law and litigation. She joined the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation in 2001 as associate general counsel and research director, and in 2004, she became a trustee of the foundation, which grants awards to support environmental conservation, scientific research and the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a former trustee of Ocean Conservancy and the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health. At Vanderbilt, she served on the Law School's Board of Advisors from 2010 to 2013.
Trustee Robert M. Levy, BA'72, has been elected to emeritus status.
Levy retired in 2016 from a long career in the investment business. He was a partner, chairman and chief investment officer for U.S. equities at Harris Associates, a Chicago investment firm. At the University of Pennsylvania, where he serves as a trustee emeritus, Levy was campaign chairman for the Power of Penn Campaign, vice chairman of the Penn board and chairman of its investment committee. He also chaired the Art Institute of Chicago Board of Trustees. At Vanderbilt, Levy has served on the College of Arts and Science Board of Visitors.
Trustee Mark Wilf has been elected to emeritus status.
Wilf is president of Garden Homes, an international real estate development firm based in New Jersey. He is also owner/president of the Minnesota Vikings and serves as owner and chairman of the Orlando City Soccer Club and the NWSL's Orlando Pride. Wilf is deeply committed to the importance of philanthropic giving. He serves as a trustee of the Wilf Family Foundations and is chairman of the board of governors of The Jewish Agency for Israel. He is the previous chairman of the board of the Jewish Federations of North America.
NEW COMMUNITY MEMBER
Grammy Award-winning and Emmy-nominated comedian Nate Bargatze is one of the biggest names in comedy today. Hailed as "The Nicest Man in Stand-Up" by The Atlantic and "One of the Funniest People" by CBS Mornings, the bestselling author, podcaster, director, producer and actor is currently on his 2026 Big Dumb Eyes World Tour. He is selling out arenas, breaking venue attendance records and surpassing 1.9 million tickets sold. Bargatze hosted, created, and executive-produced a comedy game show called The Greatest Average American for ABC/Hulu. His debut book, Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind, became an instant New York Times No. 1 bestseller and was on the list for 11 weeks.
A fan favorite on Saturday Night Live, Bargatze has hosted the show twice to critical acclaim and co-produced the CBS special Nate Bargatze's Nashville Christmas. On the film side, Bargatze co-wrote, executive-produced, and stars in the Sony Pictures comedy The Breadwinner, releasing May 29. His stand-up specials include The Tennessee Kid, The Greatest Average American and Hello World, while his latest Netflix special, Your Friend, Nate Bargatze, ranked among the platform's most-watched shows and won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. Locally, Bargatze recently accepted the "Bud" Wendell award for his dedication to Nashville tourism and hospitality. In 2023, he launched Nateland Entertainment, a family-friendly content company that produces stand-up, podcasts, and scripted film and television projects and is currently developing a theme park in Nashville.
