Dr. John S. Adams

A native New Orleanian who graduated Cum Laude from the nationally acclaimed Xavier University of Louisiana. From there he attended and graduated from Tulane University Medical  School.  Following graduation, he served eight years in the United States Navy, including four years of training in San Diego, California in Obstetrics & Gynecology and two years as Ship’s Medical Officer on the USS Proteus, Guam.  After completing his last duty station at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, he and his family moved to Chattanooga,  Tennessee, where he has been in private practice since 1995.

Dr. Adams has been Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Parkridge Health System and Medical Director at Physicians Surgery Center of Chattanooga, a position which he currently holds.  He has served on the Parkridge Medical Center’s Board of Governors and currently serves on Physicians Surgery Center of Chattanooga’s Board of Governors and Medical Executive Committee.

Dr. Adams is listed in Personalities of The South and Young Community Leaders of America. He was recently honored by The Global Directory of Who’s Who, Top Doctor Lifetime and is the recipient of The Patients’ Choice Award, Chattanooga.

He is married to his high school sweetheart, Annette.  They are the proud parents of three adult sons and the grandparents of three.

Mrs. Tonya Lytle

Tonya Lytle is a Human Resources Consultant at BlueCross BlueShield where she enjoys working with over 6500 employees. She previously worked as a Senior Accountant and Financial Analyst at BCBST before becoming a Human Resources Consultant. Tonya has exceled in both professions for over 20 years. She is also a successful entrepreneur and committed community leader.

At Blue Cross, Tonya manages the retirement, benefit plans and “Employee Exit Interviews” to ensure all employees have a smooth transition plan. She currently serves as an administrator of the AIM Mentoring Program at Blue Cross, an ambassador of the Blue Cross Family Fund Employee Assistance Program, and a member of the Blue Cross Women’s Leadership Network Group.

Tonya is a well-respected entrepreneur. She’s the owner of a boutique bookkeeping business, which has contributed to the success of several small businesses. Tonya is committed to assisting small businesses with providing financial reports and identifying key areas for improvement. In addition to her bookkeeping business, Tonya is the co-owner of a real estate development and investment enterprise. She has been the owner of several businesses, such as The Mill – Event Hall, Chattanooga’s largest Event Hall with character, which was awarded “The Best of The Best” by Chattanooga Times Free Press for several years under her ownership. Tonya knows first-hand what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.

Tonya is a true community leader and advocate for Chattanooga. She serves on several boards and works tirelessly on many committees of organizations within our community. She holds various leadership roles, such as Strategic Planning Chair of The Chattanooga Links, a Facilitator for the PEARLS Leadership Academy of Delta Sigma Theta, Co-Chair of Delta Academy 2.0, serving as a mentor to Orchard Knob Middle School young ladies, and currently serves as the Treasurer for Gamma Pi Boule Foundation.

Tonya holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Middle Tennessee State University. She continues to advance her skills by being a member of Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM), Bookkeeping Business Launch and the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA).

Tonya is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and The Chattanooga Links, Inc. She’s married to Travis Lytle, Sr. and they are the proud parents of one son, Travis Lytle Jr.

Mr. Travis Lytle

Travis Lytle Sr., serves as Senior Vice President – Director of Community Development / CRA Officer at SmartBank here in Chattanooga, TN.  He has been a banker for almost twenty years and currently manages the Community Development Activities/CRA Activities for the entire SmartBank footprint. Travis has consistently been one of the banks top producers and community advocates. 

As a banker, Travis has used his interpersonal skills to focus on increasing the bank’s customer base by developing new relationships through networking and extensive community outreach involvement. He has contributed to the success of several small businesses and has successfully enhanced minority small business development as the banker for a large percentage of successful minority business owners.  In addition to banking expertise he has also owned and operated several small businesses.  

Travis is a lifetime, committed community service volunteer and is currently a Board Member for the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chancellor Multicultural Advisory Council, board member of Co-Lab of Chattanooga, which assists in creation of small businesses in Chattanooga, Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce Board, and Chattanooga Business Improvement District. He also serves as a Commissioner for Chattanooga Municipal Airport Authority. More recently, the Mayor of Chattanooga appointed him to serve on the Minority Business Task Force and asked him to participate on the City of Chattanooga annual “budget for outcomes” committee.

Travis holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Finance from the Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He continued to advance his skills by becoming a graduate of Leadership Chattanooga in 2009 and the Young American Professional Leaders Class at Harvard University in 2016. 

Travis serves his community individually by hosting forums and workshops promoting small business ownership at churches, schools, and community centers. He is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity. He is married to the lovely Tonya Lytle and they are the proud parents of one son, Travis Lytle, Jr.  

Candy C. Johnson, M.P.A

Johnson’s professional experience includes more than a decade leading in nonprofit, government, education and civic roles. A native of Clarksville, Tennessee, Johnson was the youngest member ever elected to public office for the Clarksville City Council, at 25 years old. Before taking on the helm of the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga as its first female President and CEO in January of 2021, she served as the senior advisor to Chattanooga Mayor Berke. As senior advisor, she acted as a member of the Mayor’s cabinet and headed up community-focused initiatives to create sustainable partnerships and garner external investments to advance economic, racial and social equity — ultimately to improve the quality of life for more residents. During her tenure with the city’s administration, she also led the COVID- 19 Economic Recovery Alliance, co-created the Styles L. Hutchins Black College Student Fellowship and provided oversight for several Chattanooga Dream Economic Mobility initiatives and other public engagement efforts.

Prior to joining the City of Chattanooga in 2019, Johnson worked as an independent consultant offering services to nonprofit organizations in strategic planning, diversity and inclusion, resource development and educational advocacy. She also served as the policy director for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce before relocating to Chattanooga in July 2017, along with her husband and two children. Before embarking on her career in policy, Johnson served as executive director of a nonprofit organization, the Clarksville-Montgomery County Education Foundation for seven years, turning it into a thriving foundation achieving more than 200 percent revenue growth and expanded programs benefiting students and teachers.

Johnson holds a bachelors degree in public management from Austin Peay State University and a Master of Public Administration from Murray State University. She is also a graduate of Leadership Clarksville, Leadership Middle Tennessee, the Complete Tennessee Leadership Institute and a current participant in the Harvard Young American Leaders Program. She has served as an adjunct professor in the University of Tennessee System and currently serves on several local and state boards such as the Tennessee Aquarium, Southeast Tennessee Local Workforce Development Board, University of TN Chattanooga Chancellor’s Multicultural Advisory Board, YMCA Y-CAP Board, among many others.

Charles F. Key, Jr.

Charles F. Key, Jr. is president of Key Bonding Company, Inc., a professional bail bonding service in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  He cofounded the business along with his father and grandfather in 1984, and has led the corporation for over 36 years. He is also the managing member of CFK Holdings, LLC, a real estate management and development company in Chattanooga.  He was formerly co-owner and vice-president of J. B. Finley, Inc. in Marietta, Georgia, a General Nutrition Center Franchise.

Charles is a native of Chattanooga and a 1980 graduate of the McCallie School, a private, all-boys college preparatory school in Chattanooga.  He entered Morehouse College In 1980 and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology in 1984.  It was at that time that he decided to return to Chattanooga to join his family in creating Key Bonding Company.

His civic and community involvement include lifetime memberships in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. ,  Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, 100 Black Men of Chattanooga, the Morehouse College  National Alumni Association, and the NAACP.  Charles is also involved in the Chattanooga chapter of Morehouse College Alumni Association, Chattanooga Chapter, Boy Scouts of America, and he is a Carateer with the Chattanooga Chapter of Carats, Inc. Charles has been a dedicated supporter of the Chattanooga community and has received numerous business and community service awards throughout his lifetime and career.

Charles resides in Chattanooga along with his wife, Cheryl. He is the father of three daughters, Calyn, Chandler, and Kyndall (Jeremy) and has one grandson, Jayden.

Aaron D. Webb, Esq.

Mr. Webb has more than 25 years of wide-ranging professional experience, with the last 17 in senior healthcare services.  He currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of CHI Senior Living Communities.  Prior to that, he was the Chief Operating Officer of Morning Pointe Senior Living, where he worked closely with the owners of the company to develop, communicate, execute, and sustain strategic business initiatives in assisted living and memory care.  Prior to joining Morning Pointe, he worked with Life Care Centers of America, Inc. in several executive leadership positions for over 10 years.  Aaron began his career as an investment professional working at Fidelity Investments where he consulted with Fortune 500 companies on the importance of retirement planning.  Upon graduating from Denison University, he obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Tennessee where he focused on business operations.  In 2019, Aaron was selected to attend a cohort at Harvard School of Business where he studied the benefits of cross sector business collaboration.  Aaron is currently on the board of directors of several non-profit organizations such as CHI Memorial Hospital, the Tennessee Aquarium, The Lyndhurst Foundation, and The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce.  He is married to R. Marie Webb, and together they have three daughters.

Dr. John Golden

Dr. Golding is currently an Interventional Cardiologist with the Erlanger Heart and Lung Institution in Chattanooga. There he is the medical director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory and the director of interventional cardiology. He has been in this position form 2010 until present. Prior to this role he was with the Cardiovascular Care Center from 2006 to 2010 in Chattanooga. There he was working as an interventional cardiologist and was the director of nuclear cardiology. From 2004 to 2006, he was working as an interventional cardiologist with the Galen Medical Group in Chattanooga.  

Prior to moving to Chattanooga, Dr. Golding was living in Rhode Island. There he was completing his general cardiology and interventional cardiology training at Brown University from 2000-2004. Prior to living in Rhode Island, he was completing his Internal Medicine internship and residency at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington DC from 1997-2000.  

Dr. Golding holds degrees in Medicine from Meharry Medical College, and Bachelor of Science from Howard University. He was born in Washington DC and raised in the Maryland DC area. He now calls Chattanooga Home.

Dr. Robert Clark, D.D.S.

Dr. Clark was born in Gibson County, Tennessee.  He finished elementary school and junior high school in Joliet, Illinois. He graduated from high school in Milan, Tennessee.  At Middle Tennessee University, he earned a double major in biology and chemistry. Subsequently, he received a Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. At that time, he was the youngest person in the history of the program to receive a Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree from the University of Tennessee in Memphis.  When he graduated in 1974, he was 23 years and 10 months old. 

Dr. Clark has been practicing dentistry for over 45 years and he currently owns Greater Brainerd Dental, a private practice in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Outside of work, he is on the board of directors for SPLASH Youth ArtsBuild, he is chair of the board of directors for Polk-Clark School in Milan, Tennessee, and he serves on the board for the Chattanooga Area Dental Society as treasurer.

Dr. James Nunally, Jr., F.A.C.O.G.

“Dr. James Terrel Nunally, Jr. is originally from Birmingham, Alabama, where he graduated from Jackson-Olin High School and attended the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) where he was the recipient of the University Honors Scholarship.  While at UAB, he majored in biology and minored in chemistry.  Also, he served as one of the founding members of the UAB Ambassadors which continues to this day to be an elite group of student leaders.

Dr. Nunally went on to receive his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Alabama.  He completed his residency program in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Tennessee in Memphis.  In 1990, Dr. Nunally established his medical practice in Chattanooga, Tennessee and continues practicing to this day.  He has continually provided care to the indigent and underserved population as well as private patients through long-term community health center relationships and private office settings. At various points in time, he has been the OB/GYN Chief of Staff during his tenure with these centers.

At Erlanger Hospital, Dr. Nunally has served as the OB/GYN Chief of staff and as a member of the Medical Executive Committee.  Also, he has been a member of the University of Tennessee clinical faculty involved with resident training for over thirty years and has received a favorite teacher designation.

Previously, Dr. Nunally was an Executive Committee Board Member for the Physician Surgery Center of Chattanooga.  He presently serves on the Board of Habitat for Humanity, working on the Housing Selection Committee. He currently serves as editor for the Gamma PI Boulé of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity and as a board member and Webmaster for the Gamma Pi Boulé Foundation Website.

He met his wife, Dr. Bess Ingram Nunally, at UAB. She is a graduate of Emory University School of Medicine and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga.  Following her graduation they have worked together as a medical team with provision of quality, compassionate medicine as their mission and passion. They have two sons, James III and Julian.