Meet Our Staff

TBE Staff Biographies

Gary Weaver
Director
615-741-7681
Gary.weaver@tn.gov
Gary is originally from Johnson City, Tennessee and a graduate of East Tennessee State University. He spent four years in the United States Air Force, where he saw deployment to Brindisi, Italy and also Da Nang, South Vietnam. Gary has been married to his wife, Tammy, for over 25 years, has one son, whose name is also Gary and one grandson. The majority of Gary’s career has been spent in the retail industry as a district, regional and territory manager. Companies he was employed with include, Spencer Gifts, Cole National, Big Lots, Oreck and World Kitchen. Gary has been employed by the State of Tennessee since 2011 and finds his job both fun and rewarding.

Barbara Badger
Regions 1, 2, & 3 Supervisor
865-281-4410
Barbara.badger@tn.gov

Doug Rhodes
Region 5 Supervisor
615-741-7676
Doug.Rhodes@tn.gov
Doug joined TBE in August 2012 as a consultant and was promoted to TBE Region 5 Supervisor in July 2014. Before joining TBE, Doug held leadership positions with BellSouth and AT&T as a Regional Performance Coach and Operations Manager. Doug also has experience as a restaurant general manager, route salesman and sales manager.

Mike Rebich
Regions 7 & 9 Supervisor
901-528-5327
Mike.Rebich@tn.gov
Mike started with the State of TN in 1989. In 1992, he became a TBE Counselor and was promoted to TBE Supervisor in 1998 responsible for field operations in West Tennessee. He has two undergraduate degrees from the University of Memphis. One is in Business Management and the other is in Management Information Systems. Mike was the recipient of the first staff person of the year award. He brings a wealth of retail management experience from the private sector.

Fern Persky
Region 1 Specialist
423-434-0354
Fern.Persky@tn.gov

Julie Inman
Region 2 Specialist
865-281-6505
Julie has been with TBE for 21 years. She started with TBE in January of 1993. She graduated from UT with a BA. Before beginning work with TBE she worked in business management. She is married and has a son.

Deetra Dawson
Region 3 Consultant
423-634-6740
Deetra.Dawson@tn.gov
Deetra graduated from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with Bachelors in Business Management and Human Resources Management. After graduation, she worked in the banking industry for a couple of years before coming to work for TBE as a consultant in 1999.

John Pirtle
Region 3 Specialist
423-634-6741
John.pirtle@tn.gov
John has been a leader on the TBE team since 2000. He is a Specialist in the Chattanooga area working directly with the facility managers. He holds an undergraduate degree in Marketing and an MBA from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. John has extensive experience in public speaking and training. John enjoys directing projects, creating solutions to problems, and the feeling of knowing he has made a difference. He was named TBE Staff Person of the Year in 2007.

Jennifer (Jae) Boyd
Region 5 Consultant
615-770-6935
Jennifer.boyd@tn.gov
Jae joined TBE in September 2013 and before that she studied business management in Iowa. Prior to this, she was in the Peace Corps as a business advisor for two years after which time was spent teaching in Davidson County and working with Verizon before starting as a business consultant with TBE. Currently she is attending graduate school for a Masters in Public Administration while working hard with the State. Outside TBE she enjoys working on her own small personal business.

Barry Bryant
Region 5 Specialist, Unassigned Account
615-741-7662
Barry.bryant@tn.gov
Barry graduated from Belmont University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree while serving in the Tennessee Army National Guard. Barry Spent 30 years in the restaurant business as a General Manager and Owner. He has served TBE as a Consultant, a Trainer, and now as Unassigned Specialist.

Benita Davis
Region 5 Consultant
615-741-7637
Benita.Davis@tn.gov
Benita joined TBE in October 2014. Benita is a Graduate of Texas Southern University, Houston, TX. Post graduate studies in Business Administration at Tennessee State University. Ms. Davis has over twenty years in the field of Micro Enterprise training and lending. In 1997, Ms. Davis founded Entrepreneur Guidance and Training, (EGT), Inc., a not-for-profit organization. The agency’s mission was to assist low-to-moderate income persons become self-sufficient through entrepreneurship. Ms. Davis operated adult and youth entrepreneur training and business consulting programs. Ms. Davis is an accomplished grant writer having been awarded over 3 million dollars in federal, local and philanthropic economic development grants. Ms. Davis is single with a daughter, Adrianne. She is also a travel agent and genealogist for family and friends in her spare time.

Donna Smith
Region 5 Consultant
615-741-7691
Donna.k.smith2@tn.gov
Donna joined TBE in January 2014. She graduated from Northern Illinois University with a major in business management and is working on her masters at MTSU. Before coming to TBE, Donna worked for the State of TN as an eligibility counselor and has owned and operated her lawn care and landscaping company since 1990. She appreciates the opportunity to help all her managers reach their business goals.

Rhonda McNally
Region 5 Secretary
615-741-7654
Rhonda started with TBE in October 2014. She has 25 years of administrative assistant experience in a medical office environment. She is from east Tennessee but a Nashville native since 2011. She has been married for 24 years to a wonderful man named Butch. She has one daughter and two step sons who work in the medical field and two step grandchildren. She is excited to work with TBE and her goal is to try to be an asset to the Region 5 family.

Melinda Jones
Region 7 Specialist
731-426-6139
Melinda.Jones@tn.gov
Melinda Jones started with the State of TN in 2004 as a TBE Consultant and was promoted to TBE Specialist. She previously had experienced in the banking and credit counseling sector. She has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Economics/Finance from the University of TN at Martin. Melinda has also received her certification in ServSafe Food Protection and completed the basic training for the TN Corrections Institute. Melinda was the recipient of the 2007 Staff Person of the Year.

Barbara Henry
Region 7 Secretary
731-426-6127
Barbara graduated from West Tennessee Business College in Jackson, TN. She has been employed by the state for 33 years. She has worked with TBE for 20 years.

Cheryl Jefferson
Region 9 Specialist
901-528-5328
Cheryl.Jefferson@tn.gov

Bill Sheils
Region 9 Consultant
901-528-5330
William.sheils@tn.gov
Bill Sheils joined TBE in November 2007 and serves as a TBE Consultant in the Memphis Region. Bill is a graduate from the University of Memphis. He received his degree in Business Administration. Bill brings an extensive business background to TBE that includes over 15 years’ experience in real estate and residential property management in the State of Florida. In addition, he and his wife previously owned and managed two local restaurants in the Memphis area.

Janet Cross
Region 9 Secretary
Janet.Cross@tn.gov
901-528-5329