Please tell us a little bit about your family.
I have been married to Clay Harris since 2002 and we have two beautiful daughters, Aleah and Reese. Clay is also in the field of mental health and owns a business named Thriveworks.

Q: What is your main profession (or community involvement)?
I am a non-profit leader in the mental health field.

Q: What inspired you or led you to your current profession (or community involvement)?
Honestly, the struggles of my grandfather and brother led me to an interest and passion for families who have mental health needs. I have always imagined myself in roles in leadership.

Q: What do you enjoy most about what you do?
I have studied the example of Jesus Christ in servant leadership and I just believed that I can serve people with a spirit of grace and the love of Christ.

Q: What other hobbies, passions or community projects take up your free time?
This year I have spent my free time serving in a volunteer role as the PTO President at my daughters school.

Q: How long have you lived/worked in the Sumner County area and where are you from?
We have lived in Gallatin since 2009. I love this community. We moved here from Fort Worth, Texas to be close to our family members who had moved to this area a few years before us. I love the feeling of living in a small country town, but still having such great proximity to great restaurants, shopping, and entertainment.

Q: What was the happiest time in your adult life? Why?
For me, it was getting married and having my two girls. Now, I am so proud to celebrate 18 years of marriage, and seeing my girls mature and grow.

Q: What is a hurdle that you had to overcome in pursuing your goals/dreams? How did you overcome/ get through it?
I accepted the role of CEO at the age of 33 and while I was confident in my ability to do the job, I had to put in the time and action to prove that I was experienced enough for the job. People will follow if they believe you will do what you say you will do, that trust takes time and setting goals.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 3 to 5 years?
I see myself being a part of growth and advocacy for mental health. I would love to see more counseling offices and people more comfortable to seek mental health services.

Q: What is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
I am a vehicle enthusiast. I love fast cars, loud cars, tricked out cars, and old cars. I am holding out hope that one day I will own a 1979 Pontiac Firebird, then I will retire and go sit at car shows on the weekend.

Q: What sets your community service project, career, or business apart from others?
What sets TN Voices apart is how we operate our business. The majority of our staff and board members have first hand experience in raising a child with mental health needs or they are a person in recovery from their own mental health needs. This changes the way we are able to help others.

Q: Who has been the most influential person in your life? Why?
The person who has influenced me the most in life is my dad, also named Rickey. He is the reason I love cars and appreciate music. Beyond that, he had a big influence on the type of person I became – calm, introspective, never quick to anger, gracious, trustworthy, and content. He was also a hard worker. When times were tough, he would work two and three jobs to provide for my mom and his five children, but he never complained.

Q: What do you value most and why?
I value my relationship with God. If it wasn’t for Him, I wouldn’t be alive, literally. He saved me from death as a newborn, and He saved me again at the age of 7 when I asked him for salvation. I know that everything I have in my life that makes me so happy is because I trusted him and he blessed me.

Q: Where do you find your motivation to do better? What/who inspires you?
It is people and their stories that motivate me to keep striving for growth in mental healthcare. My family also inspires me. My husband is very supportive and that support has allowed me to be able to grow in my career. I also want my girls to see that they too can be leaders in the world for causes that matter to them.

Q: What is one thing you would recommend to enhance our Sumner County community?
Well, you may guess, I think every community including our own needs more options for mental health care. I think screenings in schools should include mental health much like vision and health. It is on us to ensure that we don’t stigmatize mental health care as a community, but rather celebrate it in the same way we do physical healthcare.

Q: What is the best advice that you have ever received, or advice you would like to give our community?
My pastor said something that may be my new favorite advice, if you can’t love people who don’t look like you, you may not be a friend of Jesus. I want our community to be one that prioritizes caring for each other and working together.

Q: What is something unique or your favorite thing about Sumner County?
Sumner County has given me my favorite landmark, my front yard. There is nothing better than a summer morning sitting on the porch swing looking out across the yard at our big trees, our pond, and all the wildlife moving around. It’s my happy place.

Q: What is something on your bucket list?
That Firebird!

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?
Well, I am scared to fly, but I think I could get through it if the destination was Maldives.

Q: What is your go to band when you can’t decide what to listen to?
Kings of Leon

Q: What is your favorite movie or TV Show?
Any award show – I always watched the country music awards with my grandparents as a kid!