Jasen Knight - President

Jasen is an East TN native and works as a Global Product Manager for an industry leader Flowserve Corporation.  He obtained his undergraduate degree in Finance from Tennessee Tech University - Cookeville, TN and his MBA with a concentration in Marketing from King University- Bristol, TN. Jasen and his wife Tara have a beautiful blended family with children Lyric and Aiden. His personal motto: “If I don’t love the person I am, no one else will”.

Lisa Zagumny - Chair

Lisa Zagumny, Ph.D., is the Dean of the College of Education at Tennessee Technological University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in history at Central Michigan University, her master’s degree in art history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and her doctoral degree in education at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Lisa serves on the executive board of the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) as the president-elect and is the founding member of TN NAME. She and her husband Clint Hardison reside in Algood.

Robert Owens  - Chair Elect

Dr. Owens is Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and the Leona Lusk Officer Multi-Cultural Center at Tennessee Technical University. A native of Murfreesboro, he earned both his undergraduate and terminal degrees at TTU and is the spouse of Mrs. Dana Mason-Owens also an alumna of TTU and a Knoxville Native. They have five wonderful children. Dr. Owens is also a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc.

Thomas Savage - Executive Secretary

Thomas Savage , a native of Livingston, Tennessee, and attended Nashville Tech, where he earned a degree in electronics.  He recently retired from the United Auto Workers Union where he served as the International Representative.  He is a life long civil rights activist and community organizer and currently serves as president of the NAACP branch in Cookeville Tennessee that services Putnam, White, Overton and Clay counties.  Tom is an active member of several organizations including 100 Black Men of America, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance, the A. Phillip Randolph Institute and is the State Vice Chairman of Labor for the NAACP State Conference. He resides in Cookeville, Tennessee with his wife of twenty three years, Linda Ledbetter Savage and they four children and eleven grandchildren.

Harry Ingle, Jr. - Executive Treasurer

Harry Ingle, Jr., a Nashville native graduated from Tennessee Technological University with his B.S. in Business Administration and Masters of Arts in Educational Psychology & Counseling.  Mr. Ingle is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership with a concentration in Higher Education Administration at Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN.  He currently serves as the Director of the Clay N. Hixson Student Success Center for the College of Engineering at Tennessee Technological University. Harry serves on the executive board for Cookeville IMPACT Inc. as the Treasurer.  Additionally, he is the Vice-President for the Putnam County Library Board of Trustees in Cookeville, TN.

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He and his wife Sarah reside in Cookeville, TN and have two sons, Harrison and Braxton and a daughter, Sally Kate.

Thomas H. Payne - Vice Chair of Economic Development

Lisa Zagumny, Ph.D., is the Dean of the College of Education at Tennessee Technological University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in history at Central Michigan University, her master’s degree in art history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and her doctoral degree in education at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Lisa serves on the executive board of the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) as the president-elect and is the founding member of TN NAME. She and her husband Clint Hardison reside in Algood.