New Greater Nashville Venture Capital Association announces inaugural Executive Director
Judith Byrd is a seasoned executive with experience in business, government, trade association, health policy, and journalism.
The acting board of the Greater Nashville Venture Capital Association (GNVCA) has announced the appointment of Judith Byrd as the inaugural Executive Director of the new member association effective April 8.
A seasoned executive with experience in business, government, trade association, health policy, and journalism, she was most recently Director of Community and Government Relations for Ardent Health Services.
According to the news release announcing her appointment, the GNVCA is initially funded through a seed grant from Vanderbilt University while a board is established, an executive director is hired – that box is now checked, and membership increases. In the next three years, the GNVCA is to become a self-sufficient, member-governed organization working closely with the regional venture community and local and state officials to help strengthen the entrepreneurial and investment communities in the greater Nashville region.
The GNVCA was formed in late 2023 as a membership organization to be comprised of investors from pre-seed to growth equity (venture capital, angel investors, private offices, and corporate venture partners) in the greater Nashville region, working to make Middle Tennessee a premier area to launch, grow, and invest in companies. Its purpose is to increase the availability of capital and talent that is available to venture capital and angel investors in the region, so that our most innovative entrepreneurs can build successful companies that create jobs and economic growth for the region.
Byrd was the Executive Director for Healthcare for Waller, Lansden, Dortch and Davis (now Holland & Knight) and served as Senior Policy Advisor for Healthcare for former Nashville Mayor David Briley. Earlier, she served in multiple roles at the Nashville Health Care Council, including Executive Director of the Council Fellows initiative, a program to engage senior industry leaders to explore new health care business strategies, and Executive Director of Leadership Health Care, a program to foster the next generation of health care leaders.
In her early career, Byrd was an account executive with Hall Strategies, a Nashville-based public affairs and government relations firm and was Tennessee Communication Director for the American Cancer Society.
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