Organization Timeline

Founding Task Force

The following community members came together to begin the work of CIS in the state of Tennessee.

Alene Arnold 

Executive Director | Tech Plus Tennessee

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Hal Cato 

CEO | Thistle Farms

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Alice Chapman

Managing Partner | MP&F Communications

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Lonnell Matthews

Director | Mayor's Office of Neighborhoods & Community Engagement

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Sean McCray

Manager | HCA

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Candice McQueen

Commissioner | Tennessee Department of Education

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Danielle Mezera

Education Consultant

Kathryn Kubiak-Rizzone

Physical Therapist

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Julie Simone

Lipscomb University

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Jim Shulman

Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability

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Ronnie Stenie

Councilman-At-Large

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Kaki Friskics-Warren

Executive Director | Dan & Margaret Maddox Charitable Fund

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Jeff Yarbo

Tennessee State Senator

National Network

The story of CIS began in the 1970s, when Founder Bill Milliken, then a youth advocate in New York City, came up with the idea of bringing community resources inside public schools – where they are accessible, coordinated, and accountable.  Operating in more than 2,300 schools in the most challenged communities of 25 states and the District of Columbia, CIS serves 1.5 million young people and their families each year.

“It’s relationships, not programs, that change children.  A great program simply creates the environment for healthy relationships to form between adults and children.  Young people thrive when adults care about them on a one-to-one level, and when they also have a sense of belonging to a caring community.”

- Bill Milliken

   Founder & Vice Chairman of Communities In Schools, Inc.