Juvenile Court Judge Sheila Calloway will receive the Nelson C. Andrews Distinguished Service Award at the Nashville Public Education Foundation’s 13th annual Public Schools Hall of Fame luncheon on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 11 a.m. Joey Hatch, Valerie Malyvanh Jansen, M.D., Ph.D., and Janet Miller, all prominent graduates of Metro Nashville Public Schools, will be inducted into the Public Schools Hall of Fame as Distinguished Alumni Award recipients.
The event, which has become one of the city’s top annual events celebrating public schools, will be held at the Omni Nashville Hotel. The purpose of the event is to raise funds to strengthen and improve the public schools and honor community leaders who have demonstrated a commitment to service and who illustrate the importance of public education to Nashville’s success and vitality.
Calloway will receive the NPEF’s highest honor for her work on behalf of at-risk youth across the city. As the Davidson County Juvenile Court judge, she has made it her life’s calling to develop more innovative supports to help at-risk youth. Her leadership and advocacy for kids have extended far beyond the Juvenile Court bench, however. She co-chaired the Mayor’s Youth Violence Summit and Task Force, served on the Search Advisory Team tasked with recruiting a new director of schools, and advocated for kids and families on dozens of community boards.
“Judge Calloway is a tireless advocate for some of the most vulnerable young people in our community,” said David Williams, chairman of the NPEF’s board of directors and Vanderbilt University vice chancellor. “Through her compassionate leadership on the bench, she is disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline. She takes the time to address the core reasons students end up in her courtroom and empowers them to change their lives for the better.”
A graduate of Vanderbilt Law School, Calloway was appointed Juvenile Court magistrate in 2004, and was elected Juvenile Court judge in 2014. She also serves as an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University. In 2015, Calloway launched a groundbreaking new assessment team that addresses the underlying reasons children and families are referred to Juvenile Court. Through this program and others, Calloway has redirected numerous children out of jail and back into school.
“Every child in Nashville deserves the opportunity to succeed,” Calloway said. “I believe my job is to help Nashville’s young people realize their full potential, and that starts by keeping them out of jail and in the classroom. It is also my job to educate the community at large about the realities facing our young people today in order to better support them as students and citizens. I am honored to be recognized for my work on behalf of Nashville’s youth, and hope that the Public Schools Hall of Fame can continue to inspire the community to strengthen our school system and to support the success of all young people in Nashville.”
The NPEF launched its Hall of Fame in 2005 and honors those who have made an impact on the city’s public school system and community. Honorees are selected from community nominations. This year, nearly 100 civic and community leaders were nominated.
Hatch is the executive vice president and general manager of Skanska USA’s Midwest Region. At Skanska, Hatch was instrumental in developing the company’s Diversity Business Program and is a founding member of Skanska’s National Diversity and Inclusion Council. He was appointed to the Tennessee Board of Regents earlier this year and represents the 7th Congressional District. Hatch serves on the boards of several organizations, including the YWCA and Conexión Américas, and serves on Mayor Megan Barry’s Gender Equity Council. He is a graduate of Hillsboro High School.
Jansen is a medical oncologist at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in the Division of Hematology and Oncology. She also conducts translational breast cancer research as an instructor in medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Jansen has received numerous awards for her work, including the Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Merit Award, the ASCO Young Investigator Award, the Susan G. Komen Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, and the American Association for Cancer Research Women in Cancer Research Scholar Award. She is a graduate of John Overton High School.
Miller is the CEO of the Nashville office of Colliers International, a global commercial real estate firm. Prior to joining Colliers, she served as the chief economic development officer for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce for 21 years. At the Chamber, she was responsible for development and implementation of national marketing strategies and led a team that was named a top 10 economic development group in America for multiple years. Miller is the past president of the Rotary Club of Nashville, chairwoman of the YWCA board, and a board member of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, the Metropolitan Transit Authority and numerous other boards. She is a graduate of Hillwood High School.
“Nashville is a better place because of each of these inductees,” said Wanda Lyle, NPEF vice chairwoman and general manager of Nashville’s UBS Business Solutions Center. “The three Distinguished Alumni honorees are true MNPS success stories. I am delighted to honor their achievements at this year’s awards luncheon.”
Event chairs are Wanda and Jerry Lyle, Mayor Megan Barry and Dr. Shawn Joseph are honorary co-chairs, and Caroline and Rob McNeilly will serve as table host chairs.
To purchase tickets, visit nashvillepef.wpengine.com/hall-of-fame or call 615-727-1515. All proceeds support the NPEF’s work to better our public schools.