👀 DOGE administrator is a Nashville exec

📰 Nashville Exec Named DOGE Administrator

Amy Gleason, the former chief product officer at Nashville-based health care provider Main Street Health, has been named acting administrator of the Department of Governmental Efficiency. Gleason worked on federal COVID response in the first Trump White House. [Associated Press]

• At DOGE, she joins her former boss, Main Street Health founder Brad Smith, a healthcare entrepreneur previously based in Nashville. [The Tennessean]
• Smith has reportedly been steering DOGE since its inception. [New York Times]

😵‍💫 Another Alive Hospice CEO Steps Down

Kerry Hamilton has stepped down just after six months as CEO of Alive Hospice, citing an “unforeseen family matter.” Alive Hospice has struggled with public approval and staffing in recent years. In 2023, another CEO left, and their decision to sell to a for-profit drew ire across the city. [Nashville Business Journal]

🚫 Trump Cuts Funding for Tree Planting

The federal government has rescinded $1 million in funding for the Cumberland River Compact, which the nonprofit aimed to utilize in the planting of around 5,000 Nashville-area trees. The organization believes their funding was cut because their work in low-income communities might be considered a DEI initiative. [Tennessee Lookout]

🏙️ Tourists, Traffic Push Downtown Businesses Elsewhere

In an attempt to recruit and retain employees following an increase in remote and hybrid workers, many employers are setting up offices in neighborhoods on the edges of Nashville’s central business district. [Tennessean]