Prior to serving as the Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce’s executive director, Lisa Howe was the women’s soccer coach at Belmont University for a number of years before being forced to resign in 2010. Howe and her partner (now wife) Wendy Holleman were preparing for the birth of their first child, and Howe made the decision to talk to her team about her sexuality—which was far from a secret on campus. By the next week, Howe was out, and the story garnered national attention.
Howe spent some time at home with their daughter, Hope, as partner Wendy continued to coach at the University School of Nashville, before moving into her position at the Chamber and leveraging her connections in the community to help build up the organization’s reach. It’s that joint experience—as a coach and a leader in the business community—that led Mayor Megan Barry to tap Howe to serve on the Metro Sports Authority’s Board of Directors.
"I thought Lisa would be a great representative on the Metro Sports Authority because of her leadership skills demonstrated as the former coach of the Belmont Women's Soccer team, as well as her work with the LGBT Chamber of Commerce," said Mayor Barry. "I believe that elevating the role of soccer in our city is going to be Nashville's next lead forward in the area of sports, and Lisa is well positioned to help lead those efforts on the Sports Authority."
“The mission of the Sports Authority is to acquire, improve, repair, operate and maintain professional sports facilities and their surrounding campuses in Metro Nashville and Davidson County, within the provisions of governing contracts,” according to a statement by Sean Braisted, Mayor Barry’s press secretary. “The portfolio of the Sports Authority consists of Bridgestone Arena, Nissan Stadium, First Tennessee Park, and the Ford Ice Center. The Sports Authority is composed of a thirteen-member Board of Directors whom the Mayor appoints to serve six-year terms.”
Howe expressed gratitude for the honor, and for the opportunity to serve her Nashville community. “I want to thank Mayor Barry and the Metro Council for this appointment. It is an honor and a privilege to serve the city of Nashville,” Howe said. “It gives me great pleasure to give back to Nashville, a city that has shown me support and provided me with hope and opportunity when my family and I needed it most. I look forward to working with Executive Director, Monica Fawknotson and Board Chair, Kim Adkins. I am excited to be able to put my sports background together with my knowledge of the business community for this role.”
Howe’s appointment was approved by the Metro Council on March 15, 2016, and her term will expire on February 17, 2022.