Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands
Executive Director
| Executive Director | Ms. DarKenya Waller |
|---|---|
| dwaller@las.org | |
| Term Start | April 2018 |
| DarKenya's Experience: Mrs. DarKenya W. Waller joined Legal Aid Society in 2008 as a family law and housing staff attorney. She became the Managing Attorney of the Nashville office in 2010 and the Executive Director in 2018. She is a graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law and earned a Master of Business Administration from Belhaven University. Mrs. Waller is a 2011 member of the Tennessee Bar Association's Leadership Law Program for outstanding young lawyers. She was appointed to the Indigent Representation Taskforce by the Tennessee Supreme Court and is a fellow of the Nashville Bar Foundation. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Nashville Bar Association, the YWCA of Nashville, the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services, and the Nashville Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) where she is Board Chair. She has served on the Tennessee State Domestic Violence Coordinating Council and as Chair of the Family Law Task Force of the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services. She is a frequent speaker across the state on the topic of domestic violence training judges, clerks, commissioners and the public on the impact of domestic violence. She initiated the Civil-Legal Advocate Program which provides free legal representation to victims of domestic violence on the Order of Protection dockets in Davidson County, TN. | |
Senior Staff
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Mr. David Kozlowski | Director of Advocacy |
| Ms. Derria Ford | Deputy Director of Community Engagement |
| Zachary Oswald | Senior Deputy Director of Client Service |
| Mr. Paul Swiney | Deputy Director of Operations |
Staff
| Full Time Staff | 100 |
|---|---|
| Part Time Staff | 4 |
| Volunteers | 728 |
| Contractors | 2 |
| Retention Rate | 65% |
Plans & Policies
| Does your organization have a Fundraising Plan? | Yes |
|---|---|
| Does your organization have a Strategic Plan? | Yes |
| Years Strategic Plan Considers | 3 |
| When was the Strategic Plan adopted? | March 2022 |
| Does your organization have a Management Succession Plan? | Yes |
| Does your organization have a Policy and Procedure Plan? | Yes |
| Does the organization have a Nondiscrimination Policy? | Yes |
| Does the organization have a Whistle Blower Policy? | Yes |
| Does the organization have a Document Destruction Policy? | Yes |
Evaluation
| Is there a formal evaluation for... | Frequency (if applicable) | |
|---|---|---|
| CEO/Executive Director | Yes | Annually |
| Senior Management | Yes | Annually |
| Non-Management | Yes | Annually |
Affiliations
| Affiliation | Year |
|---|---|
| American Bar Association | 1968 |
| ANE (Association of Nonprofit Executives) | 2005 |
| Center for Nonprofit Management Excellence Network | 2005 |
| Greater Nashville Area Agency on Aging and Diability | 2007 |
| Nashville Bar Association | 1968 |
| Nashville Coalition Against Domestic Violence | 1994 |
| Nashville Coalition for the Homeless | 2003 |
| Tennessee Bar Association | 1968 |
| Tennessee Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence | 2007 |
Awards
| Award / Recognition | Organization | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Chairman?s Elite Club | United Way of Sumner County | 2006 |
| Chief Executive of the Year | Center for Nonprofit Management | 2007 |
| David Brown Parrish Award | United Way of Sumner County | 2006 |
| Excellence in Communications | Center for Nonprofit Management | 2007 |
| Gold Award | United Way of Sumner County | 2006 |
| Most Admired CEO | Nashville Business Journal | 2016 |
| Salute to Excellence Frist Foundation Team Building Award | Center for Nonprofit Management | 2010 |
