The Gallatin area has so much to offer and we are eager to help you continue to make the most of it. Let us help you experience the support of our team, educate the community about your offerings, and engage with other members in meaningful ways.
Kim Baker, IOM, TCEcD, TNCCE
President & CEO
Meet Kim Baker
Kim Baker began work with the Gallatin Area Chamber of Commerce in November 2013 and was named CEO in February 2015.
Calling Gallatin home since 2000, Kim is always proud to share that she’s a Knight, Green Wave, Pioneer, Vol, AND Blue Raider! After finishing at Vol State, she headed down the road to become a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Communication as well as University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services, where she obtained her Tennessee Certified Economic Developer (TCEcD) designation. Additionally, Kim completed the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce Executives Institute as well as four years of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute, earning the IOM designation. In 2022, Kim became a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Leads Fellow after completing a fellowship focused on pressing education and workforce challenges nationwide. In 2023, Kim became one of the first Chamber leaders in the state to earn the Tennessee Certified Chamber Executive designation.
Kim is a graduate of Leadership Middle Tennessee, Leadership Sumner, Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee’s Transit Citizen Leadership Academy, and loves leadership programs so much she developed and launched Leadership Gallatin in 2019.
Kim currently serves as a Girl Scout leader for Gallatin Troop #1882, as a board member for the United Way of Sumner County, Volunteer State Community College Foundation, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce Executives, and Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee.
Kim considers herself to be a lifelong learner, valuing the importance of education in our community, and enjoys serving on the Career and Technical Education Advisory Panels at her alma mater, Gallatin High School, and also Station Camp High School. As an alumna of Pope John Paul II Preparatory School, too, she is proud to serve as a member of their Innovation Advisory Team.
Kim was named Leadership Sumner’s Alumni of the year in 2019, the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives’s Top 40 under 40 in 2021, and Pope John Paul II Preparatory School’s Mentor of the Year in 2023. In 2024, Kim was recognized as the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce Executive’s Executive of the Year as well as Vol State Community College’s Distinguished Alumnus and United Way’s Advocate of the Year.
Prior to joining the Chamber team, Kim spent many years in the service industry tending bar as well as working as a nanny for local families. Because of this, Kim still enjoys free-lance bartending and working with children. Sometimes, you can find her and her husband serving as “local celebrity” bartenders at fundraisers where they donate their time and she considers some of her best days when she’s invited to read to local kiddos!
Kim is a Wonder Woman enthusiast who almost always has a coffee in-hand, loves Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, has a niche for event planning, and is passionate about small business as well as local growth & development. When Kim is not spreading the local love around Gallatin, she enjoys spending time just about anywhere with her history-lovin’ husband, Ryan, Eagle Scout bonus son, Hayden, and wild, redheaded daughter, Annlyn Graham. Add their wild hound dog, Georgia, and Gallatin’s favorite Golden Retriever, Rooby, to the mix, and you can officially say Gallatin, Tennessee has a circus!
Zena Parks
Vice President of Operations
Meet Zena Parks
Zena Rodgers Parks began work with the Gallatin Area Chamber of Commerce in February 2007 as Assistant Director and was named Chief Operating Officer in November 2014. She has worked at the Gallatin Chamber since 2007. Before coming to the Gallatin Chamber, Zena worked in the Optometry field as an Optometric Assistant and Administrative Assistant for over 20 years. She was also licensed in health, life, property and casualty insurance.
Zena is a lifelong resident of Gallatin, contributing a wealth of knowledge of the community to the Chamber and its visitors. She attended Middle Tennessee State University where she studied Business Administration. Zena completed her training in the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce Executives Institute in March of 2009 and continues to attend continuing education courses throughout the year. Currently, Zena serves as the market manager of the Gallatin Farmers Market under the umbrella of the Gallatin Area Chamber of Commerce. She is also a member of Tennessee Association of Farmers Markets and the Tennessee Farmers Market Coalition.
She has served as Vice President of Historic Cragfont and on the Board of Directors for the Friends of the Gallatin Downtown Library and Greater Gallatin, Inc./Downtown Gallatin. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Historic Rose Mont, Zena was also active in the Junior Service League of Gallatin where she served on the Fundraising committee, the Board of Directors, as Secretary, Provisional Chairman, and President in 2009-2010. In 2007 she won the Junior Service League’s President’s Award.
In addition to her community involvement, Zena is quite the craftsman with her fabulously designed jewelry pieces created by hand and, inspired by her nieces, Ella and Grace, she also enjoys painting. She enjoys attending live sporting events as well as a variety of musical performances in and around the Nashville area. Zena loves to travel and is always looking forward to her next adventure.
Angela Anderson, IOM
Vice President of Member Experience
Meet Angela Anderson
After spending 27 years in Air Force life and being lucky enough to travel the world, Angela and her family decided to settle down in Gallatin in 2016. This transition was the first time Angela ever planted real roots for anywhere longer than 4 years so they had to pick a good place, she says! The strong sense of community, along with the beautiful landscapes, amazing schools, and the small-town charm, were the main reasons they chose Gallatin.
She attended both Penn State University and the University of South Carolina where she studied Mass Communication. Angela completed two years of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce Executives Institute in 2020 and four years of the US Chamber Institute for Organizational Management, the latter of which earned her an IOM designation.
Prior to joining the Chamber team, Angela launched her own business, Anderson Lane Photography, capturing special life moments for her clients.
With a background in photography and marketing, her role as the Chamber’s Vice President of Member Experience is to make sure we are getting your businesses news and events out into the community to reach as many people as possible. She’s also there to help you with the ins and outs of navigating your Chamber membership and benefits.
When Angela isn’t helping our members at the Chamber, she can be found cheering on two-time Super Bowl Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, as well as spending time with her husband Gary while attempting to capture and photograph precious memories for their children Aiden, Brady, and Isabella and spending far too much money at Target (unless her husband is reading this; in that case, she just strolls around looking at things).
Debby Haddock
Sales Coordinator
Meet Debby Haddock
Debby Haddock has been with the Chamber since the summer of 2010. As Sales Coordinator, her main responsibility is handling the advertising sales for the annual Chamber publication, as well as membership sales.
Although a native of the Pittsburgh, PA, area, Debby lived in New Orleans for over 35 years and considers herself a true Southerner at heart—after all, her mother was from Texas. Debby and her family moved to Gallatin from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. She has been a Jazzercise Franchised Instructor since 1989 and owned two Jazzercise locations, employing seven other instructors in the New Orleans area before moving here. She still teaches Jazzercise in Gallatin for a local Franchisee. Because of being a self-employed small business owner herself, Debby is able to understand the challenges many of our local business owners tackle to achieve success, especially advertising and marketing.
Debby and her family embraced Gallatin with a passion and feel very much at home here. The people, the beauty, and the lifestyle of Gallatin certainly made it easy to fall in love with Tennessee!
Debby’s husband, Doug, is retired from pharmaceutical sales and is enjoying retirement with gusto! They have two grown sons. Alexander (and his wife Angie) live in the area with their son, Charlie, who was born in November 2018. Debby proudly added “Grandma” to her resume. Their younger son, Holden, lives in Denver, CO. She is very proud of the fact that both of her sons are Eagle Scouts.
Her hobbies include making pearl jewelry, traveling, and spending time with family—especially at our local restaurants.
Ashley Freeman
Program Coordinator
Meet Ashley Freeman
Ashley is a native Gallatin girl with a passion for people and community. She is a 2001 graduate of Gallatin High School and completed degrees in English and Teaching at Cumberland University, The University of Dayton, and Trevecca Nazarene University. Writing, editing, and workshop facilitation are just a few of the things you’ll catch Ashley doing when she’s not running programs for the Chamber. She taught public school for 16 years, worked in recruiting and hiring in manufacturing, and has taught group fitness classes since 2017, all the while embedding herself further into Gallatin and Chamber happenings. You’ll find Ashley at most Chamber events including ribbon cuttings and all things Leadership Gallatin, and you’ll find her serving the community as a Prevention Coalition board member and advocate.
In recent years, Ashley became a certified Enneagram Coach, RightPath Resources Facilitator, and NASM Personal Trainer. She loves teaching and hopes to help align people to the activities and career roles that highlight their strengths and improve their quality of life. Her friends joke that they can’t take her anywhere because she always runs into someone she knows, and it’s true that she’s never met a stranger, especially not in Gallatin.
Roxy, Maverick, and Trixie are Ashley’s feline fur babies; she’s a kitty enthusiast with a heart for rescue. Ashley has fostered close to 50 kittens since 2019 and is adamant about TNR efforts in Sumner County. If she sees a kitty out and about, you can be sure she’ll “pspspsps” to give it some pets. Ashley loves a good Americano with a splash of half-n-half, chocolate ice cream with sprinkles, and doing her own nails at home. She has an extremely active lifestyle and walks with a purpose everywhere she goes. If you see her pixie cut and dangly earrings zooming around Gallatin, be sure to say hello and stop for a quick chat.
Karen West
First Impressions Coordinator
info@gallatintn.org
Meet Karen West
Karen began as Chamber Ambassador in 2023 and began working at the Chamber in February 2025. She has lived in Gallatin for 30 years. She has been married to her husband, Micheal, for over 20 years and has two children: Bradley and Tabitha, who is forever 15.
Her journey into disability advocacy began when her daughter, Tabitha, was diagnosed with 1p36 Deletion Syndrome just before her second birthday. Determined to make a difference, Karen immersed herself in advocacy training and was later appointed by the Governor to serve as an At-Large Council Person on the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities, where she served for six years. She is also a proud graduate of the Council’s Partners in Policymaking Leadership Institute, Class of 2015.
Today, Karen continues to champion inclusion and support children of all abilities through her volunteer work with several local nonprofit organizations, including Friends of Gallatin Miracle Park, H.A.T.S. Family Support, Gallatin Child Care Center, and Sumner County CASA.
Paul Vaughn
Event & Special Project Coordinator
paul@gallatintn.org
Meet Paul Vaughn
Born and raised here in Gallatin, Paul has served in many capacities at the Gallatin Area Chamber of Commerce since 2020. Joining the team as an intern while a senior at Gallatin High School, Paul’s role quickly evolved into Marketing & Event Assistant and later Special Projects Assistant.
He is currently serving as the Chamber’s Event & Special Project Coordinator, leading efforts such as The Station room management & bookings, HireUp Gallatin, the Experience Gallatin kiosk & app, and database/directory management.
Paul holds degrees in Business Administration and Retail, Hospitality, & Tourism Management from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville. During his time at UT, Paul was President of Alpha Kappa Psi co-ed business fraternity and heavily involved in the Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Department.
When away from the Chamber office, he enjoys attending live concerts (over 30 shows in 2024 alone!), exploring National Parks, collecting Snoopy/Peanuts novelties, alpine skiing, traveling with his family, listening to Taylor Swift, and spending quality time with his beloved dogs, Baby and Katie.
Sarah Grace Slusher
Marketing Intern
sarahgrace@gallatintn.org
Meet Sarah Grace Slusher
With deep roots in Gallatin, in 2026 Sarah Grace will be a proud fourth-generation Gallatin High School graduate, and her Green Wave pride runs deep. Her family has called Gallatin home for over 100 years, and she’s grown up loving every bit of this close-knit community. On Friday nights in the fall, you can always find her in the stands at Calvin Short Field (most likely in a crazy, over-the-top outfit), cheering on her classmates as they take the field.
She’s a multi-sport athlete at GHS, competing on the volleyball, tennis, and Gallatin’s first-ever girls flag football team. On top of sports, she’s also active in student life—serving as the VP of Marketing for the GHS DECA chapter and participating in Student Council, Interact Club, and National Junior Honors Society.
When she’s not on the court, field, or at a school event, Sarah Grace is probably at Chick-fil-A or grabbing coffee downtown with friends and family. A true extrovert at heart, she thrives when she’s surrounded by people, whether that’s shopping locally in Downtown Gallatin or catching up over a meal at her favorite spot.
Her creative side shines through in her love of fashion, music, and crafting. She and her dad love scoping out yard sales and Goodwill Outlets for one-of-a-kind clothing finds (always on a budget!). She also always has music playing in the background—whether it’s Tyler Childers, Taylor Swift, or the Hamilton soundtrack (yes, she knows every word). One of her favorite ways to relax is crafting with her grandmother. From custom patchwork clothing to upcycled jewelry wall art, their creative projects are full of heart and imagination.
Rooby The Gallatin Golden
Official Paw-sitivity Ambassador
info@gallatintn.org
Meet Rooby The Gallatin Golden
Rooby, a cheerful golden retriever with a heart full of hometown pride, has quickly become one of Gallatin’s most beloved faces. As the Chamber’s resident ray of sunshine, she brings tail wags, warm welcomes, and contagious cheer to everyone she meets. Whether she’s greeting guests at The Station, starring in social media reels, or exploring Gallatin’s parks and local spots, Rooby proudly shares her love for this community every chance she gets.
She specializes in spreading joy, boosting morale, retrieving socks, and sniffing out good vibes. When she’s not on official duty, you’ll find Rooby chasing tennis balls, cuddling with her people, or scouting out the city’s best pup-friendly patios.
Want to request an appearance from Rooby? Contact the Chamber at: info@gallatintn.org.
Follow her adventures using @RoobyTheGallatinGolden and #RoobyTheGallatinGolden!
![Coffee+Connect July was happy to have Amy from Ashley’s Place sharing the good work of her organization and how they help children in Gallatin and surrounding communities.
Do you love visiting local coffee shops, mingling with professionals, and learning about our nonprofits? If you answered YES then Coffee+Connect is for you!
Join us the first Wednesday in August for our next C+C event and check our community calendar [link in bio] for other upcoming events. ☕️
#gallatinchamber #coffee #nonprofit](https://gallatintn.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
