Executive Director

Saad joins The Forge Nashville from Metro Arts, where he served as Grants Manager. His extensive history within the local arts community, coupled with a deep-rooted passion for supporting artists and creatives, uniquely positions him to lead The Forge Nashville into its next phase of growth and development.

A Nashville native, Saad has been an integral part of the city's arts ecosystem throughout his entire life. Coming from a family of creatives, his background spans visual arts, state and local government, management, and technical advisory roles for community nonprofits and artists. Saad's diverse expertise provides him with a comprehensive understanding of the needs and challenges facing artists and arts organizations.

Director of Eduction, Community and Business

Erin brings patience, compassion, creativity and a love of craft to The Forge. A former member herself, Erin knows the value and importance of community and stresses it as a core tenet of the Forge. Erin works to provide safe and functioning shop equipment to the membership. She is also responsible for prospective-member tours and information; all communication with the membership, and the general operations of The Forge.

A Nashville native, Erin received her B.A. in Sculpture from Pitzer College in California and her M.F.A. in Sculpture from The Ohio State University. Previously, she has acted as a shop/studio manager in both New York and Tennessee, and through the years she has taught classes on materials, plumbing, electrical work and construction. Also an entrepreneur, Erin has owned two small businesses for more than a decade: Erin Body Care and Erin Hewgley Jewelry.

Artistic Director

Under her role as Artistic Director, Alyssa is an art liaison for the Tennessee Titans and head of STATE Gallery + Studios, which offers free studio space to six artists annually and is the first program of its kind in Nashville. She produces monthly exhibitions for local artists as well as those in residence, in addition to special events for the nonprofit both on- and off-site. Originally from Chicago, Alyssa has been in Nashville for nearly a decade. Her initiatives at The Forge include strengthening the STATE Program, increasing the community visibility and financial support of the nonprofit, and assisting artists in need. Ultimately, Alyssa is dedicated to facilitating the personal and professional development of the creatives who call Nashville home.

Woodshop Director

A former licensed architect, David spent 17 years working in higher education as an instructor and shop manager for the department of architecture at a small university outside of Chicago. He was responsible for the delivery of the shop safety class to every incoming architecture, interior design, and art and design student there, as well as the operation of the woodshop itself. In his final years there, he was also responsible for digital fabrication, tending to the training for and operation of 3D printers, laser cutters, and a CNC router. David puts the lessons learned during those years to use on a daily basis here at The Forge, striving to create a culture of safety, creativity, and excellence in craft.

Metalshop Director

Larkin Rhinehardt is an interdisciplinary sculptor whose work focuses on manipulation of spaces and sensory stimuli to induce novel experiences. Much of his work is inspired by and in service to natural phenomena and scientific principles. Through exploration of the manufactured world and its influence on human perception, his works prompt the viewer to think more carefully about how they perceive and interact with the physical world. His works often use integration of luminary sculpture, actively generated soundscapes, and the spaces in which they exist to create enveloping installations.

Larkin is a certified General Machinist and has a BFA in Sculpture from Bennington Cole inVemont.

Chairman of the Board

Charles has been a member of Fort Houston since 2012. He is a long-time “wood tinkerer,” hobbyist carpenter and amateur woodworker who feels right at home at Fort Houston using big-boy tools. He has served as Board Chair for the Fort Houston Artisan Support Project in Nashville for 4 years. He has served as Board Chair of the ENCORE Ministry Foundation of the Tennessee Western Kentucky Conference of the United Methodist Church for 8 years. He is a member of the Administrative Board of Belmont United Methodist Church for 10 years.

Treasurer

Roger spent his first 25 years after graduating from Michigan Law School as CEO of public interest groups involved with environmental law, immigration policy, civil liberties and crime. During this period he was awarded a fellowship at the National Institute of Justice of the US Justice Department and wrote books and articles about mobilizing communities, apology and forgiveness and environmental protection.

In the following two decades he worked on finding common ground between liberals and conservatives; founded New Transitions (a nonprofit that provides housing for foster youth who have “aged out” without adoption); taught a course in public policy advocacy at Vanderbilt Law School; and became active in homeless programs.

Finally insisting that he was “too old to work and too young to retire,” he joined Fort Houston five years ago and became a woodworker and full-time volunteer. He has served as coordinator of community service projects as part of the Fort Houston makerspace; among them an initiative to build 30 Little Free Libraries for community groups in Tennessee and New York.

Board Member

Barbara Yontz is a former full-time Professor of Visual Art at St. Thomas Aquinas College, New York, with an MFA in Visual Art from Vermont College, and current faculty at Watkins College of Art at Belmont University in the graduate art program. Additional master’s degrees in art history from Vanderbilt University and art education from the University of South Florida expand her teaching experiences. Recently an art project with a group of men living on Death Row at Riverbend Maximum Security Prison in Nashville, led to the production of an article in Higher Education and the Carceral State, edited by Annie Buckley and published by Rutledge Press. An interest in higher education in prisons let to the development of a BA in Social Science degree at Sullivan Correctional in New York offered by St. Thomas Aquinas College. She has also taught college art classes in prisons in Tennessee and New York. Her conceptually based art has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Currently she is working on a series of mixed media works based on the relationships established with incarcerated individuals. It is designed to bring attention to prisons and prison populations.

Previous exhibitions include: Frist Center for Visual Arts, Nashville; the Phoenix Gallery, New York; the Jose Marti National Library, Havana; the Boston Museum School; and the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, NJ.

www.barbarayontz.net

Board Member

Armon Means received his BFA in Photography from The Cleveland Institute of Art in Cleveland, Ohio, and an MFA in Photography from Cranbrook Art Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He has also studied at Lacoste School of the Arts located in Lacoste, France, and The School of the Arts in Budapest, Hungary.

Means has been an exhibiting fine art photographer and educator since 2003. He has taught at Watkins College of Art / Belmont University, Nashville State Community College, Volunteer State Community College, and Coastal Carolina University. Areas of instruction include all levels of photography, alternative process techniques, history of photography, and art survey/appreciation. He has also exhibited widely in group exhibitions in France, Hungary, and numerous Eastern and Midwestern states, where he has also been active as a visiting artist at multiple venues. His work centers on ideas of cultural concerns, minority identity, and environmental influences and is represented in multiple collections across the United States and Germany.

Board Member

Nicholas C Georgiou graduated from MTSU with a BS in Journalism in 2013 and currently works as an artistpreneur.

Having lived in Nashville for over 10 years working as a professional musician and maker, he has since developed a side hustle as an actor and model.

Positioned as Director of Fabrication and Special Projects with Fort Houston prior to serving as a Founding Member of The Forge Board, he is currently exploring possibilities the arts in the broader sense.

Board Member

Mr. Lewis is an attorney, residing in his hometown of Nashville, TN. He graduated from the University of Florida with a Business Administration degree and a minor in Mass Communication. Mr. Lewis obtained his law degree at the Cecil C. Humphrey’s School of Law at the University of Memphis. He was admitted to the Bar in the State of Tennessee in 2010.

Although there is a need for the formalities of business, education and titles, Mr. Lewis doesn't want to be known by these things. He is the middle child of three and has two sisters and 5 nieces and nephews. He considers himself a family man. He believes the intangible things define us. Who are you? What are your dreams? How does your life help others? These are the things that truly matter. He has a passion for bringing like-minded people together and creating an environment for the cultivation of ideas, which he believes can change the world.

Board Member

A native Middle Tennessean, Ashley came to The Forge in late 2021 seeking ways to expand her large-format art and DIY/Interior Decorating capabilities. She became a Member on the spot and has since brought her energy to the Board, where she aims to be a fresh perspective for the Directors and volunteer support for the staff and other members.

Ashley grew up in Murfreesboro and stayed nearby to study at Vanderbilt, receiving a BS in English/Creative Writing. After a stint as a fundraiser for a Congressional campaign ended in defeat, Ashley began her career in Journalism, working for both the Country Music Hall of Fame Press Division and then at custom-magazine publishing house Journal Communication Inc. In 2006, however, raising a family became the priority, and she left the workforce to step into the role of full-time Mom and Epic School Volunteer, pausing briefly from 2009-2012 to lend her communication skills to the Tennessee Parks & Greenways Foundation (now TENNGREEN), a nonprofit land trust in Nashville.

Board Experience

Ashley is the current President of the Board of the Ocean Park Terrace Condo Owners Association in Holmes Beach, FL, and is a member of the board of the LaRoche Family Foundation, which has created an endowed chair at Vanderbilt Law School, and is also a proud sponsor of the The STATE Studio at The Forge.