Panelists
Rep. Caleb Hemmer
TN House District 59
Caleb Hemmer is a native Nashvillian with a history of service to the city and state. A graduate of Metro Schools, Caleb earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville before returning home to Nashville to earn his M.B.A. Caleb is committed to protecting the safety of our loved ones, friends, and neighbors and believes that there are many practical approaches to community safety that would have a major impact in our city and state. As a former aide to Governor Phil Bredesen and executive in the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, Caleb learned firsthand how state government works and how to govern effectively. More recently, he has served for the past seven years as a commissioner on the Metro Board of Fair Commissioners. For the last decade, he has been an executive in Nashville’s innovative healthcare industry, working in various management roles focusing on improving the healthcare system. Caleb works in Development at Longevity Health Plans to bring high-quality affordable healthcare to the most vulnerable senior citizens living in post-acute care facilities.
Dr. Kelsey Gastineau, MD, MPH, FAAP
Nashville Pediatrician
Dr. Kelsey Gastineau is a pediatric hospitalist in Nashville, TN and a member of the Tennessee American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Gastineau graduated from medical school at Indiana University, completed her pediatric residency at the Medical University of South Carolina, and earned her Master of Public Health degree during her Pediatric Hospital Medicine fellowship at Vanderbilt. It was her experience as a pediatric resident, caring for children with firearm injuries, now the leading cause of death for children, that inspired her to become a public health researcher and physician advocate specializing in pediatric injury prevention. Her research experience and interests include the implementation of evidence-based, community-focused interventions and secondary database analysis to reduce firearm injuries in youth.
Rev. Keri Cress
United Methodist Minister, MNPD Chaplain, Covenant School First Responder
Rev. Keri Cress is the Associate Pastor at East End United Methodist Church in Nashville, TN. Rev. Cress also serves as a volunteer MNPD Chaplain and answers calls on a Domestic Violence Crisis Line. Rev. Cress’s ministry work has included Community and Multicultural Outreach, Spiritual Formation, ESL Ministries, Family and Children’s Ministry, and Youth Ministry. Prior to her work on staff at Hillcrest United Methodist Church in 2010, and later East End United Methodist Church in 2020, Rev. Cress worked in the social work field with children and youth involved with the foster care and juvenile justice systems.
Rev. Sam McGlothlin
Senior Pastor of Belle Meade UMC
Sam was appointed to Belle Meade UMC in July 2016 as Associate Pastor and became Senior Pastor in August 2020. Previously, Sam worked for Mountain T.O.P., a non-profit dedicated to rural life ministry in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee, where she served as the Program Manager of Recruiting and Public Awareness from 2008-2013. Sam has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Auburn University (08) and a Master’s of Divinity from Vanderbilt Divinity School (16). Sam believes the Church should offer voice and leadership in creating safer communities and welcomes the public to care, learn, and do through this important conversation.