President

Gabrielle Hanson is the owner of Williamson Real Estate and The Tennessean’s Best of 2020 Realtor.  She has served on the National Association of Realtors RPAC Committee, is a current appointee to the Tennessee Realtors Government Affairs Committee for 2021, and former Chair of the Williamson County Association of Realtors RPAC Committee.  As a 2020 addition to the board, Gabrielle is looking forward to sharing the best of Franklin and Williamson County through a cultural exchange of ideas and arts from around the globe.

Vice President

Treasurer

Treasurer David Haas is a retired PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit Partner who joined the board in 2019.  David lived and worked outside of the country for more than 13 of his 35-year career with PwC.  During his time abroad, he and his family lived near sister city Bad Soden, Germany, from 1990 to 1993.

Secretary

Kim Cannon   Student Exchange Coordinator   Kim has served on the board since 2017, after being invited to join by the late Franklin Alderman Pearl Bransford.  Kim learned of the organization through her daughter, who participated in the German high school student exchange program.  Kim and her family of five moved to Franklin after her husband’s retirement from the military, and her retirement from American Airlines after being a flight attendant for 21 years.  Kim says that exploring the world is one of her lifelong passions.  She particularly enjoys helping young people connect and travel.

Member

Dr. Porsha Hart is a multi-sector consultant, global power broker, advisor to global governmental officials & dedicated public servant whose passion is to aide in the restoration of individuals, communities & municipalities by utilizing interdisciplinary frameworks. For over 20 years, Porsha Hart has been a strong leader in conflict resolution, governmental and international relations, diplomacy, peace keeping, early childhood education, youth leadership development, global emerging infectious disease prevention and education, as well as emergency preparedness & recovery. In addition, an advocate against injustices, human trafficking & maternal mortality. Porsha Hart is the founder of Amariah’s Legacy & The King’s Decree, Principal Consultant at Ingenious Global Consulting and CEO of Poised for Purpose. Ms. Hart is the former CoChair of UNA-USA Women and a member of Women of Color Advancing Peace & Security, Alumni of The Campaign School at Yale, Junior League of Nashville & a Franklin and
Williamson County Sister Cities Board Member.

Member

Victor Pausin is currently Nissan Motors Treasurer for Americas since 2019 when he relocated to the Franklin area. Before Nissan, he worked for The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. His professional career expands over 20 years, and he has worked and lived in more than five countries across three continents. Victor is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. Given his multicultural background, Victor enjoys supporting Franklin Sister Cities‘ mission and has been part of the Board of Directors since 2021.

Member

Jamie Melton joined the board as the City of Franklin’s staff member representative in 2019.  She has been employed by the City of Franklin since 2004, serving as the Fire & Life Safety Educator/Public Information Officer for the Franklin Fire Department.  Jamie has more than 25 years of communications and media experience, and more than 20 years of public safety experience.

Member

  Patricia Kriebel  Board member Emeritus. Patricia has served on this Board for more than 15 years.  While serving as President she along with  Rachel Kisber Obermeier of  Bad Soden am Taunus, Germany cofounded the relationship between our 2 cities.  After 6  years of discussion and visits the relationship was formalized in 2016.   This addition enabled our student exchange to have a foreign language component, that exchange began in 2014 and is still thriving today.   Patricia is an avid international traveler and was an international flight attendant for 9 years.    She worked as a property manager for 20 years.  Prior to joining Sister Cities she and her family hosted 8 foreign exchange students.

Member

Cheryl Wilson has been a Williamson County Commissioner for 12 years.  She has served on the Sister Cities board for nearly as long, after being appointed by Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson as the Williamson County representative.  Cheryl’s leadership and international travel experience, including spending time in Ireland, have been particularly instrumental in forging the County Laois relationship.

Member

Doug Sharp is a Sister Cities founding member.  He and other members of the Leadership Franklin class of 2000-2001 established the organization in 2001 as their class project.  Since that time, Doug has served continuously on its board of directors.  He was elected as the first president and served in that capacity for more than 10 years.  Under Doug’s leadership, relationships with all three sister cities were established.  Doug is a land planner and landscape architect who owns and operates Sharp Urban Planning.