Lottie Ryans
Lottie Ryans is a 1978 graduate of Science Hill High School and a graduate of the University of Tennessee. Lottie’s professional history includes a 32-year telecommunications career. She retired in 2015 after serving as Vice President and General Manager for CenturyLink’s Western North Carolina/Tennessee Division. She was also a partner in Perfectly Planned, an event company serving Northeast TN and Southwest VA from 2015-2018. Her civic history includes being a three-term elected member of the Johnson City Board of Education including service as Board Chair and being a TSBA Master Board’s Member. She served two years on the State Workforce Board in a position appointed by Governor Haslam and as chair for the Johnson City Chamber and the Washington County Economic Development Council. Ryans still helps set high benchmarks for Johnson City Schools and other districts in the region as she has served as the Director of Workforce and Literacy Initiatives for the First Tennessee Development District since April 2016. In this role, she develops creative partnerships and programs to ensure a strong workforce pipeline. She also works with school systems and community partners to address literacy issues in an eight-county region. She served on the organizing team for the Holy Friendship Summit, a gathering of medical, community and faith-based leaders to address the opioid crisis in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia and now serves as Vice-Chair for the Holy Friendship Collaborative, an offshoot of the summit. She has been serving as the Director of Workforce and Literacy Initiatives for the First Tennessee Development District since April 2016. In this role, she develops creative partnerships and programs to ensure a strong workforce pipeline. Ryans frequently serves as a speaker for professional development workshops and as a panelist for community engagement forums. She is a recent graduate of the 2018/19 Complete Tennessee Leadership Institute cohort and is a member of the 2019/20 Leadership Tennessee cohort. Lottie is also an active member, deacon and mission team leader at Calvary Church.