Board of Directors

Barry Gammons, chair

Barry_pic_Web_1 Barry J. Gammons is the owner of The Law Offices of Barry J. Gammons in Nashville, Tennessee, concentrating his law practice primarily in the area of creditor’s rights, including both commercial and retail collections and representation in bankruptcy. He has been a member of the Tennessee Bar since 1993.

Mr. Gammons is a graduate of Belmont University where he earned his B.B.A. and the Nashville School of Law where he earned his J.D. he has presented lectures on creditor’s rights topics sponsored by the Commercial Law League of America, national Business Institute, the National Association of Credit Managers and various, local trade groups.

He is a member of the Tennessee and Nashville Bar Associations and currently serves on the Executive Council of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Creditor’s Section. Nationally, he is a member of the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys and the Commercial Law League of America. He is a past chair of the Southern Region of the Commercial Law League of America, a past chair of the Commercial Law League Young Members Section, past young Members Representative to the Board of Governors and, most recently, completed a term on the Board of Governors of the Commercial Law League as the CLLA’s Recording Secretary. He also serves on the Board of Directors of The Key Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending homelessness in the city of Nashville.

Ben Shuster

Ben Shuster joined CCA as a Senior Director, State Partnership Relations in 2008, where he manages CCA’s customer relationships with the States of Vermont and Mississippi as well as developing relationships with other state partners around the United States.

Previously, Mr. Shuster served as a Consultant for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. He has also worked as Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and as Lead Advance Representative and Trip Coordinator in the White House for the Office of the Vice President.

Mr. Shuster holds a bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College and an MBA degree from Thunderbird School of Global Management.

His multiple community engagements include his volunteer activities as the vice president of programs with the Phoenix Club of Nashville; as a member of the Nashville Junior Chamber of Commerce; as a member of the Horizon Society of Nashville; as a volunteer with Junior Achievement; as advance representative with The White House (2001-2008); as a member of Nashville Emerging Leaders, Class of 2008; and as a volunteer for Karl Dean for Nashville Mayor (2007).

Mr. Shuster is looking forward in continuing to serve Nashville's community in his capacity as a member of the board of directors of The Key Alliance.

To donate online, click on the "Join The Key Alliance" button.

The Key Alliance is a
501(c)3 nonprofit organization that partners with the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission to bring together the community to collaborate around permanent solutions to homelessness in Nashville.

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Upcoming Events:

Project Arts Connect runs through March 2
Project Arts Connect is a event hosted by the Metro Arts Commission and The Key Alliance who are collaborating with The Contributor newspaper and Room In The Inn to exhibit artwork by Nashville artists who have been affected by homelessness. The show is exhibited at the Metro Arts Gallery, on the 4th floor of the Metro Office Building, 800 Second Ave. South. The exhibit is free and open to the public and will run through March 2.

Project Homeless Connect on March 28
The Key Alliance is partnering with the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission to host the fourth annual Project Homeless Connect event on March 28, 2012, at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. We are seeking 500 volunteers. To volunteer, please sign up at Hands on Nashville.

Run for the Homeless on May 12
The second annual Run for the Homeless, a 5K walk/run through Downtown Nashville will take place on May 12, 2012. Stay tuned for more details.

Community Calendar
The Key Alliance hosts a new feature on its Website: A Community Calendar (view tab on the left). Service providers are invited to email details of their events and happenings they would like to be listed on our Community Calendar to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Contributor goes to twice monthly
On Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, The Contributor, Nashville's successful street newspaper, will publish two issues per month. "In a time when print media is on the decline, street newspapers all around the world have seen major increases in distribution. The Contributor, now the highest-distributing street newspaper in North America, is a leader in the global street newspaper movement’s success. Thanks to the hard work and determination of its vendors and staff, as well as the generosity of its donors, The Contributor has grown exponentially over the last two years, enabling approximately one-third of the paper’s vendors to earn enough money to obtain housing." - Andrew Krinks, The Contributor's editor, in a recent press release.

Volunteer Award
The Key Alliance is proud to announce that our volunteer, Ben Morton, was honored with the Phyllis M. Frank Volunteer Award by the Nashville Coaltion for the Homeless for his outstanding efforts to help the local homeless community. Read the press release here.

New initiative launched called Adopt A Unit
The Key Alliance, in partnership with the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission, has launched a new program called Adopt A Unit that invites congregations to help formerly homeless individuals establish a household.
For more information, click here.

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The next MHC meeting is scheduled for Friday, March 2, 2012, at 9:30 a.m. in the Sonny West Conference Room of the Howard Office Building (Fulton Complex), 700 Second Ave. South.

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A Summary Report of the Committee on Police/Homeless Issues of the MHC is posted here.

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Adopt A Meter Program

The Key Alliance has partnered with NashVitality to promote its Adopt A Meter program.
The program places refurbished "parking" meters in high foot traffic areas Downtown. All change collected will benefit homeless outreach with the goal to place people into Housing First. For a $1,000 sponsorship, contact Clifton Harris at 862-6401 or email him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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The Key Alliance launched a Speaker's Bureau program. We are available to speak to groups larger than 10 members including businesses, neighborhood associations, civic groups and congregations.

Contact Judy Tackett at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to set up YOUR meeting.

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To date the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission and MDHA have been able to connect 37 homeless individuals who lost everything in the May floods with Section 8 Housing vouchers. The Homelessness Commission has closed the program. All Section 8 Voucher applicants have to go through MDHA's Secion 8 Office at 620 Dew Street.

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If you would like to be included on our volunteer e-mail list for special events and other opportunities, or sign up for our newsletter, please contact Judy Tackett at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For media inquiries
call Judy Tackett at 517-7000.