Sponsoring Institution

Dr. Thurman received his medical degree from the University of Alabama and completed his Emergency Medicine residency at the University of Cincinnati. Upon completing residency training he joined the Vanderbilt Department of Emergency Medicine, and served as the Associate Director of the Emergency Medicine Residency Program and the Associate Medical Director of the Vanderbilt Stroke Center for 13 years. In addition, Dr. Thurman served as the Director of Quality and Patient Safety for the Vanderbilt Department of Emergency Medicine for 8 years and led the department’s Morbidity and Mortality Conference for 12 years. Dr. Thurman also co-directed a DNP course at Vanderbilt School of Nursing, “Leadership in Inter-professional Practice: Critical Issues for Promoting a Culture of Safety”, for three years. Following his time at Vanderbilt, Dr. Thurman served as the Chief Medical Officer of Skyline Medical Center for 6 years. In 2021, he transitioned to his current role as the Vice President of Graduate Medical Education (GME) for CHS. His primary interests include acute stroke care, quality and patient safety, medical education, and promoting a culture of professionalism and patient advocacy. Dr. Thurman also maintains an interest in medical photography and has chaired the Visual Diagnosis Exhibit for the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine’s National Meeting for the past 15 years. He has published two medical textbooks, several book chapters, and has authored a number of peer-reviewed manuscripts.

Don has been working in healthcare for 28 years. A CPA by training, he has spent most of his healthcare career in physician practice operations, hospital administration and Graduate Medical Education (GME). Don’s healthcare career also includes a 12-year span as a GME and operations consultant. He has a great interest in following trends in GME finance and clinical operations. He says that of all of the roles held, nothing has added as much organizational and real world value as has his time in GME. He enjoys helping to maximize a program’s fiscal potential as well as educating end users on the intricacies of GME finance. The increased access to patient care afforded by training new physicians along with the qualitative and economic benefits is truly immeasurable, as is the prospect of training our facility’s future medical staff (that is the ultimate benefit).

In his spare time, Don enjoys spending time with his family (wife and two children), his pets (dogs, cats, etc.), working on and tracking his cars, the outdoors and watching various sports (college football, basketball, and auto racing).

Melissa achieved her bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and brings over fifteen years of GME experience with her, originally starting as a clerkship coordinator at UW Health. Since then, she has had the honor of supporting many excellent GME programs in both academic and community health care settings across the United States. She enjoys introducing new staff to the world of GME, as she feels graduate medical education is a wonderful career which allows one to grow both personally and professionally every day. As the newest member of the HES team, Melissa looks forward to getting to know all the programs and working together to uphold the HES mission to support, develop, and maintain an excellent learning environment for all learners, staff and patients.

Outside of work, Melissa is a busy mom of two, chauffeuring her kids to and from their various activities and acting as a volunteer board member for the PTO. During school breaks, she and her husband enjoy taking family road trips around the state and particularly enjoy going to Gatlinburg and Chattanooga.

Ashley’s professional career led her from administrative roles within government contracts to healthcare where she was exposed to and quickly grew a passion for GME as a program coordinator in North Carolina for a rural hospital system. Her role quickly unfurled into an assemblage of various roles and responsibilities due to her intrinsic desire to realize the program’s success. Her willingness to embrace new strategic initiatives led her to responsibilities beyond the traditional program coordinator roles, transitioning to financial, legal, and marketing roles within GME both in university and hospital settings. Her recent accomplishments include attainment of her dual Masters degree in both Business Administration and Healthcare Administration, Training Administrators of Graduate Medical Education (TAGME) certification, and acceptance into Liberty University’s Strategic Leadership Doctoral program. Her collaborative nature, servant style of leadership, and inherent care for her programs directly benefit her organization at all levels. With the team at HES Ashley focuses on application, education and oversight of GME software and management applications for all programs such as ERAs, ADS, Thalamus, and ECFMG, marketing support in collaboration with CHS facilities, Institutional support and compliance of requirements set by the accredited body, ACGME.

Outside of work, you can catch Ashley on a sideline somewhere being a proud “boy mom” of very active athletes and she unwinds through karaoke, pretending to be a master chef in the kitchen and reading.

Teaching and guiding, mentoring and encouraging, all delivered with strong compassion (with a touch of humor and a dash of optimism) is what Linda is all about. Linda bounces into her position with over 40 years of healthcare experience in a variety of exciting roles. With a past role as a Program Coordinator (PC) and Manager in several specialties in addition to a role as Institutional Coordinator, GME became her lasting passion. Linda believes making a difference for PCs, Residents and Program Directors in education is the most rewarding career one could have. Completing her BBA and M.Ed., her drive has always been building solid processes, solving issues in current processes and most of all, assisting others to reach their goals. In her current role, she provides a solid foundation for the PCs as a mentor and teacher. Linda has a “never stop learning” attitude and she is always ready to share that. Linda also recently obtained her Training Administrators of Graduate Medical Education (TAGME) certification and looks forward to assisting others prepare for this certification in the future. Linda is currently pursuing continued education in preparation for her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

Linda was born, raised and currently resides in Texas. She loves anything car related, especially NASCAR and F1 Racing and participates in local charity event car shows. Often described as a “free spirit” with a never-ending optimism, spreading a positive vibe is of the utmost importance to her, including making others feel appreciated and spreading smiles even in hard times. She has three wonderful adult sons, two fantastic grandchildren, a spoiled Beagle, a loyal Heeler and a wonderful husband. She is truly thrilled to be part of such an amazing GME team.

Karen Dixon, Ph.D., earned her doctorate in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and her bachelor’s degree in Biology and Chemistry from Rockford College. She has spent over two decades in education, serving as faculty at the Cahaba + UAB Family Medicine Residency, where she developed curricula, mentored faculty and residents, and managed scholarly activity. Previously, she was the Assistant Director at The Horizons School, where she led program development for young adults with disabilities. She has served as an Assistant Professor in Neurobiology at UAB, developed graduate-level courses, and contributed to studies on Huntington’s Disease, kernicterus, newborn health, and developmental disabilities. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and educational resources. Her work has included securing grants, building training programs, and collaborating across disciplines to support the next generation of healthcare professionals.

Outside of work, Dixon is an artist who specializes in kiln-formed glass. She has exhibited her work in juried shows and galleries and enjoys teaching fused glass techniques to students of all skill levels, including those with disabilities. In addition to spending time in her glass studio, Karen enjoys spending time with her husband, son, and daughter-in-law, playing with the dogs, and doing anything related to fun in or on the water.

Tammy Taylor has worked for CHS for the past 24 years in various departments of Clinical Operations, most recently assisting the President of Healthcare Innovation and Chief Medical Officer. She also handled all student affiliation agreements for the company until the HES team was established. Tammy started working for HES in June, 2025.