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Who We Are

Beth Harwell

Program Director

Beth Harwell served as State Representative for Nashville. First elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1988, Harwell served as a Minority Whip and Commerce Committee Chair before being elected to the Speakership in 2011. She was the first woman to serve as Tennessee's Speaker of the House. Beth has won numerous awards, including the Tennessee Press Association’s Open Government Award, the Champion for Children Award, the Conservation Legislator Award, and the 2015 Legislator Award from Mental Health America. Presently, Beth is a Consultant for G2Lytics and 86Boarders, as well as a distinguished visiting professor at Middle Tennessee State University. Beth received her Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University, her M.S. Degree from George Peabody College, and her B.A. Degree from David Lipscomb College. Beth has been married to Sam for over 25 years and they have three children – Allie, Sam, and Tucker. Beth enjoys spending time with her family, likes the outdoors, and is an avid reader.

Thom Little

Legislative Liaison

Thom Little currently serves as the Legislative Liaison for Next Generation at NICD. He also serves as the Director of Leadership Curriculum and Research at the State Legislative Leaders Foundation (SLLF).
Tom has been studying, working and teaching state legislative leaders for more than thirty years since he served as a 20 year old legislative intern in the 1985 North Carolina General Assembly. After earning his Ph.D. in Political Science with a focus on legislative politics from The Ohio State University, Tom taught for ten years at American University and the University of Texas at Arlington before starting to work with the State Legislative Leaders Foundation. For more than twenty years, Thom has served as SLLF’s Director of Curriculum Development and Research where he has coordinated programs on everything from biotechnology to crisis management. He has also written case studies on state legislative leadership in states from Alabama to Ohio.