DGS Executive Leadership Team Bios

Since joining DGS in January 2019, Branscom has made notable strides in managing DGS services more efficiently. Under her watch, DGS and its divisions of VAM, Document Solutions, CPO, and STREAM have been honored with industry-leading awards in their respective fields.

In 2019, VAM received the National Conference of State Fleet Administrators’ Fleet Excellence Award. In addition, Document Solutions was the recipient of the In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association’s (IPMA) National Print Center of the Year Award in 2019 and its Innovation Award in 2022. In 2021 and 2022, CPO was recognized with a George A. Cronin Award for Excellence (Bronze) by the National Association of State Procurement Officers (NASPO). In 2022, STREAM received the Excellence through Collaboration Award from the National Association of State Chief Administrators (NASCA) for their partnership with Ernst & Young on the State of Tennessee’s Real Estate Master Plan.

The Department of General Services also received the Innovations in State Government Award from NASCA in the category of Employee Engagement and Experience for Culture Transformation in 2021 and has been recognized as a Top Workplace in Middle Tennessee four years in a row since 2020, progressively moving up with each passing year, based on Energage’s anonymous, research-backed, employee engagement survey.

Most recently, Governor Bill Lee proposed the most significant capital budget in history, prioritizing deferred
maintenance of existing State facilities and reducing and reconfiguring the State’s real estate footprint. This historic budget also included the Multi-Agency Law Enforcement Training Academy, the State’s largest capital budget project ever at $415M. Additionally, several high-profile capital improvement projects have been completed during Branscom’s tenure, including renovations to the historic John Sevier Building, the new Library and Archives Building, and the opening of several new facilities at popular State parks across Tennessee.

In 2023, Branscom was named a Woman of Influence by the Nashville Business Journal, and she was awarded the prestigious National Ray Walton Leadership Award by the National Association of State Chief Administrators (NASCA). She is the Immediate Past President of NASCA and serves on several boards, including the University of Tennessee Haslam College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council, the Leadership Tennessee Board of Directors, and the Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful Board of Directors.

Branscom is a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, where she began her career in public service. Most recently, she served as Deputy to the Mayor/Chief Operating Officer for the City of Knoxville following a promotion from Senior Director of Public Works—making her the first female to be named to either position in Knoxville history. Before her tenure in public service, Branscom enjoyed a successful career as COO/General Counsel and Principal Managing Real Estate Broker at Partners Development for 25 years. Additionally, she established Grace Construction in 2003.

Branscom received her Bachelor of Science in finance cum laude from the University of Tennessee and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Memphis. She is a 2009 graduate of Leadership Knoxville and a 2017 graduate of Leadership Tennessee.
 

Under Hull’s leadership, STREAM has received numerous awards, including the National Association of State Chief Administrators (NASCA) Innovations in State Government Award for Infrastructure in 2016, for Culture Transformation in 2021, and for Excellence in Collaboration for their partnership with Ernst & Young on the State of Tennessee’s Real Estate Master Plan in 2022. They also received the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Technology Award for First Place for the TN State Museum in 2021; and the Urban Land Institute of Nashville’s Excellence in Development Award for the TN State Library and Archives Building in 2021; and the Associated General Contractors of America’s Award of Excellence for the Lodge at Fall Creek Falls and the TN State Library and Archives in 2022. Hull was also honored with the Distinguished Deputy Award from NASCA in 2020.

Before joining the State of Tennessee, Hull practiced law and owned a company that provided international logistics services for eight years. In addition, he served as the Senior VP of Operations for a division of Citicorp Venture Capital for nine years and Clarks Companies NA for fourteen years.

Hull earned his MBA from the Florida Institute of Technology and pursued a career in international business, commerce, and logistics. In 2012, he earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD) from the Nashville School of Law.
 

Under Perry’s leadership, the Central Procurement Office has received numerous awards and accolades, including the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) George A. Cronin Award for Procurement Excellence—Bronze in 2014, 2017, 2021, and 2022; and Gold in 2015 and 2016. They also received the Innovations in State Government Award for Collaborative Value Development in Procurement for the National Association of State Chief Administrators in 2017 and the US Communities Government Purchasing Alliance Award for Excellence in Cooperative Purchasing in 2018. Additionally, six members of his team were recognized by EMAT (Emergency Management Association for Tennessee) for their efforts in support of the Tennessee Emergency Management Association’s (TEMA) COVID mission.

Over the past 44 years, Perry has served the State of Tennessee in various roles. Before being appointed Chief Procurement Officer on July 1, 2013, Perry was the Deputy Chief Procurement Officer and served as an Assistant Commissioner for the Department of General Services beginning in May 2006. During that time, Perry was responsible for managing the Purchasing Division, Human Resources for the Department, and the Governor's Office of Diversity Business Enterprise.

He also served as the Department's Legislative Liaison and the Emergency Services Coordinator for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Beginning in January 1992, Mike served as the Director of Postal Services. Before assuming that position, he worked for fourteen years in the Purchasing Division.

Perry is a 1974 graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, a 1993 graduate of the Tennessee Government Executive Institute, and a 2014 graduate of LEAD Tennessee.
 

Before joining General Services, Allen served as Assistant Treasurer for the Tennessee Treasury Department’s Legal, Compliance and Audit Division from 2011-2018. In that role, she oversaw the Department’s attorneys, compliance, and internal audit staff.

Before joining the Treasury Department in 2011, Allen served as Assistant Commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Health’s Bureau of Health Licensure and Regulation from 2007 to 2011. In that position, Allen was responsible for overseeing the staff accountable for the administrative duties relative to the licensure and complaint investigation of health care professionals, health care facilities, emergency medical services personnel and ambulances, and dog and cat dealers and breeders.

Before working at the Department of Health, Allen served as legal services director and Deputy General Counsel for the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, where she advised senior department officials on legal, policy, and legislative matters. Her responsibilities also included litigating professional disciplinary cases before boards, commissions, and administrative judges. She also had oversight of personnel and contract matters for the Department.

Allen joined the Department of Commerce and Insurance in 1994 as a staff attorney for the regulatory board’s division.

Allen has served as Chair of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Administrative Law Section. In addition, she has been a member of the Nashville Bar Association’s State Government Lawyers Continuing Legal Education Planning Committee. She received the President’s Citation for Outstanding Service to the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers and to the Engineering Profession, presented by the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers in 1998, and the Meritorious Service Award for Law Enforcement, presented by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying in 2002.

Allen received a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the George C. Taylor School of Law at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bryn Mawr College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has been licensed to practice law in Tennessee since 1993. Allen is also a graduate of LEAD Tennessee and Tennessee Government Executive Institute.

Golden has always had a passion for customer service, which she has carried throughout her career in the commercial print industry. Before coming to work for the State of Tennessee, she worked for Triangle Wholesale Printing in Nashville and Top Flight, Inc. in Chattanooga.

Golden joined the State of Tennessee in 1999, where she has helped drive transformation in Tennessee communications. She and her team have worked to consolidate print operations throughout the State and have utilized technology to offer innovative solutions for agency communication. The consolidation effort has increased efficiency in print operations and reduced expenses.

Golden is also helping to drive the effort to utilize technology to improve the experience of the citizens who seek services from her division. As a result, the In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA) named Document Solutions the Print Center of the Year in 2019 and awarded them the Innovation Award in 2022. Document Solutions was also recognized in 2022 with an Honorable Mention from Xplor International for their Print Site Consolidation and Hyperautomation Workflow project submitted in conjunction with Crawford Technologies for the Application of the Year Award.

Golden served as Secretary/Treasurer for the International Board of Directors for IPMA from 2015 – 2022 and was a past board member of the National Government Publishing Association.

Golden received her Bachelor of Business Administration from Belmont University. She is a 2011 Tennessee Government Executive Institute graduate and served on the TGEI Steering Committee in 2013. She is an inaugural member of the Tennessee Government Leadership Council, where she served on the Vision Committee that created the Tennessee Black Belt Leadership Program. She was honored to receive her Black Belt in 2015.
 

Parks is the Executive Director of Communications for the Department of General Services (DGS) for the State of Tennessee. DGS provides operational support services to all other departments and agencies in Tennessee State Government. In this role, Parks is responsible for leading the department’s strategic communications plan through dynamic storytelling that engages a diverse audience on various platforms.

Parks has over 30 years of experience spearheading result-driven marketing, advertising, communications, promotions, and customer relations campaigns. She’s been a regular speaker at the Nonprofit Storytelling Conference and has written for numerous magazines, publications, and blogs.

Parks graduated magna cum laude from Middle Tennessee State University, where she received her Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in marketing and communications.
 

Previously, Hannah worked as the personnel director for the Bill Lee for Tennessee Transition Team and wore multiple hats for Lee’s gubernatorial campaign, even months before his campaign announcement, as they developed the organizational structure and strategy behind his campaign.

As a former director of organizational development for privately-owned regional businesses, Hannah is known as the team member you can count on to find a way to manage organizational change and deliver exceptional results. Her experience includes project management, development and implementation of strategic plans, recruitment, and team development, and marketing and public relations.

Hannah’s passion for building connections, organizational culture, and getting people excited about realizing their potential can be traced back to her college years as a student ambassador and young community leader, where she had to motivate and focus the team through challenging days.

Hannah explains that creating a “we culture” that brings people together, fosters belonging, and inspires trust is key to any organization igniting real results.

Hannah received her Bachelor of Business Administration in corporate and organizational communications from Western Kentucky University. She has served on many boards and volunteered with multiple organizations, including the Layman Lessons Board of Directors, the TN Suicide Prevention Network Advisory Council, the Western Kentucky University Athletic Foundation Board of Directors, and the University of Tennessee Family Council, to name a few. 

In 2015 she transitioned to the division of Commissioner’s Support, where she helped develop and grow a new division, the Office of Administrative Services for DGS. This office focuses on supporting all divisions in DGS in the areas of procurement and department-level IT support. Through the years, this office has grown to include procurement support services to many small commissions and agencies across State government, as well as enterprise-wide support in ID Badging and Parking Services. In 2021, Hannah was named the Director of the Office of Administrative Services for DGS. And in 2023, she was promoted to the Executive Director of the Division of Administration for the DGS.

Hannah is a 2018 graduate of the Emerging Leaders Institute (ELI), a 2019 graduate of the Accelerated Leadership Institute (ALI), and a 2022 graduate of LEAD Tennessee. She is serving a four-year term as a voting member of the Advisory Council on State Procurement and an active member of Advancing Women in Nashville (AWIN).

Since joining the State of Tennessee in 2014, Williams has made significant strides in improving the efficiency of the State’s fleet of over 7,000 vehicles. During his tenure, he merged three divisions into one, thereby reducing annual recurring expenses by $600,000. Williams reorganized the sales operations into a virtual marketplace, cross-trained personnel for better customer support, changed the operation to be 80 percent paperless, and established new operating protocols that reduced throughput delivery time by 40 percent. He has led the division to a consistent customer satisfaction rating of over 95 percent. He recently rightsized past heavy truck specs to achieve a four-year projected savings of over $3M.

Before joining the State, Williams spent nearly 14 years working in commercial fleet management, where he had direct responsibility for sales, operations, P &L, logistics, capital expenditures, fleet maintenance, and personnel, and another six years working in commercial construction, procurement, planning, and logistics. He has a private pilot certificate and a Class A CDL license.
Williams served as the National Conference of State Fleet Administrators (NCSFA) president from 2016-2018, and his division received NCSFA’s Fleet Excellence Award in 2019. He studied mechanical engineering at MTSU and organizational leadership at Lipscomb University. Williams is also a graduate of LEAD Tennessee and Tennessee Government Executive Institute.
 

Winston has been with the Department of General Services for over ten years, serving in internal audit and financial management roles. He spent four years as an internal auditor with responsibilities including contract audits, special investigations, risk management, and Title VI compliance. Serving with the Office of Financial Management since 2016, Winston’s responsibilities have included budget development and implementation, contract oversight, and financial reporting. He served as the Assistant Chief Financial Officer for General Services before his promotion to director in 2021.

Prior to joining the State, Winston worked in the banking industry for five years. His experience included personal banking and lending, security, and loss prevention. This experience provided the foundational knowledge for his future work with internal controls and compliance in highly regulated environments.

Winston is a Certified Government Financial Manager and an active member of AGA (formerly Association of Government Accountants), having served as Nashville Chapter President from 2018-2019. He has experience in financial management, budgeting, internal controls, internal audit, and banking. Winston holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.