The Dollywood Foundation – United States

Vice Chairperson

Ted leads Dolly Parton Productions and represents Dolly in her various business interests across the country. Ted forged the partnership which created Dollywood in 1986.

President

Jeff joined the  Foundation in 2011 and leads the efforts to fulfill its global mission. Jeff is a member of the Board of Directors and is responsible for all aspects of the  Foundation’s planning, strategy, finance and team.

Treasurer

Eugene Naughton is the president of Dollywood Parks and leads all strategy and oversight of the theme park, water park and hospitality areas. Eugene joined Dollywood in 2019 and brings more than 30 years of industry experience with previous experience at Paramount and Six Flags.

Secretary

Charles Kite is an attorney residing in Knoxville, TN. He holds a law degree from the  University of Tennessee, College of Law. Charles has practiced law for over 40 years and has served as  General Counsel for the  Dollywood Company.

A founding member of the board, Edna was Tennessee’s Teacher of the Year in 1989 and an inductee to the National Teachers Hall of Fame. She is an active member of the National State Teachers of the Year organization and leads the annual selection of process for the Chasing Rainbows Award. This award is presented each year by Dolly to a teacher who has overcome daunting obstacles to inspire students and change lives.

Rachel Parton George has played a variety of roles in not only the Parton family, but also in Dolly Parton’s various businesses. She is a key representative of Dolly and the family in personal as well as business matters.

Since 2015, Andrew Wexler has served as the CEO of Herschend Enterprises, a privately owned themed-entertainment company that operates several theme parks and tourist attractions within the United States. He was CFO of Herschend Enterprises from 2007-2014 and has a background in business finance.

Crissy Haslam is the former First Lady of Tennessee from 2011-2019, focusing much of her work across the state on family engagement and literacy. She has been a leading voice for Tennessee’s statewide Imagination Library effort as well as a champion of a number of causes supporting children and families.

Vice President

Drawing on his 25+ years of experience as CEO of major corporations in multiple industries, Mr. Manby assists CEOs and boards in transforming their organization’s business performance and culture through a set of proven processes and tools.

Nashville attorney and founding partner of Trauger & Tuke law firm. Trauger’s practice is concentrated in health care, complex civil litigation, general business matters and regulatory agency work. For nearly a decade, Trauger chaired the Board of Trustees of Martin Methodist College, served on numerous boards and currently serves on the executive committee of the Nashville Public Education Foundation. He graduated from Yale Law School in 1977 where he was the Associate Editor of the Yale Review of Law and Social Action. He served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee after which he practiced for two years with the Boston, Massachusetts firm of Bingham, Dana & Gould and then returned to Tennessee in 1983 to form his firm.

Claudia Brooks D’Avanzo is founder and president of Creative Communications Consultants. She has over 35 years’ experience in the PR/marketing communications field, working with national consumer brands and non-profits. Prior to starting her own firm in 1998, Claudia was an SVP for FleishmanHillard, a global communications company.