Leadership | Tennessee VOAD

Tennessee VOAD leadership is comprised of Members from across the State. For information on how to get in contact with our team, please visit our Contact Us page, or click on the team member (seen below) that you wish to contact for phone and email information.

David Sledge

President

Chris Robins

Vice President

Sherry Buresh

Secretary

Gary Ward

Treasurer

Raymond Rader

Past President

Julie Dimitrov

Chair – AOT Committee

President

David Sledge

TN Colonel, Aide de Camp
Worked with his first disaster response in 1976, the 100 year flood in Nashville, TN.Â He has served as a Brotherhood Director and Youth Minister for a Baptist Church in the 1990s.Â David continues to work as an Emergency Service Coordinator TN Emergency Management Agency since 1995.Â He has been the Secretary for the TN Emergency Management Advisory Committee since 2007.
Since 2015 he has served as the Director of Emergency Services and Disaster Preparedness for the Tennessee Dept. of the American Legion.Â He has also been a member of the TNVOAD since 2007, served as the NVOAD Community Preparedness Committee Secretary since June 2019, and was the 2019 NVOAD National Conference Chair.

Vice President

Chris Robins

Regional Disaster Officer
American Red Cross, Nashville, TN

Secretary

Sherry Buresh

Director of Inspiritus Disaster Relief

With 18 years of experience in Disaster Leadership, and having led over 70 Disaster Responses, Nationally and Internationally, Sherry is presently the Director of Inspiritus Disaster Relief (Immediate Response and Long Term Recovery).Â She is also a National Advisor and the National Incident Command Deputy for Christian Emergency Network (CEN).

Other Experiences are extensive and include:

35 years of experience in Volunteer Management (leading, coordinating and training volunteers)
Chair and Vice-Chair of KYVOAD
Chair of a 5 County Long Term Recovery Committee formed following a Federal Disaster Declaration
Active member of NVOAD Volunteer Management Committee
2014 and 2017 Recipient of the NVOAD Member of the Year Award
Board Member and Team Member for Kentucky Community Crisis Response Team (KCCRT) â€“ Crisis Mental Health Response
Board Member of Pathfinders Mission (Hurricane Katrina Rebuild Disaster Organization)
Various local Emergency Planning Committee member

Treasurer

Gary Ward

TN Colonel, Aide de CampÂ
Retired Major, US Army
Gary is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC) with Ameriprise Financial Services.Â Currently a Lieutenant Colonel, he has been a member ofÂ the Civil Air Patrol since 2001.Â He currently is serving with CAP in the roles of Communications Officer, Emergency Services Training Officer, Finance Officer, Logistics Officer, Safety Officer, Search and Rescue Officer, and Testing Officer.Â He has been a member of TNVOAD since 2007 and also serves on the TN Emergency Management Advisory Committee at TEMA.

Past President

Raymond Rader

TN Colonel, Aide de CampÂ
Retired Nashville Metropolitan Police Department
Raymond is one of the nation’s premier advanced instructors for tracking and search & rescue.Â Currently a Lieutenant Colonel, he has been a member ofÂ the Civil Air Patrol since 2003.Â He currently is serving with CAP in the roles of Group 3 Transportation Officer and TN Wing TEMA Liaison.Â He has served as Group 3 Commander, Counterdrug Officer, Deputy Commander, Emergency Services Officer, Emergency Services Training Officer, Inspector General, Public Affairs Officer, and Safety Officer.Â He also held the squadron positions of Deputy Commander for Seniors, Emergency Services Officer, and Safety Officer.Â He has been a member of TNVOAD since 2009 and also serves on the TN Emergency Management Advisory Committee at TEMA.

Chair – AOT Committee

Julie Dimitrov

Administration, Operations, & Training Committee Chair Person

Julie Dimitrov is a Certified South Carolina Emergency Manager with more than 15 years in the field of emergency response.Â She has her Masters of Science Degree in Management and Leadership.

After moving to Beaufort County, SC in 2000, Ms. Dimitrov took a position with the American Red Cross Palmetto Chapter as Disaster Director.Â In this capacity she responded to numerous local as well as national disasters to include fires, floods, hurricanes, and train derailments.Â Ms. Dimitrov was presented the â€œRichard Geraâ€ award for her outstanding leadership and commitment to the provision of disaster services in the State of South Carolina.

In 2006, Ms. Dimitrov took a position with the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) Region 8 as a Public Health Preparedness Planner.Â In this capacity, Ms. Dimitrov was responsible for emergency response planning, education, and outreach efforts.Â She crafted the regionâ€™s Influenza Pandemic Response Plan and the Standard Operating Guidelines for Mass Dispensing of Vaccines and Pharmaceuticals.Â She was Region 8â€™s Operations Chief for the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

In addition to her duties with DHEC, Ms. Dimitrov is also the coordinator for South Carolinaâ€™s Beaufort, Colleton and Hampton counties Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) programs.Â Her development and implementation of the CERT programs within these counties has increased individual and family disaster awareness and preparedness.Â She is the lead CERT instructor for the State of South Carolina and was recognized by Governor Sanford for her efforts.

Currently, Ms. Dimitrov leads her own consulting firm.Â She provides assistance to healthcare and emergency management organizations with disaster planning and conducting of training exercises to increase organizational preparedness.