Interior Design Department Faculty

Rebecca Andrews, Assistant Professor
B.I.D., Auburn University
Ms. Andrews studied at the prestigious Vicenza Institute of Architecture in Vicenza, Italy, and brings that influence into her teaching. Her work in exhibit design has taken her to Europe to work with entertainment entities such as Paramount Pictures, Yanni, and ESPN. She also worked for Earl Swensson Associates, one of Nashville's largest architecture firms.

Emily Brewer, Instructor
B.A., O'More College of Design
Ms. Brewer is the owner of an independent interior designer practice. She specializes in residential, commercial, and contract design.

Don Burke, Instructor 
M.Arch., Savannah College of Art and Design
Mr. Burke is principal and president of Burke Coffey Architecture and Design. He has produced and coordinated engineering drawings for various projects, including historic renovation and adaptive-reuse, public schools, and single and multi-family residential projects, as well as a number of small commercial projects.

Ginny Caldwell, Instructor
B.A., Auburn University
B.A., O'More College of Design
Ms. Caldwell is director of interior design for Southeast Venture. Her career as a commercial interior designer primarily focuses on corporate and healthcare projects, but also includes small retail and restaurant spaces. In 2004, she won the IIDA Tennessee Silver Award in both the hospitality and healthcare categories. Her project work has been published in Healthcare Design magazine and Jain Malkin's A Visual Reference for Evidence Based Design.

Kevin Coffey, Instructor
B.Arch., University of Kansas
Mr. Coffey is principal and secretary of Burke Coffey Architecture and Design. While the majority of his experience is in the residential field, Mr. Coffey has also worked on tenant build outs, schools, multi-family housing, daycare facilities, historic renovations, residential development planning, space planning, and retail stores.

Peter Fleming, Instructor
B.I.D., Auburn University
Mr. Fleming is a senior designer at McAlpine Booth & Ferrier Interiors. The focus of his career has been custom residential interior design, though he has also designed furniture, lighting, door hardware, and bath fixture collections. Before moving to Nashville, Mr. Fleming worked in the New York office of Robert A. M. Stern. Mr. Fleming has continued his education through the Institute for Classical Architecture in New York, Bard Graduate Center of the Decorative Arts, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  He taught interior design for two semesters at the Boston Architectural Center.

Dave Gilbert, Instructor
B.S., California State University, Long Beach
Throughout his career, Mr. Gilbert has been involved in product design and development and has worked extensively with architects and interior designers. While serving as director of product development at Wellness Environments, he developed several architectural and furniture products from conceptual design through manufacturing. At Earl Swensson Associates, he helped establish a digital visualization department and greatly expanded the firm's use of digital 3D modeling. Mr. Gilbert is currently an independent training consultant for design-related software. www.dgviz.com

Kelly Gore, Assistant Professor
B.S., University of Tennessee
Ms. Gore had the invaluable experience of working as an interior designer at two of Nashville's leading architecture firms, Earl Swensson Associates and Fowlkes and Associates Architects. She currently works as an independent designer. At the 2001 IIDA Design Competition, she won the "Best of Commercial Design" award. She specializes in the area of color theory and also has an extensive private practice primarily in office design.

Deborah Griffin, Associate Professor 
B.S., Florida State University; M.S., University of Tennessee
Ms. Griffin is owner of Griffin Design Group, and her clients include tennis pro Malavia Washington and the Nashville Predators' Scott Hartnell. She serves on the National ASID Board of Directors, as ASID National Student Advisor, and is the former chairman of the Florida Chapter. In 2005, she was named Educator of the Year by the Middle Tennessee Chapter. She was formerly head designer for Resort Designs in Amelia Island, Florida.

Barbara Harris, Associate Professor
A.A.E., Nashville State Technical Institute; B.A., Middle Tennessee State University
Ms. Harris owns Harris Drafting, whose clients include Tennessee State University, PDSA, and Paul Goodson Architects. She works on a variety of projects for clients, including churches, hospitals, and private residences.

David Koellein, Instructor and Chair
B.A., Lipscomb University; M.U.P., Harvard University
Mr. Koellein is an authority in the field of urban design theory. In the past, he has coordinated project design review for redevelopment districts for Nashville's Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, and he served as a strategic project manager and designer for Giarratana Development, a company known for high rise and mixed-use development. Koellein is active in the non-profit sector, currently serving on the board of the Nashville Civic Design Center. He is also a freelance writer.   

Mark Medley, Instructor
B.A., Belmont University; M.A., Middle Tennessee State University; M.A., Belmont University
A reformed musician with a passion for history and art, Mr. Medley is the former curator of collections for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and was at the center of exhibit content and installation for their new facility which opened in 2001. He also has worked as an architectural surveyor for the Metropolitan Historical Commission of Nashville and Davidson County. Today he continues as an artist, art educator, and as a curatorial consultant for his wife's company, BlackOrchid Design Associates, whose clients have included Tuck Hinton Architects and The Frist Center for the Visual Arts.

Alfred Sharp, Instructor
B.A., Vanderbilt University
Mr. Sharp began adult life enrolled as a new student at Vanderbilt's School of Law but quickly realized this was not what he wanted to do. Casting around for a while, he lit on woodworking and found his life's passion. Now, as a custom furniture-maker, he creates one or two museum-quality pieces of furniture at a time in his shop in Woodbury, Tennessee. His work appears in museums and historic homes throughout the South and has been featured in numerous major periodicals and books. Mr. Sharp is a member of the board of directors of The Furniture Society and the Tennessee Association of Craft Artists.

Doug Stewart, Associate Professor
B.S., Athens State College
Mr. Stewart has been working in illumination in Nashville for many years and is considered an expert in the field of lighting fixtures and lighting design. He has worked extensively on so many residential and commercial projects in the Middle Tennessee area and is very well known in his field.

Kelly Young, Instructor
B.S., University of Tennessee at Martin
Ms. Young began her career in commercial design as a space planner and then continued to an architectural/engineering firm working primarily with school construction. She moved to the Middle Tennessee area in 2002. Since then, Ms. Young has had the opportunity to play many roles such as designer, drafter, and estimator with local architects and contractors. Currently she is principal designer for Shea-Noel Interiors, Nashville office. She also serves as a juror for the NCIDQ examination.

Kim Zimmer, Instructor
B.S., Southwest Missouri State University
B.F.A., O'More College of Design
Ms. Zimmer is the owner of the design firm Kim Zimmer Interior Design, specializing in high-end residential interiors, small commercial projects, and business consulting for artists and designers. Prior to starting her own firm, she was an interior designer for Alcott Interiors. She was also the vice president of marketing and account services for the Haggin Group in San Francisco, an advertising agency whose client list included global marketers like Sony, Amazon, Starbucks, and Hallmark.


Distinguished Professor

John W. Kiser, Distinguished Professor Emeritus
B.A., George Peabody College; M.A., George Peabody College