Tennessee Valley Authority
Valley Relations Staff
Bob Morris
Vice President
ramorris2@tva.gov
Bob Morris leads the Valley Relations team. He also advises TVA executives on the current Valley political landscape and emerging issues possibly impacting TVA.
Under his leadership, Valley Relations has strengthened TVA’s relationship with public officials by showcasing TVA’s value to the Tennessee Valley. Morris and his team are credited for arranging the first visit of a current Valley governor for a tour of a TVA nuclear or fossil plant.
Morris possesses a wealth of knowledge and experience. Since joining TVA in 1973, he has served in progressively responsible leadership roles. Early in his career, he helped design and develop numerous TVA engineering projects and provided technical advice on several international projects.
In 1994, he began helping leaders across the Valley strengthen their communities through new economic development initiatives. Since 1999, he has been a TVA liaison with federal, state, and local public officials and their staffs.
He attended the U.S. Naval Academy and earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering and an MBA in Finance from the University of Tennessee. He is a Registered Professional Engineer and a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Amy Arnold
Manager, Middle Tennessee District
agarnold@tva.gov
Amy Arnold is responsible for overseeing TVA’s relationships with public officials in Middle Tennessee. She works day-to-day with state and local officials as well as the district congressional offices on numerous sensitive TVA issues such as transmission project siting and land management practices. She also works closely with members of the Tennessee General Assembly and often represents TVA at the State Capitol.
Arnold is an accomplished legislative and public policy analyst. She has extensive federal and state experience. She formerly was appointed by the White House to serve as the Policy Advisor to the Federal Co-Chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission. During her tenure, she was responsible for the development of policy initiatives and matters affecting the Commission in the area of rural economic and community development and reviewed all projects requiring approval of the Federal Co-Chair.
Arnold previously served as the Legislative Liaison for the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. In this position, she advised the Department’s Commissioner on legislative matters and maintained the Department’s relationship with the Tennessee General Assembly and the Governor’s Office of Legislative Affairs.
Arnold is a member of the Junior League of Nashville and serves on the Hands On Nashville Board and the Carson-Newman College Alumni Board. She is a graduate of Carson-Newman College where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science.
Penny Judd
Manager, Southeast Valley District
pgjudd@tva.gov
Penny Judd is responsible for TVA’s relationships with public officials in the Southeast Valley district. Her career has led her from the Tennessee Valley to the White House and back again.
Before joining TVA, she worked in the West Wing of the White House as the Special Assistant to the Assistant to the President of the United States. She planned and oversaw all Congressional interaction with the President including policy and legislative meetings, Air Force One travel, and legislative events. She was a daily interface for the President with members of Congress, Ambassadors, Cabinet Members, and other dignitaries.
Judd joined TVA in December 2005. Her experience has helped her gain support for TVA with public officials in her district.
Judd serves on the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce Public Policy Committee and is a graduate of the 2006-2007 Leadership Chattanooga Class.
She earned a bachelor’s degree from Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee, where she majored in English and Journalism and minored in Political Science.
Waymon Pace
Senior Manager, Alabama District
wrpace@tva.gov
Waymon Pace manages TVA's relationships with public officials in Alabama. He helped establish the Tennessee Valley Caucus consisting of state legislators representing the north Alabama region served by TVA. The Caucus joined forces to pass state legislation protecting the Tennessee River in several north Alabama counties from certain interbasin water transfers.
Among his previous positions, Pace has served as a TVA Customer Service Manager and Economic Development Regional Manager in Alabama. He also has 20 years experience working with the Auburn University Extension Service.
Pace is on the Board of Directors of the Alabama World Trade Association. He served on Governor Riley's Manufacturing Advisory Commission as well as a special advisory board for the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama.
He is a member and past board member and officer of the Economic Development Association of Alabama. He is also a board member for Junior Achievement of North Alabama.
Pace holds bachelors and masters degrees from Auburn University and an education specialist degree from Mississippi State.
Paul Phelan
Manager, West Tennessee District
pephelan@tva.gov
Paul Phelan manages TVA’s relationships with public officials in west Tennessee. Before joining TVA in 2003, Phelan was a businessman and served as a Tennessee State Representative for 10 years. While in the Tennessee General Assembly, he held various leadership roles including serving on the Joint Study Committee on Electric Utility Industry Restructuring and other committees.
Phelan’s experience and strong knowledge of the Tennessee General Assembly has helped facilitate opportunities to increase understanding and support of TVA and its initiatives among many state legislators.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Tennessee.
Nancy Mitchell
Manager, Kentucky District
nkmitchell@tva.gov
Nancy Mitchell manages TVA’s relationships with public officials in Kentucky. Before joining TVA in 2004, she served as a Legislative Correspondent for U.S. Senator Jim Bunning in Washington, D.C.
She has extensive experience in analyzing public policy and energy issues. Prior to Mitchell’s work in the U.S. Senate, she was a Staff Assistant on U.S. Congressman Ed Whitfield’s staff and also served as an intern in TVA’s Washington office. Mitchell held two other TVA internships in Economic Development and Valley Relations.
She is the founder and an active member of the Young Professionals of Bowling Green, and is a graduate of the 2006 class of Leadership Bowling Green. Mitchell serves on the Bowling Green Downtown Redevelopment Authority Board of Directors and is an active member of the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce.
She earned her master's degree in Business Administration in May 2008. She graduated from Murray State University with a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication.
Bert Robinson
Manager, Northeast Valley District
brobinson@tva.gov
Bert Robinson manages TVA's relationships with public officials in the Northeast Valley District, including parts of Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia. He regularly interacts with officials from all levels of government in these states in order to update them on various TVA issues.
A native of Athens, Tennessee, he came to TVA from the March of Dimes Foundation, where he directed public affairs activities for the Eastern United States. Prior to that role, he worked for many years in the Washington, D.C. office of Congressman John J. Duncan, Jr., most recently as his Legislative Director. In that position, he staffed the TVA Caucus and followed electric utility issues for the Congressman.
Robinson is an Eagle Scout and currently serves on the March of Dimes' Tennessee Chapter's Public Affairs Committee, as well as the Knoxville Chamber's Government Relations and Public Policy Committee.
He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he majored in Speech Communication and minored in Broadcasting.
Amy Tate
Manager, Mississippi District
astate@tva.gov
Amy Tate manages TVA’s relationships with public officials in Mississippi. She maintains bipartisan working relationships with Congressional staff, state representatives and senators, county supervisors, and city mayors. She also works with various interest organizations and associations.
Tate is an experienced government relations and communications expert. She was a member of TVA's Media Relations staff prior to joining Valley Relations. Before joining TVA, she was Special Assistant to the Mayor of Tupelo, Mississippi, where she coordinated public relations efforts for the mayor and city departments.
Amy is a graduate of Leadership Mississippi and the Community Leadership Institute. She serves on the boards of Junior Achievement, March of Dimes and the Mississippi Association of Partners in Education. She also serves as mentor to the Lawndale Leadership Academy, a leadership program for sixth graders in the Tupelo Public School District.
Tate earned a double-major bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and Political Science from Mississippi University for Women.
