Nashville Mayor Karl Dean appoints 2 new staff members

April 13, 2010 DAVIDSON COUNTY Mayor Karl Dean added two people to his staff Monday, appointing Laurel Creech as chief service officer and Billy Fields to lead the Mayor's Office of Neighborhoods. Creech has worked for Lightning 100 for the past 13 years, heading up the radio station's Team Green outdoor adventure organization. She has also been a member of Dean's Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and his Green Ribbon Committee on Environmental Sustainability. Creech will lead Metro's efforts under the national Cities of Service program. She'll be in charge of putting together a citywide plan to increase volunteerism by June 1. Her position is funded by a Rockefeller Foundation grant. Fields, a special assistant to Metro Codes Director Terry Cobb — who proposed eliminating Fields' position if a 7.5 percent budget cut is necessary — is a longtime city employee and the chairman of the Davidson County Democratic Party. He is a former director and deputy director of the Office of Neighborhoods, which was started by the previous mayor, Bill Purcell. Fields succeeds Brady Banks, who resigned last fall and is now outreach director for the Governor's Books from Birth Foundation. — MICHAEL CASS THE TENNESSEAN Comments >> Be the first to share your thoughts on this story. Related Stories ■Predators prospect has shot at college title Contextual linking provided by Topix