Board Members

Lynda Evjen – President

Lynda Evjen is the current President of Nashville Women in Film and Television. As an Actress, Lynda Evjen began her career over 60 years ago. With credits that include, SNAPPED, Code 207, What’s the Matter with Gerald? And classics like Two Mules For Sister Sara and Rio Lobo, her career has been storied and satisfying. Her work also includes live theatre and tours with the Dallas Repertory Theatre, San Jose Repertory Theater and the USO.

She is a graduate of Stella Adler and the Actors Theatre in San Francisco and has a Masters in Theatre Arts from the University of Texas. She has taught acting at UC Santa Barbara, as well as Schools in Sumner County, Tennessee, and Santa Clara California. Today, she is a Board member of Film-Com, Actor-Com, AFFT, plus founder of Holidayfest of Sumner County. Lynda was awarded Outstanding Actress by The Film Commission of California.

Lynda spearheaded the Southern Women in Film and Television Summit as a means to bring together all of the Southern chapters of Women in Film. Lynda also is a founder of Actor-Com, an organization that provides seminars and one on ones mentoring with Casting Directors from around the country. She lives in Sumner County where she serves as an Ambassador for the Hendersonville Chamber and is a founder of HolidayFest of Sumner County, which hosts local events and fundraisers for local nonprofits.

Donna Caldwell –  Programming  

Donna Caldwell was a label manager at Chauffeur Records and has over twenty-five years of industry experience behind her. She has acquired expertise in the areas of public relations, magazine publishing, artist development, music clearance, supervision, and licensing.

As a publicist, she worked with a small boutique PR firm, with a clientele that included comedians, (Cheech Marin), child stars (Todd Bridges), and actors on their way to stardom (Lawrence Fishburn and Regina King). She spent two years at Original Sound Records in Hollywood, coordinating career development of the label’s artists, and organizing public appearances, and promotional tours,

Her current projects include “Hollywood Meets Nashville” where she coordinates Hollywood caliber events, and working at Music Cue Review helping to curate music for film and television projects.

Hollywood Meets Nashville 

LinkedIn Page 

Patricia Leonard – Speaker & Business Coach

Patricia Leonard is President of RUNWAY TO SUCCESS, a division of Patricia Leonard & Associates located in Nashville, TN.  She is a keynote speaker/performer, career and business coach, author, and online magazine columnist.  Her volunteer energies are focused on Women in Film and Television-Nashville as Board Vice-President.

Patricia has authored the books Wearing High Heels in a flip flop World’; ‘BECOMING WOMAN…; ‘THE NOW, HOW & WOW of Success’ and a spoken word album titled, ‘I AM…’.  She enjoys songwriting and has written and performed her one-woman show about a woman in mid-life reinventing herself. On the personal side, Patricia describes herself as a woman, lover of life, and message artist. Her life goal is to inspire others.

Website: PatriciaLeonard.net

Sarah Smith

After graduating from MTSU, I worked as a flight attendant with Delta Airlines, based in Atlanta. On my days off, I acted in little theater productions and was seen by a talent agency who recruited me. This led to acting in commercials and becoming a member of SAG.

From there, I moved to Los Angeles. I joined AFTRA through work I did on TV, “Three’s Company,” “Falcon Crest,” and “General Hospital” among these. As fate would have it, my career path changed when family matters brought me back to Tennessee.

In 2018, folks asked me to run for mayor of my hometown. It was a novel idea… female mayor in a small Southern town. I took the challenge. And, to my surprise, I won. In addition to the duties as mayor, I served on the boards for Smith County Chamber of Commerce, Upper Cumberland Development District, Upper Cumberland Human Resources Association, and Smith County Joint Economic Council.

Since “retiring” as Mayor, life has come full circle. This past year, I dusted off and finished three screenplays I had started; and I’m exploring the possibility of producing one here in Tennessee.

Dane Gorman – Advisory Board Member