About Us

Who we are:
Scott Martin: Administrator

Scott Martin is the Administrator for Chattanooga’s Department of Parks & Outdoors. Before joining the City of Chattanooga, he was the founding Director of River Heritage Conservancy, Inc, the conservancy creating ORIGIN Park on the North Shore of the Falls of Ohio. Scott has been part of teams in Idaho, Virginia, and Kentucky that have created some of our nation’s largest new public park and urban open space conservation systems.

He is presently a member of the Executive Board for World Urban Parks. In this role, he has delivered talks on urban park and conservation systems to audiences in Australia, Canada, Europe, and Mexico. His work has been featured in the Australasia Parks and Leisure Journal, Landscape Architecture Magazine, Virginia Review, the National Association for Olmsted Parks, National Geographic, Creative Mornings, and the global “Nature in Cities Network”. Scott holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Boise State University (Go Broncos!), and was elected a Fellow of the American Academy for Parks & Recreation Administration in 2021. He and his wife, Jennifer, live in Chattanooga with their two marginally well-behaved Dalmatians. They enjoy birding, hiking, and whitewater kayaking. Email Mr. Martin at sdmartin@chattanooga.gov

Jason McKinney: Deputy Administrator. 

Jason has a very diverse background and experience. A graduate of Murray State University in Wildlife Biology and then a Master’s in Education from UT Martin. Jason began his professional career at UT Martin as their Head Cross Country/ Track and Field Coach. After 4 years, he and his wife decided to move to Chattanooga. He then began focusing his efforts in education. Worked as a Special Education Teacher (2 years), then a graduation coach (4 years), then an assistant principal (4 years). In 2014 he moved his efforts to work with the City of Chattanooga to improve out of school educational opportunities. He expanded his leadership role into recreation, early learning, and career development.

In 2021, Mayor Kelly created the Department of Parks and Outdoors. Jason became the Deputy Administrator and developed the structure and base for this new department. Jason enjoys working with the internal aspects and helping team members solve issues.

Jason and his wife, Stacy, spend most of their time with their 4 children. They enjoy traveling and the outdoor activities that Chattanooga has to offer.

Greta Hayes: Recreation Director 

Graduated with a BS in Sports Management and Leisure Services and a minor in Business from High Point University in NC. I have been with the City of Chattanooga since May, 1998. I began my career here as the Manager of Frost Stadium in the Parks Dept for Parks and Recreation. I was hired by Larry Zehnder during the John Kinsey Administration. I've been through 5 Mayoral changes during my tenure with the City. Over time I began to assume more responsibilities and was named the Assistant Director of Parks and was also the interim Director of Parks. I served in Parks for 11 years and was asked to move into the Recreation Division to lead that department. I moved into the Director of Recreation position in 2009 and currently hold the same position. I'm on several boards- Sports Commission, NRYSA, EH Booster Club President, East Chattanooga community board member, TRPA and NRPA member, MLB RBI Advisory committee as well as USA softball advisory committee member.
I met my husband of 22 years Adrian Hayes while working for the City and we have 6 beautiful children. We have 2 older daughters who both play sports in college right now. We are very active at our church , New Covenant Fellowship. We stay busy on the weekends traveling to watch our girls play and also our 4 little children are active in sports so we are at practices and games almost every night of the week. We live in Ooltewah and enjoy sports, movies, traveling and spending time together with family.

Gail Loveland Barille: Director of Outdoor Chattanooga

Barille joined Outdoor Chattanooga in October 2022, inspired by the opportunity to provide more entry points for people of all backgrounds and abilities into outdoor spaces. She brings with her over 25 years of experience working within organizations specifically focused on outdoor recreation, inclusion, and youth development and a portfolio of nationally recognized adaptive recreation programs, events, and facilities. Gail moved to Chattanooga in 2019 to join Southeast Conservation Corps and work in collaboration with the National Park Service, US Forest Service, and a variety of non-profits and conservation teams. Passionate about how she could help build our next generation of land stewards, she spent 3 years connecting local youth and young professionals to career paths in outdoor recreation and public land management. Gail has lived throughout the US and brings with her the knowledge of best practices, and missteps, from other recreation cities and communities throughout the Pacific NW, Rocky Mountains, and the Northeast. You can find her and her family daily on a trail, waterway, or greenway; adventuring with a variety of backpacks, helmets, camping, and paddle gear. A proponent of enjoying rest as much as activity, Gail also spends time listening to Chattanooga’s local music, checking out the variety of food, and exploring the diversity of our region’s plants, insects, birds, and animals.

Jonathan Susman: Director of Special Events

Jonathan Susman grew up in Chattanooga, graduating from UTC in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in Marketing. Upon graduating, Susman moved to Nashville, TN where he lived for nearly eight years before moving back to Chattanooga. Having seen the cultural and artistic shift taking place in the city, Susman made the decision to move back to his hometown to do what he could to contribute to this growth. He began working with Chattanooga Presents to help create, produce, and promote multiple signature events for Chattanooga like Nightfall, Road to Nightfall, Pops on the River, 3 Sisters Bluegrass Festival, and more. Susman has been heavily involved in the City’s cultural scene for decades, from being a drummer in several local bands, to creating multiple opportunities for other local musicians in the area, and brings a diverse set of skills in event production, attraction, and promotion.

These experiences prepared him for his career with the City of Chattanooga in 2016, where he started as the Public Space Coordinator for the City’s Department of Transportation, then moved to Activation Specialist and then Special Events Manager for the former Division of Open Spaces, and is now the city’s first Director of Special Events & Programming. In this new role, Susman says he’s “extremely grateful to the Kelly administration for recognizing the important role events play in the lives of our citizens in Chattanooga - from community block parties to massive music festivals and world-renowned sporting events - and is extremely excited to create opportunities for all Chattanoogans to have access for realizing their own dreams of creating activities and events in their communities.”

Carmen Davis: Director of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy

Carmen’s background in arts, culture and promotions started at the University of Memphis while obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism. While in school she worked with the Collegiate Connection, which led to three prestigious internships in the entertainment industry: Def Jam Records as a representative for the South Eastern Region, Commercial Appeal Newspaper in Advertising, and the Memphis Arts Festival in Communications.
With over twenty years of experience and extensive knowledge of the entertainment industry, she has been used to help select and secure talent for the RISE Chattanooga, Nightfall Music Series, Riverbend Festival, Tunnel Arts Festival, Bessie Smith Heritage Festival, House of Chapple Halloween Bash and Jazzanooga.

For thirteen years, Carmen served as the Curator and Program Director for the Bessie Smith Cultural Center. In 2015, she started a new journey and career in Corporate Philanthropy.

Carmen Joined the City of Chattanooga in September of 2022. 

Blythe Bailey: Director of Design and Connectivity

An urban designer and Architect, Blythe has focused his career on the pursuit of built environments that are sensitive to natural resources and safe and comfortable for all people. Blythe's experience is varied, with previous work as a consulting Architect and business owner emphasizing adaptive reuse and new construction and as Administrator for the Chattanooga Department of Transportation where he pursued a mission of assuring streets were great public spaces that safely accommodate all users. As the Director of Design for Parks and Outdoors, Blythe oversees our citywide planning process for all parks and the outdoors, which includes greenways and blue ways, and manages development projects such as a new skatepark and a University Greenway. Blythe is a life-long Chattanoogan with professional experience that also includes mathematics, education (teaching and coaching), and historic preservation.

Darryl Wilson: Director of Finance in DPO

As a seasoned finance professional, Darryl Wilson has been a dedicated employee of the City of
Chattanooga for 16 years. In his current role as Finance Manager Darryl’s responsibilities include
managing the department’s $14.2M operating budget, it’s $7.6M capital budget, providing analytical
support to the Parks and Outdoors leadership team, as well as supervising the fiscal staff responsible for
processing all Parks and Outdoor procurement, payables, payroll, and personnel transactions.

As an Air Force non-commissioned officer, stationed in Great Falls Montana, Darryl graduated from the
University of Great Falls, with a degree in Business Administration and Finance. After completing seven
years of military service Darryl and his wife Carolyn moved to Chattanooga where they have been
residents for 33 years. They have two children, Tiffany age 34, Johnathan age 31, two granddaughter’s
ages 1 and 2, and two grandsons ages 3 and 5. Darryl and Carolyn both enjoy serving in their church, spoiling their grandchildren, and traveling.