Meet Lonnell Matthews

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lonnell Matthews.

Hi Lonnell, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story is one where ‘tragedy becomes triumph’. In March of 2006, my younger brother (22) was shot and killed by a 17 years old kid in a drug deal gone bad. As if any drug deals are good. This one, in particular, was devastating to my family. At the time, I was 25 years old and still trying to figure out my purpose in life. I didn’t immediately realize how I would find purpose in this tragedy, or maybe I should say “how purpose would find me”.

About nine months after my brother’s murder, I was sitting in front of one of my college buddies catching up over a dinner. I’m still not sure why I chose to allow a poli-sci major an audience to try to convince me to run for political office, but I did and he was pretty convincing. I had no political aspirations at the time. Heck, I had only voted in 2 Presidential elections and that was most of my political involvement.

I was embarrassed to tell my college buddy that I did’t even know how to get my name on the ballot, let alone run a campaign. However, I decided to just do it. My main motivation was I wanted to do whatever I could to prevent other families from having to experience the tragedy my family went through just nine months before. So I decided to run for Nashville’s City Council, and I actually won.

I could not believe it myself. A 27-year-old kid from North Nashville was elected by the community he grew up in to represent them. They say if you want to keep a kid’s feet grounded just place responsibility on their shoulders. Well this was a responsibility I did not take lightly. I enjoyed being able to help my constituents with a variety of issues. I was also disappointed when I tried to help and could not. At least, I could always make sure that their voices were heard. I served eight years (2007-2015) representing District 1 on Nashville’s Metro Council.

I was the youngest African-American elected to Nashville’s Council in 2007, at age 27. I served as Minority Caucus President, Education Committee Chair, Parks Committee Chair, Budget, and Finance Committee Chair and President Pro Tempore. I was the lead sponsor to create Nashville’s Barnes Fund for Affordable Housing. Affordable housing is an issue that our city struggles with today. I also co-sponsored legislation to create the city’s first diversity business enterprise program and small business incentive program, and to offer domestic partner benefits to same-sex couples (before same-sex marriage was made legal by the Supreme Court).

In 2012, while in my second term as District 1 Councilmember, I married the love of my life, Johari (James) Matthews. We now have two wonderful kids, Ari (son) and Pilar (daughter).

At the same time that my star was rising politically, I had built a pretty impressive career in the non-profit sector. I worked in youth development for the YMCA of Middle TN for 15 years. My last position with the YMCA was as District Executive Director of Youth Outreach. I was very passionate about giving back and developing youth. In 2015, both of my career paths hit a collision course.

Being a term-limited district council member, I decided to run for Council At-Large, a county-wide council seat. Had I won that race I would have been able to continue to work for the YMCA and serve the city of Nashville at the same time. Unfortunately, I lost the Council At-Large race and was force to make a choice on which path I wanted to continue my career.

A few weeks after losing the race, I was recruited by former Mayor Megan Barry to join her administration. This appointment meant that I would have to end my 15-year career in youth development. However, learning the inner workings of a Mayoral administration was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, especially for someone that might want to run for Mayor one day. As the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods and Community Engagement, I got to lead the reboot of Nashville’s 311 system. Creating a more robust constituent response management system called hubNashville. In this role, I also served as criminal justice advisor to the Mayor.

My time in the Mayor’s Office was short-lived. In 2018, I decided to run for a county-wide office again. This time for Davidson County Juvenile Court Clerk. This gave me a chance to fulfill my passions for government and youth development at the same time. After running the most challenging race of my career, I was elected as the first African-American Juvenile Court Clerk in Davidson County.

I still serve as the Juvenile Court Clerk today, but I have also taken a leap of faith during the COVID pandemic to become a media entrepreneur. In July 2020, I co-founded the GreatConvo Media podcast network. We currently are home to over 20 independent podcasts that cover topics of business, finance, relationships, parenthood, mental health, culinary arts, entertainment, and much more through the lens of diversity.

Our podcast creators are located in 5 major markets across the United States. GreatConvo and media entrepreneurship have given me the opportunity to lend voice and perspective through a global platform.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road all the time. Growth has been my biggest challenge on every path I have encountered. Big dreams may start off small, but when you begin putting in work to make them a reality, be prepared for the growth that will be needed to see them through.

I learned this lesson best in 2015 when I first ran for a county-wide office. Going from a district race to a county-wide race was much different. It required me to think broader or broaden my perspectives, if you will. I lost that race. However that presented me the opportunity to learn what I needed to do differently to win my next race.

I was ready to win my next county-wide race in 2018. I also now know the type of preparation needed should I decide to run for higher office one day.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an elected public servant. Currently I serve the community in the role of Juvenile Court Clerk. As the Clerk of Juvenile Court I am considered the ‘keeper of records’ for the court. In this capacity my office also serves as the government sponsor for the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative in Nashville (MBK Nashville). My Brother’s Keeper is an initiative created by President Obama in 2014 to improve achievement for boys and young men of color. This work is important because Black and Brown boys have the highest disparities when it comes to education, employment, health and incarceration. I serve as the co-chair of the MBK Nashville steering committee. I have also had the pleasure of serving for all three branches (legislative, executive and judicial) of local government in Nashville.

I am also a media entrepreneur. In this role I serve as both a podcast creator and podcast network owner. I actually host and/or produce several podcast shows, but I am best known for the marriage/relationship podcast I do with my wife, Johari, called the “You’re All I Need” Podcast.

On our show, we just try to be as genuine as possible, hopefully helping others figure out the best way to make their relationships grow and thrive. We tell people that we don’t have it all figured out, but we also allow them to come on the journey with us as we try to figure it out.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
We should all always be in a constant cycle of do, assess, adjust, and repeat. If we are in this cycle then we should be able to endure most disruptions that enter our lives and accomplish the goals we set for ourselves.

Contact Info:

• Email: lonnellmatthews@jisnashville.gov
• Website: www.lonnellmatthews.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lothepodcaster/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lothepodcaster
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lothepodcaster
• Other: www.greatconvo.com | www.mbknashville.weebly.com

Image Credits
Kayla Renee and Mario Charles