Kevin Mead has never been one to limit himself in life. As a former Pediatric Emergency/ Trauma RN, Small Business Owner, and President of a non-profit, Kevin has honed a broad set of skills that span multiple disciplines. These experiences have allowed him to examine big picture issues with an understanding that few questions in life can be addressed with simple black and white answers. He often says that his view of leadership and his outlook on life can be summarized by a quote from Maya Angelou, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” Kevin truly believes that you cannot serve your community in any capacity without continually seeking out ways to learn from those in it. Kevin Mead is running for the Tennessee House of Representatives for District 66 as an Independent candidate because he believes that People should always come before Parties and we don’t need any more politicians, we need more Public Servants.
A 6th generation Tennessean, Kevin grew up on his family’s farm in Moore County, Tennessee. His childhood was spent singing at his grandfather’s church, water skiing with his little brother and cousins, and competing on Spotted Saddle Horses– winning 3 world titles by 18 years old. After graduating from Tullahoma High School, Kevin was accepted to Belmont University in Nashville, TN where he intended to study music; however, Kevin found a different passion in healthcare. Kevin graduated from Belmont University with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing. Six months after graduation, Kevin moved to Robertson County, TN where he has built his life ever since.
Kevin established his nursing career in Vanderbilt Children’s Level 1 Pediatric Emergency Department. First, as a bedside RN where he treated some of the most severely ill/ injured patients from across the southeast. Later, Kevin became the Case Manager for Vanderbilt Children’s Emergency Services and inpatient Infectious Disease. This has allowed Kevin to have a unique insight into the needs of Tennessee’s most vulnerable populations and a deep knowledge of how healthcare impacts every aspect of a patient and family’s life.
In 2019, Kevin Co-Founded Nature Tails, a pet product company in Robertson County, TN with the goal of supporting small family agriculture– an idea that came to him while hiking 27 miles of the Appalachian Trail. To date, Nature Tails has partnered with nearly 20 small family farms with over 85% of farms coming from Tennessee and Kentucky. Nature Tails continues to promote Small Family Farms and has now invested an estimated $100,000+ into Tennessee and Kentucky agriculture.
Kevin Mead also has the honor of serving as Board President of Community Spirit Inc. CSI is the non-profit that has produced The Bell Witch Fall Festival for over 20 years. The Festival is now the second largest event in Robertson County. Kevin has a passion for the history of Robertson County and under his leadership, Community Spirit Inc, has seen it's profits increase by 2,500% and set new attendance records by over 10%. This has allowed CSI even more opportunities to share their mission of preserving and sharing the history of Robertson County through the arts.
Kevin Mead is a Pediatric Case Manager at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and continues to play an active role in Nature Tails. He lives in Greenbrier, TN and is married to Darin Richardson, an IT Specialist at Vanderbilt University. They have a rescue lab, Jessie, and three huskies, Kyra, Kona, and Kali, 2 barn cats: Bella and Luna, and 38 Chickens.. because you can never have too many chickens.