We are thrilled to introduce Tony Murchison, who has recently accepted the role of East Tennessee Regional Director with Tennessee Nonprofit Network. In this vital position, Tony will be working to provide technical assistance, training, and collaborative opportunities to all non-profit organizations spanning the entire region, from Bristol to Chattanooga.
Tony brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to the nonprofit mission, and we couldn’t be more excited for him to connect with our members.
Professional Path and Passions
Tony’s entire adult career has been dedicated to the nonprofit sector. He explained his motivation: “I believe in the mission of changing lives and making the world a better place… At the end of the day, I want to connect with people and I want to try my best to make the world a better place.” This calling is rooted in his undergraduate experience at Maryville College, where the founder’s charge to “Do good on the largest possible scale” profoundly influenced him, alongside a personal desire to “pay it forward” after receiving support from government and nonprofit agencies in his childhood.
Prior to joining Tennessee Nonprofit Network, Tony served as the Director of Community Partnerships at the University of Tennessee College of Social Work. Through this role, he worked to develop relationships with key partners across the state and beyond, coordinated the Social Justice Innovation Initiative grant project, and supervised the college’s Continuing Education efforts, including the annual eVOLve Conference. For nine years before UTK, he worked in mental health Quality and Compliance at the Helen Ross McNabb Center.
Tony’s admiration for the organization’s mission and clear plans is what drew him to Tennessee Nonprofit Network. He is excited to contribute his knowledge from 18 years of experience in social work higher education and mental health administration, as well as continue to build on the relationships he has already cultivated across East Tennessee.
Vision for the Region
Tony offers an insightful perspective on the sector. He notes that the term “nonprofit” is an IRS designation and that its impact is incredibly broad. He reminds people that many organizations they interact with daily, like hospitals, are nonprofits, underscoring the sector’s vast reach.
Looking at East Tennessee’s nonprofit landscape, Tony sees both challenges and opportunities. While limited funding and cultural shifts are forcing organizations to revisit missions or become reactive, he notes a positive trend of increasing collaboration.
“The best way to prepare is to stay open, communicate well, and seek out quality resources.”
He notes a moving story of two organizations, previously considered competitors, joining forces by housing one’s program within the other’s building. The key to this successful shift? Breaking down barriers, moving toward collaboration, and keeping the client’s/community’s best interest at heart.
Tony believes the most critical immediate challenge for nonprofits is focusing on the very basics of human care: access to food, housing, health care, and mental health care, alongside the significant immediate needs related to immigration.
In his view, the single most important quality for an effective nonprofit leader is clear communication.
His one-sentence vision for the future of nonprofits in East Tennessee is: “A future filled with collaboration and creativity like we’ve never seen before!”
Getting to Know Tony
On Childhood: Tony grew up in Manchester, TN—”home of Bonnaroo music festival (that’s all anyone knows about Manchester!).” His favorite childhood memory is having holiday meals at his grandmother “Nanny”‘s house, where she spoiled all the grandkids with amazing desserts like fudge, chocolate pie, and cherry cheesecake.
Hobbies and Interests: When he’s not working, Tony enjoys reading, weekend traveling, spending time with his family (especially his ten nieces and nephews), shopping, and collecting stickers. He is happily married and shares his home with three cats. He also likes to write books (none published yet) and do craft projects.
If he could instantly become an expert in any skill, it would be to speak many languages, especially Spanish, in order to travel without concern for language barriers and “to be able to communicate with many people across geography and culture.”
Media that has influenced him recently is the book Banana Ball by Jesse Cole, which he found “fascinating and inspiring” as an inside look into how the Savannah Bananas organization grew from a vision into a phenomenon. Tony is “always looking for new and innovative approaches, solutions, and ideas.”
A surprising fact about Tony is that his undergraduate degree is in Theatre Studies. He uses the skills learned every day, including public speaking comfort, the ability to commit to a project, and working well with others.
Tony currently serves on the boards for Magnolia Harbor Carefarm, the Mental Health Association of East Tennessee, and the Maryville College Alumni Association.
Best Career Advice: “Don’t limit yourself. If you don’t ask, they can’t say yes. Reach for the stars. The only limit is your imagination.”
We welcome Tony to the Tennessee Nonprofit Network team and encourage all our East Tennessee members to reach out and connect with him!