Tre Hargett was elected by the Tennessee General Assembly in 2009 to serve as Tennessee’s 37th Secretary of State. He was reelected to four-year terms in 2013, 2017, and 2021.

Secretary Hargett is the chief executive officer of the Department of State with oversight of approximately 300 employees. With his role on fifteen boards and commissions; oversight of nine functional divisions, including elections and the Tennessee State Library & Archives; and his responsibility for rules and regulations, the department interacts with all three branches of state government and impacts every agency in the state.

Previously, Secretary Hargett served as chairman of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. Before joining the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, he was regional vice president for a publicly traded emergency services provider. Secretary Hargett served in the Tennessee House of Representatives for a decade representing District 97 (Bartlett and Memphis) and was twice elected Republican Leader by his colleagues.

A native of Ripley, Secretary Hargett now lives in Hendersonville with his wife, Dawn, and their two sons. He is a Southern Baptist and worships at Indian Lake Peninsula Church.

Rachael Eckles has worked in the health care industry for over twenty years. A lawyer and bioethicist by training, she began her career in clinical research, ran a hospital medical ethics committee, and began a bioethics program at a pharmaceutical company. Her love of shaping the environment evolved into a career in policy and government affairs.

During a brief stint away from health care, she worked in securities litigation. It was then that she began writing fiction, which has evolved into the award-winning Wall Street thriller series, Trading Secrets, with two books released and a third on the way.

Rachael believes each of us has a responsibility to shape the best future possible, and she embodies this through her philanthropic commitments both locally and globally. She donates a portion of her proceeds to local and global programs that empower women and girls through her foundation, Aphrodite Gives.

In her free time, Rachael practices yoga, meditation, and strength training. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and her dog.

Suzanne Swink is Vice President of Government Relations for KORE Power, the leading U.S.-based developer and manufacturer of battery cell technology for the clean energy industry. In this role, she is responsible for the company’s legislative and regulatory strategy for federal and state affairs, community engagement, and sustainability. Ms. Swink joined KORE Power from bp, where she spent the better part of 12 years as a government affairs and strategic communications leader. She has nearly 20 years of government, advocacy, and policy communications expertise. Prior to joining bp, Suzanne was Senior Legislative Assistant to Congresswoman Susan A. Davis (D-CA) and served as the Congresswoman’s lead advisor on a broad domestic portfolio, including energy, environment, infrastructure, trade, tax and judiciary issues. She received her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Southern Mississippi and her master’s in public relations and corporate communications from Georgetown University, where she also serves as adjunct faculty. Suzanne currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the American Council of Young Political Leaders, the Board of the Public Affairs Council, and is a past president of Women in Government Relations.