MEET COUNCILWOMAN KYONZTÈ TOOMBS

Achievements

  • Vanderbilt University, Magna Cum Laude, Bachelor of Arts in African-American Studies, May 2001
  • Vanderbilt University Law School, J.D., May 2004
  • Emory University, Goizueta Business School, MBA, Concentration in Finance and Strategy
  • University of Alabama, Master of Laws, Tax
  • East TN State University- Health Care Management Graduate Certificate
  • Practicing attorney for 15 years with over 10 years of government practice experience including writing and analyzing over 100 pieces of legislation
  • Community Leader – Founding Board Member of the Equity Alliance, President of the Equity Alliance Fund, 2nd Year Director of the Lawyers Association for Women, Marion Griffin Chapter; Past President of the Napier-Looby Bar Association; Rosebank Elementary PTA President
  • Recipient of numerous community and professional awards
 
 

Background

Kyonzte Toombs is a “Double Dore” having completed her undergraduate studies in 2001 at Vanderbilt University as well as graduating from Vanderbilt’s law school in 2004.  Kyonzte also holds an MBA from Emory University and a Tax LLM from the University of Alabama. Kyonzte is also in her second term as the Councilwoman for District 2 on Nashville’s Metro Council. Since her election in September 2019, Kyonzte has held multiple leadership positions. During her first term, she served as the President of the Council (“Speaker Pro Tempore”) and as the Vice Chair and Chair of the Council’s Budget and Finance Committee. In 2021, while serving as Budget Chair, her substitute budget passed the Council unanimously becoming the city’s budget for Fiscal Year 2022. Kyonzte has also spearheaded millions of dollars in much needed investment in her district.

 

Currently, Kyonzte serves as Chair of the Council’s Minority Caucus and is the current Vice Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee.  She also serves on the Finance, Administration, and Intergovernmental Relations Committee of the National League of Cities. 

Kyonzte has spent most of her nearly 20-year career in public service with 14 years of experience working as an attorney for the State of Tennessee. Kyonzte spent nearly 12 of those years with the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) serving in the Office of General Counsel as Associate General Counsel, Senior Associate General Counsel, and Deputy General Counsel over the Facilities and Entities Team. Kyonzte was promoted to Deputy Director of TDH’s Division of Health Licensure and Regulation in November of 2021 where she assists in the oversight of the division’s 179 employees who provide administrative support for the 38 regulatory boards, committees, and registries that regulate over 300,000 healthcare practitioners.

Kyonzte has been actively involved in the community as a member of multiple community organizations.  She is a founding board member of the Equity Alliance. Selected by her peers as one of the 2021 Best of the Bar and by the Nashville Business Journal for its 2021 Women of Excellence Award in the Trailblazer category, Kyonzte served on the board of the Lawyers Association for Women – Marion Griffin Chapter for several years.  She is also a past president of the Napier-Looby Bar Association, past secretary of the Nashville Bar Association, and past board member of the Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women. She also served on the PTA board of her kids’ school for 4 years, two of which she served as president. 

Kyonzte lives with her husband, DeAngelo, of 13 years, and has four children.