Hal Cato, wearing round glasses, a blue checked shirt and dark blue suit jacket, smiles as he stands in front of a gray door.
Hal Cato, CEO of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT). Credit: Martin B. Cherry / Nashville Banner

From a young age, Hal Cato knew he wanted to help others — from a chance encounter with a senior in an assisted living center to recruiting friends to help him deliver Meals on Wheels. That drive has brought him into leadership at some of Nashville’s most prominent nonprofits — including Hands On Nashville, Oasis Center and Thistle Farms. And it brought him very close to a run for mayor.

“I’m still attracted to the underdog today, those who are marginalized and just sort of on the outskirts,” Hal says. Today, he sits at the helm of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, which oversees more than 1,500 funds and hundreds millions of dollars to help those in need. How to best direct and coordinate those resources in a fast-changing city is a challenge Hal feels up for, even if it means changing

Disclosure: CFMT is a sponsor of Banner & Company. Sponsors do not influence coverage.

Guests

  • Hal Cato, CEO, Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee

Credits

  • Host: Demetria Kalodimos
  • Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Andrea Tudhope is the news editor for the Nashville Banner, where she also oversees the audio wing. An award-winning multimedia journalist, Andrea spent the past decade working in public radio, from reporter to newscaster to editor. As part of the founding leadership team for America Amplified, a national public media community engagement initiative, she launched a national talk show and co-wrote and edited a playbook on community-powered journalism. She came to Nashville to launch WPLN’s first-ever daily show, This Is Nashville, where she was executive producer.

Steve Haruch is the senior producer. An award-winning journalist, editor and producer, he has worked previously at the Nashville Scene and WPLN, and his writing has appeared everywhere from The New York Times to NPR's Code Switch. He edited the books Greetings From New Nashville: How a Sleepy Southern Town Became 'It' City and People Only Die of Love in Movies: Film Writing by Jim Ridley.