Frist Art Museum Welcomes New Trustees to Enhance Governance

The Frist Art Museum has announced that three board members have been elected to the Frist Art Museum Board of Trustees. The new members—Grace Awh, Melinda Balser, and Ben Weprin—bring a broad range of experience in the fields of law, education, real estate development, and hospitality.

The new members join current Frist board members Phillip G. Billington, Clay Blevins, Ramon L. Cisneros, Kendra Deas, Elizabeth Shaughnessy Dennis, Billy Frist (chair and president), Bryan Frist, Bob Gordon, Donald R. Hardin Jr., Kent Kirby, Neil B. Krugman, Ken Levitan, Wanda Lyle, Will Meyer, Dee Patel, Tara Scarlett, Jamaal B. Sheats, John Smithwick, Deborah E. Story, Julie W. Walker, and Gail Carr Williams.

Grace Awh is a retired lawyer who devotes her time to philanthropic causes. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts, graduated from Wellesley College, and received her law degree from George Washington University. She currently serves on the Nashville Symphony Board of Directors, co-chaired the 2025 Symphony Ball, and is a trustee emeritus of the Cheekwood Estate and Gardens. Awh has served on the boards of the Nashville Public Library Foundation, University School of Nashville, the West End Home Foundation, the Women's Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, the YWCA, and was the former president of the Mother's Club of Montgomery Bell Academy. Awh is a member of the 2016 Leadership Nashville class. She is married to Dr. Carl Awh, a retina surgeon with Tennessee Retina. They have three adult children and one grandchild. Grace is an avid reader, gardener, knitter, golfer, and enjoys traveling abroad. The Awhs enjoy collecting art and photography and have called Nashville home for 31 years.

Melinda Balser is originally from Rhode Island and lived in Baltimore, Maryland before landing in Nashville. She holds degrees from Wellesley College (BA) and Vanderbilt University Divinity School (MDiv). After retiring as the director of adult education at Christ Church Cathedral, Balser began exploring her artistic side and is now oil painting with a group twice a week. Balser served as board chair of the Nashville Food Project, and she cochaired the capital campaign to build their new headquarters. In 2019 she was named the Board Member of the Year at Nashville's Center for Nonprofit Management Salute to Excellence. Balser also served on the New Beginnings Center Board for several years. Currently, she serves on the Nashville Public Library Foundation Board and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital Advisory Board. Melinda and her husband Jeff have three grown children and one granddaughter.

Benjamin (Ben) Weprin is the founder and CEO of AJ Capital Partners, a private real-estate investment company headquartered in Nashville. The firm's multidisciplinary team focuses investment strategies on mixed-use communities, hospitality, and residential sectors. His current portfolio includes projects throughout Nashville; Chicago; New Orleans; Portland, OR; Bozeman, MT; and St. Andrews, Scotland, among other locations. He founded Graduate Hotels in 2014, Marine & Lawn Hotels & Resorts in 2021, and Memoir Residential in 2023. In Nashville, he is widely recognized for the Graduate Hotel; Wedgewood Village, including renovation of the May Hosiery Mills building and building of the Nashville Warehouse Company; and the forthcoming Belle Meade Plaza. Active in the community, Weprin serves on the board of directors for the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation and is a member of the Fast Co. Impact Council. He partnered with the LeBron James Family Foundation to open I PROMISE Village by Graduate Hotels in 2020, offering educational support and transitional housing for I PROMISE families. Additionally, he extended educational opportunities to Graduate Hotels staff through Graduate Academy, providing eligible employees with tuition reimbursement. Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Weprin is a University of Tennessee graduate and holds his master of business administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Weprin currently resides in Nashville with his wife and three daughters.