East Bank Development Authority chair Emily Lamb is stepping down to take on a new role leading the Metro Codes and Building Safety Department.
Lamb announced her departure at an EBDA meeting Tuesday, during which Mayor Freddie O’Connell announced he has appointed Mona Hodge, EBDA board member and principal at Smith Gee Studio, as the new chair.
"I'm thankful for Emily's service on the board that oversees the largest urban development project in our city's history,” says O’Connell in a press release.
Emily Lamb
“The East Bank has the ability to connect neighborhoods and serve as a blueprint for future work across the city. Emily and Mona share that vision, and I know Mona will dutifully guide the board in the coming years."
Since 2024, Lamb has worked as a shareholder at the Nashville office of Dallas-based law firm Winstead PC, focusing on land-use entitlements and development. Lamb previously served as deputy director at Metro Codes, overseeing nearly $5.5 billion in annual permit issuances and managing the Metro Board of Zoning Appeals, the release notes.
In addition, Lamb once worked as an attorney for the Metro Legal Department, serving as counsel for the Metro Planning Department and Planning Commission, Metro Codes, BZA and Metro Beer Permitting Board, and as a liaison to the Metro Council.
“When Mayor O’Connell asked me to join the EBDA Board, I was honored to accept his appointment and serve Metro in this way,” Lamb says in the release.
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“But when the opportunity to further serve the administration as the head of Metro Codes arose, I could not pass it up. Serving as chair of the EBDA board has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional life, and I’d like to extend my thanks to Mayor O’Connell for this opportunity, as well as to the EBDA staff and my fellow board members. I cannot wait to see how the East Bank continues to evolve in the years to come.”
O’Connell has appointed Tricia Herzfeld — founding partner at Herzfeld, Suetholz, Gastel, Leniski and Wall — to fill Hodge’s seat on the board.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
