Tenasie Courtright

Tenasie Courtright, first name pronounced like the state, is originally from Las Vegas, NV. Tenasie grew up playing multiple instruments, performing in high school theater, and spending summers in Nashville visiting family that lived in Tennessee. Starting her collegiate career at Belmont University in 2013, Tenasie has called Nashville home for a little over ten years. With a degree in Music Business and years of experience in multiple industries, most recently holding a position as Brand Ambassador at a logistics company, Tenasie found her way back to music through accepting a position as Creative Coordinator at Jody Williams Songs in November 2022.  

In the spirit of a ten year town, Tenasie has spent the last decade in Nashville acquiring experiences and cultivating skills for what would help lead her to a career in music publishing. Some of those experiences were music related, including: running a successful writer’s night for 2+ years, grassroots marketing for artist/writer friends, interning for an artist management company, and participating in Belmont’s esteemed BMI Catalog Cast program. In addition, many of her skills honed through holding non-music related positions, including: bartending/serving in downtown Nashville for 7+ years, co-managing a vacation rental property, and holding a hybrid position as Brand Ambassador/HR Coordinator, while developing a marketing department for a third party logistics company.

In the Spring of 2020, and final semester at Belmont, BMI Catalog Cast program leader and BMI Associate Director of Creative, Mary Ann Keen, took notice of Tenasie’s interest and knack for song plugging - connecting her to Jody Williams (Mary Ann’s former boss at BMI) and Nina Jenkins Fisher. Jody and Nina had recently started up their independent music publishing company, a joint venture with Warner Chappell Music, and were interviewing potential candidates. That initial interview would not yet lead to employment, but the connection to Jody Williams Songs was made.

The three kept in touch, Tenasie in turn keeping up with JWS’s growing roster and being a genuine fan of the songs and direction Jody and Nina were continuing to take the company - song forward. Tenasie was making a name for herself in the transportation industry, when she got the call from Nina in the fall of 2022 that a position had opened up at JWS. Tenasie accepted a position as Creative Coordinator at Jody Williams Songs and officially joined the team in November 2022.  Tenasie's diverse work experiences in tandem with her musical background, give her a unique perspective in an industry as creative and dynamic as music publishing. Her ability to successfully collaborate and communicate with both the writers and her team, have played a predominant role in her success at JWS - resulting in a promotion title from Creative Coordinator to Creative Manager.  

Tenasie assists in day-to-day operations for the publishing company and helps manage the company's impressive roster - Vince Gill, Ashley McBryde, Natalie Hemby, Jason Nix, Driver Williams, Harper O’Neill, Peytan Porter, Andy Austin, Jeremy Spillman, Greg Bates, and Trent Dabbs.