Senior Director, Local Government Relations
Eben Cathey is the senior director for local government relations within Vanderbilt’s Division of Government and Community Relations. Cathey joined the university in 2022 and plays a leading role in engaging with elected officials, various Metro departments, community leaders, and neighbors on behalf of Vanderbilt while advocating for the university’s legislative and administrative priorities.
Before joining Vanderbilt, Cathey served as director of communications for Calvert Street Group, where he guided mixed-use, commercial real estate and sports stadium projects through municipal regulatory processes—with a focus on Davidson County. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies and municipal government leaders to navigate complex land issues through state and local boards, commissions and elected bodies.
He previously was employed by the Metro Codes and Planning Department as special assistant to the director. In that role, he advised departmental leadership on community engagement, city council and communications issues. Cathey also served as director of community engagement for then-Mayor David Briley, with responsibilities that included building and nurturing relationships with community, neighborhood and business leaders.
Before his career in Metro, Cathey was a foreign service officer for the State Department in India and worked in advocacy and communications for nonprofits and public relations firms for nearly a decade in Nashville and Chicago.
In 2009, Cathey earned a master of arts in political and international studies from Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, where he was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. He completed his undergraduate studies at Rhodes College in Memphis, where he majored in political science and the classics.
Cathey is a former board member of Nashville’s Emerging Leaders and has volunteered for the Live Like Lou/Vanderbilt University Medical Center ALS Research Center Campaign since 2020.