Shannon Sumner, Chief Compliance Officer and Managing Principal of PYA’s Nashville office, has received a Nashville Business Journal 2024 Women of Influence Award in the “Top Executive” category. The award program honors the region’s most influential businesswomen in the 10-county region of Middle Tennessee who shape companies, improve communities, and serve as role models for future influential female leaders. The “Top Executive” category recognizes female CEOs, presidents, and partners who are leading their companies to success while impacting Nashville and the surrounding region.

Sumner has more than 30 years of experience advising executives and governing boards in healthcare organizations in Middle Tennessee and across the country on navigating highly complex federal regulatory requirements and their roles and responsibilities for effective compliance oversight. Her work helps the organizations strengthen their essential compliance programs, so they can continue to provide quality care to their communities.

Sumner’s career highlights include being recognized by the U.S. Dept. of Justice as the healthcare compliance and internal audit expert for the largest federal compliance co-monitorship of a health system in U.S. history. Before returning to PYA, she was integral to the senior leadership of the nation’s largest provider of internal audit services to more than 450 hospitals and health systems.

“I’m honored to represent PYA in the Women of Influence Award—a reflection of our firm’s commitment to female leadership,” Sumner said. “I take immense pride in being a female owner at one of the nation’s premier healthcare consulting firms and in the fact that PYA is a leader among our peers in the percentage of female owners. I hope my award is a testament to my approach to empathetic leadership, professional excellence, community involvement, and a culture where colleagues and clients feel supported, valued, and empowered.”

An active community supporter, Sumner serves in governance roles in the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, Ascension Saint Thomas, and most recently the Maryland Farms’ YMCA. She is a member of Women Business Leaders in Healthcare, the American Health Law Association, and the Women’s White Collar Defense Association. She also serves as a faculty member of the Health Care Compliance Association and on the editorial board of the Journal of Health Care Compliance.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead our office’s efforts to give back to the Nashville community,” Sumner said. “We have sponsored Alive Hospice, fulfilled holiday wish lists for families in need, celebrated cancer survivors with the YMCA’s After Breast Cancer program, and packed boxes for Second Harvest Food Bank. Our goal with community outreach is always to do the good that is ours to do.”

Sumner is a certified public accountant with certification in healthcare compliance. She earned a Master of Accountancy degree and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree, Cum Laude, from the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

“Shannon Sumner is certainly a ‘woman of influence,’” said Marty Brown, PYA President and Chief Executive Officer. “Her leadership of our Nashville office reflects on her both as a person and a professional who represents PYA’s values in the region through her passion for quality service, her collaborative spirit, and her dedication to supporting clients’ and the community’s needs. I’m proud of Shannon and this recognition, which is so well deserved.”

PYA has served a variety of clients in Middle Tennessee for 40 years and has continually reinvested in the dynamic Nashville market, including opening a Brentwood office and naming Sumner to lead it 10 years ago. Since its opening, the office has tripled in size with plans for continued growth.

Women of Influence Award honorees are nominated by the public and judged by an independent panel of past winners on professional accomplishments, community involvement, and the judges’ assessment. The awards will be presented at an event in Nashville on April 24. Nashville Business Journal subscribers can read about all of the 2024 winners.