Podcasts

Interview With Jessica Gossett, Park Manager, T.O. Fuller State Park and the Legacy of Rev T.O. Fuller (Episode 95)

March 3, 2023

Our guest today, Jessica Gossett, has recently been promoted to be Park Manager at the historic T. O. Fuller State Park in Memphis. She is the first black women to be a Park Manager in Tennessee.  A remarkable achievement.

The story of the Fuller Park is an important one in Black History in Tennessee.  Situated in the extreme Southwest corner of the state and right on the bluffs of the Mississippi River,  it was developed in part by a black Civilian Conservation Corps troop and  was  established as Tennessee’s first “State Park For Negroes”

Jessica shares with us her research on  the development of the park and its namesake, the esteemed educator and pastor Rev. T.O. Fuller.  She also shares her plans for future programs at the Fuller Park.

(our guest,  on right,  pictured with her father Jesse Gossett)

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About Mark

Mark Thomas Fraley is a lawyer (now retired) in Nashville, Tennessee (USA). Prior to starting law practice in 1987, Mark was active in the field of Parks and Recreation. He was the first Parks and Recreation Director for the cities of Gatlinburg and Sevierville Tennessee. He was the founding program administrator for the Parks and Recreation Technical Advisory Service (PARTAS) and served as Assistant Commissioner of Conservation and Director or Parks and Recreation for the State of Tennessee.

Mark practiced law in Nashville Tennessee from 1987 until retirement in 2017.  He had a general practice with an emphasis on Social Security Disability claims.  He was a faculty member of the Nashville School of Law ( 1997-2009) teaching the course on Social Security Law.

Education
University of Cincinnati, 1974, Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy)
Nashville School of Law, 1983, Doctor of Jurisprudence

Licensure
License to Practice Law, Tennessee Supreme Court (1983) BPR# 10448
Admitted to Practice, U.S. Court for the Middle District of Tennessee (1987)
Admitted to Practice, U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, (1994)

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