Bio

John Ray was raised on his grandparents' farm located between Lebanon and Watertown, TN, where he learned the value of hard work, self-discipline and a good public education. He graduated from Lebanon High School with honors as its student body president.

John Ray attended Columbia University in New York City where he rowed on the Columbia lightweight crew and worked multiple jobs to help pay his way through school. During John Ray’s freshman year at Columbia, he met his wife, Tamara, a coxswain on their crew team. During college, John Ray had the opportunity to work for visiting professor George Stephanopoulos and intern with U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers (D-Ark.) in Washington, DC.

After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Columbia in May 1999, John Ray briefly returned home to care for his grandfather and run the family farm before returning to Washington, DC where he worked as a legislative aide for U.S. Congressman Bob Clement in the U.S. House of Representatives. Soon after September 11, 2001, John Ray returned home to Tennessee where he worked on a U.S. Senate campaign and served as the Political Director for the Tennessee Democratic Party.

In the fall of 2004, John Ray entered the University of Memphis School of Law, earning his Juris Doctor degree in December 2006 and promptly gaining admission to the Tennessee Bar in May 2007.

John Ray is an experienced civil litigator and a Rule 31 Listed General Civil Mediator. As an attorney in private practice, John Ray worked for multiple boutique-sized civil litigation firms before co-founding his own firm, Clemmons & Clemons, PLLC, in 2013 with a lifelong friend. Following in the footsteps of the "country lawyers" of his childhood, John Ray's legal career has included representing individuals and businesses in state and federal courts on issues ranging from civil rights and Title IX claims to contracts, product liability, and trademark registrations. Mediation offers John Ray the opportunity to do what he enjoys most - working with multiple parties to find common ground, be creative and resolve complex issues through effective communication.

John Ray is a Fellow with the Nashville Bar Foundation, a former Barrister with the American Inns of Court, and a member of the Nashville and Tennessee Bar Associations. He has enjoyed providing pro bono legal services to local artists and entrepreneurs through the Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts, a program of the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville.

On November 4, 2014, Nashville voters in District 55 elected John Ray to represent them as their State Representative in the Tennessee General Assembly and re-elected him in 2016, 2018 and 2020.

Prior to elected office, John Ray served our community in multiple capacities. As chairman of the board for Nashville RBI, Inc. (Reviving Baseball in Inner-Cities), he enjoyed the opportunity to combine two of his passions - baseball and public service. As the former president of Belmont-Hillsboro Neighbors, Inc., John Ray remains an active ex officio member of its steering committee, and he sits on the board of directors as a founding member of Friends of Sevier Park, Inc. He also served on the Metro Board of Fair Commissioners, as an appointee of Mayor Karl Dean, and the Tennessee Civil Service Commission, as an appointee of Gov. Phil Bredesen. Additionally, John Ray continues to represent his alma mater as an active member of the Columbia Alumni Association of Nashville and Columbia's Alumni Representative Committee.

• 2018 Cecil D. Branstetter Award, Davidson County Democratic Party
• 2017 Public Policy Advocacy Award, NAMI-Tennessee
• 2017 Legislative Leadership Award, Tennessee AFL-CIO
• 2017 Fellow, Nashville Bar Foundation Fellow
• 2016 Appreciation Award, Tennessee Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
• 2016 Ally Award, Nashville Pride
• 2015 Best Politician, The Nashville Scene
• 2014-2017 "Rising Star" in Business Litigation, Mid-South Super Lawyers