About Cheri Hudgins,
The Boss Lady of Chattanooga
Cheri Hudgins is a visionary entrepreneur, healthcare executive, licensed assisted living administrator, author, business consultant, speaker, and community leader whose life’s work is dedicated to helping families prepare, businesses thrive, and communities flourish. With more than 25 years of leadership experience in healthcare and business, Cheri has earned a reputation as a transformational leader who turns vision into reality, builds organizations with purpose, and creates solutions that leave a lasting impact.
A graduate of Tennessee State University, Cheri earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Management, providing the educational foundation for a career defined by leadership, innovation, and service. Her professional journey began in senior care, where in 2001 she joined her mother, Sharon Kelly, in expanding the family’s vision of compassionate care. Together, they built Sharon’s Senior Services into one of Chattanooga’s trusted providers of aging services through Rose of Sharon’s Senior Villa, Sharon’s In-Home Personal Care, and Sharon’s Adult Day Center.
Cheri served one year as an Assistant Administrator before becoming a Licensed Assisted Living Administrator, a role she has held for the past 25 years. Today, she leads Rose of Sharon’s Senior Villa into its next generation, building upon her family’s legacy while introducing innovative programs, strengthening operations, and creating new pathways to better serve older adults and their families.
Her passion for advancing aging services extends beyond her own organization. Earlier in her career, Cheri served as a Regional Officer for the Tennessee Association for Adult Day Services, where she advocated for quality adult day services across Tennessee. She also served on an advisory and brainstorming committee with AARP during the development of Tennessee’s post-CHOICES initiatives, contributing her expertise to conversations focused on improving long-term care services, caregiver support, and aging resources throughout the state.
While helping lead her family’s healthcare organization, Cheri simultaneously expanded her entrepreneurial footprint into the hospitality industry. In 2011, she became the General Manager of Mocha Restaurant & Music Lounge, where she successfully blended strategic leadership, branding, operations, and customer experience to help establish one of Chattanooga’s most memorable dining and entertainment destinations. Although Mocha is no longer operating, it remains one of the city’s most talked-about establishments, with many still reminiscing about its unique atmosphere and asking for its return. Managing successful organizations in two distinctly different industries reinforced what has become Cheri’s signature strength—building businesses from vision to execution while developing strong teams and sustainable systems.
Today, Cheri’s entrepreneurial spirit continues to fuel multiple organizations dedicated to serving both businesses and families. She is the founder of Boss Lady Chattanooga, where she provides business consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, and coaching for entrepreneurs and business owners. Through her work, she empowers individuals to recognize their self-worth, embrace their confidence, and unlock the success they deserve.
Cheri is also the founder of Styled and Staged, a home staging and event design company; Three Ladies and a Plan, a business consulting company that empowers women entrepreneurs, business owners, and managers; and One Elite Group, a collaborative network of trusted event professionals that serves as a one-stop resource for event planners.
As an author and educator, Cheri created the Time for the Talk workbook series to help families navigate the difficult but necessary conversations surrounding aging, caregiving, financial planning, healthcare decisions, and long-term care. What began as a workbook has evolved into the Time for the Talk Movement, inspiring families to prepare before a crisis occurs through community education, panel discussions, and the Sunday Dining Room Conversations podcast. Her mission is to shift families from being reactive to becoming proactive by giving them the tools, knowledge, and confidence to make informed decisions together.
Through this work, Cheri recognized another critical need—families often don’t know where to begin once those conversations take place. To bridge that gap, she created Senior Concierge Services, an innovative concierge service that simplifies caregiving by providing families with a single point of contact for trusted resources. From coordinating home maintenance and meal delivery to arranging in-home services, transportation, and home safety resources, the service allows caregivers to spend less time navigating systems and more time caring for the people they love.
Cheri believes leadership is about developing people—not simply managing processes. Whether leading a senior living community, mentoring entrepreneurs, consulting with business owners, speaking before audiences, or advocating for older adults, she remains committed to creating opportunities that strengthen individuals, families, businesses, and communities.
Her dedication to business excellence and community impact has earned her numerous recognitions, including being named the 2026 Chattanooga Business Elite Entrepreneur of the Year, honoring her entrepreneurial leadership, innovation, and commitment to serving others. She was also selected as a member of the Leadership Chattanooga Class of 2027 through the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, a prestigious, competitive leadership development program that brings together emerging and established leaders from across the region to deepen their understanding of community issues, strengthen civic engagement, and prepare them to help shape the future of Greater Chattanooga.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Cheri is a proud mother of three sons, who continue to be among her greatest inspirations. Her experiences as a daughter, caregiver, mother, and leader have shaped her passion for helping others navigate life’s transitions with confidence, compassion, and purpose.
Cheri’s personal mission is simple:
“My purpose is to empower individuals to recognize their self-worth, embrace their confidence, and unlock the success they deserve.”
She believes that true success is measured not only by what we build, but by the lives we impact, the leaders we develop, and the legacy we leave behind.
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