Our Team

Don Miller
Don Miller
Institutional Director

Don Miller is Institutional Director of Total Tech, LLC. His work in the HVAC industry for the past 42 years has included the County of Orange in Southern California, where he maintained commercial split systems and commercial chillers. He owned and operated his own air conditioning service company for eight years in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he worked on both residential and commercial equipment. He accepted a position with Carrier Mid South in Nashville, Tennessee in 2003 where he worked as Customer Assurance Manager. Don founded Total Tech, LLC in 2006. Don’s certifications include CMS in Controls Specialist from the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES), NATE Certifications in Heat Pump, Air Conditioning, Gas Furnaces and Senior Efficiency Analyst. He was also awarded the RSES Imperial Eastman Award for Controls Specialist in 1994. Don's passion for the trade and his heart for others shows through in everything that he does at Total Tech.  His desire to change lives and make a difference in the industry is working.  There are hundreds of Total Tech graduates either working for contractors or for themselves across the United States, so his dream has come to fruition.

Shawna Miller
Shawna Miller
Administrative Director

Shawna Miller has been associated with the HVAC industry for over 20 years. She and her husband, Don Miller (founder of Total Tech), were owners of an HVAC mechanical contracting company in Oklahoma, where she was responsible for answering and scheduling calls, accounting, and human resources. Shawna has in-field experience, working with Don on-site and assisting with repairs during this time. She also has a background in banking and office administration. She attended Middle Tennessee State University for 2 years while pursuing her Financial Institution Management degree, but decided to change direction when Don was in need of an Office Administrator at Total Tech. Once there, she knew she was where she was supposed to be. Shawna is the school Registrar and handles all school inquiries and student enrollments. She also handles all accounts payable, accounts receivable, and financial reporting. She wears a lot of hats at Total Tech and loves every minute of it! Working with others who have a desire to better their lives or change career paths is extremely rewarding to her. Working at Total Tech is much more than a job... it’s her calling! Shawna and Don have been married for 26 years and have 5 children and 9 grandchildren.

David Allen
David Allen
Deputy Director

David Allen has over 14 years of experience in the residential plumbing field. With humble beginnings as an apprentice at a family members plumbing company, he quickly realized how much he enjoyed the trade and thought that this could be more than just a job. He made the commitment to learn the trade and thereby would better not only himself but his family also! David’s Plumbing career has served him well over the years, but when the opportunity came open for him to grow his career even further, he seized it. David assists in overseeing the day to day operations of the facility and is open to help in any capacity.

Kathy Witzel
Kathy Witzel
Career Services Manager

Kathy Witzel has had a career in the Information Technology field for over 20 years. During that time, she obtained Microsoft Certification, as well as training in Network Administration and Wireless Technology. She is an active duty veteran spouse and has held Managerial positions in Digital Training Facilities for active duty service members while stationed in Europe. She has provided technical support and customer service during her professional career as well as mentoring Army spouses and oldiers as a Senior Spouse. She is passionate about assisting service members and their families in their transition into civilian life. Kathy gets to fulfill her passion of helping others by assisting Total Tech graduates with employment upon completion of their programs. She attended Kaplan University (now known as Purdue Global University), where she was on the President’s list! Kathy has been very happily married to her husband, Bryan, for nearly 32 years. They have 7 children and 5 grandchildren.

David Hunte
David Hunte
Transition to Trades Program Manager

David spent 4 years in the U.S. Navy and then went on to spend 18 years in the U.S. Army as an M1 Abrams Mechanic, Maintenance Supervisor, and Military Occupation Specialty Instructor. He spent 4 years in the field as a Plumbing Service Technician where he gained invaluable knowledge in the trade. David began his employment with Total Tech as a Plumbing Instructor due to his passion for the trade and his desire to help others. A position came open for our Transition to Trades Program Manager, which is a Career Skills Program with Fort Campbell in KY to assist transitioning active duty military into a new career upon exit. Due to his passion to help Veterans and his qualifications, David was a perfect fit for the position.

Kevin Ballard
Kevin Ballard
Plumbing Instructor

Kevin Ballard began his Plumbing career at the age of 22. He knew the trades were a way to make a good living, so he decided to go to work for a Residential Plumbing company in Vermont where he worked for 14 1⁄2 years. After this length of time putting in very long days on most occasions, Kevin desired to get into more regular work hours, so he went to work for Middlebury College in the Maintenance Department where he was employed for 5 years. After residing in Vermont for 41 years he was ready for a change and decided to make Tennessee his home. Once he relocated he gained employment at East Tennessee State College where he worked Plumbing in the Maintenance Department. He was there for 2 years and desired to move to Middle Tennessee. He received an employment opportunity with Hiller Plumbing Heating Cooling Electrical where he has been for 16 1⁄2 years working in Residential and Commercial Plumbing. After working 38 years in the field he was looking to slow down and had a desire to pass his extensive knowledge on to the next generation of Plumbers coming into the trade. When the position came open for a Plumbing Instructor, he was the perfect candidate for the position. Total Tech is fortunate to have such a knowledgeable Plumber on staff to educate students in the Plumbing trade. In his spare time, Kevin enjoys working on automobiles and completing carpentry projects.

Tarsha Robinson
Tarsha Robinson
Office Manager

Tarsha has worked in an office environment since 2010. Several of those years were spent working in the healthcare industry in patient accounts where she handled account receivables/ payables, worked with insurance companies regarding patient benefits, medical collections, and customer service. Her most recent years were spent as an Office Manager at a Nashville company and as Executive Assistant at a non-profit organization in Nashville. Tarsha’s professionalism and skills, along with her extremely friendly personality, makes her an invaluable Total Tech team member.

Adam Blunkall
Adam Blunkall
HVAC Instructor

Adam served in the U.S. Army for 22 years and retired as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal First Sergeant. He received formal education on instruction and spent over 10 years teaching Soldiers how to identify, analyze and defeat all manners of electrical circuitry and mechanical fusing systems. This experience melded directly into HVAC, which is all mechanical, electrical, or airflow related. His ability to teach people how to break down complicated systems into understandable components and apply that into problem solving, along with his mechanical skills, made him a perfect fit for Total Tech and its mission of training future technicians.

Ryland Miller
Ryland Miller
HVAC Instructor

Ryland has been in the HVAC industry for 26 years and spent 25 of those years in Central Florida. Starting in 1995 in a warehouse, moving up into installation for 5 years then transferring to the service department where he worked installing and servicing residential and commercial systems. He then became a Trainer for the company for 4 years until moving to Tennessee. Upon moving to Tennessee, he installed and serviced residential and commercial systems for 1 year before becoming an instructor at Total Tech. He is NATE certified in: Air Conditioning service and installation and Heat Pump service and installation. He also has certificates with ACCA, ICE and OSHA. Ryland has worked for many years Training Technicians in the field and is passionate about not only improving the technical abilities of those he has and continues to train, but also prides himself on instilling a high level of customer service and eagerness to continue personal development throughout their career.

Jimmy Phillips
Jimmy Phillips
HVAC Instructor

A fifth generation Nashvillian, Jimmy grew up on his dad’s construction sites learning from a multitude of trades. After graduating from Hillsboro High School, he joined the Army becoming a Parachute Rigger with the 861st QM Reserve Unit serving with the 101st, 82nd and 12th SF Group during Desert Shield / Desert Storm. He graduated from Tennessee College of Applied Technology with a certificate in HVAC/R getting certifications from the ESCO Institute that include EPA, Heat Pumps, Gas furnace, Electrical and Air Conditioning. He worked in the HVAC trade for a local company and decided to attend Total Tech. An opportunity arose in the HVAC department at Total Tech, so he chose to come aboard, becoming one of its instructors. He is passionate about customer service and helping clients, as well as training students in a trade that shows guaranteed growth far into the future.

David Barron
David Barron
Plumbing Instructor

David was the Director of Maintenance Operations for a large apartment community for 14 years where he not only supervised work projects, but did the work repairing or replacing appliances, plumbing systems, and HVAC systems. He moved into the plumbing trade in 2018 when he began working as a residential plumbing technician for a Nashville plumbing company. David is a natural born leader and has a passion for the plumbing trade, making him a great addition to the Total Tech team. David obtained his Limited Licensed Plumbing license in the state of Tennessee in 2021.

Jarris Carter
Jarris Carter
Electrical Instructor

Jarris began his career as an electrician’s helper in 1999. He supervised installation and maintenance of interior electrical systems for 4 years while stationed at Ft. Sill serving in the Army in the 62nd Engineer Battalion. He worked for various electrical contractors through 2020, with his last position being a Superintendent with a local electrical contractor where his responsibilities were to oversee projects and to train electricians and helpers. After 22 years of being in the industry he feels as if he has not worked a day in his life, as he has been doing something he is passionate about and enjoys. He enjoys sharing his passion of problem solving and the trade in general, helping people grow while realizing their potential and improving their skills and confidence in themselves. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and experience with students and watching their interest grow in the trade.

Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Electrical Instructor

Brian began his career in the electrical trades at the age of 24 where he learned from his father, who was a union electrician for 47 years. He started out with residential wiring combined with residential service work for 12 years, which included custom homes up to 40,000 square feet. He then moved into commercial and industrial installations as well as service work in both data centers, and amazon distribution centers. He traveled all over the country, while working for a nationwide electrical company, handling commercial and industrial jobs for 20 years. He has also worked electrical wiring in the oil fields and natural gas plants as well as natural gas compressor stations. After this much in field experience, Brian was ready to give back to the next generation of electricians educating them in the electrical trade, so Total Tech was a perfect fit for him.