Rio Van Risseghem

President

From Cincinnati, OH, Rio Van Risseghem moved to Nashville in 2019 after gaining experience as an artist manager and a talent buyer intern for Live Nation upon graduation from Xavier University. Rio became Symphonic Distribution's first hire when it opened the Nashville office. After two years of helping lay the foundation for Symphonic's Nashville expansion, she transitioned to Sony Music Entertainment's independent distribution arm The Orchard. Rio is a Label Manager in The Orchard's Nashville office continuing to advocate for independent labels and artists in the distribution space. In 2021, Rio was named SOLID's Member of the Year and assumed the role of Education Co-Chair in 2022 before advancing to SOLID's Vice President in 2023.

Zach Green

Vice President

Zach Green has been a songwriter advocate and champion for nearly a decade, starting his career at ASCAP in New York where he spent several years in a distributions role gaining expertise in song cataloguing, licensing and copyright.  His first creative role brought him to Nashville, working with SESAC's creative services team to sign and develop writers including KNOX, Hasting, Rudy Currence and many others.  

During the pandemic, Zach pivoted into publishing, starting as a Creative Coordinator for BMG Nashville in 2021.  Serving an incredible roster of hitmakers, Zach learned the landscape of a successful publishing venture from one of the biggest in the world.  With those skills, an insatiable drive and an extensive network from years of climbing the ropes, Zach accepted his first Creative Director position at Banner Music.  He spent nearly a year growing the brand out, hosting many successful writer rounds and accruing several cuts for Banner, and has since pivoted into the freelance space as a publishing consultant.  Zach is also a gigging musician and founder of the popular music industry gatherings Red Door Hangs.  

Zach joined SOLID in 2020 when the world shut down.  His Red Door Hangs went virtual, and they became an invaluable social/networking opportunity for many quarantined SOLID members.  This, along with his eagerness to pitch in anywhere he could, landed him SOLID's 2020 Member of the Year award.  He went on to initiate SOLID's DEI committee in 2021 and continued from there to serve as Social Co-Chair for two years, always with DEI goals and initiatives in mind.  He is taking that energy into 2024 as SOLID's Vice President, leading alongside some of the most inspiring and ambitious industry professionals in the business.

Melissa Flaxman

SECRETARY

Melissa Flaxman is Project Manager at integrated marketing agency, Black Box. Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, she studied Music Industry/Communication Studies at Northeastern University. Before her current position, Melissa worked in LA as a day-to-day manager for four and a half years with WORKS Entertainment. Once she moved to Nashville, she served as Secretary in 2021 and President in 2022 for the Women’s Music Business Association. She was introduced to SOLID through a colleague. In 2023, Melissa served as the SOLID Ambassadorship Chair, and is ecstatic to be serving as this year’s Secretary.