Thomas “Van” Bates, BA, CST, is an Associate Professor and Director of both the Central Sterile Processing program and Surgical Technology program at Nashville State Community College in Nashville, Tennessee. Bates has been a surgical technologist in the Nashville area since 1995 where he graduated from the Nashville State Community College surgical technology program. He worked for ten years in the main operating room at Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital, then Baptist Hospital, scrubbing in all specialties. Bates is a longtime supporter of the ARC/STSA and now EdAccred, serving on the board of managers for EdAccred since its inception in 2019. Bates was elected the Chair of ARC/STSA’s Subcommittee on Accreditation for Surgical Assisting (SASA) in 2008, which led to his service as a Director on the ARC/STSA Board from 2008-2014 and as President from 2015-2017.