Two new members join the Board of Commissioners

MLGW welcomed two new commissioners at the April 8 Board meeting. Cheryl Pesce and Carl Person, along with Mitch Graves, Leon Dickson, and Michael Pohlman, were sworn in prior to the meeting by Mayor Strickland. Pesce and Person replace former commissioners Wishnia and McCullough. They both bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table.

Cheryl Pesce was born and raised in rural southwest Arkansas. She’s a 1981 graduate of Henderson State University (Arkadelphia, AR) where she earned a degree in Special Education. From 1981 to 1985, Cheryl worked on her Master's in Education as she taught third and fourth grade within the Aldine School District in Houston, Texas.

For the next eight years, Cheryl was a pharmaceutical sales representative with Hoffman La-Roche Labs and Baxter International, two of the largest international pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies in the industry.

Cheryl also wanted to pursue another passion and thus started her own jewelry design business that quickly grew and evolved into the Cheryl Pesce Lifestyle Brand, that features not only custom handmade jewelry, but also fine home goods, furniture, decor, books, clothing, and children's items.

Carl Person has over 35 years of leadership experience with FedEx and UPS. He is the Founder and CEO of Customized Solutions Company; a boutique consulting firm specializing in commercial development partnerships, marketing, business analysis, IT solutions and process improvement. His firm has public and private clients that include national teaming partnerships with Konica Minolta, NovaTech, Accela, Civic Plus Inc., Panorama Government Solutions and other corporations that span across multiple industries including retail, banking and government. Carl has a key role in "The Walk" and the Tom Lee Park development projects in downtown Memphis overseeing diversity inclusion and participation.

Carl is board president of The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. He is a board member for Metropolitan Inter-faith Association (MIFA); and current board member of the Center City Development Corporation. Carl is past chairman of The Downtown Memphis Commission board of directors, former State of Tennessee Department of Education CTE advisory board member and former Civil Service Review board chair for Shelby County Government.