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Board of Commissioners

Memphis Light, Gas and Water is governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners who are nominated by the Mayor of the City of Memphis and confirmed by the Memphis City Council. The MLGW Board also includes two non-voting Advisory Board members. Public Board of Commissioners Meetings are held at 8:30 a.m., the first and third Wednesday of each month (unless otherwise noted), at MLGW Administration Building, 220 S. Main.

Leon Dickson Sr., Chair
Leon Dickson Sr., is owner and principal broker of BenchMark at Southwind Realtors LLC. Dickson was selected to serve The Tennessee Association of Realtors as the group’s first African-American president in 2018. He currently serves as the Immediate Past President. A Realtor for 30 years, he also serves as a Director, for the National Association of Realtors. He also is a past president of the Memphis Area Association of Realtors and was named its Realtor of the Year in 2012. The native Memphian volunteers at HopeWorks and Germanshire Elementary.

• Annual Financial Disclosure

Michael E. Pohlman, Vice Chair
Mike Pohlman is CEO / President of Pickering Firm, Incorporated, a Memphis based, full–service engineering and architectural design firm, with offices in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. Pohlman is a 1979 Mechanical Engineering graduate from Christian Brothers University, a Tennessee Professional Engineer, and has served in various capacities at Pickering during his 39 years with the firm. He currently serves on the advisory boards for both the University of Memphis and Christian Brothers University engineering schools as well previously serving as President of both the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) for Tennessee and the American Society of Military Engineers (SAME) Memphis Post.

• Annual Financial Disclosure

Carl Person
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. Person has a key role in "The Walk" and the Tom Lee Park development projects in downtown Memphis overseeing diversity inclusion and participation.

Person 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. He 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.

He volunteers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, The Mid-South Food Bank, Hattiloo Theater and supports other local and regional charity organizations.

• Annual Financial Disclosure

Cheryl Pesce
Cheryl Pesce is an entrepreneur with many years of executive board experience. She was the founder and Chief Operating Officer of the regionally-renowned MidSouth Heart Center of Jackson, TN, a major diagnostic cardiovascular center that serves the citizens of Madison and surrounding counties. Her business, the Cheryl Pesce Lifestyle Brand, is nationally-known and was spotlighted as one of the “100 Black-Owned Businesses You’ll Love” by the New York Times and MassMutual.

Pesce was the first woman appointed to the Board of Trustees for the Union Planters National Bank. She has served on several regional boards, such as the Downtown Memphis Commission, the Jackson, TN Executive Board for the Chamber of Commerce, and the Regional Hospital of Jackson. She was also a Tennessee State Commissioner, overseeing all hospitals in the state.

Pesce was named one of the Top 10 Most Interesting and Influential People in Memphis, and her business was recognized as a FedEx Small Business Grant Top 100 Finalist.

An active member of the Memphis community, Pesce has committed herself to a life of service and advocacy on behalf of its fellow citizens.

• Annual Financial Disclosure

Mitch Graves
Mitch Graves has served as CEO of the West Cancer Center & Research Institute (WCCRI) since 2019 and has over thirty years of experience in healthcare leadership positions. Prior to joining WCCRI, he was the CEO of HealthChoice, LLC. Throughout his career, he has focused on improving the health of the community as well as the patient's experience, In addition to serving on MLGW's Board of Commissioners, Graves is also a board member for QSource and Grace St. Luke's School Alumni. Additionaly, he serves on the Church Health Center's Finance Committee and is a member and former board Vice President of the Economic Club of Memphis.

At the local level, Graves has previously served on the boards of Christian Brothers University (Chairman), United Methodist Neighborhood Centers (Chairman), Revenue Assurance, Precision Infusion, Alliance Health Service, Community Care Associates, First Eight Memphis, and Methodist Federal Credit Union. On a national level, he previously served as a member of United Healthcare’s Executive Advisory Council and Cigna’s National Health Care Advisory Council.

As a life-long Memphian, Geaves has always been active in his community. In 2015, he served as co-chairman of Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s transition team. For the past 9 years, Mitch and his wife have served as hosts for Hospice Night Life’s event, while raising over $1,000,000. In 2018, he was nominated and selected for Leadership Tennessee’s Class VI which he completed in 2019.

Graves is a Christian Brothers University graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with a concentration in finance and economics. He was awarded Christian Brothers University’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2012 and later became the university’s Chairman of the Board of Trustees in August 2013. Graves was voted into Christian Brothers High School’s Hall of Fame and inducted in 2015. In 2018, he was awarded Grace St. Luke’s School’s GSL Outstanding Alumnus of the Year.

• Annual Financial Disclosure

James Lewellen, Advisory Board Member
James Lewellen recently retired as Town Administrator for the Town of Collierville where he served for 27 years. He is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Public Administration. He began his career as a City Planner with Southaven and Germantown before transitioning into the Town Administrator role. He is a current member of the Tennessee City Manager’s Association and the International City Manager’s Association.

• Annual Financial Disclosure

John Butler, Advisory Board Member
Before taking over as President of Agricenter International in 2016, John Butler, a fifth generation farmer, was owner/operator of Jones Creek Farms for 20 years. Butler graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science and obtained a Master’s Degree in Leadership and Public Policy from Lipscomb University. He worked for Cargill, Inc. for a number of years. In his various management roles at Cargill, John had permanent assignments all over the United States dealing with grain origination, processing, transportation, distribution, and customer service.

John is passionate about the importance of U.S. agriculture and its role in providing the world with nutritious and economical products. He has spent countless hours traveling all over the U.S. and the world telling the story of American agriculture. He has served on several commodity associations and has been very active in numerous professional organizations such as the American and Tennessee Farm Bureaus, the United Soybean Board, the Tennessee Beef Industry Council, the Tennessee Soybean Association, and the Center for Food Integrity, to name a few.

• Annual Financial Disclosure