Thomas Deakins

• Knox County, At-Large Member 
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Thomas A Deakins has been a member of the Knox County Board of Education since 2006.  He has previously served as the board's chairman and vice chairman.  Thomas served on the United Way OBI committee in 2009-2010.  He is a guest lecturer for the Logistics / Transportation MBA class at University of Tennessee Knoxville.  Thomas is Director of TMS Product Management for TMW Systems, Inc. and is co-owner of a family business; Bakins Ventures, LLC.  Thomas and his wife, Kimberly, have four children attending Knox County Schools.

Don Long

• Sumner County, At-Large Member
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Cheryl Mayes

• Metro Davidson County, At-Large Member
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Cheryl D. Mayes has been a member of the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools Board of Education since 2010.  She currently serves as the board’s chairperson.  Cheryl also currently serves as Chair of the Executive Committee as well as Chair of the Ethics Committee.  She previously served as Chair, Governance; Vice-Chair, Budget and Finance; Co-Chair, Youth Safety Summit; and on teh Non-Discrimination Procurement Program and Insurance Trust committees.  Cheryl also serves on the Board of Directors for the PENCIL Foundation, Board of Directors for Alignment Nashville, as a NSBA/CUBE Board Representative, Program Director for the Academies of Nashville Business Partnership Team with Nissan North America Inc, Director, Community Outreach, (MBST) Multicultural Business Synergy Team with Nissan North America Inc and Co-Director, Community Outreach, (WBST) Women’s Business Synergy Team with Nissan North America Inc.  Cheryl received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Tennessee State University.  Cheryl has three children.

Kevin Woods

• Shelby County, At-Large Member
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Kevin Woods, a resident of Memphis, TN has served on the Shelby County School Board since 2011. During these exciting and challenging times in public education, he spends most of his time working on the pending merger of Memphis and Shelby county schools. He currently sits on the Policy and Community Engagement committees, and chairs the board’s facilities committee. Kevin is a graduate of the University of Memphis with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering and a Masters in Business Information Systems. He coaches basketball and soccer for Holy Communion Church League and serves as Memphis Grizzlies Mentor where he works with 8th graders from Power Center Academy, one of the highest performing schools in the state. Kevin works for New Horizons, an IT training company where he serves as Director of Career Development. Kevin is married (Dy) and has two girls : Lauren (8) and Lily (4).

David Pickler

• NSBA President-Elect, Ex Officio Member
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David Pickler served as the 2010 Immediate Past President, 2009 TSBA President, 2008 TSBA President-Elect, and 2007 TSBA Treasurer. He is the current NSBA President-Elect. He has been a member of the Shelby County School Board since 1998, and has served as chairman 1999-2011. Shelby County was named the TSBA School Board of the Year in 2001 and 2004. David has achieved Level V Master School Board Member status and serves as a TSBA Ambassador. He was named to the All Tennessee School Board in 2001 and again in 2007, when he received the C. Hal Henard/School Board Member of the Year Award. He is an inaugural member of the TSBA Scholar's Circle and the Ambassador Program. He earned Diamond Ambassador status in 2009 and was recognized as TSBA’s Premier Ambassador in 2010 and 2011. David received the NSBA Distinguished Service Award in 2002, 2005, 2009 and 2012. He obtained a B.S. in Business Management from Arkansas State University and received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Memphis. He is a financial advisor and an attorney. David and his wife, Beth, have two children.