About Cheryl

Cheryl Mayes served as the District Director in the office of Congressman Jim Cooper, TN, District 05 for three years until his retirement from public office in 2023. She has worked in her community and in corporate settings for over thirty years as an Accountant, Community Engagement Advocate/Organizer and Education Program Director, while simultaneously serving in multiple roles with Employee Resource Groups and Community volunteer groups. In 2017, 

Cheryl founded and is the Founder/Managing Consultant of My Toolbox Consulting, a leadership development and training consulting firm based in Nashville, TN. 

A testament to her long-time commitment as an advocate for public education, Cheryl was elected to public office as a member of the Board of Education for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) where she served for four years, her last two as the Chairperson of the Board (2012-2014). Cheryl was elected to serve a second term on the Board f Education in 2022, once again representing District 6 (Southeast/Antioch/Cane Ridge)

In 2016, Cheryl received the prestigious Benjamin Elijah Mays Lifetime Achievement Award in Education from the Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) a division of the National School Boards Association (NSBA). Other awards include the Urban School Board of Excellence Award, in 2014 and a Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Award, in 2012. In 2017 Cheryl received a certificate of completion from UADE Business School in Buenos Aires, Argentina for her participation in the 'Understanding and Doing Business in Latin America' global learning visit to that country.

Cheryl earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Tennessee State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee 

•  Our mission, vision and goals should align with the educational needs of the children and families served by MNPS.  We must work collaboratively to meet those goals.  That includes engaging with and listening to our community.  
•  Representation matters in all areas, especially in education. Over the past two years our teachers, administrators, students, and families have endured unimaginable circumstances in learning during the pandemic. Likewise, our support staff, bus drivers and all MNPS staff have also been negatively impacted during this time. Again, representation matters, most especially in all areas of education in our city. We need a representative on the school board who will show up and stand up for all the children, families, and employees in Metro Nashville Public Schools. I believe I am the right person to represent school board district six

Cheryl earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Tennessee State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Cheryl currently serves on several non-profit boards in the following capacity: 

· Davidson County Democratic Women, President-Elect for 2025

· Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women, Middle TN Vice-President

· Love In A Big World, Executive Board and Board President

·   Metro Nashville Parks & Recreation,  Board of Directors

Cheryl’s community engagement efforts include volunteer and fundraising with the American Cancer Society, the YWCA of Middle Tennessee, Habitat for Humanity, Boy Scouts of America in Middle Tennessee, Hands on Nashville and the American Heart Association and she has served as a business partner in the Academies of Nashville with Metro Nashville Public Schools since 2010.

Cheryl’s civic engagement outreach in her community includes:

· Event organizer – 2016 Mayoral Candidate Forum, Southeast Nashville 

· Event organizer – 2018 Coffee and Conversations with Candidates, Southeast Nashville

· Event organizer – 2018 District 6 School Board Candidate Forum, Southeast Nashville

· Event organizer – 2019 Southeast Nashville Community Cares #SENashvlleCommunityCaresProject

· Former Candidate for Metro Council, District 32 (Davidson County) Nashville, TN

· Event organizer with SENU – 2019 Mayoral Candidate Forum

· Event organizer with SENU – 2019 Metro Council At Large Candidate Forum

· Event organizer – 2022 Mayoral & Metro Council Candidate Forum

Cheryl is a member of the Academies A-Team with Alignment Nashville, a Certified Championing Diversity Trainer with Franklin Covey.  Cheryl has also previously held positions on the Board of Directors with The PENCIL Foundation, Nashville Public Education Foundation (NPEF) and the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA). Cheryl is the co-founder of ‘Her Perspective Nashville’, a blog with the purpose of raising awareness of the political, educational and entrepreneurial process for women of color in Nashville.