2024 Who’s Who in Memphis

Our annual guide to our city’s movers, shakers, and other news-makers.

To understand Memphis, you need to understand the cast of characters who make our community distinctive. This year’s “Who’s Who” list includes people who have shaped this city in the past and who will play important roles in its future. Not every noteworthy Memphian appears on this list — but by reading about those who do, you’ll glean a broad sense of our complex history, commerce, and culture.

ARTS

BIRDCAP (left) • Michael Roy, better known as Birdcap, has made his mark around the world with bright, poppy, cartoony public murals, but the artist calls Memphis his home. Here, it’s not hard to find his work, readily visible at places like Eclectic Eye, the Art Center, Barboro Alley, the Exchange Building, and Broad Avenue. This spring, he had his first solo gallery exhibition, “Iliumpta,” a retelling of Homer’s Iliad, on display at Crosstown Arts.

CRAIG BREWER (right) • The Poor & Hungry, Brewer’s homegrown 2000 debut, was a landmark in the digital filmmaking revolution. In 2005, his first Hollywood movie Hustle & Flow put Memphis rap on the map and gave the Grizzlies their fight song. Has partnered with Samuel L. Jackson (Black Snake Moan, 2007) and Eddie Murphy (Dolemite Is My Name, 2009; Coming 2 America, 2021); updated Footloose; and helped reboot Tarzan. In 2015, re-teamed with Hustle co-stars Terrance Howard and Taraji P. Henson on the hit TV series Empire. This year, he’s executive-producing the limited series Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist.

KEVIN BROOKS (left) • The Bluff City-born filmmaker was the youngest-ever board member on the Memphis Film and Television Commission. He’s a Sundance Ignite alumnus and winner of the Memphis Film Prize and several awards at the Indie Memphis Film Festival. Latest work, What Were We Meant For? was part of a blockbuster exhibit at Crosstown Arts. Currently at work documenting patient journeys with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

GLORILLA • Born Gloria Hallelujah Woods in 1999, GloRilla released her first mixtape in 2019. In 2022, her single “F.N.F. (Let’s Go),” produced by Hitkidd, went platinum and led to her contract with Collective Music Group, the Interscope-affiliated label owned by fellow Memphis native Yo Gotti; released the single “Tomorrow” that same summer. A remix of that track featuring Cardi B soon followed, ultimately certified double-platinum. Won Best New Hip Hop Artist at the B.E.T. Hip Hop Music Awards in ’22 and has continued a successful touring career since.

ROBERT GORDON • The writer and filmmaker first captured attention with his 2001 book It Came From Memphis, which greatly enriched the story of Memphis music. He wrote the first history of Stax Records, Respect Yourself, and directed the acclaimed documentary of the same name. He won an Emmy in 2017 for his historical documentary Best of Enemies, and recently won two Grammys for his contributions to Written in the Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos. Currently working on a feature documentary about the Newport Folk Festival.

AL GREEN • As Bishop of the Full Gospel Tabernacle, which he founded in 1976, Green is a pillar of the community, yet notoriously publicity-shy. That stems from his years of mega-stardom in the ’70s, when his music, produced by Willie Mitchell of Hi Records and backed by the Hi Rhythm Section, was a global phenomenon. In 2018, released “Before the Next Teardrop Falls,” his first single in over a decade, produced by Matt Ross-Spang at Sam Phillips Recording. In 2023, named #10 in Rolling Stone’s list of the 200 best singers of all time.

IMAKEMADBEATS • Visionary producer and entrepreneur often speaks about producing music and beats as an obsession, going back to his teen years making beats on a basic computer in Orange Mound. His dream led him to Quad Studios in New York, but he returned home to found the Unapologetic music, media, and fashion collective, which has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade. Often speaking out on the need for artists to embrace their own individuality, as in his 2019 TedX talk, he’s also been a catalyst, with the nonprofit TONE, in revitalizing the Orange Mound Tower.

AL KAPONE (right) • A standout rapper in the 1990s Memphis hip-hop scene, Alphonzo Bailey, better known as Al Kapone or Al Kapeezy, guested on tracks by Three 6 Mafia and 8Ball & MJG, even as he began releasing solo work. Contributions to the 2005 film Hustle & Flow included “Whoop That Trick,” now a staple chant at Memphis Grizzlies games. More recently, Kapone’s Hip Hop Blues and Blues Rap Music featured guitarist Eric Gales and Luther and Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars, forging a new hybrid of Memphis blues and hip-hop. His set at this year’s RiverBeat Music Festival showed this combination has staying power.

LAWRENCE MATTHEWS (left) • This mercurial artist defies expectations. As a visual artist, won a grant from ARTSmemphis in 2016 for his photography, some of which was acquired by the Kim & Elliot Perry Collection. Then he created Don Lifted, an alter-ego rapper proffering pensive introspection rather than bravado. Meanwhile, continued to stage gallery shows of his visual art, working as program director, gallery director, and exhibit curator as well. After the critically acclaimed Don Lifted album 325i on Fat Possum, retired his alter ego and began rapping under his own name in a harder, edgier style.

ROBERT MOODY • This maestro’s reach extends far beyond the Bluff City. As the Memphis Symphony Orchestra’s principal conductor and music director, has made a significant impact here with his imaginative, unconventional programming. Under his guidance MSO has commissioned several new works for orchestra, made its first commercial recording in 30 years, and received a $25 million endowment. Also serves as music director of the Arizona Musicfest and principal conductor of Lakeland Opera. Connection to the wider world of classical music — even guest-conducting in Canada, South Africa, and China — only elevates our city’s standing.

MOTH MOTH MOTH • The Memphis College of Art graduate’s drag career began with a benefit for victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. With their “Musings with Mothie” podcast and position as programming director for the Focus Center Foundation, they have become one of the most prominent performers in Memphis. This year they returned to their artistic roots with a well-received solo show of drawings and prints.

KONG WEE PANG • Originally from Malaysia, Pang recently stepped down as associate creative director from Archer to concentrate on her design studio Taropop, co-founded with Jay Crum. Her clients include Adobe software, the Hilton hotel chain, Target, Starbucks, Planned Parenthood, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and FedEx. Her abstract watercolors have been shown throughout the world, and most recently in Memphis at Sheet Cake Gallery and in Dixon Gallery and Gardens’ “Memphis 2024.” Her instantly recognizable public art can be seen around the city at such sites as the I-40 underpass downtown and the Love Doves Sequin Mural in Overton Square.

DAVID PORTER • Being the first staff songwriter at Stax Records while still a teen, writing many of their hits with Isaac Hayes, put Porter in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and he figures prominently in the HBO documentary, Stax: Soulsville USA. Has remained active since, founding Consortium MMT nonprofit to mentor ascending artists, which earned him the Governor’s Arts Award in 2013. Also co-founded Made In Memphis Entertainment, a complex including a recording studio, music distribution services, music publishing and licensing services, and MIME Records.

PROJECT PAT & JUICY J • None were more important to Memphis hip-hop than the brothers Patrick Earl Houston (Project Pat) and Jordan Michael Houston (Juicy J), who co-founded Three 6 Mafia with DJ Paul in 1991. That culminated in their Oscar win in 2006, and the rap group has had considerable staying power. One heavily re-sampled early Juicy J track was named the “most influential rap song of 2018” by Rolling Stone magazine. More recently, Juicy J has worked in the television and music industries, Pat has cameoed on a Drake track, and the two have collaborated on the highly anticipated album Them Goats, due out this December.

TARA STRINGFELLOW (right) • Ever since her father read aloud Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” when she was 3 years old, Tara Stringfellow knew she was a poet. After turning away from her attorney career, she became Northwestern U’s first MFA graduate in both poetry and prose. In 2022, Stringfellow published her debut novel, Memphis, a national bestseller and Read with Jenna pick, longlisted for the Women’s Prize in Fiction. This summer she released a collection of poetry, Magic Enuff, dedicated to Black women in the South, especially Memphis.

CARLA THOMAS • Beale Street entertainer and DJ Rufus Thomas was a Memphis institution when his daughter Carla joined him on the first hit released by Stax Records. Became an established singer/songwriter in her own right with “Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes).” More hits and classic duets with Otis Redding followed, recalled in the 2024 HBO documentary, Stax: Soulsville USA. Remains active today, performing with other Stax artists, guesting on Valerie June’s 2021 single “Call Me a Fool” (garnering a Grammy nomination for Best American Roots Song), and singing on the anti-war single and video, “Simple Song of Freedom.”

STACY WRIGHT • Executive director of Crosstown Arts. She was appointed to the position after 10 years with the Crosstown organization as assistant director and director of events. Wright is passionate about the nonprofit’s mission to help cultivate the creative community in Memphis in the unique Crosstown Concourse space.

BUSINESS

JACK BELZ (left) • Best known for the 1981 purchase and restoration of The Peabody, which spurred the revival of downtown. As chairman of Belz Enterprises, heads one of the South’s largest real estate and development firms. He is the driving force behind Peabody Place, an eight-block mixed-use development. Also founded the Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art, the culmination of his passion for art collecting. Worked with the Memphis Housing Authority and Henry Turley Company to develop Uptown, and has partnered in major downtown projects such as Harbor Town and South Bluffs.

DOUGLAS V. BROWNE • For two decades, Browne has directed operations at The Peabody, Memphis’ most storied hotel, and home to the beloved Peabody Ducks. With over 40 years in the hospitality industry, lends his expertise to the city as board chair of the Metropolitan Memphis Hotel & Lodging Association and was the 2022 board chairman of the Greater Memphis Chamber. He was named a 2023 Inside Memphis Business CEO of the Year.

KEVIN MCENIRY (right) • After taking over as CEO for nexAir, the oxygen and welding gas supply company his family owned since 1950, McEniry expanded the business to more than 70 locations nationwide, 19 in the Bluff City. After selling nexAir in 2022, he founded a new company, Forward Momentum, and partnered with music promoters Mempho Presents to create the RiverBeat music festival and SmokeSlam barbecue contest, both held in Tom Lee Park.

JACK SODEN • Who is the host with the most? It has to be Soden, the CEO of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. and steward of Graceland. He took over when Priscilla Presley asked him to develop a business plan for Graceland in 1982. Since it opened to the public, the King of Rock-and-Roll’s former estate has evolved into one of the nation’s premier tourist attractions, drawing visitors from around the world — more than 650,000 annually — and generating an estimated $200 million annual economic impact.

RAJ SUBRAMANIAM (left) • The president and CEO of FedEx Corporation took the top role just over two years ago, bringing decades of experience with the global company. He took the top job at a challenging time, but his steady hand has reassured stockholders. The successor to Frederick W. Smith got some good news in June as the company exceeded expectations for fourth-quarter 2024 revenue and earnings. The delivery market remains somewhat volatile, but Subramaniam’s leadership has impressed Wall Street

MARK SUTTON • An employee of International Paper since 1984, Sutton moved to Memphis in 2005, after overseeing the company’s business in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In 2014, he served as president and chief operating officer, leading and running the company’s global businesses. He retired as CEO in April of this year, but remains Chairman of the Board.

ALEX TURLEY • As CEO of his uncle’s firm — Henry Turley Company — Alex Turley combines knowledge of real estate and deep ties to the community. Even as Henry Turley saw possibilities where others couldn’t, Alex is focused on improving and expanding neighborhoods. “Will this make our city better?” he asks when looking at a potential project. A major undertaking is Orleans Station in the Medical District, with residential and retail elements that connect the Edge neighborhood with Victorian Village.

CIVIC

CAROL COLETTA (left) • The opening of the reimagined Tom Lee Park last year was a milestone for Coletta, who spearheaded the effort as part of a larger mission to improve six miles of riverfront and five park districts along the Mississippi River. The $61 million redesign ruffled some feathers, but the public has taken a liking to its many new amenities created by award-winning design firms. As president and CEO of the nonprofit Memphis River Parks Partnership — and with her expertise in urban planning — she searches for ways to improve downtown parks, including a new vision for the Mud Island Amphitheater.

MICAH GREENSTEIN • The senior rabbi of Temple Israel has devoted more than three decades to Memphis’ 170-year-old synagogue, the largest Jewish congregation in a five-state Southern region. Recognized as Memphis Magazine’s inaugural Memphian of the Year in 2013 for reaching across racial and religious lines to cultivate a more relational community. As an adjunct faculty member at Rhodes College and Memphis Theological Seminary, Greenstein was named one of America’s Top 50 Rabbis by Newsweek/The Daily Beast, received the 2022 Memphis Interfaith Award, and has served on the national board of the NAACP and executive committee of the National Civil Rights Museum.

SARAH HOUSTON • A self-described “water nerd,” Houston’s career in conservation began in 2013 with the Colorado River Alliance. She was associate director of the University of Memphis’ Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering. In 2021, became the executive director of Protect Our Aquifer, a nonprofit devoted to preserving Memphis’ uniquely pure drinking water. The group was instrumental in preventing the Byhalia oil pipeline construction and defeating a 2024 legislative effort to weaken Tennessee’s wetland protections.

KEVIN KANE • President and CEO of Memphis Tourism for more than 30 years; the slogan, “Home of the Blues, Birthplace of Rock-and-Roll,” was created under his direction. Has expanded awareness of Memphis with satellite offices in England, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Created the Memphis Tourism Education Foundation and the Memphis Sports Council. The lifelong Memphian is also president and CEO of the Memphis Management Group, which runs the newly refurbished Renasant Convention Center and the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts.

SUNAH M. LAYBOURN (left) • In 2018, Laybourn reclaimed her Korean birth name legally: SunAh. Founded the first Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage (AAPI) Month Memphis in 2023; this year’s was even bigger than the first with food, educational, and cultural events. In January, as assistant professor of sociology at the University of Memphis, she released her book, Out of Place: The Lives of Korean Adoptee Immigrants. Also the host of WYXR’s Let’s Grab Coffee.

DOUG MCGOWEN • As chief operating officer for the City of Memphis, McGowen oversaw the Joint Covid Task Force from 2020 to 2022. Then the former U.S. Navy aviator took over as CEO of Memphis Light, Gas and Water in December 2022. Has faced challenges in his new role brought on by 2023’s relentless summer storms and reforming the utilitity’s tree trimming program. Instrumental in the negotiations which brought the xAI supercomputer to Memphis.

CHANDELL RYAN • Named head of the Downtown Memphis Commission in 2023, succeeding now-Memphis mayor Paul Young. Previously the first woman to serve as chief operating officer for the City of Memphis; as such, was responsible for day-to-day service delivery, resource allocation, and policy development for all city divisions. Her oversight included more than 6,000 employees and 20 labor organizations.

GINA SWEAT • Appointed director of the Memphis Fire Department in January 2016, Sweat became the first woman to lead the department. She was reconfirmed in 2024 by unanimous vote of the city council when reappointed by Mayor Paul Young. Her career began in 1992 as a firefighter/EMT and she worked through the ranks of the department. Under her leadership, the Memphis Fire Department earned a Class 1 Public Protection Classification rating in 2019 (the highest possible rating, held by fewer than 1 percent of fire departments nationally).

KEVIN THOMPSON • Named executive director of the Memphis Museum of Science and History (MoSH) in January 2020, Thompson dreamed of sharing Memphis’ rich culture and history with both tourists and locals. The MoSH collection of museums includes Lichterman Nature Center, the Mallory-Neely House, Coon Creek Science Center, and the Magevney House. In February 2022, Thompson continued his goal of increasing appreciation for Memphis history by collaborating with the South City Museum & Cultural Center to celebrate that community’s residents and accomplishments. Last year, MoSH announced plans to become an independent museum system.

TED TOWNSEND • The Greater Memphis Chamber has been busy, thanks to Townsend who says, “No one will out-work my passion for my hometown.” The Chamber cut 100-plus ribbons last year, pushed initiatives that address the city’s needs and interests, and marketed Memphis to businesses. Townsend’s alacrity paid off this year when Elon Musk’s xAI enterprise chose to build the world’s largest supercomputer in Memphis. Not a bad follow-up to Townsend’s role in securing Ford’s $5.6 billion BlueOval City campus just outside of Memphis.

ANASA TROUTMAN • The Big We is a cultural strategy firm founded by Troutman to “intentionally accelerate change.” Through their capital fund, they support cooperative economics and build community wealth for Black and other underserved communities. The founder and CEO of EarthSeed Music helped shepherd India.Arie’s career and advised the Obama Administration in cultural issues. Troutman is currently the executive director of Historic Clayborn Temple.

RUSS WIGGINTON • Named president of the National Civil Rights Museum in 2021, after having taught and served as an administrator at his alma mater, Rhodes College, for 23 years. The author of numerous articles and essays on African-American labor and social history, he serves on many community and regional organization boards.

CULTURE

EKUNDAYO BANDELE • Founded Hattiloo Theatre in 2006 to establish an African-American repertory that would present plays, outreach, and education. Led a $4.3 million capital campaign to build Hattiloo’s two-theater venue that opened debt-free in 2014, and raised another $900,000 in 2016 to build the Hattiloo Development Center. The director and playwright was commissioned to write and produce Tumbling Down about the removal of Memphis’ Confederate statues. In May he graduated as a nontraditional student from Morehouse College in Atlanta, majoring in Theatre and Performance.

BRETT BATTERSON • Leads the Orpheum Theatre Group, which offers Broadway plays, musicals, concerts, dance, and other stage performances at the new Halloran Centre and the historic Orpheum Theatre. The Orpheum has also been a co-producer of four Tony Award-winning Broadway shows (most recently in 2018 for The Band’s Visit).

KIMBERLY BEARDEN (right, with Willy) • While attending the University of Memphis took a job as a receptionist at Elmwood Cemetery “for a few months, because I thought it would be a good story”; she has been executive director there for almost 20 years, creating innovative programs to build awareness for the historic graveyard, including outdoor film showings and guided tours, where actors portray Elmwood’s most famous residents. Co-author with husband, Willy, on Elmwood Cemetery and has contributed to academic publications on cemetery culture. Promises to “polish this gem” over next few years, making the cemetery more active as a historical resource and cultural attraction.

NED CANTY • Since 2011, Canty has served as director of Opera Memphis and has initiated nationally acclaimed efforts to popularize the art form. In addition to traditional stagings of well known operas, has brought everything from pop-up performances to commissions of bold new works. The company’s “30 Days of Opera” remains a popular way to take opera to the public and modernize the art form by blending it with newer genres.

PAUL CHANDLER • As executive director of Germantown Performing Arts Centre, Chandler is responsible for much of the arts education, fundraising, entertainment, visual arts, and performing arts programs. The Grove, a $7.5 million outdoor performance venue, hosts movies, concerts, happy hours, and more. Chandler also spearheaded a public art master plan thanks to a $50,000 grant from the NEA Foundation’s Our Town program.

MICHAEL DETROIT (left) • For more than three decades, Detroit has been the face of Memphis theater. As executive producer of Playhouse on the Square, he oversees the casting and production of the city’s largest professional theater operation, and created the largest professional audition conference (United Professional Theatre Auditions) in the United States. Detroit has appeared in hundreds of stage productions and TV commercials, as well as nine feature films, as an actor or voice-over artist. Playhouse and Circuit Playhouse’s 13 outreach programs reach more than 30,000 people each year.

LAKEISHA EDWARDS • By trade, she’s a social worker and spent a decade as operations manager for Shelby County’s Child Support Services. But needing a change in pace, she switched careers in 2021, becoming executive director at Art Ventures, a nonprofit art gallery in Arkansas. Little did she know she would find a passion supporting local artists and fostering collaboration in the arts scene. That passion would lead to her current role as executive director of the UrbanArt Commission, where she hopes to bring together all the pieces of her journey.

LURLYNN FRANKLIN (right) • When she was 16, Franklin painted her first commissioned mural. She’s since become an art legend in the area, an award-winning art educator, poet, and playwright. Currently, as resident artist, curator, and program director of the Orange Mound Gallery under the Orange Mound Neighborhood and Veterans Association, she specializes in traveling exhibitions and performances that focus on social and racial issues. A founder of the annual Frayser Local Arts Festival. Recipient of the 2023 Emmett O’Ryan Award from ArtsMemphis and Renasant Bank, recognizing “art excellence.”

KIMEL FRYER • A veteran of the corporate finance world with degrees in business and law, and a single mother of two boys, Fryer’s artistic ambitions emerged when she was cast in a musical in Detroit, and blossomed with her 2021 film Life Ain’t Like the Movies. Her business instincts and production experience came in handy in 2022 when she was appointed executive director of Indie Memphis. She led the film festival nonprofit out of the Covid pandemic era to refocus on reaching new audiences and elevating Memphis filmmakers.

CARMEON HAMILTON • Now one of the most in-demand interior designers in Memphis and a budding television star, Hamilton began her career as a blogger, writing about making a stylish home on any budget. In 2021, won the grand prize on Design Star: Next Gen, which landed her own show. Reno My Rental brought Hamilton’s focus on affordable elegance to a national audience in 2021, as well as her appearances on HGTV’s Home Town Takeover. Continues to engage on her blog and on Instagram, and her work has reached a broad audience via Architectural Digest, Essence, and Southern Living.

MARCELLUS HARPER & KEVIN THOMAS • In 2009, Harper and Thomas moved their professional dance company, Collage Dance Collective, from New York City to Memphis, hoping to expand access to classical dance and improve racial diversity on the stage. Harper serves as executive director, with Thomas as artistic director. Together, they have made the company one of the largest Black-led performing arts organizations in the South and one of a few professional ballet companies in the world with a roster of BIPOC dancers. With its commitment to outreach and original performances, most recently Their Eyes Were Watching God, Collage promotes dance to Memphis and Memphis dance to the world.

MIA GIANOTTI HENLEY • When she became executive director in 2017, Henley expanded Creative Aging to serve older adults in more than 100 Memphis-area senior communities. The nonprofit partners with arts and civic organizations so seniors can express their creativity and build community. Has worked as a strategic planning consultant and as a civil litigation attorney. A lifelong Memphian, she has served on the boards of numerous associations.

CARISSA HUSSONG (left) • Under Hussong’s leadership, the Metal Museum continues its dynamic growth as a singular center for metal arts. It hosts exhibitions of work by internationally acclaimed metalsmiths, offers an educational component, and hosts popular events like Repair Days and Whet Thursdays. The museum’s dreamy riverbluff location allowed no practical way to grow, so it is expanding to Rust Hall, former Overton Park home of the Memphis College of Art. New location will be the museum’s state-of-the-art facility and education center; the museum’s current location will host events and resident artists.

VICTORIA JONES • Our 2021 co-Memphian of the Year (with IMAKEMADBEATS) is executive director of arts nonprofit Tone, host of Memphis’ largest Juneteenth celebration and more. At their current home, a gallery in Orange Mound, Black artists’ voices are elevated. Their future home is Orange Mound Tower, a former industrial site that is being transformed into a community hub, a haven for the arts, and a monument to entrepreneurship.

ZOE KAHR • When she took over as executive director of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in 2022, Kahr came prepared to lead the organization as it transitions to a new $180 million facility on the Mississippi River. She previously served as a deputy director for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Recently, under Kahr’s leadership, the Brooks announced it would quadruple their public programs, with a goal of making the museum not only a place to view artwork but also a community gathering place.

DEBBIE LITCH (right) • Being active in the arts has come naturally to Litch, who worked with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art before taking the reins at Theatre Memphis 20 years ago. She worked toward the theater’s 100th anniversary in 2021 by initiating a $6.2 million renovation and expansion. She’s the executive producer, but also a performer who can belt out a cabaret tune like nobody’s business. Litch and the theater have received plenty of awards and have a robust 2024-2025 season on the way.

DAN MCCLEARY • As founder and producing artistic director of Tennessee Shakespeare Company, McCleary has guided the 16-year-old company that focuses on performances, education, outreach, and training. There’s lots of Shakespeare, of course, but also classical and Southern writers. Outreach includes a robust selection of performance camps for kids, a program that engages incarcerated youth, and another that connects with veterans. McCleary is a prolific actor, director, and playwright as well as a published poet who teaches Shakespeare master classes around the country.

GRETCHEN WOLLERT MCLENNON • A lifelong love of ballet and the arts propelled McLennon to the leadership of Ballet Memphis in 2020. As a child, studied in the Ballet Memphis school and danced in its junior company. With more than 15 years’ experience in philanthropy and nonprofits, she served on the board of directors for close to a decade and was chair from 2014 to 2017, shepherding the construction of the company’s award-winning facility in Overton Square. Aims to make ballet more accessible to and representative of Memphis, building a strong foundation for the next generation of arts patrons.

LAWRENCE “BOO” MITCHELL (left) • This producer and engineer still works at (and co-owns) Royal Studios, where he grew up under the tutelage of Willie Mitchell, the grandfather who raised him as a son. After Willie’s death in 2010, Boo began to step up as a producer, starting with the film Take Me to the River, which paired classic soul artists with younger rappers. To this day, leads a band that tours on the legacy of that film and its sequels, but has chiefly distinguished himself in the studio, engineering the Bruno Mars hit “Uptown Funk” and the Grammy-winning group Silk Sonic, and producing Cedric Burnside’s Grammy-winning I Be Trying.

DEANIE PARKER • Having worked mainly in the background during the heyday of Stax Records, Parker stepped up in more recent years as the keeper of the Stax flame. As interest in a Stax museum coalesced in the ’90s, she took the lead. Pairing the Stax Museum of American Soul Music with the Stax Music Academy was largely the result of her original vision, and she oversaw their early years as president and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation. Now retired, remains in the headlines, co-authoring Grammy-winning liner notes for the box set Written in Their Soul, and offering her historical insights to this year’s HBO documentary, Stax: Soulsville USA.

ELIZABETH ROUSE • As president and CEO of ARTSmemphis, the Mid-South’s primary arts funder for more than 60 years, Rouse has been crucial to ensuring the support of the creative class in Memphis. The organization funds individual artists and presenting organizations, and has implemented a more equitable grant-making structure, enabling more arts experiences for more Memphians. A 2022 study showed that arts and culture organizations reported $120.7 million in annual spending and an additional $72.2 million in event-related spending by their audiences, generating $38 million in tax revenue and supporting 3,775 jobs in Shelby County.

KEVIN SHARP • The Linda W. and S. Herbert Rhea Director of The Dixon Gallery and Gardens since 2007, Sharp has contributed to more than 25 books on American and French art and organized more than 100 exhibitions. The Dixon showcases important works of art, hosts dozens of education programs, and maintains a 17-acre garden. Under Sharp’s leadership, the Dixon now offers free admission for all.

LINN SITLER • People should thank Sitler for films, TV shows, and commercials made in Memphis. Recognized as the longest-tenured film commissioner in the world by the Association of Film Commissioners International, Sitler has served as Memphis & Shelby County Film Commissioner since 1987. During that time, has worked with filmmakers on The Firm, The People vs. Larry Flynt, and Hustle & Flow, as well as commercials for Uber Eats and Ja Morant’s Beats. Has also been in front of the camera with a role in the 1989 Jerry Lee Lewis feature, Great Balls of Fire.

KATIE SMYTHE • In 2002, after a career as a professional dancer in Minneapolis, New York, and Los Angeles, Smythe returned to her hometown to found New Ballet Ensemble and School to teach excellence in dance while bridging racial and economic barriers. Graduates (notably Charles “Lil Buck” Riley) have enjoyed professional dance careers. Her eclectic work, such as the ever-popular NutRemix, has drawn international attention. In 2014, New Ballet received the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award at the White House for its work in Orange Mound.

GEBRE WADDELL (left) • The son of Memphis sculptor James M. Waddell Jr. was something of a whiz kid from the start, parlaying his computer skills into his own music mastering business early in life. Penned one of the standard textbooks for mastering engineers, but in the past decade Waddell has focused on his novel system for embedding music credits within audio files. That platform, Sound Credit, was featured in a 60 Minutes episode and is fast becoming the world standard for tracking such credits. Meanwhile, has played an active role in the Recording Academy, now secretary/treasurer of that organization’s Board of Trustees. Waddell is Chairman of the Tennessee Entertainment Commission Board.

PAT MITCHELL WORLEY • Former executive director of the Stax Music Academy, Worley is now president and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, the parent nonprofit that operates the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Stax Music Academy, and the Soulsville Charter School, all at the original site of Stax Records. For more than 20 years, Worley has co-hosted the globally syndicated blues radio show, Beale Street Caravan.

EDUCATION

PETER BUCKLEY • Chancellor of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center since 2021. The author of more than 300 articles in psychiatric research and 200 book chapters, he is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a member of the board of the Schizophrenia International Research Society. As CEO of the six doctoral programs in the UT system in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville, and Memphis, an advocate for the university’s role state-wide.

JENNIFER COLLINS (right) • Named president of Rhodes College in 2022 after serving eight years as the Judge James Noel Dean of Law at Southern Methodist University. Previously, she was a member of the law faculty at Wake Forest University, where she created the university’s first-ever LGBTQ+ Center and Women’s Center.

DR. CHRISTOPHER B. DAVIS • In July 2024, Davis was named the 14th president of LeMoyne-Owen College, where he had been on the board of trustees since 2017 and interim president since 2023. Has announced plans to boost awareness, fill important staff positions, and revitalize campus facilities of the nation’s fifth oldest (and this city’s only) Historically Black College and University (HBUC). Previously served 17 years as associate professor and associate dean of doctoral studies at Memphis Theological Seminary.

MARIE FEAGINS • Named superintendent of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools in April 2024, and quickly set about putting together a transition composed of community, arts, and education leaders. She received her doctorate in education from Samford University and prior to coming to Memphis, served the Detroit, Michigan, public schools system in various roles: chief of leadership and high schools, executive director of high school transformation, and special assistant to the superintendent.

BILL HARDGRAVE • Began his tenure as president of the University of Memphis in April 2022. Soon thereafter, he established the “Ascend Strategic Plan” to chart a course for the university’s growth for the next five years. Goals include continuing to make tuition accessible, sustaining faculty and student growth, and further establishing the school as a research institution.

HEALTHCARE

ASHLEY COFFIELD • The CEO of the regional Planned Parenthood affiliate since 2013, she first volunteered with the organization as a Rhodes College student. In 2018, oversaw the merger of the Memphis and Nashville affiliates to form Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi. Under her leadership, the affiliate provides reproductive healthcare via four health centers and PP Direct (a telehealth app), comprehensive sexual health education, and advocacy for reproductive rights.

DR. REGINALD COOPWOOD • Since 2010, has served as president and CEO of Regional One Health, the primary source of medical care for much of our city’s population, in addition to providing trauma and burn care for the region. His work is complemented by a commitment to improve community well-being. Previously, he was CEO of the Metropolitan Nashville Hospital Authority and chief medical officer at Nashville General Hospital. Inducted into the Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame in 2022.

JAMES DOWNING • The president and CEO of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital since 2014, Downing is leading a $12.9 billion commitment to accelerate progress in the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic diseases by expanding St. Jude clinical care and scientific programs in Memphis and around the globe. He was instrumental in launching the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project, an ambitious sequencing effort to discover why childhood cancer arises, spreads, and resists treatment. Downing has championed St. Jude Global, a program dedicated to raising pediatric cancer survival rates internationally. Downing has twice been honored as CEO of the Year by Inside Memphis Business, and he was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare.

GENERAL QUACKCELLENCE

THE PEABODY DUCKS (left) • Shortly after The Peabody opened in 1925, so the story goes, the manager returned from a hunting trip and dumped his live decoys (legal at the time) into the marble fountain in the hotel’s luxurious lobby, where they quacked and splashed all day. The stunt drew so much attention that it became a tradition, and now the five ducks may be the most famous critters in Memphis in a city known for its Grizzlies and Tigers. At 10 every morning, the Peabody Duckmaster leads them from their rooftop “palace” down the elevator, where they march to the fountain as tourists jam the lobby to photograph the parade. At 5, they return to their rooftop lair. The ducks can breathe easy: Their feathered brethren are not on the menu at any restaurant inside the hotel.

PHILANTHROPY / NONPROFIT

WARD ARCHER • Accomplishments include the creation of Archer-Malmo (now Archer), Tennessee’s largest and most successful advertising shop. He created Music + Arts studio for recording artists and film sound mixing, and brings contemporary music to the world through his creation of Archer Records. He also founded Protect Our Aquifer to ensure that the Memphis Sand Aquifer stays clean and accessible to future generations.

ROBERT FOCKLER (right) • As president of the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, Fockler leads the largest charitable grant-maker in the Mid-South, awarding $120 million last year. Under his direction, the foundation manages 1,200 charitable funds for individuals, families, and organizations. Oversees the foundation’s efforts to make community-voiced, community-centered investments through the FOREVER Funds, presents community information at LIVEGIVEmidsouth.org, and offers GiVE 365, a dollar-a-day giving program.

BARBARA & J.R. HYDE • Few Memphis families have had such an impact on Memphis. Barbara is chair and CEO of the Hyde Family Foundation, where she is passionate about education reform. Has led efforts to bring innovative education initiatives to Memphis, most notably the KIPP Academy, Teach for America, and New Leaders. As a founding member and past chair of the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, she led master planning and fundraising efforts to transform the park into a world-class amenity. Also a founding chair of the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis. J.R. “Pitt” Hyde founded AutoZone in 1979, one of three Fortune 500 companies with Memphis headquarters. Regarded as one of the city’s leading philanthropists, instrumental in founding the Memphis Bioworks Foundation, Memphis Tomorrow, and the National Civil Rights Museum, and part of the civic partnership that brought the Grizzlies to Memphis. In June 2023, the Hydes contributed $20 million towards the construction of the new riverfront Brooks Museum, scheduled to open (as Memphis Art Museum) in 2026.

SALLY JONES HEINZ • Since 2011, native Memphian Heinz has acted as president and CEO of the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association (MIFA), where she inspires a team of 100 staff to be innovative in their service to the community. MIFA was founded in 1968 in an unprecedented cooperative effort uniting church and community leaders to confront the growing issues of poverty, hunger, and social division in Memphis. Today, MIFA supports the independence of vulnerable seniors and families in crisis through high-impact programs which touch some 40,000 people in this area annually.

DR. KENNETH ROBINSON • In February 2015, Robinson was named president and CEO of United Way of the Mid-South. Robinson has been instrumental in launching “Driving the Dream,” United Way’s network of more than 170 agencies that offer services allowing families in need to find available support with a single call. The “one door” approach continues to lift thousands of Mid-South families out of the cycle of generational poverty. In June, Dr. Robinson announced he’s retiring, but will remain with United Way until a successor is hired.

GAYLE ROSE (left) • The music major from Iowa has played vital roles in Memphis. She is currently a director of the Institute for Public Service Journalism at the University of Memphis. Founder and CEO of EVS Corporation, chair of the Rose Family Foundations, and chair of the Memphis Symphony. Has been named CEO of the Year by Inside Memphis Business and Humanitarian of the Year by Diversity Memphis. She co-founded the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis and is well-known for her role landing the Grizzlies. In 2010 Rose founded Team Max, “a movement of service,” honoring the memory of her late son. 

FRED SMITH • FedEx famously began as a proposal in a research paper by Smith while a Yale undergraduate. A half-century later, not only is it a globe-spanning logistics company that moves more than 17 million packages every day and operates more aircraft than most countries’ air forces; FedEx also happens to be the city’s largest employer (more than 30,000 jobs). The shipping giant made headlines in November 2023 when Smith delivered a $50 million challenge gift to the University of Memphis for renovations to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, the largest single donation in U of M history.

ELLEN ZAHARIADIS • Executive director since 2018 of the Memphis and Shelby County Humane Society. Previously executive director for Susan K. Komen North Central Alabama, breast-cancer awareness and fundraising organization. Holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in classical studies. At MSCHS has expanded services with a low-cost community veterinary clinic, free community food pantry, and PAWsitive dog training program with the Shelby County Department of Corrections, teaming soon-to-be released offenders with pets and expanding adoption of shelter animals.

POLITICS

STEVE COHEN • Now serving his ninth term as congressman from Memphis’ 9th District, the Vanderbilt/UM law school graduate has long been a mover and shaker in national politics. Introduced a censure resolution in 2024 against Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for the jurist’s overstepping his judicial role on behalf of right-wing politics, As chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Cohen conducted hearings in 2019 on reparations for African-American citizens, a logical follow-up to his earlier sponsorship of an official apology for slavery by the U.S. House of Representatives. First elected to a congressional seat vacated by Harold Ford Jr. in 2006.

CERELYN “CJ” DAVIS • Made history in April 2021 when Davis was named the first female chief of the Memphis Police Department. In 2024 city council members declined to approve her reappointment by Mayor Paul Young. Reasons for that included a negative reaction to her sponsorship of the MPD “Scorpion” unit which included five officers charged with the murder of Tyre Nichols. Pending a possible readjustment of her status, however, she has continued to serve as interim police chief. Davis started as a patrol officer in Atlanta, and quickly ascended the ranks to commander, where she oversaw the integration of the city’s video surveillance system.

LEE HARRIS (right) • Won reelection in 2022 as Shelby County Mayor and announced an ambitious agenda: funding for two new high schools, the renovation and expansion of the Regional One medical campus, and a residential mental health facility to house county inmates. Harris’ commitment to a 6 percent salary increase for county employees survived 2024 budget negotiations with the County Commission. Before his election as mayor in 2018, Harris, a graduate of Morehouse College and Yale Law School, had won elections, consecutively, to the Memphis City Council and the Tennessee State Senate, where he served as Democratic Leader, becoming the first Black lawmaker of either party to hold a leadership position in that body.

DAVID KUSTOFF • When elected to Congress from Tennessee’s 8th District in 2016. Republican Kustoff became the second Jewish congressman (along with 9th District Democrat Steve Cohen) to serve Shelby County. Held a long record of activism on behalf of GOP candidates and causes. Served as George W. Bush’s campaign chair in Tennessee during the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, and was campaign chair for Lamar Alexander’s 2002 senate campaign. In 2015 Kustoff became an early advocate of Donald Trump for president.

STEVE MULROY • Elected District Attorney General in 2022 on a reform platform, Democrat Mulroy has pursued a revision of criminal justice procedures, stressing a need for bail reform, post-conviction DNA testing, conviction review, and less frequent remanding of juvenile offenders to Criminal Court. Won national distinction for prompt murder indictments of MPD officers in the Tyre Nichols case, but battling Republican supermajority who disagree with his reform efforts. Formerly county commissioner, he was the Bredesen Professor of Law at University of Memphis, specializing in constitutional law.

BRENT TAYLOR • Possessor of a lengthy pedigree in local government as city councilman, county commissioner, and head of the Election Commission, Republican Taylor was elected state senator in 2022 and almost instantly became a player in Nashville, sponsoring abundant legislation for stepped-up crime controls. He opposes criminal-justice reforms he sees as weakening law-enforcement authority in Memphis and has vowed to seek the ouster, in the 2025 General Assembly, of Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy. The wealthy former owner of a funeral-home chain, Taylor plays a major political role locally and statewide through his extensive financial sponsorship of GOP political candidates and events.

PAUL YOUNG (left) • Elected mayor of Memphis in 2023 in a large field of contestants, Young prevailed largely through effective campaigning and voter respect for his lengthy career in local governmental and civic positions, including prior role as president and CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission. Before joining the DMC, he served as director of the City of Memphis Division of Housing and Community Development (HCD), where he was responsible for furthering citywide community development initiatives, including administering an annual budget of over $16 million from federal and local funding sources.

SPORTS

STEVE EHRHART • For 30 years now, Ehrhart has been executive director of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl Football Classic, one of the oldest annual postseason games in college football. The game is broadcast nationally and internationally on ABC or ESPN. The annual economic impact of the game is estimated at more than $20 million. This year’s game — between teams from the SEC and Big 12 — will be played on December 27th. A captain and quarterback of his football team at Colorado College, Ehrhart earned a scholarship for law school and went on to represent athletes and coaches in legal practice. Ehrhart was inducted into the Memphis Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.

PENNY HARDAWAY • The greatest basketball product in the history of a city that loves its hoops, Hardaway will be coaching his seventh season at the University of Memphis when the 2024-25 season tips off in November. He’s won at least 20 games in each of his first six seasons, compiling an overall record of 133-62. He led the Tigers to the 2021 NIT championship and 2023 American Athletic Conference tournament title, though Memphis has won only one NCAA tournament game on his watch. Hardaway was the national player of the year as a senior at Treadwell High School (1990), an All-America at then Memphis State (1993), and twice first-team All-NBA with the Orlando Magic.

SETH HENIGAN (right) • The record-setting University of Memphis football star is in a category of his own this season: the only FBS quarterback returning to the same program for a fourth year as a starter. As a junior in 2023, Henigan led the Tigers to a 10-3 record that included a win over Iowa State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, the most prestigious bowl victory in the program’s history (Henigan was honored as the game’s MVP). He’s already passed for the most yardage (10,764) in Memphis history and aims to top records for touchdown passes (he needs 12 to break Brady White’s mark of 90) and wins by a quarterback (he needs six to top White’s 28). Henigan has earned a bachelor’s degree in business and will play the 2024 season as a grad student.

JAREN JACKSON JR. • In a season of injuries (and one significant suspension), Jackson was a steady presence for the 2023-24 Memphis Grizzlies. Playing his sixth NBA season, the power forward led Memphis in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals and was the only Grizzly to start as many as 50 games (66). Jackson has twice led the NBA in blocks, was a 2023 All-Star, and earned 2022-23 Defensive Player of the Year honors. Comes from a hoops family: His father was a member of the 1999 NBA champion San Antonio Spurs and is now a basketball coach; his mother leads the Women’s National Basketball Players Association.

TAYLOR JENKINS • When the Memphis Grizzlies’ head coach opens his sixth season with the franchise, he’ll do so as the fifth-longest-tenured coach in the entire NBA. (The four men ahead of him have each won at least one championship, most recently the Denver Nuggets’ Michael Malone.) The Grizzlies have reached the playoffs in three seasons under Jenkins and won their only two Southwest Division titles (in 2022 and ’23). His 206 regular-season wins are the most in franchise history. Tasked with helping franchise recover from 2023-24 season (27-55) in which no fewer than 33 players suited up for the team.

FRED JONES • The Southern Heritage Classic presented by FedEx is an annual cultural celebration that culminates with a football game between historically black universities. Arkansas-Pine Bluff made its debut in the 2023 event against Tennessee State (the latter having played in every game since 1990). This year’s game will be played on September 14th at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. Jones is the longtime president of Summitt Management Corporation, an entertainment consulting firm. Each year, the SHC has averaged more than 50,000 in attendance with thousands outside the stadium at its popular tailgate experience. In 2019, he was honored by the City of Memphis with his own street — Fred Jones Way — next to the stadium where he’s been making history for more than three decades.

JERRY LAWLER • Certifiable professional wrestling legend. A member of the WWE Hall of Fame, “The King” won multiple heavyweight championships in multiple affiliations in a career that began in the 1970s and continues today in his role as a commentator. A graduate of Treadwell High School, his defeat of Jackie Fargo in 1974 earned Lawler the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship, his first major title. Lawler had an infamous and quite public feud with actor Andy Kaufman in 1982, including a match in Memphis that left the comedian in a neck brace and an appearance on Late Night With David Letterman in which Lawler slapped Kaufman out of his seat.

JA MORANT (left) • Among the brightest young stars in the NBA, Morant endured a 2023-24 season that both he and Grizzlies fans would like to make a distant memory. Morant served a 25-game suspension after a pair of social-media incidents involving gun play, then injured his right shoulder after only nine games in uniform. Already a two-time All-Star (and the 2020 Rookie of the Year), the 25-year-old Morant hopes to return to full strength for his sixth NBA season this fall. In the equivalent of merely four full seasons, Morant has climbed the Grizzlies’ charts to ninth in career scoring and fourth in assists.

RYAN SILVERFIELD • The head football coach at the University of Memphis is the first in program history to win three bowl games, including the 2023 AutoZone Liberty Bowl (over Iowa State) in the Tigers’ home stadium. That victory capped just the fifth 10-win season in Tiger history. With an overall record of 31-18, the fifth-year coach is sixth in career wins at the U of M. Made headlines in June when Memphis landed Antwann Hill, the third-ranked quarterback in the 2025 recruiting class, and the highest-ranked signee in Memphis history. Also landed a prize transfer from the University of Tennessee, linebacker Elijah Herring.