Your Board Members
Ms. Gibbs and Clyde, her husband of 50 years, have been residents of Collierville since 1975. They have three adult daughters—all of whom attended schools in Collierville—and five grandchildren. Ms. Gibbs retired in 2013 after a 32-year career as a public school educator in Collierville, Germantown, and Byhalia, MS. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Blue Mountain College and a Master of Science degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Memphis. She also completed additional post-graduate work at Cumberland University.
As an educator, Ms. Gibbs received numerous awards and assumed multiple leadership positions, including grade chair, PTA faculty representative, and school accreditation team member. She was twice selected as a Collierville Rotary Club “Teacher of the Month.” She was also honored as both the “Shelby County Education Association Distinguished Teacher of the Year” and the “Byhalia Elementary Teacher of the Year.” Her record of service to the Collierville community includes the following: Town Beautiful Commission member; Collierville Literacy Council tutor; Shelby County Election Commission poll worker; Collierville High School Band Booster; Collierville NAACP member; Collierville Community Civic Club member; and Sunday School teacher and Women’s Ministry secretary at New Shelby Missionary Baptist Church.
In her free time, Ms. Gibbs is a frequent elementary classroom reader and volunteers for special activities at local nursing homes. She is in the process of writing her first children’s book. Ms. Gibbs looks forward to the opportunity to serve the Town of Collierville and its students in her role as a School Board member.
Ms. Wanda Chism has been a Collierville resident for almost 40 years. After a 31-year teaching career in the Collierville school system, she retired in May 2011. She taught 15 years at Collierville Elementary and 16 years at Tara Oaks Elementary. Wanda has been actively engaged in the schools as a teacher, parent, and grandparent. She received a Bachelor of Science in Education and a Master’s in Education from the University of Memphis.
Wanda is dedicated to serving the Students, Parents, Teachers, Principals, and other School Staff of our schools, who are most responsible for the quality of education and other activities in the classroom. Ms. Chism believes that this is an exciting time and opportunity in our community as we build our Collierville School System and through working together, we can continue to have schools of excellence that will allow all our children the opportunity to compete globally now and into the future.
Ms. Chism has four married children and nine grandchildren. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Collierville Literacy Council, presently serving as the secretary, and is an active member of Collierville United Methodist Church.
Mr. Paul Childers grew up as a child in the Town of Collierville and was a graduate of Collierville Schools in 1987 (Collierville Elementary, Collierville Middle, and Collierville High). His wife, Jamie Childers, a Collierville resident graduated from Collierville High in 1995. The Childers children (Olivia and Beau) are active students in Collierville Schools. In 1995, Mr. Childers graduated from the University of Memphis with a B.A. Marketing. Shortly after graduating, Paul relocated to Dallas, Texas then Charlotte, North Carolina, and later settling in Tampa, Florida in 2001. Mr. Childers earned his Master's of Business Administration from the University of Miami in late 2003.
The Childers family aspired to return to the Town of Collierville to root their family in the town both Paul and Jamie fell in love with. Mr. and Mrs. Childers desired to be closer to their family and to support their children's academic needs and goals. Collierville Schools was their top-of-the-mind choice, and a catalyst to return to the Town of Collierville in 2018. Paul works for Goodman and Daikin Corporation as their Region Manager. Additionally, Paul served on the Town Beautiful Commission in 2020.
Ms. Keri Blair is a 1998 graduate of Collierville High School, having relocated to Collierville from Louisville, Kentucky with her family in 1996. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Health Education from Union University, and she is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree from the University of West Alabama.
Following her graduation from Union University in 2001, Ms. Blair accepted a job with the American Cancer Society as a community liaison. In 2004, she began her career in the pharmaceutical industry and is currently an Access Reimbursement Manager at Bristol Myers Squibb.
Keri and her husband, Brad, have one daughter who attends Collierville Elementary and participates in competitive dance at Studio 413 in Collierville. The Blairs attend Grace Valley Church in Collierville. In addition to being a wife and mother, while simultaneously working full-time, Ms. Blair enjoys exercising, serving at her church, and spending as much time as possible with her family.
A life-long resident of Collierville, Wright Cox held his first job at Coop’s Market on the Town Square. Mr. Cox earned a BBA from Texas Christian University in 1980 and graduated from the Louisiana State University Graduate School of Banking in 1991. He is also a graduate of the Rhodes College Executive Leadership Program. He has served for more than 35 years in the banking industry and has been with BankTennessee since 1992, where he is currently serving as the community president for the Collierville branch.
Mr. Cox is active in the community and serves on numerous organizations and boards. He has served on the Board of Directors of Crichton College and the Mid South Fair. Mr. Cox has served as president of the Collierville Chamber of Commerce and was past president and founding board member of the Collierville Education Foundation. He is the Founding Chairman of the Collierville Three Star foundation, a past board member of Leadership Collierville, and has had some involvement in Crosswind Elementary PTA. His other community activities included working as a volunteer for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, the Collierville Soccer Association and he has served as the honorary chairman of the March of Dimes Walk America. Mr. Cox has also been the recipient of the C. H. Harrell Education Award.
Wright and his wife Cindy, have three children and attend Hope Presbyterian Church where he has served as an Elder.