Mandy Mitchell DavisChair Mandy Mitchell Davis was appointed to serve as Commissioner by Philip Gunn, Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives, during the 2013 Legislative Session. Throughout her career in Mississippi State Government, she has worked in the fields of public policy and human resources for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration, the Office of the State Treasurer, and currently for the Mississippi House of Representatives where she serves as Policy Director for the Office of the Speaker. |
Vivian DaileyVice Chair Ms. Dailey currently serves as Vice Chair of the Commission. After a thirty-three year career at all levels of public education including university level in Mississippi, Texas and Alaska, she is a retired administrator, consultant, community leader and volunteer. She earned a Bachelor's degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, a Master's of Arts degree from the University of Houston in Sociology with emphasis in Women Studies and has completed postgraduate work in Educational Leadership from the University of Houston and University of Alaska Fairbanks. Ms. Dailey holds numerous professional certificates and has served on local, state and national boards including the Alaska Professional Teaching Practices Commission and the Northwest Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities. She was selected as Alaska Principal of the Year, received the Alaska Technology Leadership Award, the Bessie Gabbard Award celebrating leadership of women in Phi Delta Kappa International, The Red Rose Award for Excellence and Leadership from Delta Kappa Gamma Society International and the Humanitarian and Caring Award from the Houston Counseling Association. Ms. Dailey is cofounder of the Mississippi Girls Health Initiative. Working in cooperation with Healthy Teens for a Better Mississippi, Governor Phil Bryant's teen pregnancy reduction program and supported by First Lady Deborah Bryant, Mississippi state legislators, the Mississippi State Health Officer, Mississippi State Department of Health, Mississippi Department of Human Services, Mississippi Community College Board, Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning as well as the faith-based community, legislation was passed in two sessions of the legislature to provide community colleges and universities with support to improve information and access to health services for students in preventing unplanned pregnancy to increase community college completion. Ms. Dailey has been recognized for her accomplishments by her communities with selection as Citizen of the Year in 2010 and 2014, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Alumni Hall of Fame in 2015, received Key to the City of the North Pole and proclamations from the City and State legislature. Ms. Dailey was appointed to the Mississippi Commission on the Status of Women by Governor Phil Bryant in 2015, filling the At-Large position. |
Laura HippSecretary Ms. Hipp currently serves as Secretary of the Commission, having been appointed initially as a Commissioner in 2013 by Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves. She is Director of Communications for Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves, managing press requests, speechwriting and social media for the office. Previously, Ms. Hipp served as Spokesperson for Governor Haley Barbour. She worked for 10 years at several publications as a reporter in Mississippi and in Texas, covering politics at The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson and covering technology companies at the Austin Business Journal. She has a master's degree in public policy and administration from Mississippi State University and a bachelor's degree in journalism from Texas Tech University. Ms. Hipp is a native of Mesquite, Texas. |
Adrenace "A. Shae" WilliamsTreasurer Appointed by Governor Phil Bryant, Ms. Williams currently serves as Treasurer of the Commission. She is the Executive Director of Mississippi Faith Based Coalition for Community Renewal, Inc., a multi-faith, non-partisan coalition founded in 2001, working to serve the people of the Southeast Region of the United States in the areas of Housing, Education, Counseling, Drug Abuse, Crime and Violence Prevention, Job Training, Health, Voter Education and Economic Development. Shae has always been very active in the community. From developing, implementing and leading the Community of Caring Program as a member of Ray Maybus's Teen Forum while in high school to mentoring young women in becoming well-rounded and successful business owners, Shae is highly regarded for her compassionate caring attitude toward educating the community on the importance of homeownership preservation, voter education, financial literacy and Civil and Human Rights. Shae earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from California State University and a Master of Science degree in Health Psychology from Capella University. Shae served in the United States Marine Corps and thus is a strong advocate for veterans, especially disabled veterans. Shae serves as a member of the Mississippi Healthy Foods Task Force which was formed to institute policy changes that will stabilize "food-desert" designated areas in the state of Mississippi. Shae is a 2013 graduate of Leadership Greater Jackson and a member of the Rotary Club of Jackson. |
Natalie ColeCommissioner Natalie Cole was appointed to the Commission in 2013 by Speaker of the House Philip Gunn. Ms. Cole is a political and communications strategy consultant with more than 10 years of experience in campaign strategy, campaign messaging (with an emphasis in media training and social media strategy), campaign operations, and grassroots organizing. She is the former Program Coordinator for Fair Housing for the University of Southern Mississippi. She also served as Campaign Finance Officer for the State of Mississippi. |
Jan GadowCommissioner Jan is a Martindale-Hubbell AV preeminent rated attorney who officially retired from the practice of law in 2012 after 22 years, most of which were spent in the private sector (insurance defense). She has also served as an adjunct professor of appellate advocacy at Mississippi College School of Law (fall 2006 and 2007). Earlier in her legal career, Jan served as law clerk to Justice Michael Sullivan (1991-93) and to Presiding Justice Lenore Prather (1993-95), both of the Mississippi Supreme Court. Jan currently works as an independent contractor for various law firms in Jackson, primarily on appellate matters. She is an active member of the Mississippi Bar and the Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit; an inactive member of the State Bar of Georgia; and a member of the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions sub-committee on Character & Fitness, having served consecutive terms in that position, via appointment, since 1996. Jan is a member (2014-16) of the University Press Bookfriends board of directors, whose mission is to support the University Press of Mississippi and its authors. She is also an active member of St. Columb's Episcopal Church in Ridgeland, where she is currently serving her second consecutive term as senior warden (2014-17). At St. Columb's, she previously served as chair of the priest search committee (2014), on the Episcopal Church Women board of directors (2010-13), as a capital campaign team member (2011), a vestry member (2008-11), on the executive committee of the 2007 capital campaign, and in a variety of other positions. She is a monthly volunteer at the IONA House (Isle of Neighborhood Assistance) food pantry, which is owned and operated by St. Columb's and located in west Jackson. Jan is also a member (2015-17) of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi Disciplinary Board, which seeks to resolve conflicts by promoting healing, repentance, forgiveness, restitution, justice, amendment of life and reconciliation among all involved or affected. Jan is married to John Gadow (since 1987) and they have two children: Gracie, 23, a student at Millsaps; and Will, 21, a student at Holmes. |
Tiffany M. GravesCommissioner Tiffany M. Graves is the Executive Director of the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission. She attended Hollins University, where she double majored in Political Science and Spanish. She received her law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. While in law school, Tiffany received the Pro Bono award and was a member of the Raven Society, the oldest and most prestigious honorary society at the University of Virginia. Tiffany is the Secretary/Treasurer of the Capital Area Bar Association, the Chair of the Women in the Profession Committee of The Mississippi Bar and a member of the Board of Directors of the Women's Foundation of Mississippi, Mississippi Today and the Center for Violence Prevention. She has received the Young Lawyers Divisions's "Outstanding Young Lawyer" award, the Mississippi Women Lawyers Association's "Outstanding Woman Lawyer" award, the Capital Area Bar Association's "Pro Bono" award, the Mississippi Bar's "Lawyer-Citizenship" award, and The Mississippi Bar Foundation's "Law-Related Public Education" award. She was selected as one of the top 10 "Up-and-Coming Young Attorneys" by Portico Jackson Magazine and has been named a "Leader in the Law" by the Mississippi Business Journal. She is also a Fellow of the American Bar Association and a W. K. Kellogg Foundation Community Leadership Network Fellow. Tiffany was recently appointed by Attorney General Jim Hood to serve on this commission. She is married to James Graves, III, a shareholder at Wise Carter Child & Caraway, P.A. Tiffany and James live in Ridgeland, Mississippi. |
Rebecca Mansell, JDCommissioner Ms. Mansell is the appointed member of the statewide Child Death Review team, a Board Member for Mississippi College School of Law, a member of the statewide Sexual Assault Response Team, Special Counsel for the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions - Character and Fitness Division, a member of the Commission on Juvenile Issues for the State of Mississippi, a Board Member of Excel by 5, and is appointed by the Mississippi State Supreme Court to the Commission on Children's Justice. |
Heather Philo Wagner, Esq.Chair Ms. Wagner was appointed to the Mississippi Commission on the Status of Women by Attorney General Jim Hood in 2012, filling the position of attorney with special expertise in women's issues. Ms. Wagner has been licensed to practice law in the state of Mississippi since 1992, and graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law and Millsaps College. She has worked for the Mississippi Attorney General's Office for the majority of her career, having spent three years working for the Jackson City Attorney's Office. With the Attorney General's Office, Heather has worked in a variety of areas, including representation of state agencies, serving as administrative law judge for various state agencies, serving as Mississippi's Statutory Advisor to the state legislature, handling preclearance matters under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act on behalf of the State, serving as a Division Director of the Domestic Violence Division and later as Deputy Chief of the Bureau of Victim Assistance, and serving as a member of the Opinions Commitee. Ms. Wagner was appointed by the State Health Office and currently serves as the Director of the Office Against Interpersonal Violence at the Mississippi State Department of Health, administering a variety of federal and state grant programs. In this position she works closely with the state domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions and providers of direct services for victims of interpersonal violence to assist in the delivery of effective services and prevention education. Ms. Wagner was appointed to serve on Governor Phil Bryant's Human Trafficking Task Force, and also served on the Governor's Domestic Violence Task Force, and the Mississippi Supreme Court's Commission on Domestic Abuse Proceedings. |