Jesse Chism (born March 4, 1980) is an American politician. He is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

representing District 85 in the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

Early life and education

Chism studied in Overton High School. In 2003, Chism received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

with a focus in Marketing /Economics. In 2012, he received a Master of Arts (MA), Education from

Union University Union University is a private Baptist university in Jackson, Tennessee, with additional campuses in Germantown and Hendersonville. The university is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). It was estab ...

. He is a former high school teacher with Memphis City Schools. He previously worked as a Disaster Inspector for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Between 2013 and 2016, he was the Program Director for the Tennessee Mental Health Consumers Association. He is currently a real estate investor. He is the president of Chism Consulting.

Political career

In 2018, former District 85 representative Johnnie Turner announced that she would not seek another term. Chism ran for his seat, won a four-way Democratic primary with 35.7% of the vote, and was unopposed in the general election. He successfully ran for re-election in 2020. He run for re-election in 2024. As of April 2024, Chism serves on the following committees: * Education Instruction * Education Instruction of 1st Extraordinary Session * Government Operations Committee * Government Operations Committee of 1st Extraordinary Session * State Government Committee * State Government Committee of 1st Extraordinary Session * Departments & Agencies Subcommittee * Departments & Agencies Subcommittee of 1st Extraordinary Session * Education Instruction Subcommittee * Education Instruction Subcommittee of 1st Extraordinary Session * Joint Judiciary and Government

Electoral record

Honors & Awards

Chism has been recognized in the following areas. * Fair Fight Fellowship, 2021 * Center for Advancement of Leadership Skills Scholar, 2021 * Chairman of Freshmen Democrats 2019-2020 * Emerging Leaders, 2019

References

Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives African-American state legislators in Tennessee Living people 1980 births Politicians from Memphis, Tennessee Morehouse College alumni Union University alumni 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly {{Tennessee-politician-stub