Our Story

LESLEY DAVIS

INTERIM PRESIDENT & CEO

Lesley Davis was named the interim President and CEO of Mississippi Center for Public Policy in July, 2020. She was appointed to the Board of Directors in February, 2019. Her deep respect and appreciation for the fundamental freedoms guaranteed in our Constitution have fueled a lifelong interest in law, public policy, and political philosophy. 

She received her BA in political science with a minor in English from Mississippi State University, where she served as Executive Director of the College Republicans, President of the Pre-Law Society, Student Association Attorney General, and Campaign Director for Senator Trent Lott’s senatorial campaign on the MSU campus. She was a starting guard for the MSU Women’s Basketball team and was voted MSU’s Homecoming Queen.  

Lesley received her Juris Doctorate from The University of Baltimore, where she was President of the Christian Legal Society and Executive Director of the Republican Law Students.  She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Arlin M. Adams, United States Office of Independent Counsel in Washington D.C. (previously U.S. Court of Appeals judge for the Third Circuit) and was later hired as an OIC Associate Prosecuting Attorney. She continued her career as a partner in a well-respected Baltimore law firm, where she focused on toxic tort and medical malpractice defense litigation. 

Since returning home to Mississippi, Lesley has served on the Advisory Committee of the Mississippi Justice Institute, the Executive Committee of Bully Bloc,  the Board of Directors for the Cline Centers, the Board of Directors of the MSU Alumni Advisory, the Board of Directors of the MSU Shackouls Honors College, the Board of Directors of Delta Gamma— Jackson, the Young Life Executive Committee, the Jackson Preparatory Global Leadership Institute Board of Directors (currently the Board Chair), and a small group leader and large group teacher/speaker in women’s ministry at First Presbyterian Church Jackson, where she is a member. Lesley lives in Flowood with her husband, John, and their three sons: Jack (currently a student at Mississippi State), Charlie, and Will.   

Aaron Rice

Director, Mississippi Justice Institute

Aaron Rice serves as the Director of the Mississippi Justice Institute and is passionate about the vital role the Constitution plays in protecting our most precious freedoms.

After the September 11 terrorist attacks, Aaron felt called to serve his country. He joined the Marine Corps and was deployed to Iraq with the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines; the battalion would go on to suffer the highest number of casualties of any in the Iraq war. Aaron received the Purple Heart for sustaining combat injuries that resulted in the loss of his left leg below the knee.

Upon returning home, Aaron earned a degree in political science from Mississippi State University and was awarded the national Truman Scholarship to pursue his graduate studies. He earned his law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law, where he developed an interest in constitutional law.

In 2008, Aaron was elected to serve as a Delegate to the Republican National Convention. He also served on campaigns for Governor Haley Barbour and Senator Roger Wicker.

Prior to joining the Mississippi Justice Institute, Aaron built his career as a litigation attorney at a nationally recognized law firm in Mississippi. Aaron is a Fellow of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) National Trial College at Harvard Law School, and a Graduate of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) Trial Academy at Stanford Law School. He is also a recipient of the 2019 Buckley Award in recognition for his leadership in the conservative movement.

Aaron is a Deacon at Madison Heights Church, PCA. He and his wife, Kelly, live in Madison with their four children, Clark, Griffin, Ramsey, and Miles.

hunter estes

development manager

Hunter Estes is the Development Manager for the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. In this role, Hunter coordinates fundraising efforts, grant applications, and donor relations.

Hunter loves the Constitution, public policy, and the great state of Mississippi. He is particularly passionate about ensuring liberty in regards to religious freedom, pro-life issues, individual freedoms, and the free market.

Prior to MCPP, Hunter worked for Gingrich Productions, former-Speaker Newt Gingrich’s production team, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Team Ryan, Speaker Paul Ryan’s political organization, Senator Ted Cruz’s staff on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Hunter received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service and is a proud Georgetown Preparatory School alumnus. He was born in Meridian but now lives in Jackson and attends The Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church.

Dr. Jameson Taylor

SENIOR Vice President, Policy

Dr. Jameson Taylor is Senior Vice President, Policy at the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.

Over the past 15 years, he has focused on state-level policy issues, with a focus on health care, religious liberty and good governance. He is a three-time Earhart Fellow, a Publius Fellow with the Claremont Institute, and an E.A. Morris Fellow.

He is the author of numerous policy guides, briefs, and journal articles and a contributor to Promoting Prosperity in Mississippi published by the Institute for Market Studies at Miss. State.

Dr. Taylor holds an A.B. in government from Bowdoin College and a Ph.D. in politics from the University of Dallas.

matthew nicaud, jr. 

tech policy analyst

Matthew Nicaud is the Tech Policy Analyst with Mississippi Center for Public Policy. 

jim herring

CHAIR, BOARD OF DIRECTORS

James H. Herring is a native of Canton, Mississippi, where he resides with his wife, Beverly. Mr. and Mrs. Herring have a son, James, and two daughters, Caroline and Christine. He is an Elder at Grace Chapel Presbyterian Church of Madison, Mississippi.

After receiving his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Mississippi, Mr. Herring served three (3) years on active duty in the U.S. Army as a J.A.G. Officer. He later served approximately 21 years as a Reservist and eventually attained the rank of Colonel (0-6) in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. Along the way he received the Army Commendation Medal and three Meritorious Service Medals. He was elected District Attorney for the 20th Circuit District of Mississippi in 1971.

His many years of legal practice has included extensive experience in criminal law; general trial practice in State and Federal Courts; Mississippi Public Service Commission litigation involving franchise rights and rates charged by public and private utilities; and municipal annexation litigation. He is an acknowledged expert in litigation involving public and private water and wastewater companies. 

After being appointed by Governor Kirk Fordice to the Mississippi State Personnel Board in 1996, Governor Fordice then appointed him to the Mississippi Court of Appeals in 1997. While serving as a member of the Court of Appeals, Judge Herring participated in over 1,000 decisions on the merits and personally authored numerous majority opinions, a number of which were published. He has also served as a Special Judge on the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Mr. Herring currently serves as senior partner of Herring, Long and Crews, P.C., of Canton, Mississippi. He also serves as attorney for the Mississippi Rural Water Association.  He served as Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party for seven (7) years; as a member of the Executive and Rules Committees of the Republican National Committee (“RNC”); and, through an appointment by the Chairman of the RNC he served as “Chairman of the Chairmen” of all State Republican Parties throughout the United States and its territories.  Mr. Herring was later appointed by President George W. Bush to the Board of Trustees of the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation for a term of six (6) years and served as Vice Chairman of the Foundation Board.  He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy and served as transition chairman for Mississippi’s Governor Phil Bryant at the beginning of his administration in 2012.

john marchetti

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

John Marchetti is Senior Vice President for Gallagher Risk Management. 

After graduating from Mississippi State University in 1983, he has been an independent insurance agent. He sold Marchetti, Robertson, & Brickell Insurance and Bonding Agency to AJ Gallagher in 2018.

Throughout his career, John has served on various insurance company advisory councils. He has also served Mississippi State and its alumni association in various capacities, including volunteer teaching of various business classes on campus and currently, as a Board member of the MSU Finance and Economics Advisory Board.

This is his second tenure on the board at Mississippi Center for Public Policy. He also served on the original board of the Mississippi Family Council. 

John is married to the former Linda Lloyd of Greenville. They have three adult children, Gray, Robert, and Joe. They are members of Trinity Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Jackson where John serves as a Ruling Elder. 

ALAN WILSON

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Alan Wilson is a native Mississippian who graduated from Mississippi State in 1981 with a degree in Marketing.  Currently retired, he owned and operated Howard Wilson Chrysler Jeep Dodge for 36 years.  It grew to be one of the top performing dealerships in the southeast.  

Wilson has served on a number of boards and organizations inside the automobile industry including the Mississippi Automobile Dealers Association (president), Jackson Automobile Dealers Association (president), New Orleans Dealer Advertising Association (vice-president) and five years on the National Dealer Advisory Council.  

He served for 20 years on the Board of Directors of the USA International Ballet Competition (president)  as well as the Better Business Bureau. He is the treasurer of the board at Mississippi Center for Public Policy.  

Alan and his wife Karen live in Flowood and attend Broadmoor Baptist Church.  They have three adult children Shannon, Cayla, and Alex as well as two grandchildren Jackson and Bennett.

MATT ALLEN

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Matt Allen is a lawyer with the Brunini Law Firm Jackson, where he has worked since 2005. Prior to joining the Brunini, Matt clerked for the Honorable William H. Barbour, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. He received his J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law, M.B.A from the Else School of Management at Millsaps College, and B.A. from Mississippi State University. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Southern Mississippi with a dissertation in progress. 

Outside of professional duties, Matt dedicates time the Mississippi Center for Public Policy as a Board Member, Opera Mississippi as a Board Member, and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral, where he is a parishioner and current member of the Vestry. He is an avid runner and has run in numerous marathons and half-marathons. He and his wife, Megan, an evening news anchor, are the proud parents of a daughter, Hartley, and son, Thatcher.

doug mcdaniel

board of directors

Doug has been President of McDaniel & Register, Inc. since its inception in 2009. Entering his third decade in the financial services industry, Doug and his team provide financial advice to both individual clients and 401k plans. Doug has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Mississippi and maintains both his CPA and CFP™ designations.

Doug has served as Chairman of the Board of Jackson Preparatory School and Young Business Leaders in Jackson. He played a role in the founding and growth of several non-profit organizations in Mississippi including Crown Financial Ministries and Young Business Leaders of Jackson. He also served as one of the early board members of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy almost 30 years ago.

Doug and his wife Anne attend First Presbyterian Church of Jackson where Doug serves as a Deacon. They are the parents of three children and four grandchildren.

GLORIA WALKER

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Gloria Walker resides in Jackson, Mississippi, where she lived for many years with her husband, the late William E. Walker. Together, they became a team with vision in civic and business affairs. Upon Mr. Walker’s death in 1993, Gloria exercised her skills in financial and organizational matters at the Walker office, as well as the home front, where she is a very active mother of three grown children and ten grandchildren.

With a continuing service ethic in the Jackson community and the State of Mississippi as well, Mrs. Walker was a former Sunday school teacher and, member of the Vestry of St. Andrews Episcopal Cathedral. Further, she served on the Board of Goodwill Industries, St. Andrews Episcopal School, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Mississippi Children’s Home Society, and was an active member of the Cancer Society and Jr. League of Jackson. She was Co-Chairman of Inaugural Activities for Mississippi Republican Governor Haley Barber. Currently, Mrs. Walker serves as Sr. Member of the Board of the Walker Companies, The Walker Foundation and serves on the Board of the Mississippi Museum of Art and the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. Countless people have benefited from her vision, philanthropic interest and love of people. Improving the quality of life for her community is a passion for her.

In her more private life, Mrs. Walker has hosted a weekly Bible study for 25 years. She also includes daily fitness training into her schedule. She admits she is happiest when she is playing with her grandchildren, gardening, reading a good book, or entertaining family and friends at her home in Colorado.

ARTY FINKELBERG

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Arty Finkelberg, CFA, CFP®, serves as Managing Director, Investments of Finkelberg Investments of Raymond James & Associates in Ridgeland, heading a four-member investment management and retirement planning team.

Finkelberg has been honored as one of the nation’s top financial advisors by two leading national business publications every year since 2014.

A native of the Bronx, he graduated from The State University of New York at Albany with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, and from Mississippi College with a Master of Business Administration and a Certificate in Professional Accounting.

The Jackson resident is on the boards of Beth Israel Congregation and the Jackson Jewish Federation, and is a past president of the Chartered Financial Analysts Society of Mississippi. Arty’s wife Amy is an ordained Baptist minister, and served as an Associate Pastor at Northminster Baptist Church for over 12 years. She currently does supply preaching, leads retreats and enjoys volunteering with the preschool children at Northminster.

Arty has competed in several marathons and half marathons. He also is a part owner of a pair of talented racing Standardbreds and has stoically endured being a lifelong New York Mets fan.  

MAC MCGEHEE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mac McGehee, a supporter of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy since its inception, joined the Board of Directors in July of 2020. His appreciation for the work the Center does on behalf of the citizens of our state is the motivating factor for him to be more fully involved as a member of the board.

He received his Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Finance and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Southern Methodist University. After graduation he moved to Shreveport, Louisiana to work with Jones-O’Brien, an oil exploration company incorporated in Louisiana in 1930. In 1981, he moved back to his hometown of Jackson to work with Minerals Management, Inc., a company managing mineral and royalty interests for trusts, partnerships and individuals. He also worked with Regions Bank Trust Department in Natural Resources managing oil and gas assets in a twelve-state footprint.

Since returning home to Mississippi, Mac has been active in the Boy Scouts (Andrew Jackson Council) with his son, has served as trustee of Jackson Preparatory School and is on the board of directors of the Jackson Preparatory Global Leadership Institute. He is also on the board of Feild Co-Operative Association, established in 1919 for educational, scientific, and charitable purposes. He is also very active in JH Outback Jackson, an organization associated with JH Ranch in California. He is a member and an officer of Highlands Presbyterian Church in Ridgeland and lives in Madison with his wife Cindy. They have two children: a daughter Claire, a recent graduate of Mississippi State University, and a son Kirk, who is currently enrolled as a student at Mississippi State.

CAL WELLS

board of directors

Cal joined the Board of Directors at Mississippi Center for Public Policy in 2020. 

Cal is a partner with Phelps Dunbar. He is a member of the Mississippi Bar, the Capital Area Bar Association, and the Association of Commercial Financial Attorneys. He is on the board of First Presbyterian Day School, Belhaven University, Mississippi Kidney Foundation, Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, First Commercial Bank, JFM, Inc., United States Olympic Committee - Mississippi, and Young Life of Jackson. 

He earned his B.A. from Vanderbilt University and his J.D. form the University of Mississippi School of Law. 

ilya shapiro

senior fellow

Ilya Shapiro is the director of the Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute. Before joining Cato, he was a special assistant/adviser to the Multi-National Force in Iraq on rule-of-law issues and practiced at Patton Boggs and Cleary Gottlieb.

Shapiro is the co-author of Religious Liberties for Corporations? Hobby Lobby, the Affordable Care Act, and the Constitution (2014), and editor of 11 volumes of the Cato Supreme Court Review (2008-18). He has contributed to a variety of academic, popular, and professional publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, National Review, and New York Times Online. He also regularly provides commentary for various media outlets, including CNN, Fox News, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision and Telemundo, the Colbert Report, PBS NewsHour, and NPR.

Shapiro has testified before Congress and state legislatures and has filed more than 300 amicus curiae “friend of the court” briefs in the Supreme Court, including one that The Green Bag, selected for its “Exemplary Legal Writing” collection. He lectures regularly on behalf of the Federalist Society, is a member of the Legal Studies Institute’s board of visitors at The Fund for American Studies, was an inaugural Washington Fellow at the National Review Institute and a Lincoln Fellow at the Claremont Institute, and has been an adjunct professor at the George Washington University Law School. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Advisors of the Mississippi Justice Institute and Senior Fellow at Mississippi Center for Public Policy. In 2015, National Law Journal named him to its 40 under 40 list of “rising stars.”

Before entering private practice, Shapiro clerked for Judge E. Grady Jolly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He holds an AB from Princeton University, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and a JD from the University of Chicago Law School (where he became a Tony Patiño Fellow).