Deidre Malone

Board Member
Deidre Malone is the President/CEO of The Carter Malone Group, LLC (CMG), a public relations, marketing, advertising, and government relations firm headquartered in Memphis, TN, and an office in Jackson, MS. Before opening the agency in May 2003, Malone served as Vice President of Marketing Development for ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. ALSAC is the fundraising arm of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She also held the position of Director of Public Relations for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Malone is a former broadcast journalist. She served as a news producer for WMC-TV Action News 5 in Memphis.

Malone served as a member of the Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) Board and the Memphis and Shelby County Port Authority Board. She is a member of the Memphis Regional Chamber, Black Business Association, Mid-South Minority Business Continuum, Public Relations Society of America and PRSA Counselors Academy. Malone is a founding member of the Tennessee Public Relations Alliance with MP & F Strategic Communications in Nashville, Moxley Carmichael Public Relations in Knoxville, Q Strategies in Chattanooga, and Hispanic Marketing in Nashville.

Malone plays an active role in the Memphis community. She was elected to the Shelby County Commission in 2002, where she served as chair of the budget, community services, and housing and economic development committees and vice-chair of the education committee. In September 2008, Malone became the first African American woman to chair the Shelby County Commission and the first female to chair the budget committee. Malone ran for Mayor of Shelby County and is the first woman to win a major party nomination for that position. Malone is the 1st Vice President of the National Women’s Political Caucus, past President of the Tennessee Women’s Political Caucus, former Vice President of the Shelby County Democratic Party, Past President of the NAACP Memphis Branch, Philanthropic Black Women of Memphis, and is a trustee at Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church.

She is a 1999 graduate of Leadership Memphis and in 2001 served as Leadership Memphis Alumni Association President and a member of Beta Epsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She serves as Vice President of the Best Media Properties, Inc. The board of Directors, the ownership group for the New Tri-State Defender, is also an M1TV Network partner.

A graduate of Jackson State University, she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mass Communications and a minor in Marketing. Deidre and her husband, Dr. Patrick Malone, have two sons, Patrick II and Brian. She is the proud grandmother of Patrick III “Trey” and Bailee Christian.
OUR TEAM
MORE ABOUT SYCAMORE
Why Our Work Matters

We all want thriving communities where people enjoy good health, social and financial well-being, and the chance to make meaningful contributions to society. Most of our disagreements are about how to get there.

Sycamore plays a unique role in Tennessee’s civic life—bridging those divides by equipping decision-makers, journalists, citizens, and public and private sector leaders across the state with impartial, data-driven resources to identify, understand, and solve big challenges. We empower people to more effectively weigh—and weigh in on—the policy and institutional questions that shape our daily lives.

Tennesseans with wide-ranging perspectives rely on Sycamore’s clear and actionable insights and analyses.  Over the years, our work has informed public and private sector decisions on state and local education funding, TennCare, medical debt, philanthropy, transportation, criminal justice, the state budget, and more.

Many nonprofit organizations also rely on Sycamore for trusted, objective information about issues that affect their work—including both policy analyses and technical assistance on strategic and program planning.

No matter how you use Sycamore’s work, we are proud to help Tennesseans make informed decisions and navigate complex challenges.

What Is Public Policy?

Public policy is what governments choose to do (or not do) about public problems. It includes laws, regulations, funding priorities, and any actions of our governing institutions and the people who run them. Public policy affects almost every aspect of our lives—where we live, where we learn, where we work, and where we wander.

How We Engage

By fostering open dialogue and providing unbiased, data-driven insights, we empower Tennesseans to participate in the policy-making process and advocate for their communities. We do this by:

1. Producing and communicating relevant, accessible, impartial, and data-driven research and analysis.

2. Engaging and building strong relationships with decision-makers and stakeholders from across Tennessee.

3. Convening and equipping Tennesseans to thoughtfully assess and address public challenges.

To get involved with Sycamore’s work, subscribe to our emails, follow us on social media, attend our events, and join the ranks of our donors!

Our Origin

The Sycamore Institute grew out of the bold vision of a diverse group of community leaders from across Tennessee who saw the need for an independent, nonpartisan public policy research center focused on our state.

With the leadership and support of The Healing Trust, approximately 80 of these leaders representing a broad range of professions, political views, and personal experiences engaged in a 3-day collaborative design process. Their goal: design an organization to inform and support the creation of sound, sustainable public policy for Tennessee through reliable, accessible, and data-driven research and analysis.

The name they chose reflects the strengths of Tennessee’s native sycamore: a unique, long-lived tree with strong roots that stands tall and spreads seed far and wide.

The Sycamore Institute launched in 2015 and quickly built a reputation as a reliable source of unbiased information about issues that affect and connect Tennesseans’ health, prosperity, and public policy.