MEET DELISHIA
EDUCATOR. MOTHER. ACTIVIST.
Councilwoman Delishia Porterfield is a lifelong Tennessean and public servant. After graduating in the top 5% of her high school class, she went on to earn her Bachelor of Science degree in 2004 and her Master of Education in 2010 from Tennessee State University.
Driven by her passion for helping children with disabilities and their families, Delishia started her path as a professional educator at Page Middle School in Williamson County as a Special Education teacher. She then moved to Southeast Nashville to teach Special Education students at Antioch and Thurgood Marshall Middle Schools, where she also served as a Special Education Department Chair, Student Council advisor, School Culture and Climate Chair, and a coach of the cheer team. She served as a Special Education Coach for over a dozen Metro Nashville public schools and is intimately familiar with public education in Nashville.
A woman whose life is defined by her faith, Delishia was licensed in 2016 as a Minister at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. There, she put her gift for guiding children to good use for 4 years in the Children’s Ministry as the children’s church teacher in Antioch.
In 2019, Delishia won the Special Election for the Metro Council District 29 election. Since then, she’s served as the Chair of the Minority Caucus and as Vice-Chair of the Public Health and Safety Committee. She’s also previously served as the Chair of the Education Committee and Vice-Chair of Budget and Finance, where she worked to pass Nashville’s most progressive budget and make Nashville teachers the highest-paid teachers in the state.
Delishia also sits on the Board for The Destiny Theatre Experience, eMpowerment, and Ignite Her Pursuit, nonprofit organizations in Southeast Nashville.
Delishia is also the proud mother of a Metro Nashville Public Schools rising 11th-grade student, her mother’s favorite companion. Together they travel, dine out, and enjoy spending time with their rescue fur-babies Seven and Violet.