Biographical Information

Mayor Mark H. Luttrell, Jr., was born in Jackson, Tennessee and spent his early years in Bells, Tennessee. During his teenage years, his family moved to Memphis where he graduated from Bartlett High School, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Union University, and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Memphis.  After college, he began teaching history at Bradford County High School in Starke, Florida. He then joined the Army, where he was stationed in Louisiana, Texas and Germany. Mark Luttrell’s career in corrections began at the Shelby County Penal Farm as the Vocational Training Director and continued when he joined the United States Bureau of Prisons. He served as warden of federal prisons in Texarkana, Texas; Manchester, Kentucky; and Memphis, Tennessee. Upon his retirement from the Bureau of Prisons, Mr. Luttrell was appointed Director of the Shelby County Division of Corrections, where he  served until his election as the Shelby County Sheriff in 2002. He was reelected in 2006.

Under his leadership as Sheriff, the Shelby County Jail received several accreditations and was lifted from federal court oversight. The jail went on to received national accreditation by the American Corrections Association, and the jail medical units received separate national accreditation certification. Additionally, the law enforcement division of the Sheriff’s Office was also accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). As sheriff, he graduated from the FBI National Executive Institute (NEI) and in 2009 was named “Sheriff of the Year” by the National Sheriffs’ Association. He was also selected as Lawman of the Year for the Kiwanis’ Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee Districts.

In August 2010, Mr. Luttrell was elected Shelby County Mayor. Since then, he has successfully led initiatives in economic development by creating the Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) for Memphis and Shelby County. He continues to increase awareness of healthy living through Healthy Shelby, which is a county-wide public health initiative, and through outreach from the Mayor’s Office as a means to create positive government-to-citizen relationships.

Mayor Luttrell desires to assist Shelby County in becoming one of the most effective and efficient governments in the nation by aligning initiatives within his four-point vision: budget discipline, safe communities, public health, and jobs.

The Mayor juggles many leadership roles within the community by serving on various professional boards and committees: National Association of Counties (NACo) Board of Directors, Memphis-Shelby Crime Commission board member, and University of Memphis Arts and Sciences Advisory Council board member. He has received several community service awards: the Bobby Dunavant Public Servant Award presented by the Rotary Club Memphis East, the Whitney M. Young Award presented by the Chickasaw Council-Boy Scouts of America, the Highest Effort Award in Government presented by Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and the Seven Seals Award presented by the National Guard and Reserve for Leadership

In addition to being a Leadership Memphis graduate, Mayor Mark Luttrell is a distinguished recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award of the University of Memphis, College of Arts and Sciences.

He is a member of Second Baptist Church in Memphis. He and his wife, Pat, have three children: Lynnette, Mark, and Margaret and six grandchildren.