BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MAWSS 2023 Board of Commissioners

MAWSS is operated by the Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners under a deed of trust from the City of Mobile issued in 1951. Our seven commissioners are appointed to staggered six-year terms by members of the Mobile City Council.

1st row: L-R Maria Gonzalez, Barbara Drummond, and Linda St. John.
2nd row:  L-R John Williams, Jay Weber, Raymond Bell, and Tommy Zoghby

Addressing the Board | Schedules and Agendas

Raymond L. Bell Jr., Chair, is a shareholder with the law firm of Maynard, Cooper & Gale with a practice focused on governmental relations. He has practiced law since 2000. Prior to practicing law, he served as an Assistant to the Alabama Senate President Pro Tem, Assistant to the Lieutenant Governor and as Appointment Secretary for the Governor. In addition to the practice of law he serves as a Special District Court Judge for the 13th Judicial Circuit of Alabama. He is a former member of the Alabama Ethics Commission and has served as a member of the governing boards for many other civic and community entities. He is currently an Alabama State Bar Commissioner and actively participates in many functions of the State Bar. He is a proud graduate of the University of Montevallo (B. S. Political Science) and Faulkner-Jones School of Law (J.D.) Bell was appointed August 11, 2020 by Levon Manzie to a term which ends October 1, 2024.
 

Thomas Zoghby, Vice Chair, is retired from Volkert, Inc. where he served as Chief Financial Officer. He was an integral part of the Senior leadership of Volkert during more than 30 years of company growth. Zoghby was instrumental in the establishment of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan which provides sustainability for employee owners and their retirement.  During his tenure with the Company he had oversight responsibility for the financial, accounting, human resources, legal and IT functions.

Zoghby has a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and an MBA from the University of South Alabama. He was also a licensed CPA.  Zoghby has been involved in many businesses, civic and charitable organizations. He currently serves on the Executive Advisory Council for the Mitchell College of Business at the University of South Alabama. Zoghby is a graduate of Leadership Mobile and Leadership Alabama.  He was appointed by Joel Daves to a six-year term which expires October 1, 2026.
 

John C. Williams, Secretary-Treasurer is a former City of Mobile Council Member (February 2007 – November 2021). He earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Northwestern State University (Louisiana); he was awarded a Master of Science (Administration) from Central Michigan University and is also an Air Force Air Command and Staff College graduate at Maxwell AFB. John retired from the Army after 20 years of active duty and is a Desert Storm Veteran, having served on Pentagon Staff; his last assignment was at Troy University Army ROTC. He is married to Dr. Maureen Baldy Williams, U.S. Army Colonel (retd) and a veteran of the Iraq War. They have two Children: John Paul and Luke.

Since his wife’s return from a deployment to IRAQ, he has served as the Business Manager at her practice, Mobile Premier Pediatric Dentistry.

John is enrolled in the Mobile Archdiocese Permanent Deaconate Program and serves in many capacities at Little Flower Catholic Church.

You will likely find him golfing during the few free remaining hours of each day.
 

Maria Gonzalez, Commissioner,  has worked for the past 15 years as an initial inspector, team leader, trainer, mentor and Quality Control inspector and trainer with FEMA, incorporating her public relations and basic construction knowledge to help individuals following natural disasters.

Prior to FEMA work, she retired from the airline industry (Delta Air Lines and Orange Air LLC) where she had extensive public relations experience working the front lines as an In-Flight On-Board-Leader and Air Transport Supervisor.  Ms. Gonzalez was appointed by Fred Richardson to a term which began April 21, 2020 and ends April 28, 2026.
 

Barbara Drummond, Commissioner, Representative for House District 103 is the owner of B-Inspired Marketing and Consulting, Inc. She is the former Executive Director of Administrative Services and Community Affairs for the City of Mobile, as well as former Public Affairs and Community Services Director for the Mobile County Commission. Prior to government service, she was a reporter and columnist for the Mobile Press Register. She holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of South Alabama. A graduate of Leadership Mobile and Leadership Alabama, she has served on numerous civic boards, receiving several national awards for her leadership. She was appointed February 4, 2014 by C.J. Small to a term ending February 2, 2026.
 

Linda St. John, Commissioner, is a native Mobilian, and current president of The Village of Spring Hill, Inc., a grassroots non-profit community planning organization that created a Master Plan (The Blueprint for Spring Hill) to guide the redevelopment of the Spring Hill community. The plan was adopted by the City of Mobile 16 years ago. Since that time St. John has been the driving force behind the Master Plan, soliciting funding for and implementing infrastructure and beautification projects by working with the Mayor, City Council members, City departments, County Commissioners, State of Alabama, local foundations, and private funding sources. She is a Master Gardener who started her own landscape design business 30 years ago and has exhibited at the Providence Foundation Festival of Flowers numerous times. She is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a BA in communications and marketing. She has also been active in the Junior League and her church, St. Ignatius, and is a graduate of Leadership Mobile.  Ms. St. John was appointed December 21, 2021 to a term ending April 28, 2026.
 

Jay W. Weber, Commissioner, is the managing principal of JBL Properties, Ltd., a developer of residential real estate along the northern Gulf Coast.  He has served previously on the City of Mobile’s Downtown Redevelopment Commission and its Citizen’s Budget & Finance Advisory Committee, and on the Alabama Advisory Boards of Whitney National Bank and its successor, Hancock Whitney Bank.  He received a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia, a MBA from the College of William & Mary, a JD from Northwestern University, and is a CPA.  Mr. Weber was appointed by Scott Jones to a term which began on January 24, 2023, and ends January 24, 2029.