NCEL History

The Naifeh Center for Effective Leadership proudly bears the last name of Speaker Jimmy Naifeh who served as the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1991 to 2009, the longest seated Speaker to date.

Speaker Naifeh appreciated others and their opinions.  He and his family were “community minded”. 

After serving two years active duty in the US Army, he felt he needed to give back to his community.  He ran for legislative office in 1972 and lost by thirteen votes.  He ran successfully in 1974, and began his thirty-five years in the Tennessee House of Representative.  His goal was to help others improve their quality of life.

He worked successfully with others toward the common goal of making Tennessee a better place.  NCEL aligns our efforts with Speaker Naifeh’s legislative legacy by working all across the state to make Tennessee stronger.