Meet the Mayor
MAYOR JOHNNY “SKIP” MOSS, III BIOGRAPHY
Professional Career
Johnny “Skip” Moss, III serves as the Mayor of the City of Selma, Alabama. Elected in 2025, Mayor Moss represents a new era of leadership rooted in service, accountability, and a steadfast belief in Selma’s potential. A lifelong resident of Selma, he is deeply committed to restoring trust in local government, revitalizing neighborhoods, and improving the quality of life for every resident.
Before taking office, Mayor Moss served as Director of Marketing and College Relations at Wallace Community College Selma for nearly two decades. In this role, he led strategic planning, communications, and community engagement initiatives that strengthened partnerships between education, industry, and civic organizations across the Black Belt region.
Moss is also a licensed Realtor and entrepreneur whose professional background in finance, marketing, and community development has shaped his practical approach to economic revitalization. His private-sector experience provides valuable insight into business attraction, housing development, and infrastructure renewal, key priorities for his administration.
He holds a Master of Business Administration from Troy University and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Tuskegee University. His strong financial foundation and results-oriented leadership have earned him a reputation for disciplined management, transparency, and innovation.
As Mayor, Moss is advancing a vision centered on four guiding principles: transparency, efficiency, accountability, and unity. His administration’s cornerstone initiatives, “Clean Selma Now” and “Rebuilding Selma Together” focus on restoring infrastructure, enhancing public safety, promoting workforce development, and fostering civic pride.
Moss is described by colleagues as a thoughtful, solutions-oriented leader who listens, collaborates, and unites people around common goals. He credits his faith and family as the foundation of his service.
“Leadership is not about position, it’s about purpose. My purpose is to serve the people of Selma with integrity, faith, and a relentless belief that our best days are ahead.”
Leadership in Education
Prior to his election as Mayor, Moss served two terms as President of the Selma City School Board, where he led transformative efforts to improve academic performance, fiscal accountability, and community confidence in public education. Under his leadership, the district:
- Oversaw the planning and approval of a new $20 million state-of-the-art school facility to serve Selma’s students.
- Increased teacher recruitment and retention through competitive salary adjustments and support initiatives.
- Strengthened partnerships with Wallace Community College Selma to expand dual enrollment, STEM, and career-technical programs.
- Implemented greater transparency in budgeting and board operations to build public trust and accountability
His leadership helped position Selma City Schools as a model for collaborative progress in Alabama’s Black Belt region.
Affiliations & Accomplishments
- President, Selma City School Board (Two-Term Elected Member)
- Director of Marketing & College Relations, Wallace Community College Selma
- Licensed Alabama Realtor
- Member, Alabama Community College System Marketing Council
Education & Professional Development
- Master of Business Administration (MBA), Troy University
- Bachelor of Science (Finance), Tuskegee University
- Certified in Strategic Communication & Leadership (ACCS)
- Continuing Education: Public Administration, Economic Development, and Real Estate Management
Personal Life
Mayor Moss is a devoted husband and father who credits his family as his greatest source of strength and inspiration. He and his wife, Sharonoa, are the proud parents of their daughter, Evan, and their son, Jackson. A man of faith, Moss is an active member of his church and attributes his personal and professional success to prayer, perseverance, and service to others.
Personal
- Wife: Cynthia
- Children: Justin, Jarius and Tiffani
- People who really know Perkins describes him as a “prayerful, passionate, persistent, and practical man who truly cares about people; a no-nonsense guy who is about solving problems.”
- Perkins earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics from Alabama A & M University and completed numerous graduate courses in the Master of Business Administration program at Auburn University at Montgomery.
- Perkins is a graduate of Leadership Birmingham, Leadership Selma, and Leadership Alabama.
- James Perkins Jr is the husband of Selma City School System, parent facilitator, Cynthia Perkins. He is a father who served as PTO president at most schools attended by their children, coached most sports teams on which their children played, and mentors many children who are not his own.
- James Perkins, Jr. served as mayor of Selma, Alabama for eight years (2000-2004, 2004-2008). He was elected by his peers to serve as: 1) President of the National Conference of Black Mayors, a national organization representing over 650 African American Mayors across the United States; 2) Director on the National League of Cities Board, a national organization representing cities and towns across the nation in Washington DC; and 3) Vice President for Trade of the World Conference of Mayors., an international organization collaborating with mayors in Caribbean and Africa.
- As an activist, Perkins championed the causes of voting rights in the 1960s; desegregation in the 1970s; technology education disparity in the 1990s; and illegal gun control, education quality and disparity, environmental injustice, and voter participation in the 2000s.
- Perkins is an entrepreneur who started a business with $50, grew that business to over $1 million in annual sales.
