GABWA Fellows Institute
The Honorable Sonja Natasha Brown serves as a Judge on the Cobb County Magistrate Court. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she served as the Director of Community Affairs/ Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney with the Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney – Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit, where she oversaw the Office’s community outreach efforts, and created the Crime Strategies and Community Partnerships Unit (CS/CPU), the first of its kind in Georgia.
Judge Brown also served in the DeKalb County Solicitor-General’s Office as a Deputy Chief Assistant Solicitor-General, and worked as a Chief Senior Assistant District Attorney with the Office of the Fulton County District Attorney where she was assigned to the Crimes against Women and Children Unit (CAWAC). Before joining the CAWAC Unit, Judge Brown was assigned as the Director of Victim Services, with responsibility for developing the policies, programs and procedures needed to ensure access to victim services; and supervising the Child Support Enforcement Unit, the Victim Witness Assistance Program (VWAP). Prior to joining Fulton County, Judge Brown worked as Staff Counsel at Convergent Media Systems Corporation in Alpharetta, Georgia.
A member of the State Bar of Georgia, Judge Brown is active in several local Bar associations. She served as the 2009 President of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (GABWA), and served a three-year term (2017-2019) as the President of GABWA’s philanthropic arm, the GABWA Foundation, Inc. She is the former co-host of GABWA’s nationally, award-winning television program, Legally Speaking. Judge Brown served as the charter President of the National Black Prosecutors’ Association’s Foundation, and is a charter member of the Greater Atlanta Black Prosecutors’ Association (GABPA), having served as its first Secretary. She is also a member of numerous national, and local voluntary Bar associations including, the Gate City Bar Association; the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers (GAWL), and the Lawyers Club of Atlanta, where she serves as the Membership Committee Co-chair. Judge Brown has been appointed to serve as the 2020/21 Chaplain of the National Bar Association, the Nation’s oldest, and largest African-American Bar association, representing the interests of over 66,000 attorneys, and judges.
A firm believer in giving back, Judge Brown serves her community through many different avenues. She served for two-terms each, as the Co-Chair, and secretary of the DeKalb County Domestic Violence Task Force. A graduate of the 2015 Leadership DeKalb Class, Judge Brown also served on the Leadership DeKalb Board of Directors. An avid supporter of the Covenant House of Georgia, she has participated in Covenant House’s annual Sleep Out: Executive Edition, which raises awareness about youth homelessness. Judge Brown also served as the Chair of Covenant House Georgia’s 5th annual, Sleep Out: Women Unite! She serves on the Board of Trustees of the North Georgia United Methodist Conference (NGUMC), with oversight of over 800 local churches in North Georgia. Judge Brown is a proud member of the Tau Pi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, and serves as a resource on the International Day of Prayer Committee.
Judge Brown is the former co-host, and associate producer of the Fulton Government Television (FGTV) program, Fulton at Work. A published author, in 2006, she co-wrote and co-released the book, “Fueled by Greatness – 10 Cutting Edge Strategies for Accelerating Your Destiny Now!,” and in 2007, Judge Brown participated in the inaugural class of Creative Connections, a program of the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism of the State of Georgia, that spotlights the artistic engagements of Georgia attorneys.
In 2019, Judge Brown was recognized as an Unsung Jewel by the J.E.W.E.L.S of Georgia Inc. (Joining Empowered Women of Excellence and Leadership for Service), a mentoring program that supports local partnering organizations with a focus on personal development, social issues, and support for teenage girls. She is also the 2018 recipient of GABWA’s Bensonetta Tipton Lane Award for Commitment to the Family which recognizes a GABWA member who has been practicing law for at least ten years, and who has used her professional, and personal leadership to strengthen the community through family, and child-related programs, and initiatives, including those that focus on education, domestic violence, health care, child advocacy, adoption, and other issues impacting the family. In 2018, Judge Brown was awarded the inaugural Judge Willie J. Lovett Humanitarian Award by the Black Law Students’ Association (BLSA) at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, and is a 2017 recipient of the Northern District of Georgia’s U. S. Attorney’s Award for Community Service. In 2014, she was recognized in 2014 with GABWA’s highest honor, the Spirit of GABWA Award, for her commitment, and service to the organization. Judge Brown has previously been named a Distinguished Alumni by Atlanta’s John Marshal Law School, one of Atlanta’s 100 Most Influential Women by the Atlanta Business League, and one of the 100 Most Influential in Law and Business by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. She is also the 2008 recipient of the Office of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Ahmed Dabarran Public Service Award. Additionally, Sonja Natasha was recognized by the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® – Tau Pi Omega Chapter with the Service to All Mankind Award in 2020, and the 2018 Alpha Award.
An avid fitness enthusiast, Judge Brown is a certified group fitness instructor, and is licensed to teach Zumba®, and its high intensity interval training (HIIT) workout program, Strong Nation. Committed to helping others stay fit, Sonja Natasha volunteers her time by teaching weekly virtual Zumba® classes.
Of all the positions she holds, Judge Brown is most proud of being an aunt to her two nieces, and four nephews.
Judge Brown earned her Juris Doctor at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, and her undergraduate degree from Clark Atlanta University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Media Arts (Radio/TV/Film).
