Mercedes G. Ball, Esq. is an Assistant General Counsel and the Director of the Client Assistance
Program at the State Bar of Georgia. In this capacity, she leads the resolution of all informal
complaints and certain formal grievances lodged against Georgia attorneys.
Prior to her time with the State Bar, Mercedes served as a Child Advocate Attorney at
the DeKalb County Child Advocacy Center where she holistically represented the
interests of dependent children in civil court proceedings, mediations, and panels.
Before her work with DeKalb, she was a Lead Trial Attorney at a Metro-Atlanta law firm
where she represented individuals in every phase of criminal proceedings.

Mercedes is driven by a commitment to improve and empower her community through
service. From 2013-2020, she volunteered as the Executive Director of the Georgia Association
of Black Women Attorneys (GABWA) Foundation’s Sister2Sister Mentoring Program®, a juvenile
court diversion program for court involved teen girls. In this capacity, she increased the
program’s volunteer base and expanded the program’s reach by creating a DeKalb County
chapter. Under Mercedes’ leadership, the program served more than 200 metro-Atlanta teen
girls. Additionally, Mercedes also served as the founding Director of the GABWA Foundation’s
Women’s Health Initiative, an effort to bring needed medical services and health education to
underserved communities. During Mercedes’ tenure, the GABWA Foundation’s Women’s
Health Initiative served more than 1,000 individuals.

Mercedes is also an active member of the Junior League of DeKalb County where she served as
the 2017-2018 Chair of the Community Projects Committee, the Vice President of the 2018-
2019 Community Council, the 2020-2021 President-Elect, and the 2021-2022 President. In
2018, Mercedes created the DeKalb Saturday Scholars Initiative (DSSI), a literacy focused
Saturday school, through a partnership with the Junior League of DeKalb and Oak View
Elementary. To date, DSSI has served approximately 100 children and received grant awards
from Macy’s, Inc. Corporate Giving and the Forever Pink Foundation.
Mercedes is a member of the DeKalb County Department of Family and Children Services
Advisory Board and a proud member of the Decatur Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Incorporated. She is a 2017 graduate of Emerging Leaders of DeKalb and a 2018 New
Leaders Council Atlanta Fellow. She is the recipient of the 2019 University of Georgia School of
Law’s Young Alumna of Excellence Award, the 2019 Junior League of DeKalb County
President’s Award, the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys’ 2020 Bensonetta
Tipton Lane Award for Commitment to the Family, and a 2022 Outstanding Atlanta Honoree.
Mercedes earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science, cum laude, from Spelman
College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law. She resides in
Decatur where, in her spare time, you can find her baking, reading, and spending time
with loved ones.

Ashley Palmer began her term of service with the GABWA Foundation Board in January, 2016. In January, 2019, she expanded her role with the GABWA Foundation Board when she also assumed the role of Wills Project Director.

Ms. Palmer is an attorney with the Office of the Fulton County Attorney, where she serves as Senior Assistant County Attorney of the Public Safety Team. Ms. Palmer has experience in both criminal and civil trial practice and appellate litigation. She started her legal career at a large Atlanta law firm where she concentrated her practice on bankruptcy litigation and securities, corporate and fiduciary litigation. Prior to joining the Office of the Fulton County Attorney, Ms. Palmer was an Assistant Public Defender with the Office of the Circuit Public Defender in Clayton County where she represented indigent clients charged with felony and misdemeanor crimes and also served as a member of the Clayton County Drug Court committee. Ms. Palmer graduated from Vanderbilt University with a dual degree in English and Psychology. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from Vanderbilt University Law School.

Ms. Palmer is an active member of both the State Bar of Georgia and GABWA. She also serves on both the Board of the Housing Authority of Cobb County and the State Bar of Georgia’s Young Lawyers Division/High School Mock Trial State Finals Planning Board. In addition, Ms. Palmer chairs the State Bar of Georgia’s Local and Voluntary Bars Committee and is a member of the Leadership Georgia Class of 2020-2021. She attends Elizabeth Baptist Church where she and her husband Robert serve as small group facilitators and volunteer with the Children’s Ministry. Ms. Palmer also serves as PTA Co-President and on the Parent Advisory Council at her children’s elementary school. Additionally, she is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Ashley and her husband Robert are the parents of three children. They reside in Cobb County, Georgia.

Rita M. Treadwell is a Manager of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Greenberg Traurig, a global law firm. She has previously worked as a Research Attorney and practiced law at a large Atlanta insurance defense firm. Ms. Treadwell is active in her community serving on several boards and holding various leadership positions. A native of Atlanta (Decatur), Ms. Treadwell is passionate about the beloved community and strives to contribute her time and talent to improve the lives of those who call Atlanta home. She has extensive involvement in legal and civic organizations, most recently having served as the Chair of GABWA’s Judicial Review Committee and Chair of the Junior League of Atlanta’s Endowment Fund Board. During her tenure as a JLA Endowment Fund Trustee the first distribution to the Junior League of Atlanta was made in 2018, in the Fund’s 36-year history. While Chair of the Fund she led the Trustees in making a distribution to the Junior League for critical repairs to Headquarters and approving a distribution to JLA’ s community partner, The Atlanta Children’s Shelter. She is currently serving as the Vice President of the GABWA Foundation Board; and member of the DeKalb Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, Druid Hills High School Foundation Board, the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta (Fulton County Advisory Board) and served as the 2018 President of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys. She has served as a volunteer with GABWA’s Sister to Sister mentoring program for at risk girls ages 13-18, serving as a Director for two years, helped to create the Junior League of Atlanta’s committee to combat the trafficking of children (CSEC) and served as its first Co-Chair in 2010. Ms. Treadwell is the 2019 recipient of the Spirit of GABWA Award and 2018 Atlanta Business League’s 100 Women of Influence.

Education

• L.I.S., Library Science, Clark Atlanta University
• D., Samford University-Cumberland School of Law, CLEO Fellow
• A., Political Science, Hampton University, cum laude

Bar & Court Admissions, Professional Memberships, and Community Activities

• State of Georgia Bar
• Northern District of Georgia
• American Bar Association, Member
• DeKalb Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, Board Member and Co-Chair Talent Committee
• Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, President, 2018
• Foundation Board, Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, Director
• Junior League of Atlanta Endowment Fund, 2017-2020, Chair 2019-2020
• Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta Fulton County Advisory Board, Member
• GABWA/GALP Civil Pro Bono Project, Program Director

Being of service to others has been a part of Jacinta’s DNA for as long as she can remember. The GABWA Foundation Board provides a great platform for Jacinta to fulfill her personal pledge to “always give back.”  Jacinta has proudly served on the GABWA Foundation Board since 2012 as the Foundation Board Secretary.  She is also a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated, the Society of Human Resources Professionals (SHRM) and is a Big Sister with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Atlanta.

Jacinta is the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Atrium Hospitality. Atrium Hospitality is headquartered in Alpharetta, GA, and is among the largest hotel owner/operator in the United States. In her role as SVP, HR Jacinta is a key member of the executive leadership team and is responsible for providing leadership around the development and execution of human resources strategies in support of the overall business plans and strategic direction of the organization. Prior to joining Atrium Hospitality, Jacinta was the VP, Corporate Human Resources & Communications for Graphic Packaging International. During her time with Graphic Packaging, Jacinta held a number of staff and line leadership positions with the organization. Jacinta has held other HR Generalist and HR leadership roles of increasing responsibility with companies such as Tyson Foods and ConAgra Foods.

Jacinta graduated from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS, with a Bachelor of Science in business administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish. She has earned her Senior Human Resources Professional certification.

Lashonda Council Rogers is the founder and owner of Council & Associates, LLC, a Georgia-based personal injury law firm. Before launching Council & Associates, LLC, Rogers worked in the corporate law arena, where she advised clients on numerous issues, including, but not limited to, contractual disputes and land-use conflicts. However, in 2008, Rogers realized that her true passion was trying cases and helping her community. As such, Rogers’ sole focus now is representing individuals who have been severely injured due to tractor-trailer accidents, automobile accidents, premise accidents, and daycare center abuse. 

Rogers is very active in the legal and civic communities both locally and nationally. Locally, she is a member of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys Foundation Board of Directors, the Atlanta Bar Association, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Gate City Bar Association, and the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers. Nationally, Rogers serves on the executive committee of the National Black Lawyers Top 100 Lawyers and is the Co-Chair of Communications for the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys. In addition, Rogers is a member of the American Association for Justice and the National Bar Association. Rogers has also been a devoted member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. since 1997. 

Rogers has been honored by her peers by being named a Super Lawyer and one of the Top 10 Georgia Trucking Lawyers by The National Trial Lawyers. Also, Rogers was named as one of Attorney at Law Magazine’s “Attorneys to Watch.” Rogers is often featured in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and on various television and radio news outlets. Rogers’ accomplishments have also been highlighted in Career Magazine and People You Need to Know Magazine. In 2018, Rogers was recognized as a 2018 Walker’s Legacy Power Awardee due to her business and civic leadership roles throughout Atlanta.  

To directly address the needs of her community, Rogers created the Council Cares Community Campaign (“Council Cares”). 

The purpose of Council Cares is to support organizations that display an unwavering commitment to helping others. To date, Council Cares has hosted several breast cancer awareness events, school supply drives, and senior citizen activities in the Atlanta community.

A native of Sumter, South Carolina, Rogers earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in Economics from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. Rogers obtained her Juris Doctorate from Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. Rogers is licensed to practice law in Georgia and South Carolina.

Terrica Redfield Ganzy is Executive Director of the Southern Center for Human Rights’ (SCHR), where she leads the SCHR team in carrying out its mission to dramatically transform the criminal legal system through direct representation, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and public education.

Prior to becoming SCHR’s Executive Director, Terrica served in several different roles at SCHR, most recently as Deputy Director, helping to coordinate SCHR’s strategy and programs. Terrica also served as SCHR’s development director, designing and leading SCHR’s development strategy and building strategic partnerships. For nine years, Terrica served as a Staff Attorney in SCHR’s Capital Litigation Unit, where her work focused on representing clients on death row in Georgia and Alabama. For five years, she also served as the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) Death Penalty Resource Counsel, providing training and resources to capital defense attorneys throughout the nation.

Terrica received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and an LL.M. in trial advocacy from Temple University Beasley School of Law. She received a B.A. in English and Humanities, summa cum laude, from Tougaloo College. She received a Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Social Enterprise from Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Public Policy. She is admitted to practice law in North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Georgia, and the United States Supreme Court.

Terrica is a member of Leadership Atlanta Class of 2022, a graduate of Leadership Clayton, a member of the 2015 Class of the Georgia Center for Nonprofits’ High Potential Diverse Leaders, a 2014 New Leaders Council Fellow, and a graduate of Georgia’s WIN List’s Leadership Academy. She serves as Vice-President of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation’s Board of Directors and as President of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys’ (GABWA). Terrica also serves on the State Bar of Georgia’s Professionalism Committee and as a member of the State Bar’s Seeking Equal Justice and Addressing Racism and Racial Bias Committee. She is also a member of the Judicial Council of Georgia’s Access to Justice Committee.

Tammra Credit is a tax professional who specializes in tax research and audits; she works at Southern Company in their Corporate Tax department. Tammra began her career as a tax litigator at the Internal Revenue Service before transitioning to Deloitte in a tax controversy position.

Tammra has an LLM in Taxation from New York University and a law degree from Vanderbilt University. She received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Accounting from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Tammra is a graduate of the United Way of Greater Atlanta’s VIP training program which is designed to develop and enhance leadership skills and increase diverse volunteer participation in nonprofit board and leadership positions in Greater Atlanta. She serves as Co-Site Coordinator of the Schaffer Road Church of Christ Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program.

Tammra and her husband William live in the Riverside neighborhood of Atlanta. He is a teacher and coach at North Atlanta High School.

Demetria Ali is a dynamic, high-energy professional who leads companies through change and challenge to profitable growth. A Strategic problem-solver, she leads innovation with smart solutions and executes with urgency across all levels of the organization. Demetria has a ‘hands-on’ leadership style, with extensive experience in leading customer engagement. Her strategic skill set allows her to deliver vision and identify prime opportunities. Demetria has demonstrated keen ability to build operations, develop profitable marketing strategy, and sustain competitiveness in highly competitive business markets. 

With over 20 years in healthcare and technology, she brings extensive skills in guiding organizations to greater productivity and profitability, cost reduction and avoidance and possess skill in regarding talent building and team optimization. She also has extensive experience with senior executive reporting, high profile business clients, and vendors.

Demetria Ali is a Program Manager at Microsoft.  In this position, she leads client development from end to end, providing solutions to internal stakeholders for digital enterprise solutions.  In addition, she develops applications to streamline process for to reduce the non-digital effort required to achieve digital outputs with Microsoft Intelligent Launch Assistant on the Power Platform.  

Demetria has been passionate about servant leadership since arriving in Atlanta.  As a leader in the community for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., National Black MBA Association (Director of Chapter Relations & Membership), American Cancer Society (Executive Leadership Council), Junior League of Atlanta (Fundamentals Committee), United Way AAP, Cabinet Member, and National Coalition of 100 Black Women, NWGA (2nd VP of Fund Development) she has volunteered countless hours in recruitment for new professional members to all organizations.  Demetria was honored in the 2016 Who’s Who in Black Atlanta 16th Edition and received the Leaders of Excellence Award from E3 Magazine. 

Demetria received a Bachelor of Applied Science from Mercer University and Wesleyan College awarded her an Executive Master of Business Administration. 

Lauren R. Boone has been in practice since 2011. She currently serves as Corporate Litigation Counsel for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company where she handles bad faith and extra-contractual matters on behalf of the Enterprise. In this role, she is responsible for the litigation in multiple states throughout the southeastern United States. She is a 2006 graduate of Hampton University where she was a Presidential Scholar and holds her Juris Doctorate from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School. While at John Marshall, Lauren was a member of the mock trial and moot court teams, served as a peer mentor and received numerous Dean’s Awards. She was the winner of the Intra School Moot Court Competition in 2007.

Following law school, Lauren joined The Cuffie Law Firm where she served as the firm’s case manager and, after passing the Georgia Bar exam, practiced in the area of plaintiff’s personal injury. Immediately before joining Liberty Mutual to do defense work, Lauren served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Office of the Fulton County District Attorney. In this role, Lauren prosecuted felony level cases in within the Atlanta Judicial Circuit, the largest circuit in the state.

Lauren is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys. She is admitted to practice before the Georgia Court of Appeals, Georgia Supreme Court and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Lauren previously served as the Chair of the Church and Society Ministry and later as the Outreach Division Chair at Cascade United Methodist Church. She is an active volunteer through SERVE with Liberty, the philanthropic program for community service through Liberty Mutual.

Lisa Collins is a partner at Baker & Hostetler LLP where she focuses on the business of intellectual property and helps her clients protect their technology. Lisa leads the firm’s Patent Indemnification team where she has diverted and recovered more than nine figures. She regularly advises clients on IP strategy, licensing, privacy, trade secrets, and portfolio management, and handles numerous technology transactions. In addition, Lisa is a seasoned litigator who helps companies defend their products and intellectual property. Lisa has extensive litigation experience, has tried several complex state and federal jury trials and specialized bench trials; has appeared as first and second chair before federal and state trial courts, administrative courts, and domestic and international arbitration panels; and has argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Her litigation background, integrated with her transactional work in intellectual property, allows Lisa to have a deeper understanding of her clients’ business needs and concerns and to bring value to their businesses.

Lisa is a thought leader and accelerator in the areas of Inclusion and Diversity. Within Baker & Hostetler LLP, she serves on the Firmwide Diversity Council and chairs the Black Affinity Group. She also co-chairs the Atlanta Office Inclusion and Diversity Committee and serves on the Firmwide Women’s Committee.

Within the community, Lisa serves on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (“GABWA”) Foundation, Inc. and as the Program Development Chair for the Alumni Executive Council for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. Additionally, Lisa is a member of the 2020 Class of Leadership Atlanta. Lisa is consistently named as a Rising Star by Georgia Super Lawyers and has received numerous awards for her leadership, legal acumen, and community outreach.

In 2020, Lisa was a recipient of the Board Champion award by the Atlanta Business Chronicle Diversity & Inclusion Awards for advancing diversity and fostering inclusion and social change on boards. In 2019, Lisa was awarded the Diversity in Tech and IP Award and was Highly Commended as an Outstanding Ally for Chambers USA. In 2018, the National Bar Association awarded Lisa the 40 Under 40 Award and the Excellence in Leadership Award, which honors one member of the 40 Under 40 class for outstanding leadership. She was also awarded the 40 Under Forty Award by the Atlanta Business Chronicle for her commitment to the community and has been recognized in the Daily Report’s Women Lawyers Edition. In 2015, Lisa was a recipient of the Daily Report’s “On the Rise” award, which names the top 40 Georgia lawyers under the age of 40 who are making a difference in the legal community and the community at large. Lisa is very active in the Atlanta community and served as the longest serving chair of GABWA’s signature fundraising event, the Glitter Gala.

Additionally, she is President of the Georgetown Club of Metropolitan Atlanta and serves on the University’s and Law School’s Board of Governors and Law Alumni Board, respectively.

Lisa is the Atlanta Intellectual Property Leader.

Deanna Hamilton serves as Executive Director of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus (GLBC), the largest body of legislators in the country.  Hamilton is responsible for the strategic vision and operations of the organization whose mission is to protect the general welfare of Black people and other disenfranchised citizens in the state of Georgia in matters of health and welfare, education, social and criminal justice, employment and economic empowerment.

Prior to joining the GLBC, Hamilton was Vice President, Partner Development for the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA), where she led the organization’s fundraising and business development activities.  Under the leadership of the executive team, the organization experienced unprecedent growth in the areas of development, membership, brand equity, and organizational and financial stability.  A lifetime member, she has been an active member or the National Black MBA Association serving in a leadership capacity at both the local and national level.

Previously, Hamilton was Founder and CEO of Circle One, Inc., a consumer product marketing and multi-format printing company.  Circle One was quickly established as an emerging leader in the print industry. Prestigious honors bestowed upon Circle One include, National Minority Supplier Development Council, Regional Supplier of the Year, and Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council Supplier of the Year.        Continuing beyond the successful start of Circle One, Inc., Deanna’s passion for The Art of the Deal drove her to launch a management consulting division under the banner, Circle One Associates. The enterprise specializes in private sector growth strategies for small, mid-cap businesses, entertainers and sports properties. 

Fortune 1000 companies including Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, General Electric, Innerworkings and The Interpublic Group of Companies have entrusted Deanna to skillfully drive the financial thermometer of their organizations.  As a corporate leader for these companies she created tremendous value, holding various senior level positions, successfully developing turn-key platforms that yielded substantial financial growth. 

Deanna holds a Master of Science Degree in Management and a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Finance from Walsh College. 

Deanna generously donates her time as past President of the Atlanta Chapter of the National Black MBA Association, Vice Chair of the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy, Vice President of Why Not Sports, and board member of the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council, the National Black Arts Festival, and Silence the Shame Foundation. 

Deanna has been honored with National Black MBA Association, Atlanta Chapter’s Community Service and MBA of the Year Award; Diversity Magazine’s Top 50 under 50 Corporate Executives; Atlanta Business Journals’ Top 25 Influential Women in Atlanta; Lincoln Motor Company Rising Star Award; Brown Forman Woman of the Year Award, and the National Black MBA Association, MBA of the Year Award.  

Montoya Ho-Sang is Special Counsel with Akerman LLP, where she provides full service representation to higher education institutions, including performing Title IX audits and compliance reviews regarding athletics and sexual misconduct matters, representing institutions in a wide range of civil litigation matters, and drafting policies and procedures for students and employees and staff. Her vast litigation experience, which includes more than a decade of civil litigation experience, is beneficial in representing corporate and higher education clients in a variety of litigated matters, spanning across a multitude of practice areas.

She has been a director on the GABWA Foundation Board since 2015. She previously served as the co-chair for the 2015 GABWA Glitter Gala and Auction. Her passion and commitment to service is demonstrated through her various board positions and community organization engagements.

Shiriki Cavitt Jones currently serves as a Commercial Transactions Attorney for Coyote Logistics, LLC, a UPS Company, where she is responsible for handling commercial deals and agreements, working with business stakeholders to identify and analyze potential business risks and recommending risk mitigation strategies.  Shiriki also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Emory University School of Law, teaching a Corporate Externship Class to over 200 second-year and third-year law students since 2013. Prior to her current role at Coyote, Shiriki was Corporate Counsel for Equifax Inc., focusing on negotiating and closing complex multi-party commercial and third-party agreements, executing innovative company-wide legal solutions, and advising internal business stakeholders on legal strategy including third-party vendor issues, contracts, data privacy, and security escalations.  Prior to her current role at Equifax, Shiriki has served as a Term Law Clerk for the Honorable Linda T. Walker, federal magistrate judge for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division and as Counsel at Oldcastle, Inc., where her primary focus was on commercial contractual deals and labor and employment issues. Her extended practice covered all of the areas that the business encountered, such as negotiating and drafting commercial deals, litigation management, MSHA and OSHA matters, compliance, training and antitrust issues. Prior to working at Oldcastle, Shiriki began her practice as an Associate at Troutman Sanders LLP in the Complex Litigation Practice Group where her focus was on business litigation and product liability matters.

Shiriki is very active in her Church, serving as a Small Group Leader and former Sunday School teacher and she is also highly involved in many professional and community organizations.  By way of example, since 2004, Shiriki has served in many roles within the State Bar of Georgia, including her current position on the Board of Governors (Post 30) and Chair of the COVID-19 Virtual Planning Special Committee and her past roles with the State Bar of Georgia’s Young Lawyer Division (Community Service Projects Committee Co-Chair (2006-2009); Board of Directors (2007-2014); Public Internship Program Co-Chair (2009-2011); YLD Newsletter Co-Editor (2011-2013); and YLD Signature Fundraiser Co-Chair (2011)). Shiriki has also served on the ServiceJuris Steering Committee since 2009, organizing a community service day in which more than 300 members of Atlanta’s legal community participate. Shiriki was even awarded the Community Champion award in the 2017 Corporate Counsel Awards sponsored by the Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Association of Corporate Counsel Georgia Chapter for her GABWA and State Bar of Georgia volunteer service.

Shiriki is excited and honored to serve as this year’s GABWA President-Elect and a Director on the GABWA Foundation Board, as these organizations and their missions are near and dear to her heart.  Aside from Shiriki’s current roles, her GABWA leadership has included the following:

• Co-Chair, Community Service Committee (2011)
• Planned and orchestrated 30 Acts of Community Service to commemorate GABWA’s 30thAnniversary
• Co-Chair, Inter-Bar Relations Committee (2012)
• Co-Chair, Awards and Sponsorship Committee (2013)
• Co-Chair, Fundraising Committee (2014)
• Chair, Sections Committee (2015)
• Chair, Sections Committee (2016)
• In-House Counsel Section (2017)
• Member at Large and Vice President (2018)
• Parliamentarian (2019)
• Vice President (2020)

Shiriki obtained her Bachelor of Arts in English (cum laude) in 2001 from Dartmouth College and her Doctor of Jurisprudence from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 2004. In her spare time, Shiriki and her husband love to travel, listen to and attend jazz concerts and cultural events and enjoy spending quality time with their family and friends. 

Lisa McNary earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Emory University in 2005. Lisa then attended Georgia State University College of Law where she was a member of the Mock Trial team before graduating cum laude with a Doctor of Law degree. After graduation, Lisa started her legal career as a prosecutor where she advocated on behalf of the State of Georgia for victims of domestic violence, vehicular homicide and animal cruelty. Lisa continues to advocate for those injured by the wrongdoing of others as a civil trial attorney, focusing solely on representing victims and their families involved in automobile/trucking accidents and premises liability cases.

Lisa is an active member of the American Association of Justice (AAJ), the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (GTLA) as well as a graduating member of GTLA’s L.E.A.D class.

Denise A. Riley is a Staff Attorney to the Honorable Shalonda Jones Parker at the State Court of Clayton County. Prior, Denise was an Assistant Solicitor General in DeKalb County under the leadership of DeKalb County Solicitor General, Donna Coleman-Stribling. As a part of the Special Victims and Diversion Units Denise embodied the motto of the office by being a prosecutor who was victim-centered and community-oriented, who pursued justice and not just convictions and who offered solutions over problems. Before becoming a prosecutor, Denise was a criminal defense attorney and spent one year as an administrative law clerk for Presiding Judge Anne Elizabeth Barnes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia.

Denise has always had a heart for serving her community. She volunteers as a Co-Executive Director and Mentor with the Sister2Sister Mentoring Program®. She has been a mentor since 2015. Sister2Sister® is a Juvenile Court diversion program that focuses on developing vulnerable teen girls into responsible young women. Denise is also an active member of the Greater Atlanta Black Prosecutors Association where she serves as the Chair of the Fundraising Committee and is a 2014 graduate of Grassroots Leadership Institute Clayton. She is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Decatur Alumnae Chapter.

She attended Spelman College where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in History with a minor in Secondary Education, cum laude and received her Juris Doctor from the University of Dayton School of Law. In her spare time Denise enjoys shopping, baking, traveling, exercising and spending time with family and friends.

Daphne Saddler was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. She attended the University of Massachusetts, where she obtained a degree in Political Science. She then moved to Gainesville, Florida and attended the University of Florida law school, where she obtained her Juris Doctorate.

After graduating law school, Daphne served as a Criminal Defense Attorney with the Public Defender’s Office in Lake City, Florida. She later served as a Civil Litigation Attorney at a well-regarded insurance defense firm in Gainesville, Florida.

In 2016, Daphne moved to Georgia to be closer to family members. She worked for a personal injury firm where she handled car-wreck cases and premises liability cases. In 2019, she joined John Foy & Associates as a Personal Injury Attorney.

Daphne enjoys traveling, art museums, mystery-thriller novels, Soca and Zouk and other international music genres, spending time with family, and volunteering with non-profit organizations.

Sharee Tumbling practices primarily in the areas of workers’ compensation and general liability defense. Sharee is a native Atlantan, and received her Bachelor of Science in respiratory therapy from Georgia State University in 2006. She later received her Juris Doctor from John Marshall Law School in Atlanta in 2013.

While in law school, Sharee competed in Moot Court and Negotiation competitions. In 2012, she won the Best Respondent Brief Award at the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition. She is also a previous GABWA Scholar and Gate City Bar Scholar.

During law school, Sharee clerked for the Honorable Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams in Fulton County, Grady Hospital and Forrest B. Johnson & Associates. She was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 2013 and began her legal career as a Plaintiff’s attorney practicing in the areas of medical malpractice, wrongful death and workers’ compensation. Sharee’s career has allowed her to gain litigation and jury trial experience. Prior to joining Moore, Ingram, Johnson & Steele, she worked for an Atlanta defense firm defending general liability and workers compensation claims.

Tiffany Washington has been a volunteer with Sister2Sister Mentoring Program since 2015. She is a Cum Laude graduate of Claflin University. Tiffany currently serves as one of the volunteer Executive Director’s with the SIster2Sister Mentoring program under GABWA. In her respective role Tiffany is responsible for maintaining compliance with program goals and objectives, overseeing the coordination of bi-monthly workshops and community outreach projects, supervising volunteer staff, creating and managing program budget, and working with various county officials and community leaders to meet the program’s mission.

Tiffany has always enjoyed and shown commitment to community service initiatives. She has dedicated over ten years of service working with various youth focused organizations. Prior to joining GABWA and the Sister2Sister Mentoring Program, Tiffany has held leadership roles in other public and non-profit sectors. She has experience working on projects devoted to developing individuals, strengthening families and communities.

Professionally, Tiffany is a Principal Investigator for DeKalb County Child Advocacy Center. In this capacity she works to provide specialized services in civil proceedings, community organizing and collaboration with stakeholders and partners. She also provides ongoing representation in the interests of children that have been abused, abandoned, or neglected.

When she is not working, Tiffany enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, reading, and traveling.

Erica Wilson is the founder and owner of The Law Offices of Erica Wilson, LLC. with offices in both Midtown and Decatur. Her practice areas include tort law and family law with an emphasis in dependency matters arising out of juvenile court. She is also the founder of the Georgia Association of Metro Atlanta Attorneys (GAMAA), a referral-based company with a network of multiple attorneys from various practice areas. In addition to her law practice and referral service, Erica is the co-founder of M3-Meeting of the Minds Mediation Group.

She earned her Bachelor of Arts in political science with a minor in communication from the University of South Carolina Aiken where she was a David A. Norton Memorial Scholar and was inducted in Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society and the Lambda Pi Eta Honor Society. She later matriculated at the Charlotte School of Law where she earned her Juris Doctor as a pro-bono honors graduate. Erica is admitted to practice law in the state of Georgia before all courts. She is currently a member of the National Bar Association, Georgia Bar Association, the Gate City Bar Association, and the DeKalb Lawyers Association where she serves as Treasurer. She has been recognized by multiple organizations for her accomplishments and most recently inducted as a member of the Walker’s Legacy Foundation, an organization which honors Madame C.J. Walker and recognizes women of color who have attained entrepreneurial success.

Despite all of her accomplishments and accolades, her greatest pride comes from her daughter, Pelly Marie.

Janet C. Scott, Esq. has been practicing law since 2007. Janet is cum laude graduate of Spelman College, and she holds a Master of Arts degree in Education from Mercer University. A graduate of Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, she practices in several areas, including criminal law, education law, employment, entertainment and personal injury law. Presently, Janet practices personal injury law.

Moreover, Janet is very active in the community. Janet served on the Board for the National Black MBA, Atlanta Chapter as Director of Legal Affairs. She is a Past President (2016) of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (”GABWA”), and has served on the GABWA Foundation Board in the past.  Janet also served as Co-Chair of the Aspiring Youth Program Committee and as the Director of the American Bar Association Awards for the Georgia Young Lawyers’ Division (“YLD”).

Janet also served on the United States Selective Service Board for DeKalb County, Georgia. A position she held for over ten (10) years. She is a graduate of Leadership DeKalb, Class of 2010. Further, Janet is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Lastly, Janet served as the Chair of the St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Southern Evening of Hope from 2014-2015. She continues to support this event which raises money to help children diagnosed with various forms of cancer. 

Janet has been recognized by the Georgia Young Lawyers’ Division, twice, for her outstanding service to the YLD and by the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers as a Scholarship Recipient and an Outstanding Law Student.

In 2015, Janet was named one of Rolling Out Magazine and the Steed Society’s Top 25 Women of Atlanta.

Janet was also named in the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 2016 Who’s Who in the Legal community and the Atlanta Business League’s 2016 100 Women of Influence.  She is also a 2016 and 2017 Georgia Superlawyer Rising Star.

Erin Raines joined Parker Executive Search in 2013 andplays an integral role in recruiting higher education leaders.
She focuses on research, candidate development, client and candidate logistics and is a key force in facilitating clientand candidate communication.

Prior to joining the firm, Erin worked at Greenberg Traurig, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia. Erin graduated cum laude witha Bachelor of Science in finance from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She also earned her Juris Doctoratedegree from the University of Tennessee College of Law.

Erin brings a high level of performance and enthusiastically assists in recruiting qualified candidates who make adifference on college campuses across the country.

Erin serves on the board of the Atlanta Region Alumni Chapter of the University of Tennessee. Living in Atlanta, Erinis an avid sports fan, who enjoys traveling, volunteering and spending time with family and friends.