Adria Greene is an Attorney in the Office of General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Agriculture where she is a member of the commercial law group. Adria’s primary area of practice is complex commercial litigation involving government contracts, real estate and employment.

Adria is currently the Secretary of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys. She is also a member of the National Bar Association and the Lawyers Club of Atlanta.

Adria is a dedicated community volunteer. She is a member of The Links, Incorporated, Junior League of Atlanta, National Council of Negro Women, Inc. and the Atlanta Wellesley Club.

Adria earned her juris doctor from the University of Michigan Law School and her bachelor of arts in International Relations from Wellesley College. She also holds a diploma in Enterprise Management from the University of Cape Town.

Raquel assists in the management of employment-related claims and EEO workplace investigations in her role as Employment Litigation Counsel with UPS. Prior to joining UPS, Raquel was an attorney with The Employment Law Solution: McFadden Davis, LLC (ELS) where she provided business clients with employment advice and counseling, representation in litigation and agency matters, workplace trainings, drafting and review of employment policies and agreements, and served as a subject matter expertise in transactional matters. She earned her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her law degree from Florida A&M University College of Law. Raquel is admitted to practice in Georgia, Washington, D.C., Florida, and numerous federal jurisdictions. Raquel joined GABWA in 2015 when she participated in the Professional Development Academy. She has previously served as the Vice President of Technology and Communications Chair.

In her free time, Raquel enjoys taking dance classes, watching films with her sisters, eating good food with friends, and hanging out with her husband and mini-husky, Pharoah.

Rian Ervin Banks is a Trial Attorney for Fred Loya Insurance. Rian represents clients in automobile liability matters and advises the company on best practices for resolving liability claims. Her professional experience also includes employment as a Trial Attorney with Allstate Insurance, a Fortune 500 insurance company. Prior to joining the insurance company, Rian represented individuals injured at the negligence of others. She is a strategic trial attorney. Her ability to fervently face adversity and engage the jury aids her in obtaining favorable verdicts for her clients at trial.

Rian is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University, where she served as the Managing Editor for the Thurgood Marshall Law Review. During law school, she traveled abroad to London, England and obtained a Certificate in Global Arbitration from Queen Mary University.

She is an honors graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Kennesaw State University. Rian is an active member of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys and a spring 2015 graduate of the GABWA Professional Development Academy. Outside of the courtroom, she enjoys spending time traveling with her husband, Braxton, and participating in grass root political initiatives. They are active members of Jackson Memorial Baptist Church.

Rian’s life purpose is to make an impact on the lives of those she encounters. She previously served on Board of Directors for Trinity Community Ministries and in leadership roles with Houston Urban League Young Professionals.

Liz Broadway Brown is a business and commercial litigation partner at Alston & Bird LLP. She concentrates her legal practice on the defense of high-stakes class action and privacy litigation matters, primarily in the health care, technology, and financial services industries. Liz has significant experience litigating complex disputes in trial and appellate courts across the county. She has defended matters involving the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Electronic Communications Privacy Act, ERISA, RICO, and numerous state consumer protection and deceptive trade practices act claims. Liz also represents attorneys and law firms in matters involving issues of professional liability, defamation, and malpractice.

Liz was named to the Daily Report’s “On the Rise” class of 2020, an elite group of Georgia’s most promising lawyers under the age of 40, to the Georgia Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” list in 2018 and was named one of The National Black Lawyers’ “Top 40 Under 40” in Georgia in 2015 and 2016. She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America© in the area of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants for 2021. Liz served as GABWA’s 38th president in 2019.

A member of GABWA since 2014, Mrs. Marcee L. Campbell has been a consistent presence on GABWA’s Board of Directors and several committees. She currently serves as the Elections Committee Chair and Judicial Review Committee Co-Chair. She has also served as a Sister2Sister Mentor since 2015. Marcee is a proud graduate of Albany State University and Howard University School of Law, and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Upon graduating from law school, she commenced a career in education that led to her becoming an Assistant Legal Officer in Legal Affairs and Charter School Coordinator for the DeKalb County School District. Since 2016, Marcee has served as Senior Staff Attorney to the Honorable Courtney L. Johnson in the Superior Court of DeKalb County.  Her experience includes a solid foundation of knowledge in civil and domestic law, legal research and analysis, and policy development and implementation. She has also attained experience in employee relations and conducting internal investigations. Marcee enjoys serving her community, visiting beaches, and spending time with her family and college sweetheart (husband), Elam.

Tia Crosby currently serves as Associate Attorney at The CP Law Group, specializing in personal injury law. An Atlanta transplant by way of North Carolina, Tia is a graduate of University of North Carolina and Florida A&M University College of Law, where she served as Fellow for the Center for International Law and Justice and law clerk for The High Court of Ghana, Commercial Division.

Tia has committed to engaging and educating disadvantaged communities in the realm of legal advocacy. This passion has lead her to intern and volunteer with several non-profit organizations, such as The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Georgia and Atlanta Volunteers Lawyers Foundation (AVLF).

Tori M. Silas is Senior Counsel with Cox Enterprises, Inc., a leading communications, media and automotive services company.   Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Cox Enterprises is the parent company to Cox Communications, Inc., Cox Automotive, Inc. and Cox Media Group, LLC.   Since joining Cox Enterprises in 2012, Ms. Silas has held roles of increasing responsibility supporting business clients on a variety of transactional matters, including corporate transactions and new media matters.   Most recently, as Cox Enterprises’ Privacy Officer she established and managed the company’s privacy and data security   program.  Currently, she is one of Cox Legal’s inaugural participants in Functional Organization Rotational Growth Experience (FORGE), a highly selective, rotational leadership program that provides participants exposure to executive and senior business leaders, together with substantive experience across a broad range of legal issues faced by the Company’s diverse businesses.

Prior to joining Cox Enterprises, Tori was Corporate Counsel with Harland Clarke Corp.  At Harland Clarke, she managed Harland Clarke’s regional legal department and was responsible for corporate transactions, intellectual property matters, privacy and data security compliance and corporate governance and subsidiary management.

Tori began her legal career in private practice, working in several large law firms in Texas and Georgia.   Prior to attending law school, Tori worked as a consultant in the financial services industry.  In 2013, she was named to the Fulton County Daily Report’s “40 Under 40 On the Rise” list, recognizing top attorneys in the State of Georgia under 40 years of age.   She was recently honored in Who’s Who in Black Atlanta and the Atlanta Business League’s Top 100 Black Women of Influence. 

In 2017, Tori served as President of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (GABWA), a voluntary bar association serving over 600 members throughout the State of Georgia and the community at large.  Tori is most passionate about the work she does to mentor young women in high school, college and law school and young attorneys, as well as the work she does as domestic violence advocate through the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence.  Tori serves on the Board of Directors of the DeKalb Volunteer Lawyers Foundation and is a Trustee of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church.  She is also a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.  Tori was awarded athletic and academic scholarships to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology where she was a member of the varsity track and field team where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management.  She also holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Miami School of Law.   

Tanesha Steward is Counsel and Director of the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Affiliated Organizations where she provides management and oversight of the sixteen Affiliated Organizations in advancing Georgia Tech’s strategic goals and priorities. In this role, Tanesha counsels and offers strategic guidance on capital projects, real estate, technology ventures, international operations and other business transactions. Tanesha ensures that their respective activities remain aligned with the strategic goals and priorities of Georgia Tech and in compliance with the policies of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

Prior to Georgia Tech, Tanesha was an Attorney with the Cobb County Attorney’s Office and focused on Commercial Real Estate transactions, Construction law, and other Contractual matters.

Tanesha has been a member of GABWA for over five years and has served as Gala & Auction Co-Chair, and in other various capacities. She is also a 2018 graduate of the Young Lawyer’s Division Leadership Academy. Tanesha is a graduate of Howard University (Washington, D.C.) and holds a J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law in Columbia, Missouri. Before attending law school, Tanesha worked as a teacher with Teach for America in Atlanta, Georgia. She spends her free time with her husband and their son.

A graduate of Georgia State University College of Law and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Joycelyn Curry has spent the last 14 years working with individuals and corporations seeking bankruptcy protection along with working with startup and growing businesses to thrive and meet their goals. A former litigator, Ms. Curry recently became a certified mediator and seeks to serve as a registered neutral to further assist parties in resolving their disputes. In her spare time Ms. Curry is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta, a Sister 2 Sister mentor and Fulton County facilitator, GABWA’s Judicial Review Committee and a member of Leadership Dekalb Class of 2019.

Attorney Evita L. Gaillard specializes in Family Law cases consisting of Divorce, Child Custody, Child Support, Legitimation, Alimony, and Property Settlements. She also serves as an Associate Special Assistant Attorney General representing both the Fulton County’s Division of Family and Children Services (in cases involving Child Dependency and Child Abuse Registry appeals), and the Office of Inspector General’s Electronic Benefits Transfer Unit (in cases involving EBT fraud). And for those seeking an alternative to court she is also a Georgia Court Registered Mediator.

Attorney Gaillard has an extensive and varied background providing her clients with valuable insight on a wide array of legal matters. As an Administrative Hearing Officer/Judge with the Georgia Department of Labor Unemployment Insurance Appeals Tribunal she presided over 4,000+ appeals. As a private attorney she has experience in Bankruptcy, Social Security as well as Criminal Law. Before entering private practice, Attorney Gaillard served with the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development where she reviewed foreclosure auctions and bids for commercial properties valued at over $2,000,000.

Atty. Gaillard earned her B.A. from Howard University in Washington, DC and her Juris Doctorate from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School in Lansing.

As a GABWA member, Attorney Gaillard has served as a Historian (2017) and Co-Chair of Awards & Sponsorship (2018). This year under Madame President, she will serve as Co-Chair of Newsletter.

Trenile Tillman is a Senior Child Advocate Attorney (Lead) with the DeKalb County Child Advocacy Center (DCCAC). As a Child Advocate, she represents children and youth who have been abused, abandoned and neglected in dependency proceedings in Juvenile Court. In her time with the Child Advocacy Center, Trenile has been in charge of community outreach and several events including holiday parties, office-wide retreats and team building activities. She has also served as the DCCAC liaison to the DeKalb County multidisciplinary team.

Before joining DCCAC Trenile practiced criminal law, specifically defense of indigent clients, and in the civil sector, focusing on personal injury and medical malpractice.

Born and raised in Savannah Georgia, Trenile is an alumna of Howard University and The University of Georgia School Law. Additionally, she holds a Certificate of Hospitality and Tourism Management from Florida Atlantic University. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and has previously served as General Counsel for Gamma Xi Phi Professional Arts Fraternity. Within GABWA, Trenile has worked with the Sister 2 Sister Mentoring Program for a number of years.

In her spare time, Trenile enjoys traveling, cooking and reading.

Rachel D. Caldwell, JD is a Senior Event Manager at the Georgia World Congress Center. Deemed a “Customer Service Superhero” by clients, Rachel began her career in hospitality and events at The Walt Disney Company in 2009. Specializing in Venue Management, she has led the charge on trade shows, conventions, sporting events, executive meetings, and television movie productions. Her events have utilized up to one million square feet of usable meeting space and resulted in an economic impact of over 8-figures to the City of Atlanta and State of Georgia.

Standout events include Super Bowl LIII, 2020 Men’s Final Four, Allstate Hot Chocolate 15K/5K, Atlanta Christkindl Market (2019), Chinese Lantern Festival (2019), Microsoft Business Application Summit (2019), Ernst & Young Annual Partners’ Meeting

(2018), Mary Kay Leadership Conference (2018), and Rotary International (2017).

During her time with the Albany (GA) Civic Center Complex, Rachel was the co-planner of the Albany Municipal Auditorium’s Centennial Celebration and the annual Mistletoe Market Arts & Crafts Show. A graduate of UGA Law School (Class of 2012) and Auburn University (Class of 2008), Rachel has a Continuing Education Certificate in Event Planning from Emory University and a certificate in Post-Crisis Hospitality Management from the University of South Florida Muma College of Business.

Additionally, Rachel is a registered mediator with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution. An active member of the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), Rachel serves on the Region 5 Board (Newsletter Editor) and the 2021 VenueConnect Program Committee. In 2019, she participated in IAVM’s Venue Management School.

Randi Mallori Adkins-Warren graduated from Spelman College in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Spanish Minor. In 2012, she obtained her Juris Doctor from Mercer’s Walter F. George School of Law. Randi is currently Corporate Transactions Senior Counsel at Aflac, where she provides strategic drafting, review, interpretation, advice and counsel to Aflac Inc. and its affiliates in various transactional matters. She is also the Chief Legal Advisor for Empowered Benefits, a technology company with 100 employees. Previously, she worked on the Internal Operations team and provided support to the Claims, Customer Service, and Policy Services departments. She drafted and revised policy language for Accident, Life, Specified Health, Cancer, and Hospital Indemnity products.

Randi returned to her love for ballet since 3 years, when she became an Adjunct Dance Instructor at Columbus State University’s Youth Dance Conservatory, where she teaches ballet to her students ages 9-12. Randi danced the role of Mrs. Stahlbaum in the Columbus Ballet’s Masked Nutcracker. Just recently, Randi started her company, The Graceful Pivot, LLC where she offers ballet to students ages 3-18 and to adults and pageant consulting.

Prior to joining Aflac, Randi was an associate at Hawkins Parnell Thackston & Young, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia where she worked for 4 years as a civil litigator in the Toxic Tort, Medical Malpractice, Nursing, and General Litigation practice groups. Randi later joined Taylor English Duma, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia where she worked in the Litigation Dispute Resolution practice group. Randi received numerous awards to include selection as The National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40, and just recently, her article Finding Your Happiness During a Pandemic, Social Unrest and Elections” was published in the The YLD Review for the State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division.

Randi is a member of New Birth Church in Columbus, GA. She is the GABWA Columbus Regional Vice President, and she serves as a host for GABWA’s “Legal Speaking” Show. Randi continues to be a servant leader through participating in impactful organizations that focus on empowering women. Some of Randi’s organizations include the Marietta Roswell Alumnae (MRAC) Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the State Bar of Georgia’s Committee to Promote Inclusion in the Profession, Association of Corporate

Counsel (ACC), American Bar Association, and a host of other organizations where she enhances the lives of young women through mentorship.

Gillian S. Crowl is a Senior Litigation Associate with Swift Currie McGhee & Hiers, LLP. She focuses her practice primarily in the areas of commercial litigation, trucking litigation, catastrophic injury, wrongful death, insurance coverage, premises liability, bad faith litigation, construction defect, ERISA and other life, health and disability matters. Gillian represents clients throughout Georgia and North Carolina. She also serves on the firm’s community service committee and oversees the firm’s annual food drive for the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

Gillian is very active within the legal community. In addition to her roles with the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (GABWA), she serves as the Chair of the Nominating Committee for the National Bar Association Women Lawyers Division (WLD), and previously served as the Deputy Director of Region XI of the National Bar Association. She also co-chairs the trucking section of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association. She is a member of the Lawyer’s Club of Atlanta, American Bar Association, Atlanta Bar Association, Defense Research Institute, and North Carolina State Bar Association. She also participates regularly in the community service and social justice ministries at Cascade United Methodist Church.

A transplant to Atlanta, Gillian was born in Jamaica and raised in The Bronx, New York. Gillian earned her undergraduate degree and Master of Public Administration from Cornell University and her law degree from Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

Kenya Johnson currently serves as the Chief Judge of the Probate Court of Fulton County. Prior to her historic win in June, 2020, she served as Chief Deputy Solicitor General and Chief Deputy District Attorney in Fulton County. Kenya is a veteran to GABWA’s Executive board, having co-hosted the ground- breaking legal talk show, “Legally Speaking” for several seasons where she worked to train lawyers in legal correspondence. Kenya is a frequent  contributor on CNN and CourtTV and she has earned national accolades for her youth crime prevention programming. Kenya will serve as Co-Director & Dean of President Rankin’s inaugural program, the ‘GABWA Fellowship Institute’ where she will use her talents to develop young lawyers through enriching internships. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha and the Links, Incorporated and resides in the new city of South Fulton.

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).

Olivia is a Georgia native and a graduate of Spelman College class of 2004 where she received a Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Science. She is also a 2007 graduate of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. Olivia has been practicing law for 13 years starting out in criminal law but transitioning into estate planning and elder law as the result of a personal family experience. She is the owner and partner of SR Law Group, a boutique law firm that focuses on Estate Planning and Elder Law in the black community. She is also the co-host of Black Parents Aging, a podcast that helps children of aging parents navigate the changing landscape.

Olivia is very active and engaged in her church and community from volunteering and assisting candidates running for office to mentoring young girls and women. Olivia enjoys reading, hiking and visiting State Parks, and traveling but the role that she cherishes most of all is auntie. She is on the board of Renewed Beginnings, a non-profit maternity home for teenage girls and is a member of Junior League of Douglas County.

Kristen E. Files is a partner at Smith & Files, LLC where she practices family law. She has experience in all areas of family law including divorce, maintenance and alimony, legitimation, paternity, domestic violence and protection orders, child custody and access, adoptions, name changes, and child support actions.

After earning her bachelor’s degree from Emory University, Kristen graduated from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, where she continues to serve as an alumni mentor for current students. She has been admitted to practice law in the state of Georgia since 2010 and is licensed to appear before the Supreme Court of Georgia and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Kristen began her career working for Atlanta’s Department of Housing and Urban Development, where she investigated cases of housing discrimination and worked to enforce civil rights laws and the Fair Housing Act. Thereafter, Kristen began representing families with a boutique family law firm in North Atlanta and has since been practicing family law exclusively for nearly a decade.

Currently, Kristen serves as secretary on the board of the Dekalb Bar Association’s Family Law Section, a board member for DeKalb Volunteer Lawyers Foundation and Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, as well as a Member at Large for the Family Law Executive Committee for the State Bar of Georgia. She also mentors law students through GABWA’s Women to Women program. Kristen is a member of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (GABWA) and DeKalb Lawyers Association. In 2016, she was named as a “Top 40 under 40” lawyer by the National Black Lawyers and Kristen has been named as a Super Lawyer® Rising Star every year from 2017 to present.

In 2019, Kristen graduated from the Georgia Bar Association’s YLD Leadership Academy and was recognized by the YLD with the award for “Outstanding Service to the Profession”.

Kristen is also co-host of the podcast. Untying the Knots, where she sits down with her partner Dawn Smith each week and tell their own stories of divorce, child custody, pain, growth, and change, all while incorporating much needed advice and wisdom (both professional and personal).

When she is not practicing law, Kristen enjoys spending time outdoors, hiking and biking with her daughter. She also enjoys practicing yoga and taking ballet and modern dance classes.

Ms. Willis serves as Corporate Counsel at Carter’s, Inc., the largest branded retailer of children’s clothing in North America. She provides legal support across all distribution centers and retail locations in the United States and also oversees compliance in the areas of privacy and cybersecurity.

Prior to joining Carter’s legal department, Ms. Willis spent close to 10 years as an employment defense litigator, garnering distinction on the National Black Lawer’s Top 100 list, and Super Lawyer’s “Rising Star” list for the past 6 consecutive years.

Ms. Willis obtained her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Princeton University and her juris doctorate from Emory University School of Law.  She is a native of Toronto, Canada. Outside of the legal arena, Ms. Willis enjoys sports, volunteering time at a local animal rescue, and serves on the board of Soccer in the Streets (a non-profit geared towards supporting disadvantaged youth in the metro Atlanta area).

Karen Kenner Scott attended the University of Georgia where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 2009. She received her Juris Doctor from the Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School in 2012. While pursuing her law degree with a focus in criminal law, Mrs. Scott received several awards such as being a foundation scholarship recipient for the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys Scholarship and the National Black Law Students Association Rodney Pulliam Scholarship. She received the Rising Star aware from the New Rock Legal Society as well as the Michael Hancock award from the DeKalb Lawyers Association. She was also a five time recipient for the Deans Award for outstanding community service.

Mrs. Scott has continued her career as a public servant as an Assistant Solicitor General in DeKalb County under the leadership of DeKalb County Solicitor General, Donna Coleman- Stribling. As a part of the Quality of Life Unit, Karen embodies the motto of the office by being a prosecutor who is victim-centered and community-oriented, who pursues justice and not just convictions and who offers solutions over problems. Prior to joining the DeKalb Solicitor General’s office, Mrs. Scott was an Assistant Solicitor General in Fulton County where she prosecuted jury trials. Before becoming a prosecutor, Mrs. Scott served as a conflict attorney for the Georgia Public Defenders Standards Council, representing indigent juveniles accused of delinquency and status offenses.

Mrs. Scott has always had a heart for serving her community and is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. She was selected for the Emerging Leader DeKalb Class of 2018 and is a member of the DeKalb County Junior League. She also serves as a board member of the non-profit More than Conquerors Incorporated.

Mrs. Scott is married to Roderick Scott and the proud mother to two amazing little girls.