A Dialog on the Legacy of Jean Childs Young
A Panel Discussion featuring:
Leah Ward Sears, Chief Justice, Georgia Supreme Court
Deborah J. Richardson, CEO, The Atlanta Women's Foundation
Alice Johnson, Director, Georgians for Gun Safety (not pictured)
Please join us for a panel discussion as we reflect on the legacy of Jean Childs Young and discuss public policy issues related to her interests.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
3:30 – 5:00 p.m. • Seminar Room 749
Andrew Young School of Policy Studies • 14 Marietta Street, NW, Atlanta, GA 30303
About Jean Childs Young
For more than three decades, Jean Childs Young was a champion of human rights and a leader in the fields of education and children’s welfare. She worked alongside her husband, Andrew Young, to create positive social change, and in 1979 she chaired the United Nations’ International Year of the Child.
This event is sponsored by the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies through the generous support of Dr. R. Charles Loudermilk ’07 (Honorary).
Leah Ward Sears Biography
Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears has achieved a distinguished position in Georgia’s history. She was the first black woman to serve as a superior court judge in Georgia when she was elected to the Superior Court of Fulton County bench in 1988, and the first woman and youngest person ever to serve on the Georgia Supreme Court when she was appointed by Governor Zell Miller in 1992. In retaining her appointed position as a Supreme Court Justice, Justice Sears became the first woman in Georgia to win a contested state-wide election. In July 2005, Justice Sears became the first woman to serve as the Chief Justice of the Court.
During her tenure, Chief Justice Sears has spearheaded two major initiatives: the Georgia Supreme Court’s Commission on Children, Marriage, and Family Law and the Committee on Civil Justice. The Commission on Children, Marriage, and Family Law was established to address the legal and administrative issues stemming from the increasing fragmentation of Georgia’s families, while the Committee on Civil Justice was established to develop, coordinate, and support policy initiatives to expand access to the courts for poor and vulnerable Georgians.
Chief Justice Sears received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University, her law degree from Emory University School of Law, and a master’s degree in appellate judicial process from the University of Virginia. Prior to joining the bench, Justice Sears was an attorney with the law firm of Alston & Bird.
Chief Justice Sears is the proud mother of Addison and Brennan, the wife of Haskell Sears Ward, and the daughter of Colonel Thomas E. Sears and Onnye Jean Sears.
Deborah J. Richardson Biography
Deborah Richardson is Chief Executive Officer of The Atlanta Women’s Foundation (AWF), the only public foundation in Georgia with a mission to promote positive social change on behalf of women and girls.
Deborah has a 30 year track record of nonprofit administration, fundraising and program development. Prior to her appointment as CEO, Deborah was the Vice President of Programs and Strategic Initiatives of AWF. Immediately before coming to The Atlanta Women’s Foundation, she was concurrently the Director of Program Development for Fulton County Juvenile Court and the founding Executive Director of the Juvenile Justice Fund. Her experiences also include serving as Executive Director of the National Black Arts Festival, Capitol Area Mosaic and the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA.
Deborah has been recognized over the years for her community service. Among the awards she’s received are The Community Leadership Award from the Spelman College Board of Trustees, A Woman of Excellence by Business to Business magazine, A Women of Influence by Commercial Real Estate Women, The Ember Award by Campfire USA, the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers, the Atlanta Business League 100 Black Women of Influence and the Liberty Bell Award by the Atlanta Bar Association. She has been recognized as one of 10 Outstanding Persons of Atlanta, and is an alumnus of Leadership Atlanta and the Regional Leadership Institute. She was also a recipient of a Harvard Business Club of Atlanta Executive Education Scholarship.
She currently serves on the City of Atlanta’s Mayor’s Women’s Agenda Advisory Council, and is a member of the Southeastern Network of African Americans in Philanthropy, the Program Committee of The Southeastern Council on Philanthropy, the Board of Directors of the Truancy Intervention Project, and Catholic Services USA’s National Advisory Council for Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation.
Deborah and Dr. Nancy Boxill co-authored "Ending Sex Trafficking of Children in Atlanta," published in the Summer 2007 issue of Affilia magazine. As a nationally recognized advocate for ending child sexual exploitation, Deborah has designed and implemented cutting-edge programs for girls victimized by commercial sexual exploitation, beginning with Angela’s House, the only safe house for sexually exploited girls in the Southeast.