JPOA - Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys

Judicial and Public Office Academy

In a continued effort to fulfill GABWA’s founding vision to increase Black female representation in the judiciary and other elected offices, in 2011, GABWA launched its Judicial and Public Office Academy (“JPOA”).

The JPOA is a non-partisan effort. The purpose of the JPOA is to provide participants with an understanding of the pre-planning that should occur now to position themselves as viable candidates in the future. The Academy’s broad goals are to support, educate, promote, and fuel the pipeline of well-prepared African-American female attorneys who desire to obtain public office.

In the JPOA, we specifically aim to:

promote awareness among GABWA members about opportunities to serve in judicial and public office;

arm GABWA members with the knowledge and resources needed to prepare and successfully compete for judicial and public office;

provide an opportunity to build relationships among potential candidates, office holders, and campaign professionals; and

strategize among potential candidates to maximize the positions that our members attain.

Each term of the Academy will be completed in consecutive weeks (on Wednesdays and Saturdays) lasting four to five weeks. Some of the class offerings include: fundraising, Campaigning 101, judicial appointments, and personal and professional considerations.

The Academy’s curriculum also includes a number of experiential opportunities in which students are encouraged to participate between formal sessions. Faculty who include current members of the judiciary, elected officials, and campaign, election and related professionals will lead each session.

The JPOA is open to GABWA members.

2024 JPOA Application

For more information on the dates and times of upcoming sessions, please contact: Co-Chairs Tameka Gibson and Hon. Maureen Wood at jpoa@gabwa.org.