Stacey Abrams

Stacey Abrams
Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives
Assumed office
2011
Preceded by DuBose Porter
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the 89th district
Assumed office
2013
Preceded by Earnest Williams
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the 84th district
In office
2007–2013
Succeeded by Rahn Mayo
Personal details
Born (1973-12-09) December 9, 1973
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Alma mater Spelman College
University of Texas, Austin
Yale University
Website Official website

Stacey Y. Abrams (born December 9, 1973) is the House Minority Leader for the Georgia General Assembly and State Representative for the 89th House District. She is a member of the Democratic Party.[1]

Education

Abrams received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (Political Science, Economics and Sociology) from Spelman College, magna cum laude in 1995. She graduated from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin with a Masters of Public Affairs in public policy. Abrams received her J.D. from the Yale Law School.

Georgia General Assembly

Abrams is the first woman to lead either party in the Georgia General Assembly and is the first African-American to lead in the House of Representatives.[1] Representative Abrams represents House District 89, which includes portions of the City of Atlanta and unincorporated DeKalb County,[2] covering the communities of Candler Park, Cedar Grove, Columbia, Druid Hills, Edgewood, Highland Park, Kelley Lake, Kirkwood, Lake Claire, South DeKalb, Toney Valley and Tilson.[3] Abrams serves on the following committees: Appropriations, Ethics, Judiciary Non-Civil, Rules and Ways & Means.[1]

Abrams's first major action as Minority Leader was her cooperation with Republican Governor Nathan Deal's administration to reform the HOPE Scholarship Program. Abrams co-sponsored the 2011 legislation that preserved the HOPE program by decreasing the scholarship amount paid to Georgia students and funded a 1% low-interest loan program for students. [4] “My fundamental philosophy,” she says, “is that my first job is to cooperate and collaborate with the other side whenever I can.” [5] Abrams also led the legislative opposition to a proposed tax hike on Georgia residents. http://www.gpb.org/news/2011/03/31/state-tax-reform-plan-at-impasse

Business

Abrams co-founded and acts as Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of NOWaccount Network Corporation, a financial services firm.[6] She also co-founded Nourish, Inc., a beverage company with a focus on infants and toddlers.[7] She owns Sage Works, a legal consulting firm, that has represented clients including the Atlanta Dream WNBA team. Formerly, Abrams was Deputy City Attorney for the City of Atlanta, one of the youngest in Atlanta’s history. Prior to her tenure with the City of Atlanta, she was Special Tax Counsel at the Sutherland Asbill & Brennan law firm in Atlanta, with a focus on tax-exempt organizations, health care and public finance.

Writing

Abrams has published articles on issues of public policy, taxation and nonprofit organizations. Under the pen name Selena Montgomery, Abrams is the award-winning author of several romantic suspense novels. According to Abrams' website, her novels have sold more than 100,000 copies.[1] Selena Montgomery was the winner of both the Reviewer’s Choice Award and the Reader’s Favorite Award from Romance In Color for Best New Author, and was featured as a Rising Star.[8]

Awards and memberships

In 2012, Abrams received the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award from the Kennedy Library and Harvard University's Institute of Politics, which honors an elected official under 40 whose work demonstrates the impact of elective public service as a way to address public challenges.[9] In 2014, she was named a Public Official of the Year by Governing magazine, an award which recognizes state and local official for outstanding accomplishments.[10] Abrams has been recognized as one of “12 Rising Legislators to Watch” by Governing magazine in 2012 [11] and one of the “100 Most Influential Georgians” by Georgia Trend for 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.[12] EMILY's List recognized Abrams as the inaugural recipient of the Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award in 2014.[13] She was selected as an Aspen Rodel Fellow [14] and a Hunt-Kean Fellow.[15] She was also named as #11 on The Root 100.[16]

She was named Legislator of the Year by the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, as Public Servant of the Year by the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Outstanding Public Service by the Latin American Association, Champion for Georgia Cities by the Georgia Municipal Association, and as Legislator of the Year by the DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce. She received the Georgia Legislative Service Award from the Association County Commissioners Georgia, the Democratic Legislator of the Year from the Young Democrats of Georgia and Red Clay Democrats, and an Environmental Leader Award from the Georgia Conservation Voters. Abrams has received A ratings from the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and she has also been recognized as a Friend of Labor by the Georgia AFL-CIO. She was also Grand Champion for the Legislative Livestock Showdown at the Georgia State Fair in 2012, where she successfully showed a heifer.

Abrams is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Next Generation Fellow of the American Assembly at Columbia University on U.S. Global Policy and the Future of International Institutions, an American Marshall Memorial Fellow, an American Council of Young Political Leaders Fellow, a Council on Italy Fellow, a British-American Project Fellow, a Salzburg Seminar – Freeman Fellow on U.S.-East Asian Relations and a Salzburg Seminar Fellow on youth and civic engagement.

She is an alumna of the Leadership Georgia, Leadership Atlanta and the Regional Leadership Institute. She has received the Stevens Award for Outstanding Legal Contributions and the Elmer Staats Award for Public Service, both national honors presented by the Harry S. Truman Foundation. She is also a 1994 Harry S. Truman Scholar.

Abrams was inducted into the Academy of Women Achievers by the YWCA of Metro Atlanta and was chosen by Womenetics as a 2011 POW! Winner and by Atlanta Woman magazine as one of its “25 Power Women to Watch.” Other recognition includes Georgia Trend’s “40 Under 40” list, the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s “Top 50 Under 40” list, as well as recognition from the National Urban League, and as one of Georgia’s Rising Super Lawyers by Atlanta Magazine and Law & Politics Magazine. She was also named one of “30 Leaders of the Future” by Ebony Magazine.

Abrams currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Agnes Scott College, the Boards of Directors for Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, Atlanta Metropolitan State College Foundation, Gateway Center for the Homeless and the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, and the Advisory Boards for Literacy Action and Health Students Taking Action Together (HSTAT).

Background

Abrams is the daughter of the Reverend Carolyn and the Reverend Robert Abrams of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and she is the second of six children. Her siblings include Andrea Abrams, Leslie Abrams, Richard Abrams, Walter Abrams and Audrey Abrams.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 http://staceyabrams.com/content/bio
  2. ↑ http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/house/bios/abramsStacey/abramsStacey.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.staceyabrams.com/
  4. ↑ "House approves HOPE bill, but challenges in Senate loom". Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  5. ↑ "Stacey Abrams, Georgia". www.governing.com. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  6. ↑ http://www.nowaccount.com
  7. ↑ http://www.nourish-inc.com
  8. ↑ http://www.selenamontgomery.com/more/index.cfm?Fuseaction=more_48542&section=more_48542
  9. ↑ http://www.jfklibrary.org/Events-and-Awards/New-Frontier-Award/Recipients/Stacey-Abrams-2012.aspx
  10. ↑ http://www.governing.com/poy/poy-stacey-abrams.html
  11. ↑ http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-12-state-legislators-to-watch-in-2012.html
  12. ↑ http://www.georgiatrend.com/January-2015/100-Most-Influential-Georgians/
  13. ↑ http://www.emilyslist.org/news/entry/stacey-abrams-rising-star-award
  14. ↑ http://www.aspeninstitute.org/leadership-programs/aspen-institute-rodel-fellowships-public-leadership/rodel-fellows-class-2013
  15. ↑ http://www.hunt-institute.org/education-initiatives/hunt-kean-leadership-fellows/
  16. ↑ http://www.theroot.com/articles/lists/2014/09/the_root_100_2014/stacey_abrams.html


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