The 50 Most Influential Women In Georgia

The fifty women who, in the opinion of the Georgia Informer, are the Most Influential Women in Georgia for the year 2006 are listed on this page.  This list resulted from informal polling across Georgia to receive nominations and a meeting of the staff in which the merits of the numerous nominees were discussed.

During deliberations, the staff had in mind these criteria: Does the individual’s position command widespread influence among the black people of this state?  Does the individual’s decision-making activities affect the thinking, actions, and lives of large segments of the state’s population?  Does the individual head an organization that greatly influences people statewide or whose members are traditionally influential in their communities?  Is the individual significantly influential among those or others who hold positions in which their policies directly affect the lives of large numbers of people? 

We believe that every woman on the list meets these criteria, however we welcome your comments and any suggestions.

1) Cynthia McKinney – Congresswoman

2) Paula S. Wallace – President of the Savannah College of Art and Design

3) Kathy Cox – State Superintendent of Schools

4) Debra Bernes – Judge / Court of Appeals

5) Dr. Julie Gerberding – Director of the Center of Disease Control

6) Shirley Franklin – Mayor of the city of Atlanta

7) Leah Sears – Chief Justice / Georgia Supreme Court

8) Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum – President of Spellman College

9) M. Yvette Miller – Judge – Court of appeals

10)   Evelyn Lowery – President of Women SCLC

11)   Cathy Cox – Secretary of State

12)   Gwen Keyes – District Attorney / Dekalb County

13)   Barbara King – Pastor of Hillside Chapel & Truth Center

14)   Anne Elizabeth Barnes – Judge / Court of Appeals

15)   Jacquelyn M. Belcher – President of Georgia Perimeter College

16)   Betty Siegel – President of Kennesaw State University

17)   Elaine Lucas – Macon City Council

18)   Juanita Jordan – Executive Director of Payton Anderson Foundation

19)   Monica Kaufman – WSB TV Anchor

20)   Lisa Borders – City Council President – Atlanta

21)   Anita Ponder – City Council President – Macon

22)   Renee Lewis Glover – Executive Director for Atlanta Housing

23)   Karen Handel – Fulton County Chairperson

24)   Dorothy Leland – President of Georgia College & State University

25)   Regina Thomas – State Senator

26)   Allison Wall – Executive Director / Georgia Watch

27)   Cynthia Tucker – Editorial page Editor-Atlanta Journal Constitution

28)   Rita Samuels – Executive Dir. / Ga. Coalition of Black Women

29)   Paula Rosput-Reynolds – Chairman, President and CEO, AGL Resources, Inc.

30)   Pearl Cleage – Novelist, Playwright

31)   Able Mable Thomas – State Representative

32)   Sally Bethea – Exec. Dir. Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper

33)   Dr. Shirley A.R. Lewis – President of Payne College

34)   Dr. Betty J Tolbert – Founder and Principal of Progressive Christian Academy

35)   Ruth Austin Knox – President of Wesleyan College

36)   Xernona Clayton – Exec. Producer of the TRUMPET AWARDS

37)   Carol W. Hunstein – Judge / Georgia Supreme Court

38)   Kit Dunlap – President and CEO, Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce, Gainesville, GA

39)   Dr. Beverly Hall – Superintendent of Atlanta Schools

40)   Alicia Phillip – Pres. Of Community foundation for Greater Atlanta

41)   Nancy A. Boxill – Fulton County Commissioner

42)   Gloria Butler – State Senator

43)   Tina McElroy Ansa – Novelist, Filmmaker & Teacher

44)   Juanita Baranco – Exec. Vice President & Co-owner of the Baranco Automotive Group

45)   Regins McDuffie – City of Macon C.A.O.

46)   Emma Darnell – Fulton County Commissioner

47)   Annie Hunt Burriss – Exec. Dir. Of Commission for a New Georgia

48)   Veronica Biggins – Senior Partner / Heidrick & Struggles

49)   Margaret R. DeFrancisco – President and CEO / Georgia Lottery Commission