by Clarence Thomas, Jr.
MGI Contributor
thomasjr63@gmail.com
Bibb County Superior Court Clerk Erica L. Woodford continues to impress. Her recent designation as a 2025 Georgia TRIO Achiever is proof positive.
According to a press release from her office, Woodford was officially honored at the TRIO Achievers’ Recognition Award Ceremony on April 14 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The event highlighted the power of education, mentorship, and perseverance in shaping lives and communities.
Georgia TRIO is a dedicated network of professionals working to provide critical educational opportunities and support services to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Through programs like Educational Talent Search, Upward Bound, and Student Support Services, Georgia TRIO empowers students to achieve academic success, gain access to higher education, and build meaningful careers.
TRIO recognized Woodford’s remarkable journey, resilience, and unwavering dedication to excellence. The recognition is described as a prestigious honor celebrating the civil servant’s incredible impact on her career, community, and the lives of so many others.
Woodford says she’s deeply honored to receive this recognition from Georgia TRIO. “The support I received from ETS was life-changing, and I am committed to paying it forward by advocating for access, equity, and opportunity in both education and the justice system,” she added. “I will continue the cycle of service. I’m here now to inspire other future achievers and help TRIO participants in the way this program helped me.”
The Macon native and product of Bibb County Public Schools mirrors what TRIO is all about. Her ascent to her current position has roots in TRIO. Being in it set her on a course that would eventually land her in the first graduating class of Mercer’s AmeriCorps Volunteers as a teen; getting a bachelor’s degrees from Mercer University and a law degree from Cumberland School of Law of Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama; working in a public office in Kentucky; and returning to Macon in 2001 to open her own law office.
During the early years of practice in Macon, she also worked as a court-appointed attorney, representing indigent clients to give back to her community. Cases she presided over included murder, rape, drugs, and arm robbery. “I didn’t have to take them, but I wanted them,” she shared. “I represented people who couldn’t afford otherwise to hire an attorney. But I represented them like they had the highest-paid attorney.”
Since then, Woodford has served as the youngest person appointed as a Civil and Magistrate Court judge. In 2012, she ran successfully for Bibb County Superior Court Clerk. Woodford was re-elected again in 2016. 2020, and 2024.
In a conversation with her, she shared her journey beginning in childhood, revealing that her mom wanted her to go to college. Woodford unexpectedly became a teen mom in the eleventh grade – an event that some might consider an impediment. But a neighbor encouraged her to keep her chin up and use her situation as a steppingstone inside of a stumbling block. She heeded that neighbor’s advice and her mother’s continued desire for her to attend college and proceeded while pregnant.
Woodford credits her “village” for her success as well. They include various teachers and Shurling Library. “My mom made me join that library’s summer reading program each year. That was a foundational move by her. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had an appreciation for all the successful African Americans that influenced me.”
A portion of that appreciation can be found now in “The Enslaved People’s Project.” The clerk’s office and Mercer University produced an exhibit of historical records of slave auctions, bills of sales, and related references around Macon’s participation in the slave trade Woodford inadvertently discovered at the county courthouse in recent years.
