UDC: “We Are Black History”

Joan P. Garner

UDC Alum Serves as Ga.’s Fulton County Commissioner

A native of Washington, DC, Joan P. Garner is making her mark in Georgia, serving her third term as Fulton County Commissioner. A graduate of the University of the District of Columbia, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. She later received a Master’s degree in Organizational Communication from Howard University.

Commissioner Garner represents District 4, which encompasses the heart of the City of Atlanta, Midtown, and neighborhoods west of downtown Atlanta to Fulton Industrial Boulevard. She made Atlanta her home in 1978.

She has been known for her work in the non-profit sector and for her extensive community service. Garner has served on boards including Atlanta Beltline Affordable Housing, Metropolitan Community Development Corporation, Council of Foundations, United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, Lambda Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and as Senior Advisor on Gay and Lesbian Issues under former Mayor Manyard Jackson.

As an entrepreneur, Commissioner Garner founded Garner Results, Inc., a consultancy that develops giving strategies and provides management support to the non-profit and philanthropic communities. She was previously president and CEO of the Historic District Development Corporation, a community-based, nonprofit organization that facilitates the preservation and revitalization of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic District and other historic and preservation communities.

She has served as executive director of the Southern Partners Fund, a community-based public foundation committed to equal rights. Garner has held the position of co-director of the National Network of Grant Makers, which supports social justice work; and as executive director of the Fund for Southern Communities, which fosters social change in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Garner is also the champion for the Fulton County “Let’s Move: Cities, Towns and Counties” initiative and was appointed to a 3-year term on Foreverfamily’s National Advisory Board.

For more information:

http://www.fultoncountyga.gov/fcbocd4