Celebrating the contributions of notable women in Atlanta’s history

As part of Women’s History Month, a reflection on the contributions of significant women in Atlanta:

Shirley Franklin

The 58th mayor of Atlanta, Shirley Franklin was the first woman to hold the post and the first African American woman to be elected mayor of a major Southern city. Mayor Franklin served the city for two terms, from 2002–2010. While in office, she focused on repairing the Atlanta sewer system and making the city more “green.” In 2005, TIME Magazine named Franklin one of the five best big-city American mayors. In October of that same year, she was included in the U.S. News & World Report “Best Leaders of 2005” issue. Mayor Franklin was the recipient of Profile in Courage Award in 2005, issued by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. The foundation praised her management of the city of Atlanta during the critical period of enormous deficit and loss of public confidence in government. In 2007, she received an honorary degree in Doctor of Humane Letters from Oglethorpe University. Originally from Philadelphia, she is a graduate of the Philadelphia High School for Girls. Franklin received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Howard University and her master’s degree, also in sociology, from the University of Pennsylvania.

Cathy Woolard

Cathy Woolard was the first woman to serve as Atlanta City Council president. She held the office from 2002–2004. She was also the first openly gay elected official in Georgia history when she began her term as the Atlanta City Council member for District 6.

While a Council member, Woolard pushed for more pedestrian-friendly zoning, and she won increased funding for sidewalks. She also chaired the city’s Transportation Committee and oversaw an expansion of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. In 2000, Woolard led her colleagues on the Council to pass a local ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, the first such ordinance in Georgia.

In 2001, Woolard was elected City Council president. Working closely with Mayor Shirley Franklin and urbanist Ryan Gravel, Woolard championed the Atlanta BeltLine. She also made sustainability a priority, creating the City’s first-ever energy policy, which saved taxpayers more than $470,000, and founded the “Dirty Dozen,” a pilot program to fix the worst code violations in the city.

Carolyn Long Banks

Carolyn Banks is a fourth generation Atlantan and a known political and civil rights leader in Atlanta. She graduated from Henry McNeil Turner High School, Clark College and Georgia State University. She was one of the organizers of the Atlanta Student Movement and was the first African American woman to serve on the Atlanta City Council. She served the city from 1980 to 1997.

Melody Maddox

Melody Maddox is the first African American female sheriff for DeKalb County. Her 20 plus-year career in law enforcements includes experience working with the City of Atlanta and DeKalb County Police Departments and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Maddox earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Morris Brown College, aMaster of Science degree in general administration from Central Michigan University, and a master’s degree in African-American ministries from the Newburgh Theological Seminary/Newburgh College of the Bible. She is a graduate of J. E. Brown High School. A tireless community service advocate, Sheriff Maddox is a 2017 graduate of Leadership DeKalb and CEO of Woman 2 Woman Personal Awareness and Safety Training.

Lisa Borders

Lisa Borders served as the Atlanta City Council president from 2004–2010. She is also the former president of the Women’s National Basketball Association, or WNBA, and chief executive officer of Time’s Up. She was a candidate for mayor in 2009.

She is the granddaughter of civil rights leader Rev. William Holmes Borders, pastor of Atlanta’s Wheat Street Baptist Church.

Borders obtained a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a Master of Science in health administration from the University of Colorado.

Borders was the vice president of global community affairs at The Coca-Cola Company before becoming the fourth president of the WNBA on Feb. 10, 2016. As president, she established live streaming games on Twitter and launched the WNBA’s one-day fantasy game. In 2017, the league recorded its highest attendance rate, and the season was its most watched in four years.