ATLANTA - The Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (GABWA) presented Vice Chair Jacqueline Bunn with the Barbara A. Harris Award for Service to the Community at the organization’s 2021 Virtual Glitter Gala and Auction. The award recognizes a GABWA member who has been practicing at least ten years, and whose service to the community has had a significant impact on the social, political, and economic equality of minorities and women. Recipients must have contributed substantially to programs that provide community uplift and empowerment.

Bunn said, “Receiving this award for service to the community is a phenomenal honor. Early in my career I decided that I would not be driven by money but, instead, be driven by making a positive difference in my community. That’s what I’ve attempted to do over the course of twenty plus years as a state employee. Judge Harris was just an exceptional woman and a brilliant jurist. I’m thrilled to receive an award that’s been named in her honor.”

Vice Chair Bunn has been a GABWA member since 2003. During her acceptance speech she thanked her fellow GABWA members for the award and said, “I am so thankful that I have been able to focus and work toward helping people in the community. To everyone who nominated me for this award, thank you. To be recognized by you and be given this amazing honor in Judge Harris’ memory is truly something that will be memorable for the rest of my life.”

Ms. Bunn served as GABWA President in 2013 and served for many years as the host of GABWA's nationally award-winning television show "Legally Speaking." During her presidential year, GABWA received the prestigious President's Cup, the highest award given to a local bar association by the State Bar.

Her service to her community is reflected by her career. She has been an active member of the State Bar of Georgia for more than thirty years and is a member of the New Jersey Bar Association. In 2019, she received the Georgia Bar's Thomas R. Burnside, Jr. Excellence in Bar Leadership Award. She currently serves as a member of the Georgia Commission on Family Violence. She also serves as Chair of the Georgia Crime Victims Compensation Board.

She started her career with the state as an assistant attorney general with the Department of Law. Attorney Bunn handled hundreds of cases involving the Department of Corrections and the State Board of Pardons and Paroles in state and federal courts, from the trial level through the appellate process, including the United States Supreme Court. She also previously served as Deputy Director of Legal Services for the Department of Public Safety and as the Executive Director of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. 

Vice Chair Bunn was appointed to the State Board of Pardons and Paroles in 2016, receiving a full-term appointment later that year.

Jacqueline Bunn bio: https://pap.georgia.gov/board-members/jacqueline-bunn-esq

GABWA Founder Judge Barbara A. Harris was appointed as the first woman to serve as Chief Judge of Atlanta Municipal Court on June 18, 1992.

Read more about Judge Harris: https://www.gabwa.org/foundation/founders-awards/

Read more about GABWA: https://www.gabwa.org/

Learn more about the Georgia Parole Board at www.pap.georgia.gov.

For more information please contact Steve Hayes, Director of the Office of Communications, at 404-657-9450 or [email protected] and visit our website at www.pap.georgia.gov.

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