The president of the Northeast Georgia Latino Chamber of Commerce and a former Georgia Supreme Court justice are the featured speakers for Brenau University's GOLD Speaker Series in September.
The Women’s College will host Norma Hernandez on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 12:45 p.m. and Leah Ward Sears on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 12:30 p.m. Both events will be conducted online and both events are free to the public.
Hernandez has held her current position since June 2017, managing the strategic, fiscal and program goals for the Latino Chamber of Commerce. She chairs the Hall County COVID Task Force and is very involved in the community. Hernandez has served on many boards and with civic organizations in Gainesville, including the United Way, March of Dimes, Salvation Army and Gateway House.
"I take every opportunity to be able to encourage people to do better and to get out the leader in them," said Hernandez, who holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Institute Debe Y Haber of Accountants in her native Honduras. “I like to talk to women because we have a power that we sometimes think is just inside, and we need somebody to tell us that it’s there.”
Sears is a partner in the Business Litigation and Appellate Practice at Smith, Gambrell & Russell LLP in Atlanta. Before returning to private practice, she spent 17 years of service on the Georgia Supreme Court, including four years as chief justice.
She was the first woman and youngest justice to serve on the state’s Supreme Court, the first woman to serve as a superior court judge in Fulton County and the first woman to win a contested statewide election in Georgia. In 2005, she became the first African American woman to serve as chief justice of any state supreme court in the country.
“When you’ve had the kind of career that I’ve had, I think it’s good to try to talk to younger people to let them know how you made it and what you think they can do,” she said.
Sears received her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, a Juris Doctor from Emory University Law School and an LLM from the University of Virginia.
The speaker series is an ongoing component of The Women’s College’s GOLD Program, which in this “O” year focuses on ownership of personal responsibility and challenges students to participate in the democratic process. The first “G” year dedicated to gender awareness just wrapped up, and the ensuing “L” and “D” years will focus on leadership and diversity.
“Our focus this year is on civic engagement, community-based service and personal development, and these women are an inspiration in all those areas,” said Debra Dobkins, dean of The Women’s College.
Advance registration for both speeches at brenau.edu/gold-speaker is required to receive the Zoom links.
