AWARDS & RECOGNITION

GJP's Select Awards

Pictured left to right: George Ray (Nelson Mullins), Senator Tonya Anderson, and Doug Ammar (Georgia Justice Project)
Pictured left to right: George Ray (Nelson Mullins), Senator Tonya Anderson, and Doug Ammar (Georgia Justice Project)

Leadership in Criminal Justice Reform Award, Georgia Legislative Black Caucus Doug Ammar (2022)

William B. Spann Jr. Pro Bono Award, State Bar of GeorgiaGJP (2019)

Power & Influence Top 50, Nonprofit Times – Doug Ammar (2019)

Recognition Award, Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice – GJP (2019)

Boldness Award, True Colors Theater Company – GJP (2019)

Champions of Justice, New Life Presbyterian Church – Doug Ammar (2019)

57th Annual Equal Opportunity Day Dinner Honoree, Urban League of Greater Atlanta – Doug Ammar (2018)

Dream Forward Award for Social Justice, The King Center – GJP (2018)

Selected for non-profit project, Leadership Atlanta – GJP (2016)

William B. Spann Jr. Award, Georgia State Bar – GJP’s Criminal Records Clinic (2016)

H. Sol Clark Award, Georgia State Bar – GJP Board Member and Volunteer Attorney Michele Young (2016)

Game Changer Recognition Award, Davidson College – Doug Ammar (2016)

Champion of State Criminal Justice Reform Award, National Association of Criminal Justice Lawyers – GJP Policy Director and Attorney Marissa Dodson (2015)

Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award, Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health and the Goizueta Business School – GJP (2013)

Elbert P. Tuttle Award, Anti-Defamation League – GJP (2011)

doug ammar gjp mlk award
GJP receives The King Center’s “Dream Forward Social Justice Award”

January 2018

Georgia Justice Project was honored to receive the Dream Forward Social Justice Award at The King Center’s second annual Dream Forward Community Service Awards on January 9, 2018. This recognition is given yearly to those who have demonstrated an outstanding impact in the community they serve as well as the work they do in helping to advance The King Center’s mission to carry Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King’s work of nonviolent social change. GJP was honored for their commitment to help hundreds of people through representation and support in the criminal justice system, as well their determination to provide a voice to the voiceless.

Doug Ammar – Davidson College 2016 Game Changer

December, 2016

GJP’s Executive Director, Doug Ammar, was chosen as one of Davidson’s Game Changers. Doug received his undergraduate degree from Davidson College in 1984, and Davidson and GJP have worked together on several projects over the years. Davidson’s Game Changers, by definition, would be someone who questions the status quo and pushes themselves and others to achieve more than they thought possible. Doug is being honored because of his selfless work with GJP, changing the game through policy work and for his all-around passion for equality and fair treatment of individuals in the judicial system.

State Bar of Georgia Recognizes Michele Young and GJP’s Criminal Records Clinic

October, 2016

On Thursday, October 27, the State Bar of Georgia awarded one of GJP’s volunteers, Michele Young, as a 2016 recipient of the H. Sol. Clark Pro Bono Award. Michele was honored for her professionalism and commitment to the delivery of pro bono civil legal services to the marginalized and underserved through her work on criminal record restriction. Michele has volunteered with GJP for two years, and brought expertise, insight and depth to our work on criminal records.

Georgia Justice Project Criminal Records Clinic was also awarded the William B. Spann Jr. Award. GJP’s Criminal Records Clinic was honored for our work on criminal records restrictions, our commitment to providing high quality, innovative legal services for the poor and marginalized as well as our support of pro bono publico and dedication to professionalism.

Marissa McCall Dodson named in Daily Report’s “On the Rise”

September, 2015

Congrats to GJP’s Policy Director and Attorney, Marissa McCall Dodson, on being named in the Daily Report’s “On the Rise 2015”.  Read the full article here as she discusses the progress of criminal justice reform in Georgia.

marissa mcall dodson criminal justice reform georgia
GJP Policy Director to be Awarded “Champion of State Criminal Justice Reform Award” by National’s Criminal Defense Bar

July, 2015

Marissa McCall Dodson, GJP’s Policy Director and Attorney was honored on July 24, 2015 with the National Association of Criminal Justice Lawyers’ (NACDL) Champion of State Criminal Justice Reform Award at NACDL’s 14th Annual State Criminal Justice Network conference in Denver, Colorado. The Champion of State Criminal Justice Reform Award recognizes an individual or group who has made exceptional efforts advocating for progressive reform of a state’s criminal justice system. Marissa received this award in large part because of her tireless efforts to lobby the Georgia General Assembly to reform its reentry policies, specifically the overhaul of the state’s record restriction (expungement) law, the elimination of the automatic suspension of driver’s licenses for certain drug convictions, the protection of employers sued for negligent hiring or retention because of an employee’s criminal background, and the requirement that anyone facing criminal charges be informed of their eligibility for the state’s First Offender Act.

Bondurant Mixson & Elmore receives GJP Grass Roots Justice Award

July, 2013

Congratulations to Bondurant Mixson & Elmore for receiving a GJP Grass Roots Justice Award for winning the 2012-2013 Lawyer to Lawyer Campaign Challenge. The award was presented to H. Lamar “Mickey” Mixson at GJP’s Open House on July 24, 2013.

Congrats to GJP’s Board Member, Janine Brown of Alston & Bird

May, 2013

Congratulations to GJP’s Board member, Janine Brown on being recognized as one of the 2013 Academy of Women Achievers at YWCA’s Salute to Women of Achievement Luncheon on May 22, 2013. Ms. Brown received such an honor for her contributions to empowering girls and women in the Atlanta Community. The YWCA of Greater Atlanta provides effective programs to empower Atlanta’s women and girls through education, housing and wellness. We are so proud to have Janine Brown be a part of GJP’s Board of Directors and we are so grateful for her service.

GJP to Honor Two Volunteers at the Community Conversation

May, 2013

Since our inception in 1986, volunteers have played an integral role in Georgia Justice Project’s ability to serve our clients. GJP would like to recognize two of our longstanding volunteers, Mrs. Lisa Banes and Ms. Kenyetta “KeKe” Wilson at our Community Conversation on May 14th, 2013 at the GJP office. Both of these ladies have been invaluable ambassadors for our organization in very unique ways. Each of their stories demonstrates the impact an individual can make in the normal course of their life when they are committed to a cause.

GJP Receives MLK Community Service Award

February, 2013

The Georgia Justice Project has been selected to receive the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health and the Goizueta Business School. Other organizations receiving this award are: East Lake Foundation, Feminist Women’s Health Center, Institute for the Study of Disadvantage and Disability, Our House Inc., Project Grad, Furniture Bank of Atlanta, Men Stopping Violence, and Bobby Dodd Institute.

GJP Volunteers Given St. Thomas More Society Award

October, 2012

Georgia Justice Project is so proud of its association with H. Lane Dennard, Esq. King & Spalding, LLP (Retired) and Patrick C. DiCarlo, Esq. Alston & Bird, LLP who were honored yesterday at the Annual Red Mass hosted by Atlanta’s St. Thomas More Society. The St. Thomas More Award is presented annually to one or more judges, lawyers, or member of the public to recognize specific actions manifesting a commitment to justice and humanity, especially in difficult circumstances. 

GJP’s Marissa McCall Dodson Recieves State Bar of Georgia, YLD Commitment to Justice Award

June, 2012

Congratulations to GJP’s staff attorney, Marissa McCall Dodson, recipient of the 2012 State Bar of Georgia, Younger Lawyer Division’s Commitment to Justice Award. The highlight of Marissa’s nomination was her extraordinary work on the record restriction/expungement bill.  It is through her work that GJP was able to change Georgia’s expungement statute.

forces for good six practices of high impact nonprofits
Georgia Justice Project is a Force for Good

June, 2012

GJP is featured in the latest edition of Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits. First published in 2007, Forces for Good describes six unique, counterintuitive practices of nonprofit organizations that have achieved extraordinary results for the causes they champion. Authors Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant employed a rigorous research methodology to determine “what makes great nonprofits great?”  From Habitat for Humanity to Environmental Defense Fund to Feeding America–and now the Georgia Justice Project–these high-impact nonprofits affirm the viability of six basic practices for scaling social impact. The updated and revised edition of Forces for Good was published May 7, 2012, and is available at major booksellers such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

GABWA Recognizes GJP Attorney Deborah Poole

July, 2011

On Saturday, July 23rd, The Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (GABWA) presented GJP’s attorney, Deborah Poole, with the Barbara A. Harris Award for Service to the Community at the GABWA Founders Awards. Founded in 2006, the GABWA Founders Awards recognized members, community leaders, and organizations who strive to achieve social, political and economic equality for Black people; advocate for positive change on behalf of Black Women and Children; and advocate for the inclusion of Black Women regarding laws and policies affecting Black people. Congratulations Deborah!

Anti-Defamation League Honors Doug Ammar with the Elbert P. Tuttle Award

February, 2011

ADL presented its prestigious jurisprudence awards to three Atlanta attorneys whose careers embody the ADL mission of working to secure justice and fair treatment for all. Attorneys Doug Ammar, Steve Clay, and Haley Schwartz were recognized for their commitment to Social Justice.  Read more...

GJP Receives the R.E. Thomas Civil Rights Award

February, 2011

The Gate City Bar Association presented GJP with the R.E. Thomas Civil Rights Award at the Black History Month Program on February 22, 2011. Other recipients of the night were Martin L Ellin who received the R. Pruden Herndon Service Award, Jeffrey E. Tompkins who received the A.T. Walden Outstanding Lawyer Award, and Marian Cover Dockery who received the Presidential Award. The Gate City Bar Association is the oldest African Amerian Bar Association was organized by the ten African American lawyers to provide the educational, social and community involvement of a professional association for African American lawyers, who had been excluded from participating in the segregated bar associations in Atlanta and throughout the State.

GJP Awarded $200,000 Neighborhood Builder Grant

October, 2010

Georgia Justice Project and Atlanta Victim Assistance were named the two 2010 Metro Atlanta Neighborhood Builders®. Each nonprofit will receive $200,000 in unrestricted grant funding and participate in Bank of America’s Neighborhood Excellence Leadership Program® with other nonprofit leaders from 44 communities across the country and from London. The initiative continues to help hundreds of the nation’s most impactful nonprofits improve their long-term viability and bolster leadership strength, retain and hire new staff, and extend the depth and reach of their services—capabilities that are integral to community revitalization and critical in the current economy when nonprofit funding is down and demand for services is up.

Georgia Justice Project Receives $150,000 Grant from Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation

August, 2010

Georgia Justice Project received a 2-year, $150,000 grant from the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation for support of its Coming Home Program. The gift will support our efforts to raise awareness among various stakeholder groups of the collateral consequences of an arrest or conviction in Georgia. In addition, the gift will provide support to GJP as we work for smart legislative changes that can impact the millions of people with a criminal record in Georgia who are trying to get on with their lives.

Defender of Justice Deborah Poole receives 2007 Civil Rights Activist Award

February, 2008

Senior Attorney for Georgia Justice Project Deborah Poole received the 2007 R. E. Thomas Civil Rights Award, at the Atlanta Bar Association headquarters in February, 2008. GJP is a nationally recognized innovative non-profit that provides legal representation coupled with comprehensive social services to ensure justice for poor individuals criminally accused in Atlanta, Georgia.

GJP Wins Community Service Award

April, 2007

The Georgia Justice Project was selected as the 2007 recipient of the Carl V. Patton President’s Award for Community Service and Social Action for best community partner. GJP received this award for the partnership it has forged with the internship programs of the Georgia State’s Law School, Department of Criminal Justice, School of Social Work and relationship with the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.

Doug Ammar Honored with Evelyn G. Ullman Innovative Leadership Award

June, 2006

Georgia Justice Project is pleased to announce that Executive Director Doug Ammar is the 2006 recipient of the Evelyn G. Ullman Innovative Leadership Award. This award is presented annually by the Georgia Center for Nonprofits to individuals who exemplify “outstanding leadership in addressing a community issue.”

Annie E. Casey Foundation Honors Georgia Justice Project

May, 2006

The Georgia Justice Project is honored to be selected as an Honoree by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in its 2006 Families Count: The National Honors Program. GJP is one of three organizations in the country to receive the Award this year.

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