Susan trying out the bench with godmother

Susan Washington …public servant, community volunteer, novelist, dance troupe founder, skydiver, mentor and outside of that your average working wife and mother.

Susan founded a dance troupe named AWT (for Always Wanted To Dance ) for women over 40 of all sizes and sensibilities who’ve always wanted to dance. These ladies rock boardrooms, classrooms and courtrooms during the day, and move to the grooves of hip hop and jazz at night.

This judge is not your average public servant. Her zeal and zest for life belies her infamous judicial stare. It makes you wonder sometimes just what exactly is she thinking? She’s revealed some of those thoughts in her newly released debut novel, Misjudged. She’s begun the sequel entitled Matters of a Mama’s Heart, is working on a children’s book which explores how a child copes with a parent living with MS and also has a national weekly newspaper column appearing in the Atlanta Daily World and Pasadena Journal entitled Power and Grace: Can a Sister Judge Get a Witness?

Susan with mother, a retired primary school educator

Susan has almost twenty-five years of judicial service, as a guest Supreme Court Justice and a trial judge. She has taught judges locally, statewide, nationally and abroad.  She will present Misjudged this spring as part of a Georgia Immersion in Humanities judicial seminar. Judge Susan is a much sought after motivational speaker at professional conferences, churches and before civic groups.

She has served as a member on the Georgia Commission on Family Violence, the Georgia Commission on Child Support and served as Chair of the Georgia’s Supreme Court Commission on Continuing Lawyer Competency. In addition to serving as President of the Atlanta Legal Aid Society and Camp Fire USA Georgia Council, this busy woman has served in leadership capacities on the boards of the Legal Clinic for the Homeless, Buckhead Cascade City Chapter of Links, Incorporated, National Conference of Christians and Jews and the YWCA.

Her numerous awards include the Peace and Justice Service Award which she received from the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change,  being recognized as one of Georgia’ s Most Influential Women (Top 50), induction into the Alumni Hall of Fame of John Muir High School, the YWCA of Greater Atlanta Academy of Women Achievers  and Classes of Leadership Atlanta and Outstanding Atlantans.  At the beginning of her impressive career, Ebony Magazine recognized her as one of its 30 Future Leaders Under 30.

	Susan rehearsing her future judicial stare with father, a retired LAPD narcotics detective

Susan  has served as a “Judicial Expert” on the Montel Williams Show, helped create the Atlanta cable television show, Legally Speaking,  has appeared as WSB Channel 2’s Noonday Show “Legal Expert,” and has shared her tips for mental well-being in Real Simple magazine (January 2007 issue).

She and her husband live in Atlanta. They enjoy spending time with their four grown children. Susan also is very involved with her church, First Congregational Church UCC, as the Chair of its Building Renovation Committee and a faithful member of the First Church Handbell Ensemble.  When not working or writing or rehearsing with AWT, this adventuresome lady is learning to play golf, loves to ski and cycle and enjoys traveling with her family.