On Sept. 27 Ronda Colvin-Leary was sworn in as a State Court Judge, making her the first Black person to ever be elected to any countywide position in Gwinnett County, GA.

Colvin-Leary is an attorney from Snellville, GA. She was elected to her historic new position back in May.

Colvin-Leary said after her election that she was looking forward to about serving in state court was the opportunity to deal with major legal issues before they could escalate.

“I love State Court because, for me, I like to think that … if you come to State Court we can try to address it before something else major happens and you wind up in Superior Court for a more serious offense,” Colvin-Leary said.

Previously, she was the solicitor for Winder, GA, owner of a law practice in Lawrenceville, Ga., for over a ten years. She has been a member of the Georgia bar since 2001.

Chantè Russell

Chanté Russell is a Howard University print journalism major from Raleigh, North Carolina. Her entire life has been shaped by her passion for writing, fashion and activism. Those passions have led her to create a blog entitled Be The Zeitgeist and serve as a staff writer for Howard’s student newspaper, The Hilltop. She has also written for Lady With Attitude and worked as a freelance journalist. Some of her biggest role models include Anna Wintour, Maya Angelou and her cousin, Dr. Jennifer Edwards, who inspired Chanté to attend Howard. After completing college, Chanté hopes to work as a fashion journalist and use her platform to combat cultural insensitivity within the fashion industry and improve the public perception of the industry.