In addition to her role with Georgia Watch, Liz recently accepted an appointment to the Consumer Advisory Board of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Liz also is vice chair of the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative board of directors and is board chairman of the Historic Fourth Ward Park Conservancy and the BeltLine Network, an alliance of organizations working to support the BeltLine vision. Additionally, Liz was the citizen representative on the board of directors of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. from September 2006 to August 2009. Liz has more than 25 years of experience as a non-profit manager, communications professional and grassroots advocate. She received a B.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of Virginia.

Natasha has always had a passion for advocacy. She discovered that she could turn her passion into a career while pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at Georgia State University (GSU). After graduating Summa Cum Laude, Natasha continued to advance on her academic path by pursuing a master’s degree in Gerontology at the GSU Gerontology Institute. While in the program, she was chosen to work as a fully funded research assistant with the Convoys of Care study, focusing on how to support informal care networks in assisted living communities in ways that promoted residents’ ability to age in place with optimal resident, and informal and formal caregiver quality of life. She also received the Fulton County Gerontology Award and graduated with honors. Throughout her college career, Natasha expressed a strong desire to work in the fields of public policy and advocacy to help improve the quality of life for marginalized populations across the state.

After graduation, Natasha served as Deputy Director of the Georgia Council on Aging where she was successful in helping to lobby for many changes at the State legislature including quality-of-care improvements in Personal Care Homes and Nursing Homes, funding for a Behavioral Health Coach project in Tifton and Albany, Disaster Planning Equity for Senior Care Providers, and increased funding for Home and Community Based Services. In addition to her vast academic knowledge base, Natasha brings over 15 years of management, event planning, and consumer relations experience to her position.

Sarah’s passion for fairness and equity was sparked by the opportunity civil rights leader Dr. Bernard Lafayette provided when he granted her a scholarship to study at the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth, and Reconciliation to become a certified trainer in Kingian Nonviolence. This experience directed her toward Georgia State University where she graduated with honors with degrees in Political Science and Public Policy. To deepen her education in public policy and policy research, she pursued a Master of Public Administration at the GSU Andrew Young School of Policy Studies with a concentration in Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation.

In addition, she worked at the Georgia State Capitol conducting policy research for new legislation and analyzing each bill’s impact, developing reports on pending legislation, tracking legislative priorities, and working with members of the media. With a love of policy research and a passion for educating Georgians about how they can protect their quality of life and their wallets, Sarah knows she has found her professional home at Georgia Watch.