Patrise Perkins-Hooker 84B 84L is no stranger to tearing down walls. While pursuing her MBA at Emory, she realized a pressing need for corporate lawyers capable of advocating for struggling black businesses in her community. That same year, she earned her J.D. from Emory School of Law and stepped up to fill the void.

She’s been busy in her role as vice president and general counsel of Beltline Inc. planning new parks and transit lines across the city. A state juvenile justice fund designed to aid sexually exploited young women now exists thanks to her efforts. And, on Jun. 4 she became the first African American to ever be sworn in as an officer of the Georgia State Bar during its 48-year existence. The Georgia Bar Association (which the Georgia State Bar replaced) also never installed an African American officer since its foundation in 1883. In addition to transcending the racial barrier, Perkins-Hooker is only the third woman to ever serve in an officer position.

“There is an assumption in this day that there are no more firsts on issues of race, but there are”, Perkins-Hooker said during a recent interview with the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “It’s important to me that I’m the first African American in that job because it helps other people of color envision being in leadership roles”.

Joining her as newly appointed officers are fellow Emory School of Law alumni Kenneth L. Shigley 77L, Robin Frazer Clark 88L, and Charles “Buck” Ruffin 80L as president, president-elect, and treasurer respectively. Clark also makes history as the second woman to ever be president of the organization.

- Elizabeth Speyer 14C, communications intern, EAA

Photo credit: www.patriseperkins-hooker.com

Welcome to Atlanta (no, I'm not about to quote Ludacris)--where driving somewhere that is five minutes away takes half an hour (or more). Where all 12 lanes on I-85 are somehow in a complete standstill no matter what time of day. Where we say things like "I guess I'll work an extra two hours tonight because I don't want to sit in traffic."

If you're from Atlanta, you can definitely relate to this. Especially if you work at Emory.

As we all know, summer has come to a close, meaning it's time to go back to school. Yes, this is a good thing, but not so much for the traffic. The roads are full of moms in minivans packed with kids going to school, teenagers eating Pop-Tarts as they head to high school, teachers, commuting college students, grad students, AND those of us who are going to work.

Has anyone noticed there are TWICE as many cars on the road today than there were a week ago? Particularly on the roads around Emory. Crazy.

Once I finally got into work this morning, I walked from office to office in the Miller-Ward Alumni House (MWAH) to discuss traffic in the area. I noticed that a majority of my colleagues were the most frustrated about Houston Mill Road. One would think driving on a tucked away, quaint, two-lane road would be pleasant--but not between the hours of 7:00-9:00 a.m.

The photo above is what most of Emory's employees have to wait in to get to work (including myself). There are times where I have actually said out loud "I am SO close (because I can see the Emory bridge and the turn into MWAH) yet SO far away" (since I'm completely stopped in bumper-to-bumper traffic ... and I'm not adventurous or rebellious enough to hop in the opposite lane to get to work faster).

Clifton Road can be rough, too. It's an extremely busy road packed full of people who have places to go and there are important buildings such as Emory Law School and the Rollins School of Public Health which are constantly bustling. It's like an obstacle course--cars must constantly dodge buses and pedestrians and wait at long red lights.

Construction on the North Decatur Road roundabout began this week too. It'll be wonderful when it's finished. Next year. Ugh.

OK ... so let's switch to a more positive note. How can we solve this traffic issue? Unfortunately, there is nothing I can say that will magically fix this problem (I wish), but there are ways we can make the grueling drives to and from Emory a little bit better.

Jennifer Crabb 98Ox 00C, director EAA initiatives/technology, rides with her mother to and from work every day. Even though she gets stuck in gridlock traffic like the rest of us, she has company. Maybe carpooling with someone who lives near you will help the commute go by a little faster and make it more enjoyable.

We all know that the buses that constantly stop on the sides of Clifton road tend to hold up traffic. You've probably experienced road rage or possibly yelled out an explitive or two after slamming on the breaks behind a stopped bus.

Maybe we should look at this as a sign, since Emory is a pro-bus/pro-sustainability university. If more of us ride buses, the less cars on the road (and pollution in the air)! Our stress levels will decrease (which leads to less gray hairs and wrinkles ... always a good thing) as well as our commute times.

Or maybe the idea of creating rockin' playlists, purchasing albums/Emory podcasts on iTunes or listening to books on tape doesn't sound like such a bad idea.

I'll see you guys on I-85 during rush hour this afternoon! Can't wait! (Can we sense the sarcasm?)

--Farah Shackelford, communications intern, EAA

Saturday morning, September 26, I experienced a half century of Greek life for women at Emory, when I attended the “Fifty Years of Sorority Life” panel presentation during Emory Homecoming Weekend 2009. I was impressed with the open and candid panel presentation and the lively discussion on topics ranging from life for Emory’s first women students, to the impact of civil rights, campus protests, race relations on campus, and female empowerment.

Jody Usher 86G, 89PhD, co-director of the Transforming Community Project, moderated the panel, which included a wide array of alumnae, each of whom offered a distinct perspective on her time here.

Jaye Johnson Smith 59C came to Emory in 1955. Back then, clubs were being organized, largely by transfer students who were given scholarships by their national chapters of Greek organizations, to get “colonies” established at Emory. At the beginning of the school year, virtually all the women were eager to attend rush parties and join these clubs—they were among the few social outlets for women at the time. Anyone who wanted to join one of the clubs was able to do so. Four years later, in 1959, Emory would hold a mass chartering ceremony for the nine new Greek sororities. Greek life for women had officially arrived.

Julianne Daffin 60C talked about starting college at Sullins College in Virginia where the strict curfews, bed checks, and women-only environment soon stifled her and encouraged her transfer to Emory. A bit of a non-conformist, Daffin chaffed at the semi-conformity of Greek life, but after her graduation, she eventually returned to Emory as a staff member and went on to become Emory’s last Dean of Women. She retired just a few years ago.

Bonnie Rubenstein Wunsch 83B attended Emory in the 1980’s, during a time she describes as a “complacent period.” An engaged and active member of Alpha Epsilon Phi, a Jewish sorority, Wunsch talked about how far-thinking Emory had been when 50 years ago, it ensured that a Jewish sorority was among its first chartered groups. She also discussed the empowering experience Greek life provided her as she found both social and leadership development opportunities through her participation in Greek life. Wensch went on to continue her involvement with Greek life following graduation and today is the executive director of the AEPhi Sorority, nationally.

Melissa Bowman 02C was exposed to sorority life before she came to Emory, largely through the example of a church youth director who was a member of Delta Sigma Theta, one of two black sororities on campus at Emory. The first black sororities came to Emory in 1979, following the integration of the University in the wake of the 1962 case, successfully argued by Ben Johnson Jr. 36C 40L 05H, dean of the School of Law, and Henry Bowden 32C 34L 59H, chairman of the Board of Trustees, before the Georgia Supreme Court, that allowed the private schools in the State of Georgia to desegregate and still keep their state funding.

Today, the Emory campus is 29 percent Greek, and Greek students have a fairly significant impact on campus. After 50 years on campus, sorority life at Emory continues to challenge students to lead, to gain in self respect, and to set demanding personal and academic standards.

Not a bad record of achievement.

-- Martha Fagan, senior director, alumni relations, EAA

I recently chatted with Tom Lombardi 00C (below, left) about his experience coaching the Washington, DC chapter’s alumni softball team. The team has been on fire as of late, boasting a 10-1 record and sitting on top of their division as they head into a crucial double-header this weekend.


Erin Crews 09C 09G, EAA: How did the softball team first come about? What kind of league does the team play in, and who can be involved?

Tom: The league is the Capital Alumni Network, or CAN. It’s an organization of alumni associations in the DC area. Well over 100 schools are represented. It involves everything from sports to community service, but one of the main focal points of CAN is the sports league, which consists of basketball, volleyball, softball, soccer, and football. There are about 70 teams participating in the sports league and Emory has been a member since 2005. Jeannette Harkin and Jon Levy—Jeannette graduated in 2003 and Jon in 2004—got the ball rolling and got the team started in 2005. Now we have 38 people on the team.

EAA: Tell me a little bit about how the past season has gone for the team and where things are heading for the rest of the year.

Tom: We’ve had a very successful season so far. Our current record is ten wins and one loss. We’re sitting on top of our division—in CAN there are eight divisions—and out of all the teams, we’re currently tied for first with the University of Colorado. We had some very big wins playing Texas A&M, Notre Dame, teams we had played in the past. You know, the little rivalries we’ve developed.

We have three more games in the season and a double-header this weekend. The winner of the games this weekend will determine who wins the division. And we have one final game against Illinois on July 24th, after which we have the double-elimination, end-of-the-year tournament. All 70 teams participate. It’s an all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-drink affair. All the teams are very festive, and it’s basically one big party, but the focal point is the softball.


EAA: What do you and your team members get out of playing softball on an Emory team?

Tom: One of the best parts is that we have fun playing and getting together once a week. We develop really strong relationships. I’d say most of my friends here, I met through Emory sports. We all go to parties and weddings, we go out to lunch together—we’re a very close-knit group. It definitely expands beyond the Emory circle, but we look to each other for guidance and advice. When you move to a new city, it’s hard to make friends. You’re working, you’re trying to establish yourself. But Emory has made it very easy—for me, joining the softball team in particular—to get to know 20 to 30 people and become very good friends with some of them.

EAA: Are you involved in any other alumni activities?

Tom: Sports is the main thing that I participate in, but we do participate in other events. The Meet Emory! party, I went to that. Volunteering at the food bank for Emory Cares. We all have our schedules and competing obligations, but I think in general people are very involved in the Emory Alumni Association up here in DC.

I think our oldest alumnus graduated in 1997 and our youngest in 2008. Some went to grad school, some went to law school. So it’s a very diverse mix of people that participate. It’s made for a very enjoyable time when we get together and play. When people are looking for jobs, we can help them. Or when people need a place to live—it’s a very strong community we have. And sports have really been a kind of focal point of that. It’s a very supportive environment. When new people come into it, I think they do find that it helps them acclimate to DC, to this community.

Photos by Christine Ruffo 99C

Have we really not updated EAAvesdropping since May? Dang ... I'm sorry about that. It's not like there isn't anything going on here at the EAA or with Emory alumni. In fact, the next couple of weeks are packed with alumni activity.

If you like flowers in the Southeast, this weekend is for you. On June 12-13, the Emory Alumni Board is meeting at Callaway Gardens near Pine Mountain, Ga. On Sunday, June 14, the Birmingham Botanical Gardens will host more than 50 Emory guests to pay homage to the University's Lullwater Day tradition. EAAvesdropping loves flowers, so we'll be at both events. Don't miss our updates!

EAAvesdropping also loves lawyers, and Emory law alumni in Houston (June 18) and Dallas (June 19) will be busy hosting Richard Freer, Robert Howell Hall Professor of Law.

And for whoever's in New England on Thursday, June 25, the EAA will be hosting Faculty Destinations: Boston, featuring Justin Remais, assistant professor of environmental and global health, and director, Global Environmental Health Program in the Rollins School of Public Health. The intriguing title of his talk, A Snail in the Sun: Global Climate Change and Infectious Disease in China and Beyond, should be enough to draw a great crowd.

More than 3,500 Emory alumni live in the six New England states. The Red Sox are on the road, so what else is there to do but head to the Back Bay Hotel for Faculty Destinations? A 6:30 p.m. reception with Dr. Remais will kick off the evening; the lecture will follow one hour later.

These are just a few examples of what's going on in the Emory alumni world. For the most comprehensive list of alumni activities, visit the EAA's event calendar.

Keep reading EAAvesdropping, too. Vacation is so over ... lots of event updates are coming and we have three new interns you'll be meeting really soon. Have a great weekend!

-- Eric Rangus, director of communications, EAA