About Us

Fair Districts GA is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that works to encourage a fair and transparent redistricting process in Georgia.  Our focus is to fight gerrymandering; the practice of drawing legislative district lines to favor one group over another. Our ultimate goal is to reform Georgia’s process for drawing state and federal electoral maps.

Thanks to an innovative partnership with the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, we now have the same “big data” formerly only available to state redistricting committees, which allows us to equip legislators and citizens with the non-biased, statistical data needed to understand existing maps and evaluate new ones as they’re developed.

Our three areas of focus are “Listen” (hold pubic hearings and meaningfully engage with understanding communities of interest), “Show Your Work” (make your data and methodology public) and “Check Your Work” (using the non-partisan, statistical benchmarks developed by the Princeton Gerrymandering Project to evaluate proposed maps for racial or partisan bias).

Georgia’s current redistricting system gives lawmakers broad leeway to draw district maps for Congressional, state senate, and state house seats.  Fair Districts GA supports stronger standards and a nonpartisan, transparent, accountable redistricting process.

We collaborate with advocacy groups and grassroots organizations to inform Georgians about gerrymandering, advocate for redistricting reform legislation, and engage concerned citizens in our cause.

Media:

If you are a member of the media and need to reach a representative of FDGA, please contact our Communications Committee Chair.

Board of Directors and Officers

Fair Districts GA is governed by a passionate and dedicated volunteer Board of Directors and Officers.

Ken Lawler, Chair

Ken was elected Chair of Fair Districts GA in 2021. Prior to this he was involved in the organization's research into the 20-year history of gerrymandering in Georgia, and he has advocated for reform with the state legislature and Georgia's Congressional delegation. As chair, he focuses on the group's research efforts, both internal and through partnerships. Ken was instrumental in establishing FDGA's partnership with the Princeton Gerrymandering Project during the 2021 cycle. He also focuses on education and outreach.

Ken occasionally advocates for reform of government at all level through his blog, www.OurImperfectUnion.org. Ken has been involved with other groups that focus on bipartisanship in Congress and reducing the toxic impact of money in politics.

He started his involvement in political causes following a 39-year career as an IBM consultant and executive with deep experience in offering development, business consulting, and strategy.

Janet Grant, VICE CHAIR

Janet is a retired health care executive who witnessed firsthand the impacts of gerrymandering on effective health care policy for Medicaid consumers. She is passionate about reforms that will result in improved public policy. Her government affairs experience supports legislative advocacy for Fair Districts.

Nancy Watkins, board member

Since concluding her 30-year career in public health, Nancy has advocated for voter education and voter rights.  She believes that in a representative democracy each vote must count. For each vote to truly count, there must be fair elections, starting with the end of gerrymandering and the creation of fair districts.

Julia Leon, Secretary

Julia has carried her passion to hear “the voice of the people” throughout her 30-year career in information technology where she built systems to support education. In retirement, she believes that solving our rigged election system is the most important step we can do to strengthen our democracy.

Al Pearson, Board member

Al Pearson has a long and distinguished legal career in which he has practiced both criminal and civil law in Georgia state courts and the federal courts across the country.  He taught constitutional law and civil rights rights litigation at University of Georgia’s School of Law.  He is a past US Supreme Court fellow.  He has been actively involved in past redistricting lawsuits in Georgia.  

Jeanine Abrams-McClain, Board member

Dr. Jeanine Abrams McLean is the President at Fair Count, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. The goal of Fair Count is to ensure that every person in Georgia and the nation is seen, heard, and counted for a fair and accurate census and to building pathways to continued civic participation, including voter education and redistricting. Jeanine is a highly skilled researcher with over 15 years of experience designing, managing, and implementing population-based studies and projects. While at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she applied her expertise in computational biology and population research to advance public health initiatives. She has extensive project management experience as well as work in community organizing. In addition to her work in public health, she is passionate about finding creative ways to tackle community-based issues using both strategic planning and innovative ideas.

Lindsay Hodgson, Parliamentarian

Lindsay believes transparency and integrity in our democratic processes are fundamental to achieving a fully engaged electorate.  As a lifelong spectator of politics and a former local government attorney, Lindsay is committed to advocating for redistricting reform and voting rights protections.

Heather Hallett, Board Member

Heather is an activist and passionate about fair elections and removing the incentives for elected officials to rig the system to keep their jobs.  Join her in this fight!

Mary Lou McCloskey, Board Member

Mary Lou, an English language author, and teacher educator, works for Educo, Agnes Scott College, and the Global Village Project.  She believes that the legitimacy of our representatives comes from being freely chosen by us, not by seizing power from us to stay in control.

Karen Davenport, Board Member

Karen has worked in the field of education for 49 years at the elementary, high school, and college-level in a variety of positions. She believes that to help our country live up to the principles outlined in our constitution, we as citizens must be involved in fighting for social justice and voting rights.

Raenell Soller, Board Member

Raenell is a scientist, educator, and dancer, who has recently become an advocate for political justice.  She is committed to a "government of the people, by the people and for the people". She understands that fair districts are absolutely critical to the survival of this democratic form of government, where every voice is heard and every vote counts.

David Delle Monache, Treasurer

During his career in the consumer products and electronics industries David held various executive positions including President of US operations and Chief Financial Officer. During the last five years he has done volunteer accounting and compliance work with political campaigns and with non-profits focused on voting rights. He considers preservation and strengthening of our democracy the top priority of our times and recognizes that the FDGA mission is critical to that end.