Commencement Speaker: Keisha Lance Bottoms

Keisha Lance Bottoms was the 60th mayor of Atlanta.

A daughter of Atlanta, Bottoms was committed to realizing her vision of One Atlanta — an affordable, resilient and equitable Atlanta — which stands as a model city for both commerce and compassion.

A lifelong public servant, she was the only mayor in Atlanta’s history to have served in all three branches of government, serving as a judge and city council member before being sworn in as mayor. 

Leading with a progressive agenda focused on equity and affordable housing, Bottoms served as chair of the Community Development and Housing Committee and the Census Task Force for the United States Conference of Mayors.

Georgia Trend magazine named Bottoms the 2020 Georgian of the Year. Among Bottoms’ notable accomplishments to date include the establishment of the Atlanta’s first fully-staffed Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, the appointments of an LGBTQ Affairs Coordinator and a Human Trafficking Fellow, the citywide elimination of cash bail bond, the closure of the Atlanta City Detention Center to ICE detainees, and the rollout of the most far-reaching financial transparency platform in the City’s history — Atlanta’s Open Checkbook.

In 2020, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights (LCCR) Under Law awarded Bottoms the Distinguished Civil Rights Advocate Award in recognition of her equity-driven leadership to help guide and protect marginalized communities.

In October 2020, Bottoms was named one of Glamour’s 2020 women of the year. She was honored as a BET 100 Entertainer and Innovator of the Year in 2020 and named Smart Cities Dive’s 2020 Leader of the Year. She presided as Chair of the Platform Committee for the 2020 Democratic National Convention. In 2021, President Joe Biden appointed Bottoms as vice chair of Civic Engagement and Voter Protection.

Bottoms graduated from received her undergraduate degree from Florida A&M University. She earned her Juris Doctorate from Georgia State University College of Law. 

She is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, Jack and Jill of America, The Links, Incorporated, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She has also served on the board of Families First and shares her personal story of adoption and advocates on behalf of adoption and foster care. 

Bottoms is the daughter of Sylvia Robinson and R&B icon Major Lance. She and her husband, Derek W. Bottoms, their four children, Lance, Langston, Lennox and Lincoln, and their family dogs Ace and Zeus.