Ohio Judge Will be Diversity Conference Speaker
Judge Terri B. Jamison, a Domestics Relations Judge who left a successful business career to become a lawyer, will be the keynote speaker at the 3rd annual Tri-State Conference of Diversity amp; Inclusion on September 9, 2016. The conference will be held at the Ashland Community and Technical College Technology Drive Campus.
Judge Jamison was born in Welch WV, in the middle of coal country. She started school in a segregated elementary school. Even after the McDowell County public schools became integrated in 1965, neighborhoods remained segregated, separated by the railroad tracks. Being treated differently because of my race prepared me to run for judge, she said. When I decided to run for Judge in Franklin County, I was denied access to the ballot. I hired an attorney to sue the Board of Elections, got on the ballot and was elected.
Her journey from McDowell County in West Virginia to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division Juvenile Branch in Columbus, Ohio required many years of work. She owned and operated an insurance agency for more than 16 years before starting college.
She sold her insurance agency to attend Capital University Law School and earn a Juris Doctor degree with a concentration in Labor and Employment Law. As a lawyer, she served in the Franklin County Public Defenders Office before starting her own law practice, Jamison Law Offices Co. L.P.A.
After being elected Judge in 2012, she started The Compass Program in partnership with Franklin County Child Support Enforcement Agency. This program helps those who are behind on child support to gain education, training and job skills.
Judge Jamison is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and Ohio Supreme Court. She supports many service organizations and is passionate about human rights, civil rights and social action, economic empowerment, animal welfare and education.
The Tri-State Conference of Diversity amp; Inclusion is designed to promote a community dialogue about equity, opportunity and diversity and will feature presentations on the theme, Appalachian Crossroads: Conversations on Diversity.
Conference sponsors are ACTC, Morehead State University, Marshall University, Shawnee State University, Ohio University and Ohio University-Southern, Mountwest Community amp; Technical College, Lindsey Wilson College and Walmart.
Proposals for conference presentations will be accepted until June 30. Proposals may be submitted to Robert Pleasant, Coordinator of Diversity and Inclusion at Ohio University-Southern, email: pleasantr@ohio.edu. For more conference information, go to: www.TriStateDiversityAndInclusion.com.
