LaDawn Jones

{{short description|American lawyer and politician from Georgia}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = LaDawn Blackett Jones

| district = 62nd

| successor = William Boddie

| predecessor = Joe Heckstall

| party = Democratic

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1980|05|28}}

|birth_place = Houston, Texas, U.S.

|alma_mater = Tennessee State University
Tulane University Law School

}}

LaDawn Blackett Jones (born May 28, 1980) is an American lawyer and politician.

Early year and education

She was born LaDawn Blackett on May 28, 1980, in Houston, Texas, to Wayne and Bonnie Blackett. In 1985, when she was five, her family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where she attended St. Anthony's Catholic School. She later attended Osborne High School in Cobb County before ultimately graduating from Westlake High School in Fulton County. In 1998, she enrolled in Tennessee State University, graduating in 2002, cum laude, with a B.A. in English.{{Cite news|url=https://28thandjefferson.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/tsu-alum-highlight-ladawn-blackett/|title=TSU Alum Highlight: LaDawn Blackett|date=2012-04-03|work=28th & Jefferson|access-date=2017-10-12}} She subsequently enrolled in Tulane University Law School. While at Tulane, Jones created a diversity program that was nominated for an American Bar Association Community Service award.{{Cite web|url=http://www.law.tulane.edu/tlsNews/newsItem.aspx?id=1420|title=Tulane University Law School - News Item Detail|website=www.law.tulane.edu|access-date=2017-10-12}}

Law career

After passing the bar exam, Jones obtained a position with the Fulton County District Attorney's office, as an assistant district attorney. She was subsequently promoted to Chief Senior Assistant District Attorney, and Community Prosecutor for Zone 4 in southwest Atlanta. After 18 months in the unit, Jones was designated as the units first Director. The unit placed prosecutors throughout the county, by opening four new offices.{{Cite web|url=http://www.atlantada.org/document_center/Community_Connection_Spring___Summer_2011.pdf|title=FCDA Community Prosecution Newsletter Spring 2011|accessdate=July 8, 2021}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.ajc.com/news/local/fulton-scrambles-response-exodus-prosecutors/55EEmPrkev5AfNFEL0BApM/|title=Fulton DA scrambles in response to exodus of prosecutors|newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |accessdate=July 8, 2021 |last1=Rankin |first1=Bill }}

Political service

In 2012 Jones was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, and served two terms from 2013 to 2017, representing a portion of Fulton County as a member of the Democratic party.[http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/140329/ladawn-jones# Votesmart.org.-LaDawn Jones]; accessed July 8, 2021.[http://www.house.ga.gov/representatives/en-US/Member.aspx?Member=824&Session=24 Georgia House of Representatives-LaDawn Jones]; accessed July 8, 2021.