Staff Attorney Pierce Hand Appointed to Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board
ASHLEIGH STARNES | November 30, 2020
Our Standing with Our Neighbors Staff Attorney Pierce Hand recently joined Mayor Bottoms’ LGBTQ Advisory Board.
The Advisory Board’s mission is to “foster intentional collaboration between City Officials and Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ communities to advocate for everyone across the Atlanta metro region and protect and advance the lives of residents, workers, and visitors.”
Pierce is an Atlanta native who is passionate about tackling serious issues that affect low-income communities in Atlanta, including housing instability and educational inequity. A former educator and a dedicated advocate for Atlanta tenants, Pierce currently works as a Staff Attorney for our Standing with Our Neighbors program – a place-based initiative that provides low-income tenants with free legal advocacy in times of greatest need.
“I wanted to join the advisory board because I am interested in developing creative ways for the City’s policies to support LGBTQ youth surrounding issues like housing instability and its negative effect on education outcomes,” Pierce says. “These issues disproportionately impact this vulnerable group, and I know my experience as a former teacher and current attorney with AVLF fighting for stable housing that in turn supports the academic success of students of various backgrounds lends itself to creating effective policies.”
Please join us in congratulating Pierce!
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Ashleigh Starnes
Communications Manager
As AVLF’s Communications Manager, Ashleigh develops strategy, design, and content for AVLF’s digital and print communications. She’s deeply committed to sharing resources and education with her community at large – and makes it her mission to support AVLF’s programs and outreach in all they do.
Ashleigh is an Atlanta native. Before joining AVLF, she was a Fulbright Scholar in Turkey. Ashleigh holds a Bachelor’s in English and Linguistics from the University of Georgia. She is also a performance artist, and can occasionally be seen performing movement pieces, poetry, and combinations of the two around Atlanta and beyond.
