Stacey Chavis Brings the Junior League Mission to Life through Community Work in Atlanta

Throughout her 13 years of membership in the Junior League of Atlanta and a career in government affairs, advocacy, and public policy, Stacey Chavis has led some difficult conversations. Many of these have surrounded the work she is most proud of—protecting Georgia’s children from sexual exploitation and human trafficking. She has educated elected officials, organizations, and individuals in her community about this issue, while developing coalitions to pass legislation to protect victims. She received AJLI’s Rising Star Award for this work and is currently the Chair-Elect for the Junior Leagues of Georgia State Public Affairs Committee (SPAC).

The leadership skills Chavis honed through her Junior League experience has guided her in these moments. “I often had to take a step back to keep our objectives and goals clear for everyone to see clearly,” she says. “I remind everyone of our goals, while we differ on how to get to the goal. Achieving the objective is the goal.”

In her work with the Junior League of Atlanta and beyond, Chavis has advocated for legislation and initiatives related to human trafficking, child sexual exploitation, early childhood education, healthcare, and generational poverty. While serving as the Public Policy Chair for United Way of Greater Atlanta, she was a leader on the team advocating to pass Rachel’s Law and the Safe Harbor Constitutional Amendment, which allows children who have been victimized by sex trafficking to be treated as victims rather than criminals. Her work led to the creation of the GRACE Commission to combat the threat to human trafficking in Georgia, led by Georgia’s First Lady.

Outside of the area of human trafficking, Chavis has also used the governance skills she gained as a Member of the Junior League of Atlanta’s Advisory Planning Committee and on the Board of Directors to solve problems in her community. She assists local nonprofits in developing, updating, and implementing their governance documents. As a previous AJLI Volunteer Service Specialist (VSS), Chavis will once again use her governance expertise to help new Leagues with their governance documents, affiliation, and more.

“I am always talking to other women about Junior League and all the skills, tools and strategies they can gain as Members,” Chavis says.