Rising from experience as chair of her Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU X) and other community organizations, Councilmember Joyce M. Sheperd was elected into the office of Atlanta City Council in August of 2004 and is now serving her fifth term representing District 12.  Joyce is a listener, community advocate and friend. She has served as a champion for community education, neighborhood safety, economic development, jobs, and more for years.

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Councilmember Sheperd is a proud graduate of Booker T. Washington High School of Atlanta Public School. She is a resident of the Capitol View Manor Neighborhood, calling District 12 her home for 42 years. She is proud to say that five generations of her family have lived in District 12.

In the Late 1970s, Joyce broke through the telecommunications industry glass ceiling by becoming one of its very first female line workers. She retired from Avaya Communications and Communications Workers of America (CWA) union with 31 years of service as one of few women serving as a telecommunications engineer. She is still active with CWA Local 3204 union as a retired member.

Council Member Sheperd holds leadership positions all over the city of Atlanta. Dedicated to service on the Atlanta City Council, she is chair of the Public Safety Committee and a member of the Community Development/Human Services, City Utilities and Finance/Executive Committees. Fervent about the environment, Joyce is co-founder and chair of the City Council’s Code Enforcement Commission and establishing the Code Enforcement Training Academy in 2018 for Atlanta residents; which was formed to educate and address concerns in the community around blight and abandon properties. She is a board member of the City of Atlanta Keep Atlanta Beautiful Commission. She has also served as a former member on the board of Invest Atlanta and the Atlanta Beltline.

Joyce is an ex-officio board member on the board of directors for The Fort McPherson Implementing Local Redevelopment Authority (where she also serves as the founder and Chair of the Community Engagement Committee). She serves as a board member of the Diabetes Association of Atlanta. Moreover, Joyce is an advisory member on the board for the Villages at Carver Family YMCA and Lifecycle Building Center.

In addition to local appointments, Joyce also serves her constituents on a state and national levels. Statewide, Joyce is a former board member of the Georgia Municipal Associations (GMA) and current member where she serves on the Economic Development and Georgia Municipal Black Caucus committees. Nationally, she is a proud and active member of the National League of Cities (NLC), a resource advocate for the nation’s cities and their leaders. Joyce serves on the NLC’s Public Safety Committee, Women in Municipal Government Board of Directors (WIMG) where she also served as president in 2018 and is a member of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBCLEO). Her state and national involvement has brought great programs to Atlanta.

Joyce is a graduate of the 2007 Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Leadership Institute, bringing together leaders from across the region, and a 2015 graduate of Leadership Atlanta, one of the oldest sustained community leadership programs in the nation. A Graduate of the National League of Cities University where she also received the Diamond Magna Cum Laude Award.

Joyce is the recipient of numerous awards recognizing her dedication and leadership in the Atlanta community, including the National Common Cause Public Service Achievement Award, the Atlanta City Council Presidential Community Service Award, the John C. Birdine Distinguished Leadership Award, the Metro Atlanta YMCA Volunteer of the Year 2010 Award. She was recognized for serving 4 years of distinguished service on the Invest Atlanta Board from 2010 through 2014. 

Council Member Sheperd considers her most notable achievements to be none greater than her roles as the mother to her daughter Maisha Land and her granddaughter Amariah.