Glenda Hatchett
Authority on Juvenile & Social Issues and Star of TV Shows Judge Hatchett and The Verdict
SPEAKER FEE RANGE: $15,000–$32,000 [FEE NOTE]
TRAVELS FROM: Georgia
Born and raised in the South, Judge Glenda Hatchett grew up believing that she could do anything she wanted to if she put her heart and mind into it. With her half-hour, nationally syndicated courtroom series, Judge Hatchett, Hatchett hopes to pass on the same sense of confidence to those who enter her courtroom. She served for eight years as Judge of the Fulton County, Georgia, Juvenile Court and she is a committed jurist and activist, possessing a unique point of view on today's pressing issues. As a juvenile court judge, Hatchett has developed partnerships with organizations to provide outreach and support to the families in need who have entered her courtroom. Hatchett's career in both the corporate area and the judicial system illustrates her ability to create positive change in a variety of environments. Glenda Hatchett is nationally recognized as an authority on juvenile and social issues. She is also the author of the national best sellers, Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say and Dare to Take Charge.
A graduate of Mt. Holyoke College and Emory University School of Law, where she was an Earl Warren Scholar, Judge Glenda Hatchett completed a prestigious federal clerkship in the United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia. She then spent nearly 10 years at Delta Air Lines, where she was the airline’s highest-ranking woman of color worldwide. As Senior Attorney, she represented Delta Air Lines in labor/personnel, and antitrust litigation and commercial acquisitions. As Public Relations Manager, she supervised global crisis management and handled media relations for 50 U.S. cities as well as all of Europe and Asia.
Currently, Hatchett is Of Counsel of a national law firm, The Hatchett Firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. The firm specializes in catastrophic injuries, wrongful deaths, tractor trailer accidents, premises liability, catastrophic police misconduct cases and contract negotiations.
She is a member of both the Georgia Bar and the Bar of the District of Columbia. Hatchett has served on the Boards of three Fortune 500 companies – HCA, The Gap Inc. and ServiceMaster Company.
While on the Board of Directors of HCA, she was Chair of the Ethics, Compliance and Quality of Care Committee. She was also a member of the HCA board’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Hatchett was a member of the five-person special board committee that negotiated HCA’s $32.7 billion leveraged buyout paving the way for the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain to go private. At the time, the buyout was the largest leveraged buyout in US corporate history.
While a Board Director for The Gap Inc., Hatchett served on the Governance, Nominating and Social Responsibility Committee and the Compensation and Management Development Committee.
Hatchett left Delta Air Lines to accept an appointment as Chief Presiding Judge of the Fulton County (Atlanta, Georgia) Juvenile Court—becoming the first African-American Chief Presiding Judge of a state court in Georgia and head of one of the largest juvenile court systems in the country.
Hatchett was a member of the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons’ Board of Advisors and served as a consultant to the National Basketball Association on pressing legal and social issues.
With over 30 years of experience as a judge, corporate lawyer, and board member of corporate and nonprofit organizations, Hatchett has established a legacy of excellence.
Hatchett is the recipient of numerous awards including the Roscoe Pound Award for outstanding work in Criminal Justice, NAACP’s Thurgood Marshall Award and she has been recognized as one of the “100 Best and Brightest Women in Corporate America” by Ebony magazine. The State Bar of Georgia honored her with the Social Justice Advocacy and Action Award; she was only the fourth person to ever receive this award. She was named Distinguished Alumna at Mt. Holyoke College, which later granted her an honorary degree. Her other alma mater, Emory University Law School, named her Outstanding Alumni of the Year. Emory University also presented her with the highest award given to university alumni, the Emory Medal.
Hatchett presides over the two-time Emmy nominated nationally syndicated show, Judge Hatchett, now in its 19th season (Sony Pictures Television). Judge Hatchett won a Prism Award for Best Unscripted Non-Fiction Series.
She is also the author of the national best sellers, Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say (Harper Collins, 2003) and Dare to Take Charge (Center Street / Hachette Book Group, 2010).
Most recently, Hatchett has returned to TV in her new television court series, The Verdict. She presides over the series as a follow-up to Sony TV’s long-running Judge Hatchett. The Verdict marks Entertainment Studios’ sixth current court series on Justice Central TV.
Hatchett has consistently shown her commitment to community development through her service on various nonprofit boards including: the National Board of Governors of the Boys and Girls Club of America; the Leadership Circle for the After School Alliance and the Advisory Board for the Women’s Resource Center at Spelman College; and she formerly served on the Board of Advisors for Play Pumps International. Presently, Hatchett serves as the national spokesperson for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), a non-profit volunteer organization that trains volunteers to represent abused and neglected children and is the recipient of their President’s Award.
Currently, Hatchett is Of Counsel of a national law firm, The Hatchett Firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. The firm specializes in catastrophic injuries, wrongful deaths, tractor trailer accidents, premises liability, catastrophic police misconduct cases and contract negotiations.
She is a member of both the Georgia Bar and the Bar of the District of Columbia. Hatchett has served on the Boards of three Fortune 500 companies – HCA, The Gap Inc. and ServiceMaster Company.
While on the Board of Directors of HCA, she was Chair of the Ethics, Compliance and Quality of Care Committee. She was also a member of the HCA board’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Hatchett was a member of the five-person special board committee that negotiated HCA’s $32.7 billion leveraged buyout paving the way for the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain to go private. At the time, the buyout was the largest leveraged buyout in US corporate history.
While a Board Director for The Gap Inc., Hatchett served on the Governance, Nominating and Social Responsibility Committee and the Compensation and Management Development Committee.
Hatchett left Delta Air Lines to accept an appointment as Chief Presiding Judge of the Fulton County (Atlanta, Georgia) Juvenile Court—becoming the first African-American Chief Presiding Judge of a state court in Georgia and head of one of the largest juvenile court systems in the country.
Hatchett was a member of the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons’ Board of Advisors and served as a consultant to the National Basketball Association on pressing legal and social issues.
With over 30 years of experience as a judge, corporate lawyer, and board member of corporate and nonprofit organizations, Hatchett has established a legacy of excellence.
Hatchett is the recipient of numerous awards including the Roscoe Pound Award for outstanding work in Criminal Justice, NAACP’s Thurgood Marshall Award and she has been recognized as one of the “100 Best and Brightest Women in Corporate America” by Ebony magazine. The State Bar of Georgia honored her with the Social Justice Advocacy and Action Award; she was only the fourth person to ever receive this award. She was named Distinguished Alumna at Mt. Holyoke College, which later granted her an honorary degree. Her other alma mater, Emory University Law School, named her Outstanding Alumni of the Year. Emory University also presented her with the highest award given to university alumni, the Emory Medal.
Hatchett presides over the two-time Emmy nominated nationally syndicated show, Judge Hatchett, now in its 19th season (Sony Pictures Television). Judge Hatchett won a Prism Award for Best Unscripted Non-Fiction Series.
She is also the author of the national best sellers, Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say (Harper Collins, 2003) and Dare to Take Charge (Center Street / Hachette Book Group, 2010).
Most recently, Hatchett has returned to TV in her new television court series, The Verdict. She presides over the series as a follow-up to Sony TV’s long-running Judge Hatchett. The Verdict marks Entertainment Studios’ sixth current court series on Justice Central TV.
Hatchett has consistently shown her commitment to community development through her service on various nonprofit boards including: the National Board of Governors of the Boys and Girls Club of America; the Leadership Circle for the After School Alliance and the Advisory Board for the Women’s Resource Center at Spelman College; and she formerly served on the Board of Advisors for Play Pumps International. Presently, Hatchett serves as the national spokesperson for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), a non-profit volunteer organization that trains volunteers to represent abused and neglected children and is the recipient of their President’s Award.
- There's a Desperate Cry in the Land Among Our Children
- The Price of Urban Violence
- Juvenile Justice: Reforms or Regrets?
- Dare to Take Charge: How to Live & Lead with Purpose
With the charismatic and outspoken demeanor she cultivated on her show, Judge Hatchett, Judge Glenda Hatchett is excited to share with audiences the life lessons she's learned and witnessed from years on the bench. - A Promise to Keep
Judge Glenda Hatchett was Georgia's first African-American chief presiding judge of a state court, and the department head of one of the largest juvenile court systems in the country. Her prayer "God, please give me the strength to move my energy from grieving for the children you put before me to helping them" fortifies her daily. Judge Hatchett has had to contend with the grim reality behind these somber statistics: in the past ten years the violent crime rate for those under 18 has grown by more than 60%, while the number of child abuse and neglect cases has doubled. To battle the social ills behind these numbers--poverty, single parent households and families entrenched in a culture of substance abuse--Judge Hatchett has gone beyond her responsibilities as a jurist. She has created many innovative programs to steer young people from troubled lives. Nationally recognized as an authority on juvenile and social issues and outspoken advocate for children everywhere, Judge Hatchett speaks passionately on what we all need to do to save this and future generations. Her presentations remind us that we need to protect our youth to insure our future.
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