Officers
Ms. Maisha Land, President
Maisha Land is a public administrator with a 20-year record of public service, utilizing her background in public and urban policy to shape the course of action for water strategies and community engagement. Currently, she oversees the City of Atlanta’s Care and Conserve Affordability program, the largest self-funded water utility affordability program in the southeast United States. Under her leadership the program has provided low-income families experiencing hardships with approximately $20 million of assistance for water bill payments, water industry workforce development, free plumbing repairs, and restoration for damaged homes affected by water infrastructure failures and sewage spills.
Ms. Land is an alumna of Georgia State University holding a bachelor’s degree in public policy with a focus in urban studies. She has served as a campaign organizer, a chief of staff in the Atlanta City Council, and a legislative manager for the Department of Watershed Management. Her civic engagement includes the establishment of the Atlanta Youth Commission, previously serving as the president of the Southern Crescent Pearls Foundation, and the being the notable creative behind the viral #strolltothepolls photograph of historically Black Greek-letter sororities encouraging voter mobilization during the 2020 Presidential election featured on the View and People Magazine.
Dr. Karla Drenner, Vice-President/President Elect
A native of Charleston, West Virginia, Karla has lived and studied in various regions throughout the U.S. Karla earned a Bachelor of Science in Health Physics from West Virginia State College. She received a Master of Business Administration from Fontbonne University, and a Master of Science in Environmental Science from Southern Illinois University. She was awarded a Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis and Administration from St. Louis University and completed her second Ph.D. curriculum in Occupational Safety & Health from LaSalle University.
She was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2000, where she is in her 10th term sitting on five legislative committees, including the Rules, Health & Human Services, Natural Resources & Environment, Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications, and Small Business Development committees. Also, she serves as the chair of the DeKalb County House of Representatives’ legislative delegation.
As a 2011 alumna of the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program, Rep. Drenner, along with faculty and participants worked on real-life case studies addressing one of the most frequently cited problems of public officials: how to create and engage in public discourse about difficult subjects.
In addition to her duties in the General Assembly, Dr. Drenner is a graduate professor for Purdue University Global, where she teaches in the public administration program. She has taught at several other higher education institutions, including DeVry University, where she taught both graduate and undergraduate courses.
Corresponding Secretary
Vacant
Ms. Keona Smith, Financial Recording Secretary
Keona Smith is currently a Sr. Special Agent at the US Department of Defense. A proud graduate of Champlain University, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and her MBA with a focus in employment law. Ms. Smith began her public service career 17 years ago working for the US Department of Treasury – Internal Revenue Service where she worked in customer service and as a Sr. Taxpayer Advisory Specialist. She was responsible for assisting the general public, training a team lead and a union steward. In her free time, she can be found traveling the world.
Dr. Veronica Adams-Cooper, Treasurer
Veronica Adams-Cooper is a tenured professor in the NASPAA accredited Master of Public Administration (MPA) program for the Department of Public Administration (PADM) within the College of Business, Education and Professional Studies at Albany State University (ASU), Albany, Georgia. She has over 22 years of experience in higher education. Her public service and research areas include community and economic development administration, nonprofit administration, prosperity development, food security, and social equity. Adams-Cooper serves as the MPA program’s internship/project coordinator and faculty advisor for the ASU Chapter of Pi Alpha Alpha, The Global Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration. She has served in the role of department chair/program director, the director for the department’s Lois B. Hollis Center for Social Equity, and as an academic member for NASPAA accreditation site visit teams.
Adams-Cooper, a past pre-doctoral fellow for the Charles F. Kettering Foundation in Dayton, OH, earned her PhD in public administration from Jackson State University (Jackson, MS). She earned her MS in Criminal Justice with BA degrees in psychology and sociology from Grambling State University (Grambling, LA). Adams-Cooper has been a member of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) since 1997. This professional development includes membership in the chapters for Mississippi and Georgia and in several sections including the Conference for Minority Public Administrators (COMPA). Presently, she fulfills the role as the 2024-2026 treasurer for the ASPA GA Chapter.
A 2024 elected delegate of the Georgia 2nd Congressional District for the Democratic National Committee Convention, Adams-Cooper’s servant leadership also spans in other areas of public service. Presently, she is a Certified City Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) External Reviewer (Georgia Municipal Association), an academic member of the annexation dispute arbitration pool (Georgia Department of Community Affairs), a member of the mediator pool (University System of Georgia’s System-wide Mediation Program), and a board director and officer for two nonprofits. Additionally, she is a member of the local bodies for the NAACP, Democratic Committee, and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Since 2002, Adams-Cooper has been a member of Toastmasters International and served in leadership roles at the local, area, and division levels in Georgia’s District 14 and online, including coordinating and sponsoring/co-sponsoring the creation of three nonprofit clubs and earning the achievement level of Distinguished Toastmaster.
Dr. Tomicka Williams, Past-President
Dr. Tomicka N. Williams is an Assistant Academic Department Chair over the Graduate and Undergraduate programs in Public Safety (Criminal Justice, Fire Science, Homeland Security, and Emergency Management) and Legal/Public Policy (Law and Public Administration) Studies at Purdue University Global. Dr. Williams earned a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Homeland Security Coordination, an MPA degree from Nova Southeastern University, and a BS in Political Science/Public Administration from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). She is an experienced professional in bridging the gap between security awareness, training, research, and human resources. Dr. Williams is published, and her research interests are, crisis communication systems in K-12 and higher education, crisis leadership, educational leadership, Homeland Security, and Emergency Management. Additionally, she has been instrumental in developing programs and events that bridge the gap between academicians and practitioners.
Dr. Williams’s accomplishments include but are not limited to being selected as a delegate to attend the 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference – Risk Management and Crisis Communication; Nominated and awarded the 2022 Advisor of the Year by Alpha Phi Sigma Criminal Justice National Honor Society; In 2023 Awarded the Nikki T. Randall Servant Leadership Award for contributions to the community and the field of education at the collegiate level; Created a theory in 2023 that provides a lens in understand Crisis Leadership in the educational setting; and in 2024 spearheaded the creation of an academic journal at Purdue University Global (The Guardianship). In addition to her accomplishments, Dr. Williams enjoys philanthropy, mentoring collegiate students and professors, as well as supporting organizations in developing materials and training that will be utilized in meeting the needs of internal and external clients.
For information, please connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomicka-n-w-006553144/