Andrea Young, Esq.

Andrea Young, an accomplished leader and Georgia native is the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia.

Before taking the helm of the ACLU's statewide affiliate in January 2017, Young was an Adjunct Professor at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. For many years, she served as executive director at the Andrew J. Young Foundation, working to preserve and leverage her father's legacy – a former Atlanta mayor, Civil Rights leader, U.S. Congressman, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

Young has devoted her career to promoting policies to defend and extend civil and human rights. In the national legislation arena, Young served as a legislative assistant to Senator Edward Kennedy, contributing to significant civil rights and international policy, including the Martin Luther King Holiday Act and South Africa sanctions legislation. She later worked with the United Church of Christ in global mission and advocacy, returning to the Capitol to serve as Chief of Staff for the first woman to represent Georgia in Congress, Cynthia McKinney. She served as Vice President for External Affairs for Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, defending a woman's right to reproductive healthcare. As Vice President of the National Black Child Development Institute, Young led a school readiness initiative that increased local investments in early care and education and led to a commitment to universal pre-kindergarten in Washington, DC.

Young is the author of "Life Lessons My Mother Taught Me," co-author of "Andrew Young and the Making of Modern Atlanta," and collaborated with former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young to write, edit, and research "An Easy Burden: Civil Rights and the Transformation of America."

Young is a graduate of Swarthmore College and received her law degree from Georgetown University School of Law. She is a member of the State Bar of Georgia. She is married to attorney and art consultant Jerry Thomas. Her daughter Taylor Stanley is a policy advocate in Washington, D.C.