2010 Drug, DUI and Mental Health Court Conference

Presenter Biographies 25
Mr. Eric Spencer is a native of Atlanta. After receiving a degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology he
worked in several positions as a chemical, then fire protection, and finally an electrical engineer. From 1994 through
2007, he was a partner in a Consulting Engineering firm. In 2004, after a family member was diagnosed with mental
illness, Eric joined NAMI. In 2005, he became president of his local chapter. In 2006, he joined the NAMI Georgia
Board, becoming vice president. In 2007, he switched careers to become NAMI Georgia’s Executive Director. He
brings his team building and organizational skills together with his passion for NAMI’s program to NAMI which has
seen tremendous growth in the last two years. He also brings a pragmatic approach to advocacy and the issues
Georgia faces relating to mental illness. His outlet is the outdoors through mountain biking, camping, and tennis.
Judge Juanita P. Stedman was appointed as a Juvenile Court Judge of Cobb County in September 2000 and has
been reappointed for each term since. Before she was appointed to the Cobb Juvenile Court bench, Judge Stedman
served as an Administrative Law Judge hearing special education due process hearings throughout the State of Georgia,
a practicing attorney with Juanita P. Stedman, P.C. and Cauthorn and Phillips and law clerk to the Honorable
Robert E. Flournoy Jr. Prior to her legal career, Judge Stedman was an educator including high school special education
teacher and completing that career as an assistant professor in the education department at Georgia State University.
She has been a resident of Cobb County for more than twenty-five years and occasionally active in various
organizations: past member of the Marietta City School Board, the Georgia School Board of Association and the
National School Board Association; received the Marietta City Distinguished Service Award in 1994; Marietta
Schools Foundation President 2004-2006; Cobb Bar Association, Secretary, 1998, Cobb Bar Volunteer of the year
Award; Georgia Bar Association; Georgia Council for Juvenile Court Judges; National Association of Juvenile and
Family Court Judges; Cobb Justice Foundation Advisory Board; Leadership Georgia Class of 1998; Leadership Cobb
Class of 2007, Honoree, 2007, co-chair of 2010 YWCA Tribute to Women of Achievement; recognized by Cobb
Junior League in 2008 as one of the 75 Outstanding Women in Cobb County; 2009 North Cobb Rotary Club Vocational
Service Award and 2009 Marietta Citizen of the Year. Judge Stedman presides over the Cobb County Juvenile
Drug Court and the Family Dependency Treatment Court. Since 2005, she has served on the Georgia Supreme
Court Judicial Council Standing Committee on Drug Courts. Judge Stedman and her husband attorney Hugh Stedman
live in the city of Marietta and have two daughters, Emily and Molly.
Judge Patricia Parker Stone received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communications from the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1991. She received her Juris Doctor degree from the Walter F. George
School of Law of Mercer University in 1995. She served as an assistant district attorney for the Eastern Judicial Circuit
of Georgia from 1995 until she was appointed to the Juvenile Court bench in 2003. Judge Stone served on the
Executive Committee of the Georgia Council of Juvenile Court Judges as the District 1 Representative and on the
advisory board of the Georgia Supreme Court Committee on Justice for Children. She currently serves as the
Chairperson of the Delinquency Committee of the Georgia Council of Juvenile Court Judges, having served in that
capacity since 2005. She participates in the Deprivation Court Improvement Initiative and is a founding member of
the Delinquency Court Improvement Initiative of the Council. She is on the board of directors of Georgia Family
Connection Partnership, Inc., serves on the Judicial Council of Georgia Workload Assessment Committee, and is a
member of the Judicial Council of Georgia Standing Committee on Drug Courts. In addition, Judge Stone serves as
an ex officio board member of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and is a member of the Isle of Hope
United Methodist Church. Judge Stone received the 2009 Georgia Leadership Award at the Georgia Child Placement
Conference in Athens, GA, for demonstrating outstanding vision for change and leadership in advocating for
children and families served by the Georgia foster care and juvenile justice systems. She was also chosen in 2009 as
WJCL’s Champion for Change for her work with the Family Dependency Treatment Court. Judge Stone and her
husband, Ty, have been married for 15 years, and they have three children.