| Attorney and retired federal law enforcement officer Terry Alexis Cummings is a member of the Mableton community of South Cobb. Terry grew up with her two sisters; Keely and Kim in Teaneck, New Jersey. Her father; Rudy Collins, was a well-known jazz drummer and her mother, Dr. Mattie Collins, taught pediatric clinical nursing. Terry met her husband John, a Marine veteran, while both were working at the United States Penitentiary (USP) in Atlanta. In 2015, Terry and John moved with their son, Kenan, to Mableton to be closer to Terry's mother who suffered from Alzheimer's. Following retirement from her law enforcement career, Terry became the primary caretaker for her mother until her transition. Terry grew up with a love of learning about her African heritage and the importance of community involvement. She was greatly influenced by her grandfather; Dr. Chancellor Williams who wrote The Destruction of the African Civilization and was a Professor of African Studies at Howard University.
Terry attended Douglass College at Rutgers University where she received her B. A. degree in Political Science. While in college, Terry served as President of the Douglass Black Student Congress. Terry was an active member of the Rutgers Black Student Union, Black Women's Association For Black Unity, and she was initiated into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Terry continued her community activism for the greater New Brunswick community by organizing Kwanza celebrations, children outings, and book drives. During her senior year of college, Terry worked as a Congressional Intern with United States Senator Bill Bradley from New Jersey.
Terry's 30-year career in criminal justice began after college. Terry was interested in the law and worked as a Court Room Clerk at the District of Columbia Superior Court in Washington D.C. Terry continued to work full-time while attending Georgetown Law Center at night. While in law school, Terry was active in the Black Law Student Association. She was a member of the Ethics Law Journal, worked in the Tenant and Landlord Legal Clinic, and the D.C. Public Defenders Office. Terry also worked for late R. Kenneth Mundy where she assisted in the defense of former D.C. Mayor Marion S. Barry Jr. After graduation, Terry worked as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Harold Cushenberry. She then began her extensive legal career with the United States Department of Justice by being accepted into the highly competitive Honors Attorney Program.
Terry's career with the Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons, included working in the Legislative and Correctional Issues Branch in Washington, D.C. She was the first attorney to work at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago, Illinois. From there Terry was promoted to Supervisory Attorney at the USP in Atlanta; and then Senior Litigation Counsel at the Atlanta Regional Office. Since 2005, Terry has also worked as an Associate Professor at Colorado Technical University, where she teaches legal and criminal justice courses.
Career highlights for Terry include representing the Federal Bureau of Prisons during post-trial hearings of the infamous El Rukn gang (the largest gang trial in Chicago's history) and representing the agency during the first federal death penalty case in Georgia for the murder of a correctional officer at USP Atlanta. She also worked as a neutral with the Department of Justice. Terry has received numerous awards including Attorney of the Year. Terry is well known and respected for her tenacity, her ability to think outside of the box, her strong advocacy skills, and her unwavering commitment to clients.
Terry remains active in her community and conceived and coordinated the Returning Citizen (Ex-Offender) Job Fairs at Clayton State University. She has partnered with the Georgia Justice Project on record expungement seminars. Terry has participated in seminars on federal sentencing guidelines, mass incarceration, and the school to prison pipeline. She is a lifetime member of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice (NABCJ). She holds memberships in the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), American Bar Association, National Bar Association, and the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (GABWA). Terry is a Post Seat Holder with the Cobb Democratic Committee. She is also a member of Cobb Progressives, Mableton Improvement Coalition, and she remains active with her sorority. |