A Life Committed to Public Service

DWSC President Pamela Williams Kelly serves Shelby County, Tennessee as an Assistant County Attorney. She represents the interests of and defends Shelby County in a wide range of civil matters in state and federal court and before administrative bodies such as the EEOC. Attorney Kelly also provides legal advice to elected officials as well as department and division heads throughout Shelby County Government.

President Kelly has held positions as an Administrator for the Office of Justice Initiatives and Criminal Justice Coordinator for Shelby County Government and previously worked as a staff attorney for Memphis Area Legal Services. For over 13 years, she built a law practice in family, probate, consumer, copyright, trademark, contracts, special education, landlord/tenant, and entertainment law. Attorney Kelly also had a robust federal immigration practice. She represented clients in the Memphis Immigration Court and traveled to immigration detention facilities in Tennessee, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas to represent non-citizens.

In 2013, Attorney Kelly received the Celebrate Pro Bono Award from the Memphis Bar Association Access to Justice Committee and the Memphis Area Legal Services Pro Bono Project. Attorney Kelly was honored in 2020 by the Memphis Bar Journal with the Best of the Bar Award in the Public Service category. In October 2021, she was recognized by the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women’s Annual Conference. At their annual conference, Attorney Kelly received the Empowerment of Women and Girls Award for her six years of service as a YWCA Greater Memphis Board member, which included 28 months in leadership as Board Chair. Attorney Kelly was also recognized by the Memphis & Shelby County Juvenile Court with the Distinguished Service Award for volunteering as a youth court mentor for over 10 years. 

DWSC President Kelly is a lifelong Democrat. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the National Association of Parliamentarians, the Memphis Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, and the Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association. Attorney Kelly is presently serving her second year as Parliamentarian for the Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women. Attorney Kelly earned her B.A. in Communications from Mississippi State University and a J.D. from The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. 

  ** 2023 DWSC Executive Committee **

Pamela Williams Kelly, Esq., President | Assistant County Attorney | Shelby County Attorney's Office

Gortria C. Banks, Vice-President | Assistant Executive Director | Community Legal Center

Raven C. Chandler, Esq., Recording Secretary | Assistant County Attorney | Shelby County Attorney's Office

Tyra Turner-Cleasant, Assistant Recording Secretary | Retired | Hospitality & Finance

Arriell Gipson Martin, Corresponding Secretary | Community Engagement Manager | CVRCC

Andrea Baird, Treasurer | Chief Executive Officer | Memphis Oral School for the Deaf

Tiffani Perry, Assistant Treasurer | Vice-President for Institutional Advancement | Rust College

Janice Garrett Booker, Ph.D., Registered Parliamentarian | Retired | Educator

Dansherryl Knapp, Operations Committee Chair | Consultant | St. Jude Children's Research Hospital   

Committee Chairs

Election Committee: Necole Jones

Executive Committee: Pamela Williams Kelly, Esq.

Membership Committee: Gortria C. Banks 

Operations Committee: Dansherryl Knapp

Scholarship Committee: Lynnette Hall-Lewis, Esq.

Liaisons

Shelby County Democratic Party Liaison: Dominique Frost

Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women Designee: Gortria C. Banks

Webmaster & Social Media: Amy Mulroy

President's Council

Rose Ann Bradley

Telise Ezell-Turner

Ruth Jones

Barbara Williams