About
John Eaves
"I am committed to ensure that the diversity of our state has easy access to voting. This is what democracy is all about."
About
Leadership
Dr. John H. Eaves is the epitome of leadership in action.
As former Fulton County Commissioner, he spearheaded initiatives
to reduce business and property taxes, restore Grady Memorial Hospital, and reform the criminal justice system through partnerships with law enforcement.
As an entrepreneur and esteemed professor, his career has been committed to service and the public.
Eaves has been involved in politics since he was a young adult and served as volunteer coordinator in his uncle Reginald Eaves' campaign for Mayor of Atlanta. In this position, he registered people to vote, recruited college volunteers, wrote op-ed articles in college newspapers, telephone banked, and canvassed neighborhoods. Following his graduation from Morehouse, Eaves served as National Director for the NCAA Volunteer for Youth Program and then the Southeast Regional Director of the Peace Corps. In 2006, he achieved his dream by getting elected as Chairman of Fulton County–Georgia’s most populous county. During his 11-year tenure, Dr. Eaves established a reputation as a staunch advocate on healthcare, transportation, voting, homelessness, and criminal justice reform. A few notable accomplishments include the following:
- Created a jail reentry program in Fulton County that led to a 50% reduction of yearly jail incarceration stats in the Fulton County jail.
- Convened the Fulton County "Criminal Justice Task Force" to explore ways to minimize recidivism of released ex-offenders.
- Established "My Brother's Keeper" initiative to create mentoring and job training programming for boys of color so that they would not resort to criminal activity.
- Collaborated with the Atlanta Metro Chamber to secure $300 million of private funding for Grady Hospital.
- Advocated for the creation of the Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation which authorized a public-private governance of Grady Hospital
Georgia Education
Eaves graduated from Morehouse College after serving as captain of the football team. He also received local and national recognition for his volunteerism as the Program Coordinator of the “Volunteers for Youth” in the Atlanta Public Schools during the “murdered and missing children’s crisis in 1980-1984. He earned a Master’s Degree from Yale University and PhD from the University of South Carolina.
Service in Action
John is an active member of the Jewish community in Atlanta. He is the former Chair, Racial Justice Committee, the Rothschild Social Justice Institute, the Temple, Atlanta, Georgia, and he is a Board member of the American Jewish Committee Atlanta and the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival.
