The Honorable Erica L. Woodford, 2026 Commencement Speaker
Mercer Law School is pleased to announce that The Honorable Erica L. Woodford will serve as this year’s commencement speaker on Friday, May 8, 2026.
The Honorable Erica L. Woodford serves as the Clerk of Superior Court of Bibb County, Georgia. A native of Macon, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and African American Studies from Mercer University, and her Juris Doctorate from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
Ms. Woodford began her legal career in private practice, representing clients in juvenile, family, and criminal matters for nearly a decade, before being appointed to serve as Associate Judge and Magistrate in Bibb County Civil and Magistrate Courts. Prior to her election to public office, she taught as an adjunct at Fort Valley State College, Wesleyan College, and Central Georgia Technical College.
Ms. Woodford was elected Clerk of Superior Court in 2012 and has been re-elected in 2016, 2020, and 2024. During her tenure, she has worked to modernize and broaden access to the office: implementing electronic filing ahead of the statutory mandate, hiring multilingual staff, digitizing all land records from 1823 to the present, and installing electronic filing kiosks in Macon-area public libraries.
Ms. Woodford led the Enslaved People Project, along with Dr. Chester Fontenot and Attorney Stephanie Woods Miller, through which nearly 1,000 deed transactions documenting the sale of enslaved African Americans have been digitized and made available for public research. She considers this the most meaningful work of her career. The project was recognized with the 2023 Historic Preservation Award by Historic Macon Foundation.
Ms. Woodford also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Mercer University Law School. She is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the State Bar of Georgia Committee on Professionalism, the Constitutional Officers Association of Georgia, the National Association of Court Management (DEI Committee), the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, the Macon Bar Association, Downtown Rotary of Macon, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Ms. Woodford currently serves as President-Elect of the Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia and will assume the presidency of that organization.
Ms. Woodford is the daughter of Lawsey and Bessie Woodford, and the mother of Ashley and Eric Woodford. She attributes her love of public service, legal excellence, and community stewardship to her parents. Law is not merely a profession – it is a calling.
