Attorney Nikki L. Marr
Experience
From May 1995 until July 2002, Attorney Marr served as an Associate Judge of the Juvenile Court of DeKalb County (Georgia), a community in the Atlanta metropolitan area with a population of over half a million. In that capacity, each week, she presided over the cases of juveniles, age 16 years and under, who were accused of committing criminal offenses or engaging in unruly behavior. The vast majority of these children are also victims of neglect and abuse. Many of them have a parent who is either in prison or has spent time in a penal institution.
Prior to becoming a judge, she practiced law, specializing in family law, adoptions and juvenile defense. She has been a high school English teacher, school guidance counselor and public information specialist. Attorney Marr currently serves as a Career Advisor with the Georgia State University College of Law and has provided one-on-one career coaching to law students since 2008. She is a certified mediator through the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution and has mediated divorce and custody matters since 2006.
Education
She is a native of Kirkwood, Missouri, located in the suburbs of St. Louis, where she attended elementary and high school. She earned a bachelors degree of science in education from Northeast Missouri State Teachers College, which has been renamed Truman University, and obtained the masters degree of science in educational counseling from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 1976. She received her law degree from Georgia State University College of Law in 1990 and was admitted to the Georgia Bar Association in 1991.
Community Involvement
She frequently speaks to civic and school groups about the juvenile justice system, trends and practices in the field, personal and career growth, and civic responsibilities and opportunities. Attorney Marr is a past member of the Georgia Supreme Court Child Placement Project implementation committee. In 2002 and 2003 she served as a consultant to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, developing and managing seminars for youth affected by parental incarceration and conducting research on the effects of incarceration on former male prisoners and their families. She is proud to have been president of the Board of Directors of Foreverfamily and continues to champion the work of this nonprofit organization which serves children and families challenged by parental incarceration. She is a founder and past Chairperson of the DeKalb County Task Force for Runaway, Homeless and Sexually Exploited Youth.