ATLANTA, May 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Georgia Legal Services Program (GLSP) Board of Directors today announced the appointment of Susan Coppedge as its new Executive Director, succeeding Rick Rufolo, who announced his retirement last November. Rufolo will remain with GLSP through a short transition period. Ms. Coppedge starts in her new role on May 16.
Over the course of her nearly 30-year legal career, Coppedge has championed some of the most vulnerable members of the community, as well as the broader public interest. In 2015, she was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to lead the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the United States Department of State. As the Ambassador-at-Large, her global portfolio included a focus on increasing services for human trafficking survivors and encouraging foreign governments to pursue prosecutions of human traffickers.
“I am excited to join Georgia Legal Services,” said Coppedge. “The organization is well known throughout the State of Georgia for its service in providing access to justice and I am honored to have the opportunity to return to public service.”
“We are excited that Ms. Coppedge will join GLSP,” said Tennell Lockett, chair of the GLSP Board of Directors. “She has been an advocate for the underserved during her career, including over 20 years practicing law in Georgia. We are confident that she will continue the organization’s mission to provide high-quality legal services for those who cannot afford them.
“On behalf of the Board, we want to thank Rick Rufolo for his leadership and dedication to GLSP and wish him well in retirement. During his tenure, his efforts to increase awareness of the organization across the state meant far more people benefitted from the free legal services we provide.”
Coppedge served as Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Georgia from 1995 – 2015, where she prosecuted a broad range of cases, from white collar crime and public corruption to government program fraud, identity theft and human trafficking. She was one of the first federal prosecutors to bring a sex trafficking case in Georgia and, over the course of her career, she secured indictments of 49 human traffickers in cases involving domestic and international sex trafficking and labor trafficking. Her commitment to seeking justice for trafficking victims continues today as she represents a trafficking survivor who is wrongly incarcerated for acts her trafficker compelled her to commit.
Coppedge joins GLSP from Krevolin & Horst, where she presently serves as Of Counsel in the litigation practice. Before joining Krevolin & Horst, Coppedge ran the Atlanta office of Nardello & Co., a global investigations firm.
She continues to stay active in the anti-trafficking community by serving on the Boards of Polaris and Street Grace and on the Advisory Board of the Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network.
Coppedge, a native of Dalton, Georgia, is a graduate of Duke University and received her law degree from Stanford University. She is admitted to the State Bar of Georgia.
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About Georgia Legal Services Program
Georgia Legal Services Program (GLSP) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit law firm that provides free civil legal services for people with low incomes, creating equal access to justice and opportunities out of poverty. Founded in 1971, GLSP serves 154 of Georgia’s 159 counties, excluding the five Metro Atlanta counties. GLSP has offices in Atlanta, Albany, Augusta, Brunswick, Columbus, Dalton, Gainesville/Athens, Macon, and Savannah. To reach us, call 1-833-GLSP-LAW (833-457-7529) or visit our website at glsp.org. Follow GLSP on Twitter at @GeorgiaLegal, and Facebook at facebook.com/georgialegalservices.
