Patrise M. Perkins-Hooker was installed as the 52nd president of the State Bar of Georgia during the Inaugural Gala on Saturday, June 8. She is the first African-American and third woman to serve as president of the State Bar.

Perkins-Hooker is vice president and general counsel for the Atlanta BeltLine Inc. In this capacity, she is responsible for all legal matters including general corporate transactions, corporate governance, compliance and risk management and a wide variety of real estate-related matters including transactional work and negotiations.

Prior to joining the Atlanta BeltLine, she was a partner with the law firm of Hollowell, Foster & Gepp, PC, where she was in charge of the Commercial Real Estate Group. In this capacity, she assisted businesses with the formation of their entities, with contract negotiations, with resolution of construction disputes and with various aspects of commercial real estate developments, acquisitions and land use matters. She assisted with several major Atlanta BeltLine Project acquisitions in her private practice prior to joining the Atlanta BeltLine team.

Perkins-Hooker is a leader in her profession and very actively engaged in the Atlanta community. She has previously served on the Board of Governors and Executive Committee of the State Bar and as secretary (2011-12), treasurer (2012-13) and president-elect (2013-14). She is also a past chair of the Bar’s Real Property Law Section, a past parliamentarian of the Atlanta Planning and Advisory Board and the founding chair of Neighborhood Planning Unit-Q. She is also the immediate past chair of Hosea Feed the Hungry’s Board of Directors.

Perkins-Hooker is an honors graduate of Georgia Tech and Emory University Law and Business Schools. She was admitted to the Bar in 1984. She is happily married to Douglas R. Hooker. They have two children and eight grandchildren.