SORRB Board Members
Karen M. Ambrose-Clendenin, Thomasville, GA - Ms. Ambrose-Clendenin has been an advocate for victims of crime in the Southern Judicial Circuit for 10 years. She is a member of the (M.D.T.) multidisciplinary team review in Colquitt County. She works with the Child Advocacy Center in fundraising efforts to bring awareness to the needs of abused children. She works with the ABC foundation (Anne's Bicycles for Children) which provides brand new bicycles at Christmas for children who are victims of crime. In addition, Ms. Ambrose-Clendenin works with the Moultrie Technical College Criminal Justice Program in utilizing students for internships to further enhance their experience in the field. She and her husband, Patrick, have three children and one granddaughter and reside in Thomasville.
Gerard W. Armorer - Mr. Armorer is a field training officer and senior parole officer assigned to the State Board of Pardons and Parole’s South Metro Parole Center. He was previously the chief deputy marshal of the DeKalb County State Court Marshal’s Department and served as jail school administrator, deputy sheriff III, and post-certified instructor for the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department. Mr. Armorer graduated magna cum laude from New York Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in communications. Before his career in Georgia law enforcement, he served in the U.S. Army as a flight operations specialist and worked for Newsweek magazine. Mr. Armorer and his wife, Fatimah, have one child and reside in Stone Mountain.
Elizabeth Dabbs, Rome, GA
- Ms. Dabbs is the director of the Floyd County
Victim Witness Assistance Program for the Rome Judicial Circuit. She has
been with the district attorney's office since March 2003. She graduated cum
laude from Shorter College and received a paralegal certificate with honors
from the National Center for Paralegal Training. Ms. Dabbs is a member of
the Child Abuse Protocol Committee, chair of the Child Fatality Review
Committee, chair of the Sexual Assault Response Team and a member of other
child abuse prevention agencies. She and her husband, Chad, reside in Rome.
Vonda K. Darrisaw, Dublin, GA - Ms. Darrisaw has served as the Director of the Dublin Judicial Circuit Victim-Witness Assistance Program since 2005, but has worked in the capacity of Victim Advocate since 2000. She is responsible for all administrative duties, employed staff, and volunteers.
Ms. Darrisaw is a native of Clarksville, Tennessee. She received a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts from Austin Peay State University, located in Clarksville, Tennessee.
In 2006, Governor Perdue appointed Ms. Darrisaw as a member of the Sexual Offender Registration Review Board (SORRB). Ms. Darrisaw also serves as a member of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council Victim Services Committee, as a Regional Victim Services Director, and was also a trainer with the Georgia State Victim Assistance Academy in 2005 and 2006. Ms. Darrisaw presently serves on the Board of Directors for the Stepping Stone Child Advocacy Center (since 2003), the Women in Need of God’s Shelter (WINGS). Ms. Darrisaw is certified by the National Advocate Credentialing Program (NACP) at the Intermediate level and is also certified through “Finding Words” as a child sexual abuse forensic interviewer, is Chairman of the Child Fatality Review (CFR) team for Laurens County, and co-chairs the teams for Johnson, Treutlen, and Twiggs counties in the Dublin Judicial Circuit. Ms. Darrisaw is a member of the Child Abuse Protocol Committee and the Dublin-Laurens Domestic Violence Task Force.
Natasha Dedijer-Turner, Alpharetta, GA MEd, EdS, LPC - is a licensed professional counselor (LPC). She has been a practicing clinician for over 10 years. Natasha has worked in clinical, research, forensic, non-profit and advocacy settings and is also a published author. She is currently a Program Manager at WellPoint. Natasha earned a bachelor’s degree from Emory University and both a master’s degree and a specialist’s degree from the University of Florida. Natasha is currently working towards her BCBA.
Gary D. Holstad M.S., LPC
- Mr. Holstad worked as a prison counselor in the Iowa Correctional System for 22 years. He was a member of the Lutheran Church, coordinated the community Little League baseball and softball programs, and was a local Jaycee member, where he was selected as one of the top 40 local presidents in the nation. Mr. Holstad has counseled offenders for 38 years, currently as a therapist and licensed professional counselor with Family Recovery, Inc. in Gainesville. He is a member of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers and the Licensed Professional Counselor Association of Georgia. He and his wife, Marcia, have five children and three grandchildren and reside in Duluth.
Steven C. Land, Hazlehurst, GA - Chief Land is the chief of police for the city of Hazlehurst. He is a member of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, the Peace Officers Association of Georgia, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the F.B.I. National Academy Associates, and the Hazlehurst/Jeff Davis Historical Society. Chief Land attended South Georgia College, Brewton Parker College, South Georgia Police Academy, F.B.I. National Academy, and the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange Program at Georgia State University. He and his wife, Rachel, have four grown children and six grandchildren.
Phil D. Miller- Phil
Miller currently serves as sheriff of Douglas County. He has been involved
in law enforcement for 41 years and is a graduate of the FBI National
Academy. He previously served on the Peace Officer Standards and Training
Council and is currently a member of the North Central Georgia Police
Academy Board. He and his wife, Gloria, have two children and one grandson.
They reside in Douglasville.
Jessica K. Moss - Moss is the
Solicitor General in Cherokee County. She previously served as Chief Assistant
Solicitor General within the Cobb County Solicitor General’s Office,
and has served in state and local government for 25 years as a Prosecuting
Attorney. Moss earned a bachelor’s degree from Brenau University
and a juris doctorate from Mercer University. She was named Assistant
Solicitor General of the Year by the Georgia Association of Solicitors
General in 2004. Moss has three step children and two step grandchildren.
She and her husband, Garry, reside in Ball Ground.
Sandra J. Putnam CFE, CFCE, CIFI
- Ms. Putnam is the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit and has been with the GBI for more than 15 years. She also serves as the Commander of the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children task force, which is composed of more than 120 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies from all over the state of Georgia. Ms. Putnam earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgia College and State University and her master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbus State University. She and her husband, Spurgeon, reside in Covington and have two children.
W Lee Robinson - Robinson is the current circuit public defender for the Macon Judicial Circuit. He served in Vietnam as an infantry platoon leader with the 173d Airborne Brigade and retired after 31 years of active and reserve duty with the rank of colonel. He serves on the board of governors of the Alzheimer’s Association, Georgia Chapter, the board of directors of Macon’s Cherry Blossom Festival and the Bibb County American Cancer Society. He has served as mayor of the city of Macon and in the Georgia state Senate. Lee earned a bachelor’s in industrial management from Georgia Tech, a master’s in business administration and law degree from Mercer University. Lee and his late wife, Irene, have two children and four grandchildren. He resides in Macon.
Judson K. Smith, - Jud Smith currently
serves as sheriff of Barrow County where he was elected in 2008. He has
been in law enforcement for almost 14 years and is currently the vice
chairman of the legislative committee of the Georgia Sheriff’s Association.
Smith also serves on the board of directors for Peace Place, the Tree
House Inc. and the Boys and Girls Club of Winder/Barrow. He graduated
from Columbus State University with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s
degree in Criminal Justice. He and his wife, Stephanie, have two children.
They reside in Winder.
Katherine E. Strayhorn - Ms. Strayhorn is currently employed by District Attorney Lee Darragh of the Northeastern Judicial Circuit, where she serves as the director of the Dawson County Victim Assistance Program. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in social work from Jacksonville State University and went on to graduate from the National Victim Assistance Academy at the Medical University of South Carolina. Ms. Strayhorn is a volunteer with the United States and Georgia Crisis Response Teams. She and her son, Wyatt, reside in Dawsonville.
Susan M. Strickland PhD, LCSW - Dr.
Strickland has worked in the field of mental health for over 24 years.
Currently she is a supervisor of social services for the Acute Mental
Health unit at the Atlanta VA Medical Center. Her clinical specialties
include child abuse and neglect, sexual abuse and offending, and offender
rehabilitation. She has extensive clinical experience with children, adolescents,
and adults conducting individual, group and family therapy. Dr. Strickland
spent 5 years teaching at the University Of Georgia School Of Social Work.
She has worked for the Georgia Department of Corrections, the Georgia
Board of Pardons and Parole, the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice
and the Georgia Department of Human Resources. Dr. Strickland was appointed
to the Sexual Offender Registration Review Board in 2006, and served as
the Board chair from 2007-2009. She has been married to her husband, Dee,
for 25 years and has two children, Jacob and Annie Mac. They reside in
Decatur.
