GFADP Board

Coco Guthrie-Papy is a community organizer, restorative justice practitioner, public policy expert, and born-and-and chosen southerner by way of Savannah, Georgia. She works as Deep Center’s Director of Public Policy and Communications, where she develops the organization's public policy and advocacy positions on education and criminal/juvenile legal reform, as well as working as the organization’s lobbyist.

She received her training as a restorative justice practitioner at the International Institute for Restorative Practices, and has been a Highlander Education Center Greensboro Justice Fellow, a PEN Prison Writing Fellow, a People for the American Way’s Front Line Leader Fellow, a Take a Breath fellow at The Action Lab and most recently, a fellow for Ignite the South. She has served on many southeastern regional boards such as Planned Parenthood Southeast, Georgia 9 to 5 and the City of Savannah Cultural Affairs Commission. She currently serves as a SWOP behind Bars prison mentor, a legal observer for the ACLU of Georgia, and has consulted on multiple electoral campaigns regarding policy development, communications strategy, and movement building in the Deep South. She currently serves on the boards of Access-Reproductive Care Southeast, and Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

Erik Wilkinson is a permanent deacon, ordained in 2017 to serve the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta.  He is assigned to Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Atlanta.  In his secular work, Erik is a Vice President with the data analytics firm Spartan Technologies, having worked previously in the nonprofit sector in the areas of affordable housing, fundraising, and technical consulting.  Erik is a founding board member of the Atlanta Community Toolbank, a co-founder and former chair of Georgia Catholics Against the Death Penalty, and has been active in efforts to limit or repeal the death penalty for over 25 years.  This is his third time serving on the board of GFADP.

Karen Wabler is a Certified Public Accountant and owns her own private practice. Karen provides accounting, tax and consulting services to small and medium-sized businesses and individual tax clients. She has provided accounting services to GFADP for ten years. A native of Georgia, Karen grew up on dairy farm in Oglethorpe County and attended the University of Georgia where she earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Karen believes in the power of salvation by grace through faith, and the sanctity of life. She resides in metropolitan Atlanta with her husband and two grown daughters. 

Karlan Holik’s father was murdered and she knows that he opposed the death penalty. Recently she has become interested in getting involved with the movement to abolish capital punishment. She is a retired elementary school teacher and Kellie Divis suggested that she could take over organizing vigils in Macon. She is fairly new to the region, but has ties there to the Methodist church, where she has taken on volunteer activities and is a group facilitator.  She also has more extensive ties to Valdosta/S. Georgia. Karlan is eager and willing to learn more about the issues and take on more responsibility. She believes her strengths lie in articulate writing and speaking and that she could organize events and help build our network in the Macon and Valdosta regions of Georgia. 

Sam began advocating against the death penalty after a close friend introduced him to the cause. Sam has experience in both the private and public sector, using data to develop and deploy communication strategies across the country. He hopes to use this experience to further GFADP's cause to end the death penalty in Georgia. Sam has a bachelors in Religion and Psychology from Furman University, and he obtained his PhD in Psychology from Emory University. Sam lives in the Gresham Park neighborhood of Atlanta with his wife and dog.

Bobbie Paul is a longtime volunteer community activist.  Before moving to Atlanta in 1981 Bobbie served as Artistic Director of a professional  theatre in  St Petersburg, Florida. . Bobbie’s first community task  in Atlanta was to invigorate a decades long STOP THE ROAD struggle that ultimately saved eight historic Intown neighborhoods from the construction of a major six-lane highway by the Georgia Dept. of Transportation.

Bobbie has served on the boards of Theatrical Outfit and Dad’s Garage Theatre and her sons’ schools (Arbor Montessori and  the Paideia School). She also served on the Advisory Board of the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda and the Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition.  Bobbie also ran a tutoring program at Ed S.Cook Elementary School for eighteen years. She has been a member of Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Atlanta for 35 years where she is a member of the Mission Committee representing Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. (GFADP).  

Demetrius Minor is the National Manager for Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. He educates and mobilizes conservatives around the systematic flaws with the death penalty. He is a preacher, advocate, relationship builder, and a writer who brings a strong track record of building bridges and winning campaigns. He has been the director of coalitions in Florida for Americans for Prosperity, where he worked in partnership with the NAACP, Urban League, and others to build bipartisan support and pass legislation. In addition, he comes to us with experience as a program director and co-host for political radio, TV, and podcasts; a White House intern during the Bush Administration; and a pastoral assistant. He and is wife currently serve in ministry at Tampa Life Church in Thonotosassa, FL. 

Paige Martin is a career fundraiser and serves as a global director of development at The Nature Conservancy (TNC), an international leader in conservation. She staffs the organization’s chief scientist, Katharine Hayhoe. Prior to her current role, Paige led the development team for TNC in Georgia and managed a comprehensive $36 million campaign. Paige joined TNC in 2014 after six years at Emory University, most recently as chief development officer for the neurosciences. In addition to her experience at Emory and five years in the corporate world (Fidelity Investments in Boston), Paige has led record-breaking development programs at The Asheville School, Duke University, and All Saints’ Episcopal Church. She holds a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree from Auburn University, both in communication. Paige serves on the Birds Georgia board as Immediate Past Chair. Through All Saints’ Episcopal Church, she is engaged in the multi-faith effort to End Mass Incarceration, the Faith & Justice Collective and the Freedom Writers program.

Cynthia Holland is currently the Vision Area Chair for Making Disciples and Associate Lay Leader at Ben Hill United Methodist Church. She Joined Ben Hill in 1988 and has served in numerous ministries of the church.  She also serves as the Associate Director of Lay Servant Ministries for the Central North District and is on the board for Racial Justice and Healing for the North Georgia Conference. Cynthia is a beacon of compassion and service, driven by an unyielding passion to advocate for those affected by mass incarceration. Her journey was shaped by a deep-seeded commitment to make a tangible difference in the lives of individuals caught in the complex web of the criminal justice system. Committed to  a desire to effect systemic change, Cynthia works with other non-profit organizations and advocacy groups focusing on criminal justice reform. She invests time in actively listening to the experiences and concerns of those impacted by the criminal justice system. Her story became public when she was featured in the December 2019 issue of United Women in Faith’s Response magazine. This two-page article entitled “A Mother’s Pain” shed light on the over sentencing of people of color and the low income. She was featured on 11 Alive news in August of 2022 and November of 2023 highlighting her 13-year journey and the progress her daughter has made since her release. Cynthia and her daughter Michelle have been working together, sharing their story with those that have lost hope. They represented the United Women in Faith at the Free Her Conference held in San Juan Puerto Rico in October of 2023 where they were able to network with other organization across the United States. Their story was also made into a short film documentary in December 2023 to highlight the United Women in Faith’s School to Prison Pipeline campaign and get others involved. She has worked with other organizations in the community such as EMI (End Mass Incarceration Network), The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, has attended Justice Day at the capitol for the past several years and mentored other mothers that are experiencing issues within the justice system. She grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota and relocated to Atlanta in 1980 as part of her job with the airline. She is semi-retired from Delta Airlines and is CEO of a sales and marketing business that caters to ethnic hair and beauty products. She has two adult daughters and three grandchildren.

Mazie Lynn Guertin, JD, MPA (she/her)

Executive Director

Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

404-414-7747 | www.gacdl.org | mazielynn@gacdl.org

Longer Version

Mazie Lynn invests her time in a variety of initiatives ranging from the daily growth and development of her two young children to supporting the work of the justice seekers - the incredible members of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Atlanta became home to Mazie Lynn when she arrived to study engineering at Georgia Tech over twenty-five years ago.

After receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering, she went on to teach English as a Second Language in Split, Croatia before returning to the United States for a role in operations at a national financial planning firm. Her love of the law and desire to serve led her to Georgia State University where she earned a Juris Doctor and Master of Public Administration on her way to becoming a public defender. She has invested her legal career in being a voice for those too often unheard: men and women accused of crimes ranging from petty shoplifting to capital murder.

For almost twenty years, Mazie Lynn has lived in the under-resourced southside of the City of Atlanta believing that community transformation requires, in part, the long-term commitment of neighbors willing to give of themselves for the greater good. In addition to volunteering with her daughter’s Girl Scout troop Mazie Lynn also serves on the Board of Directors of Wesley International Academy.

Ben Minor is a nonprofit professional with 10+ years experience working with organizations focusing on providing social services and advocating for marginalized communities in Metro Atlanta and across the Deep South. Ben currently serves as the as the Foundation Relations Manager at the Southern Center for Human Rights, and prior to joining SCHR, he served as both the Project One on One Director and the Development Director at Children’s Restoration Network. Ben's nonprofit experience includes program management, donor cultivation, grantwriting, volunteer coordination, and HR & Training. 

Ben graduated from Oglethorpe University in 2007 with B.A. Degrees in English and Philosophy, and he received Oglethorpe University's President’s Citizenship Award that year. In 2007, he was also selected as a Carter Academic-Service Entrepreneur Grant Recipient by The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Foundation for his work with a grassroots organization to raise money for homeless programs by hosting concerts featuring local artists

Laura Tate Kagel is the Director of International Professional Education at the Dean Rusk International Law Center at the University of Georgia School of Law, where she runs the Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree program for foreign attorneys. She holds a J.D. from UGA and a Ph.D. in German from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has previously been involved in death penalty abolition work as a State Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator for Amnesty International. This is her second time serving on the GFADP board. She also volunteers as a mentor for U-Lead, a non-profit organization dedicated to enabling college access to higher education for immigrant students and students from immigrant families.