John H. Eaves is in his second year of a four-year term as Chairman of the Fulton County Commission. He represents District 1, which covers the entire County.

Since being elected in November 2006, Chairman Eaves has spent his first year on an ambitious agenda that has included transforming the leadership structure and seeking alternative funding sources to support Grady Memorial Hospital, encouraging the collaboration of law enforcement and the community to reduce the rate of juvenile crime throughout Fulton County, and utilizing existing funding to renovate facilities and improve resources within the Atlanta-Fulton County Library System.

Prior to becoming Chairman, Eaves served as Senior Program Officer of the Southern Education Foundation, and for seven years led the Atlanta Regional Office of the Peace Corps. As a Regional Manager, he developed and implemented a comprehensive recruitment plan that significantly increased the number of American volunteers from the Atlanta region serving in more than 70 countries around the world. Under his leadership, the Atlanta office ranked fourth – after ranking tenth for many years – in volunteer recruitment.

Additionally, Eaves has held posts in both academia and the private sector, including Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at Kennesaw State University, National Director of the NCAA Volunteers for Youth Program, Adjunct Instructor at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, NC, and Assistant Dean of Students at Davidson College, NC, and Clayton State University.   

As Fulton County Commission Chairman, Eaves has sought to combine his appreciation for cross cultural experiences and his extensive knowledge of educational leadership. In 2007, he led the expansion of the Fulton County Youth Commission to include an international component that prepares young leaders for participation in a global economy.

Born in Jacksonville, FL, Chairman Eaves graduated in 1984 from Morehouse College, where he majored in mathematics and was senior captain and three-year starter on the school’s football team. While at Morehouse, he cultivated his passion for the underserved, acting as a program coordinator and big brother for Volunteers for Youth, an organization that paired college athletes with middle school youth. He also registered people to vote, volunteered in local political campaigns, was a coach tutor and counselor for Upward Bound at neighboring Clark College, now Clark Atlanta University. In addition to volunteer work, Eaves served as an intern to former Congressman Newt Gingrich on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Chairman Eaves has shown a commitment to excellence in public service. He was named top volunteer in the Atlanta Public School System, voted Volunteer of the Year by the Atlanta University Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa, chosen as the National School Volunteer Program spokesperson and selected as an Outstanding Young Man of America.

After earning a master’s degree in Religion from Yale University in 1987, Chairman Eaves continued his pursuit of knowledge with a doctorate in Educational Administration from the University of South Carolina in 1999. He received the American Marshall Memorial Fellowship from the German Marshall Fund in 2001, participated in the Fulbright International Educators Administrators German Seminar program in 2003, and in 2004 received a Fulbright Senior Specialist Grant to assist in the development of an International Education Program for Lapland University in Rovaniemi, Finland.

Chairman Eaves formerly served as Chair of the Atlanta Sister Cities Commission, a member of the Atlanta Council for International Relations and a National Urban League Black Executive Exchange Program visiting professor.
 
Chairman Eaves is the devoted father of two children, Isaac and Keturah. In 2006, he authored the book, Speakers of the House: Morehouse Men Reflect on their Journey to Manhood, published by Publishing Associates. In 2009, he released his second book, The Morehouse Mystique: Lessons on How to Develop Black Boys, published by African American Images Publishing Company of Chicago.