Tyshawn Jackson is a true product of DeKalb County and everything about her is “so DeKalb.” Growing up in Atlanta, she attended Sky Haven Elementary School, Ronald E. McNair Middle School, and in 2001 she became a proud graduate of Ronald E. McNair Senior High School, DeKalb County, Georgia. Tyshawn went on to attend Georgia State University, earning her Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. And in 2012, she earned her Juris Doctorate from Florida Coastal School of Law where she was recognized for performing over 400 hours of pro bono legal services while working in the Disability and Public Benefits Clinic.
The road that led Tyshawn to DeKalb was rocky. Tyshawn was born in Cleveland, Ohio where she spent the first 12 years of her life before losing her mother to gun violence, at the hands of her domestic partner. Fortunately, Tyshawn and her brother were immediately adopted by their now late aunt, Harriette Jackson, but this traumatic incident set the trajectory of her life and her career, exposing her at a young age to the criminal justice system and shaping her into the woman she is today. Ultimately, the suspect pleaded guilty to the crime during a pre-trial hearing, and Tyshawn moved to Atlanta to live with her father. It was then, in the summer of 1994, that Tyshawn found her home in DeKalb and she never looked back.
Tyshawn decided early on in her legal career to dedicate her work to helping those in need. While attending Florida Coastal School of Law, she enrolled in the Disability and Public Benefits Clinic, representing clients from intake through final hearing on guardianship, guardian advocacy, public benefits, and public and private disability matters. In the summer following her second year of law school, she worked at the John Moore Law Group handling personal injury, commercial litigation, commercial bankruptcy and consumer bankruptcy matters.
After graduating, Tyshawn clerked for the Honorable Asha F. Jackson, Superior Court Judge of DeKalb County where she honed her writing skills drafting legal orders and other legal documents. She went on to work as an Assistant District Attorney in the Recorder’s Court Division where she handled thousands of traffic cases and served as lead attorney on hundreds of bench trials.
Tyshawn transitioned to the Office of the Solicitor-General as an Assistant Solicitor-General where she prosecuted hundreds of misdemeanor cases before being promoted to Senior Assistant Solicitor-General. In this new role, she was assigned to the Special Victims Unit, prosecuting high-risk domestic violence cases, crimes against children, and abuse of the elderly and disabled adults. In 2018 she began her career in the Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney where she currently heads the Firearm Violence Prevention Unit, prosecuting violent felonies involving firearms. Tyshawn also works on community-based initiatives within the unit to help reduce the proliferation of gun violence in DeKalb County.
Tyshawn is a proud resident of the South DeKalb community where she is raising her 4-year-old son. She is a proud member of the Greater Travelers Rest Baptist Church, the Junior League of DeKalb County, and the Decatur Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporation.
