About our speaker:  Wanda Patterson

Miss Patterson is a 48-year member of Alpha Delta Kappa Honorary Sorority for Women in Education. She is a charter member of the Georgia Trail of Tears Association and was named 2018 Volunteer of the Year for the Georgia chapter.On behalf of TOTA, she has edited a volume of poetry by Cherokee poet John Rollin Ridge, as well as serving on the Trail of Tears Speakers Staff.

As a member of the Fielding Lewis Chapter of NSDAR, Miss Patterson won first place in the Nation in 2015 for her quilt called “Noble Native,” featuring the profile of an American Indian.At the 2018 Georgia DAR Convention she was awarded the first-place ribbon for her work as American Indians Committee Chair.During that biennium she wrote and illustrated monthly articles called “Virtual Vision Quest” about Indian issues.The articles were emailed to 300 DAR members. She also led chapter field trips to Cherokee historical sites in Georgia. Miss Patterson currently serves as State Committee Chair of the Georgia DAR Regent’s Speakers Staff. She is an award winning quilter, painter, gourd artist, and author.

Wanda Patterson graduated from West Georgia College in 1969 with a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education. She taught English and journalism for 23 years at Sprayberry High School in Marietta, Georgia, and served as Learner Support Strategist there for seven years.

Miss Patterson has devoted much of her time to research concerning American Indians in general and the Cherokee in particular.