Faculty Profile: Sara Myers

Sara Beth Myers serves as Deputy General Counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center, a historic nonprofit that seeks racial justice in the South and beyond by working with community partners to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the rights of all people. She is a former Assistant United States Attorney in the Middle District of Tennessee where she served as the Civil Rights Coordinator and Human Trafficking Coordinator. Prior to serving as a federal prosecutor, she was an Assistant Attorney General and Assistant District Attorney in Nashville, Tennessee. In each of these roles, Sara Beth specialized in investigating and prosecuting hate crimes, excessive use of force, human sex and labor trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual assault. Given the complexity of cases involving vulnerable victims and survivors and the necessity for trauma-informed investigations, she has also specialized in educating prosecutors and law enforcement about how to identify and successfully work cases involving vulnerable victims. She is the founder of Advocates for Women's And Kids' Equality (AWAKE), an issues-based nonprofit that advocates for the advancement of women and kids in Tennessee through education and policy change. AWAKE has drafted and successfully lobbied ten Tennessee laws into existence in collaboration with women’s groups from across the state. She is also an adjunct professor of law at Vanderbilt Law School, a former board member of Thistle Farms, a two-year residential program that assists survivors of sex trafficking and addiction, and the current Vice-Chair of Communities in Schools, Tennessee. She received her undergraduate degree in History and Russian from Duke University, a Master's degree from Yale University, and her J.D. from Vanderbilt Law School. She lives in Nashville with her family, dog, cat, and chickens.