GA TOTA Speaker's Bureau

A Community Resource to Obtain Knowledgeable Speakers

Leslie Thomas, White woman with short brown hair wearing a teal blue shirt

Leslie Thomas

GA TOTA President/National TOTA Delegate Historic Preservation Officer, GA TOTA President, Gilmer County Historical Society 

Presentation Topics

  • History of the Georgia Trail of Tears Association
  • Cherokee Removal Roundup (1838)
  • Genealogy and the Cherokee
  • Other Cherokee Related Topics
  • Cherokees of North Georgia
  • Georgia Guard (Removal Period)
  • Pony Club/Gold Fever
Jeff Bishop, White man with brown hair, white beard wearing glasses and a navy blue jacket

Jeff Bishop

Director, Funk Heritage Center

Presentation Topics

  • Southeast Indians
  • William McIntosh & McIntosh Trail
  • Cherokee Removal
  • Trail of Tears
  • First Contact with Native Americans
  • Ancient Indians
  • John Ross
Wanda Patterson, white woman with short blonde hair wearing glasses and a pink blouse

Wanda Patterson

Retired Educator, Local Historian & Community Leader

Presentation Topics

  • John Rollin Ridge: Cherokee Scribe
  • Elias Boudinot & Harriet Gold: A Cherokee Romantic Tragedy
  • Cherokee Nation Divided: The War Between the States
  • Spring Place & Oochgeelogy: Moravian Missions Among the Cherokee
  • The Enlightened Cherokee: Advances in Governing the Cherokee Nation
  • Events Leading to the Trail of Tears