Patti Garrett was elected to the Decatur City Commission in 2009 and has served as Mayor since 2016.

She was recently elected to serve on the Board of the Atlanta Regional Commission, representing the mayors of DeKalb County; at ARC, she serves as a member of the Local Leadership Housing Action Committee and on the Community Resources Committee. Patti is in her second year as Chair of the Board of the National Civic League and serves on the Georgia Municipal Association’s Equity and Inclusion Advisory Council and as a member of the Federal Policy Council.

Patti is a graduate of Leadership DeKalb and the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Leadership Institute. She served as Honorary Chair of the Islamic Speaker’s Bureau 2019 Gala which honored Women of Influence and has recently been named to the ISB Advisory Council. She has taught nutrition, provided nutrition counseling services, and worked as a Clinical Dietitian at Georgia State University and Emory University Health Services. She is interested in health policy, particularly related to access to healthy foods, equity, environmental policies, active lifestyles and the role of local government in fostering healthy, equitable and vibrant communities.

Patti graduated from Texas Christian University and received a Master of Science Degree from the University of Tennessee. She and her husband, Gary, live in the Winnona Park neighborhood of Decatur and enjoy visiting their three grown sons and their families. She is also an avid walker and will meet anyone for coffee and a good walk in Decatur.