Samarria Dunson was named the 2023 YMCA Person of the Year.
Judge Samarria Dunson is Counsel with the law firm of Balch & Bingham, LLP and she
serves as a part-time Municipal Court Judge. She is a member of two internationally
recognized service organizations, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the
Montgomery (AL) Chapter of the Links, Incorporated. She serves as the President of
the University of Alabama Advisory Board for Community Affairs; Chair of the Baptist
Health Foundation Board; Audience Development Chair for the Alabama Shakespeare
Festival Board; and a member of the Federal Defenders Board and the Board of Saint
James School. She was recently selected by University of Alabama President, Stuart
Bell, to serve on the Rising Tide Campaign Cabinet.
For several years, she has committed her time and resources to exposing Montgomery
youth to S.T.E.A.M. careers both through the YMCA and ASU Upward Bound programs.
She received recognition as the Assistant Junior Daughter Counselor of the Year for
the Gulf Coast District Knights of Peter Claver, which promotes spiritual growth,
scholarship, and community service among African-American Catholic youth.
For 72 years, teens of the Montgomery Student YMCAs have shown their appreciation
to the men and women dedicated to serving youth in the community by planning and
executing the YMCA’s Person of the Year annual program held on the first Monday of
December at Trinity Presbyterian Church. At the banquet, students pay tribute to the
nominees, one of whom is selected as Person of the Year.
This year’s program was co-chaired by students Nikhil Pochana and Micah Young. The
featured guest speaker was Leslie Sanders, YMCA of Greater Montgomery’s 2022
Person of the Year.