Marla D. Jackson grew up in the southwest Georgia town Camilla. Her parents are Elder Dave and Annie Jackson. In 1991, she graduated from Mitchell-Baker High School. After high school, she headed to Georgia Southern University where she majored in English and Education. During her senior year at Georgia Southern, Jackson transferred to Albany (GA) State University, where she earned both Bachelor and Master degrees in English and an MPA with a concentration on Human Resources. She is currently working on her dissertation at Walden University majoring in Educational Technology. While completing