Ardena Garth Hicks

Ardena Garth-Hicks is a Chattanooga Native, president of Chattanooga Endeavors, a Public defender, and above all else a mother and incredible person to learn from. She went to undergrad at MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University) and went to University of Kansas for law school. I got the opportunity to interview her and learn about her life and accomplishments regarding being a public defender and how she got the inspiration to do it. Besides practicing law for over 20 years she also enjoys daily hobbies like crochet and knitting.

Being a public defender wasn’t always Ardena's calling, before discovering this new passion she originally wanted to practice medicine and become a doctor. But during the summer, before she went to undergrad, she soon realized that she did not like blood. So shifting her whole plan she thought of other career options before finding law. 

She's always had the eagerness to help others in any way she could; she thought of being a teacher. Her family was always a part of the education realm and coming from different schools fueled her spark to become one. When she was in her freshman year she had an algebra teacher who was never well liked by the students and they didn’t accept her well at all. So after that realization teaching was off the table. She was running through ideas on helping people and said to herself, “So then I decided that once I got through undergrad I said, “Well, I’ll go to law school and I can see if I can try to help people.” I really didn’t have an idea because I had family and friends who were educated and stuff that was in education, but I knew no one who was a lawyer in Chattanooga. So it was interesting to kind of move around, try to figure out what I’m gonna do now? And how I’m gonna do this. So I ended up getting an acceptance at the University of Kansas law school and I went from there…”. She found a man named Jerry Summers who had his own practice and he helped her get started and a couple months after passing the bar she started practicing law.

What had always interested her, once practicing law for the first time, was criminal court cases. She began being appointed civil cases and the criminal ones interested her so much that it's what influenced her career the most. 

Aside from being a public defender she had also made massive improvements to the prison systems allowing those who were sentenced to prison the opportunity to go home. Of course there are certain parameters and barriers those who get the chance to come home have to follow but Ardena had to follow them as well to make sure it was legal in every way to help those who go home, stay home. “When it comes to certain people, like males, if they don’t have children; normally they can’t find public housing. Even when it comes to getting assistance, like getting medical treatment, you get certain if you have children or if you are the head of household…”. When it comes to getting more liberties something new I learned was most males have it so much harder than others who have been convicted. For example, sometimes they can’t even get the medical treatment they need. Those main ones used to be automatic barriers. 

Times have changed though, and the hardest thing to find is affordable housing, and occasionally social security as well. Ardena tells me the story of someone she helped get out and the struggles of finding housing that was in their budget. Finding housing, like a one-bedroom, for eight hundred dollars isn't realistic and especially finding one that has a lot of utilities available adds to the difficulty as well. Through struggle and perseverance Ardena, as the president of Chattanooga Endeavors, and her team have helped over five hundred Chattanoogan's return home; setting a new precedent for the public safety and well-being of Chattanooga.

One of the most incredible things she does in her career is how she helps youth get into things like youth court and to be a part of court and to understand it better. She's even helped me achieve my goal of getting into youth court. The majority of the time parents come to her to help their kids and she takes them under her wing and shows them the ropes and helps them get back on the right course. Over her whole career, that is still going very strong, she's made so many impacts in people's lives and mine as well that it has improved that even the city of Chattanooga is better than before because of her contributions. It was such an honor to interview her and to hear her stories, and even more to get to know her better and how she's made a difference.