Jodi Merriday's campaign for city council is her first entry into politics.

Jodi is a diversity and inclusion consultant. She is Chief Executive Officer of Diplomacy, Inc., where she provides trainings on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), Title IX and multiculturalism to public officials, universities and other organizations. She was appointed Ombudsman and established the Atlanta Public Schools' (APS) Office of the Ombudsmen following the APS cheating scandal. She worked as an Assistant Professor at Gordon State College, and Lecturer at Spelman College, Community College of Philadelphia, Art Institute of Philadelphia and Clark Atlanta University. She was also Adjunct Lecturer at Georgia State University, Special Assistant to the President of Spelman College and Assistant Director of the Georgia State University Neighborhood Collaborative.

Jodi was born and raised in Atlanta. She attended Warren T. Jackson Elementary, Sutton Middle and Frederick Douglass High schools. When she was 15, she worked at Six Flags and Wendy's. She has a bachelor's degree from Hampton University, a master's in sociology from Temple University, a master's in Development Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a doctorate in African- American Studies from Temple University.