Judge Gayle Williams-Byers serves as Administrative and Presiding Judge of the South Euclid Municipal Court in South Euclid, Ohio since January 2012.  Prior to joining the bench, Judge Byers served as an Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor in northeast Ohio, ending her career as Supervisor of the Cuyahoga County Grand Jury. At the same time, she served as Adjunct Faculty at the Cuyahoga Community College in the Department of Law Enforcement, teaching courses in the areas of Juvenile, Constitutional and Criminal Law.      

In addition to her judicial responsibilities, she has been elected to the position of President-Elect for the American Judge’s Association (AJA), the largest judges-only organization in North America which has a mission of providing quality education programs and high-level publications to its members.  In her current capacity, she is Chairwoman of the Wellness and Conference Committees.  Throughout her membership with AJA, she has served on the Education, Domestic Violence, Diversity, Membership and Social Media and Technology Committees.  Additionally, Judge Byers has been appointed to serve as the only Judicial Fellow for the National Judicial College (Reno, Nevada).  In this role, she has honed expert skills in the area of Commercial Drivers, licensing and federal penalties.  She teaches courses to judges across the United States on Ethically Handling Commercial Drivers in Criminal and Traffic courts.  Further, she provides advice and guidance to the National Judicial College on this topic. 

As Municipal Judge in the City of South Euclid, Judge Byers has spearheaded several innovative advancements, including livestreaming court proceedings, creation of an IOS App to provide instant docket access, implementing a monthly Night Court docket to provide parties additional access to justice, and creation of the only suburban Specialized Mental Health Docket in Cuyahoga County.  This docket is designed to address the needs of defendants who struggle with severe and persistent mental illnesses.  Judge Byers was also the catalyst in forming the first suburban Drug Court initiative in partnership with Cleveland Municipal Court, where inaugural funding in the amount of nearly $2 million has helped to serve suburban communities in northeast Ohio.  Judge Byers received her B.A., M.N.O., and J.D. degrees from Case Western Reserve University.  She formerly served on the Board of New Directions, an organization that provides life changing treatment to chemically dependent adolescents and their families.  She is also a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., Alpha Lambda Sigma Chapter.  Judge Gayle Williams-Byers is a member of Beulah Baptist Church, where her father, Dr. A.E. Williams is Pastor.  Judge Byers is married to Gregory D. Byers, Jr.  They have one son, Gregory, a granddaughter, Laila and a rescue puggle, Gator.