Yendelela M. Neely, a native of Laurens, SC, has dedicated her career to shaping and promoting healthy relationships between employers and employees. Yendelela currently serves as Managing Partner of Neely Legal advocating for the rights of workers. Prior to opening Neely Legal, Yendelela was a partner and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at a large international law firm where she honed her legal skills and developed an expertise in multi-plaintiff and class and collective action litigation and defense strategy, with particular emphasis on employment discrimination, wage and hour, and background check issues.

Yendelela has a deep commitment to the community.  She is also a proud member of the Board of Directors for Agape Youth & Family Center and the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Legal Aid Society.  Yendelela is also a Commissioner on the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodists Church’s Commission on Race and Religion.  Yendelela believes deeply in equality of access and opportunity and thus, has previously served as a member of the National Board for and the Chair of the Atlanta Advisory Board for Jumpstart, a national early education organization, as the Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for Worksource Atlanta (formerly the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency), and as a member of the Board of Directors for Families First.

Yendelela is a 2003 magna cum laude graduate of Furman University where she double-majored in History and Political Science. Yendelela is also a cum laude graduate of Duke University School of Law (2006) and a graduate for Candler School of Theology (2024). Yendelela resides in Atlanta, Georgia.