[1] Born in 1972 at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, Waites attended Lakeside High School in Dekalb county and graduated in 1991.
She then attended Georgia Southern and Atlanta Metropolitan College and graduated with a degree in political science.
[5] Waites resigned from her House seat on September 18, 2017, to run for the chairship of the Fulton County Commission.
[6] She finished in second place, ahead of Gabriel Sterling, and advanced to a runoff election,[7] which she lost to incumbent Robb Pitts.
[8] She ran in the Democratic primary for Georgia's 13th congressional district against incumbent David Scott, coming in second place in a field of four candidates.