Bernice A. King
Bernice A. King (Be A King) is the Chief Executive Officer of The King Center, which was founded by her mother in 1968. She is a powerful, motivating orator, who is the youngest daughter of the late Coretta Scott King and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
She is a graduate of Spelman College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Masters of Divinity and Doctorate of Law Degrees from Emory University. In 2007 she established the Be A King Scholarship in honor of Coretta Scott King at Spelman College. She serves on the HOPE Southeastern Board of Directors of Operation HOPE, the Board of the inaugural Regions Diversity Advisory Council for Regions Financial, and she is an Advisory Board Member of the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS).
With a strong passion for youth and the next generation, Bernice King founded Be A King, whose mission is to re-brand and re-image generations of people to elevate the way they Think, Act, Learn, Love, Live, and Lead.
Beverly Daniel Tatum
In 2002, Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum became the ninth president of Spelman College, which is now widely recognized as one of the leading liberal arts colleges in the nation.
In addition to being an accomplished administrator, Tatum is widely recognized as a scholar, teacher, race relations expert and leader in higher education. In 2005 Tatum was awarded the prestigious Brock International Prize in Education for her innovative leadership in the field. She is the author of several books, including Can We Talk About Race? And Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation (2007).
Actively involved in the Atlanta community, Tatum is a member of several boards, including the Executive Committee of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Woodruff Arts Center, and the Atlanta Regional Consortium for Higher Education, where she serves as Vice Chair.
Tatum earned a B.A. degree in psychology from Wesleyan University, and a M.A. and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from University of Michigan. She also holds a M.A. in religious studies from Hartford Seminary.
Candace L. Byrd
Candace L. Byrd received her B.A. from Georgia State University and her J.D. degree from the Howard University School of Law. She began her career in the areas of medical malpractice, criminal defense, workers’ compensation and probate law at the law firm of Forrest B. Johnson & Associates, where she practiced for seven years. Subsequently, Byrd started her own practice, focusing in the areas of criminal defense and general practice.
In June 2003, Mayor Shirley Franklin appointed Byrd as the Acting Chief Public Defender for the City Court of Atlanta. In January 2005, Byrd became a Deputy Director for the Municipal Court Office of the Public Defender. The office was responsible for handling over 25,000 cases each year for indigent defendants. In 2007, Byrd was appointed as Director of the office.
In January 2010, Byrd was appointed by Mayor Kasim Reed as Chief of Staff of the City of Atlanta. She is responsible for providing advice and guidance to the Mayor on legislative and political issues and serves as liaison to the public and private sectors in fostering partnerships and the development of revenue generating initiatives.
Candy Moore
Candy Moore is a Senior Vice President and Community Development Manager for Wells Fargo & Company in Atlanta, responsible for the company’s community lending, service and investment strategies and goals for Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.
She currently serves on the boards of the United Way of Greater Atlanta and the Atlanta Business League. She was the first African American to serve as chair of Converse College’s Board of Visitors.
She is a member of the Junior League of Atlanta Political Affairs Committee, and has worked on United Way Campaigns, UNCF’s Annual Mayor’s Masked Ball, and was appointed by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed to serve on the Mayoral Board of Service.
Moore is among Who’s Who in Black Atlanta, and has been named one of Atlanta’s 100 Most Influential African-American Women and one of Atlanta’s 100 Top Black Women of Influence. She received the Concerned Black Clergy’s 2010 Corporate Award and is a recent graduate of Leadership Atlanta’s Class of 2012.
Moore earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration and marketing, graduating cum laude, from Converse College, an all-women’s college in Spartanburg, S.C.
Cathelene “Tina” Robinson
The Honorable Cathelene “Tina” Robinson, also known as “The People’s Clerk,” is a lifelong Georgia native and has served Fulton County citizens for over 38 years. As Clerk of Superior Court, Robinson is responsible for the mandated duties of recording and safeguarding all criminal, civil, real estate and Board of Equalization records, managing an annual budget of $16 million and a staff of over 200 Deputy Clerk. Robinson’s office motto, “doing the right thing, the right way, each time, for every customer,” illustrates her commitment to customer service and creating initiatives to help make our community a safer place for all to live, work and play.
Robinson volunteers with numerous civic outreach programs and serves on a variety of task force boards. She is an alumnus of the former George Washington Carver High School and Atlanta Junior College. Tina is the proud mother of two daughters and one grandson.
Charmaine Ward
Charmaine Ward is Director of Community Affairs for Georgia-Pacific. During her 25-plus years in corporate America, Ward has held senior level positions with IBM, Showtime Networks, Bank of America and John H. Harland.
She is immediate past president of the National Black MBA Association, Atlanta Chapter. She also serves on the boards of the Atlanta Business League; Urban League of Greater Atlanta; True Colors Theatre; National Black Arts Festival and PAGE (Professional Association of Georgia Educators).
Ward has received numerous awards, including the Torch Award from Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, 100 Most Influential Black Women in Atlanta from Atlanta Business League, Local Legend from Frank Ski Kids Foundation, 30 Powerhouse Women from Who’s Who In Black Atlanta, 25 Women of Achievement from Rolling Out Magazine, and Woman In Philanthropy from Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
Ward graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Economics from Clark Atlanta University and earned an MBA with honors from the Executive MBA program
at Kennesaw State University.
Cynthia N. Day
Cynthia N. Day is the President & Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Trust Bank.
Day establishes and implements the vision and strategic direction of the institution. She also provides leadership to a team of Citizens Trust Bank’s senior management professionals in an effort to achieve and accomplish the Bank’s strategic objectives. She has been a Certified Public Accountant for more than 20 years.
Day has been recognized for her leadership and mentorship in various community and professional organizations including being named one of Atlanta’s Top 100 Black Women of Influence by the Atlanta Business League.
She is a member of the Board of Directors of Aaron’s, Inc., The National Bankers Association, Central Atlanta Progress, and the Atlanta Business League. She is also a member the Board of Councilors of The Carter Center.
A native of Fayette, Ala., and a graduate of The University of Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, Day received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Accounting.
DEIDRE MCDONALD
Deidre McDonald has over 30 years of experience as an award-winning producer, writer and educator. Currently, she is the Founding Artistic Director for the BronzeLens Film Festival, which celebrates Atlanta as the new Mecca for film production.
She served as Project Leader for the Georgia Entertainment Media (GEM) Work Ready Region, an economic development initiative that focused on careers in the metro-Atlanta entertainment industry. Formerly Senior Producer for Programs and Projects for WXIA-TV, she produced programming centered on social and cultural issues that was recorded locally, nationally and internationally. Selected awards include eight regional Emmy’s, and over 25 Emmy nominations, recognition from the National Commission on Working Women, and the National Association of Television Programming Executives (NAPTE).
She was on the faculty at Clark Atlanta University and also served as Director of Internships and Special Projects for the Division of Communication Arts. She is actively involved on the Board of Youth Ensemble of Atlanta (YEA) and many other professional organizations.
Elisabeth Omilami
Elisabeth Omilami is the CEO and President of one of Atlanta’s most historic human service organizations, Hosea Feed The Hungry and Homeless. She is also a stage, film and television actress with over 30 years of experience as an artist.
Omilami is also an activist, and her voice can be heard across the globe around such issues as poverty, hunger and shaping policies that do not deny the poor access to equal opportunity.
Under the leadership of Omilami and her husband, Afemo, Hosea Feed The Hungry and Homeless has expanded to a year-round human services organization with programs that touch over 180,000 people per year. HFTH’s “Homeless Prevention” program is an award-winning program. Their disaster relief activities have recently been commended by the Governor of Georgia and reach far beyond Georgia to Alabama and Tennessee. HFTH operates the largest food bank in the region that supports families directly with nutritious emergency food.
HFTH Holiday Dinner Festivals are held on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday and Easter Sunday — massive events that feed thousands and include a free medical clinic, all-you-can-eat food, barber/beauty services, clothing, toiletry and personal grooming product distributions, a children’s party, an educational component, and much more.
As an actress she has been seen most recently in “The Blind Side” and in the Lifetime TV special “Marry Me.” An accomplished playwright, Omilami’s original play “There is A River in My Soul” will experience a revival next year.
Erica Qualls
Erica Qualls serves as General Manager for the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Marriott International’s third-largest hotel – a $100 million- a-year operation. She is responsible for ensuring guest and associate satisfaction, managing the hotel’s finances and assets, owner relations and fostering business alliances that promote Marriott International.
In April 1993, Qualls started her career with Marriott International. She has held key positions in various disciplines. Qualls is also involved in national and local community organizations including Children’s Miracle Network, Hands on Atlanta, United Negro College Fund, United Way, the Azalea City Chapter of the Links, Inc. and the International Women’s Forum of Georgia. She serves on the Board of Trustees for the Atlanta Police Foundation and Chick-Fil-A Bowl. She is on the Executive Board of Directors for the Metro Chamber of Commerce, Atlanta Hotel Council, Atlanta Business League and Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. She is a member of the boards of Central Atlanta Progress, Atlanta Technical College, YWCA and Marriott Pride.
Mayor Evelyn Winn-Dixon
An Atlanta native, Dr. Evelyn Wynn-Dixon, Mayor of the city of Riverdale, earned her post-secondary and post-graduate education in Social Work and Gerontology.
Riverdale is a metropolitan suburb of Atlanta with a diverse and dynamic population that is located approximately five miles south of Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
One of Wynn-Dixon’s most recent appointments was to Gov. Nathan Deal’s Transit Governance Task Force. Additionally, she serves in an executive capacity on the Georgia Municipal Association-Board of Directors, American Red Cross Minority Recruitment Board and the Securus House Executive Board—just to name a few. Wynn-Dixon has been recognized for her exemplary leadership and is the recipient of countless awards and special honors. In May 2011, she was named Business Woman of the Year by the Clayton County Chamber of Commerce.
Wynn-Dixon is best known for forging partnerships to revitalize Riverdale’s communities, strengthening the economy through workforce investments, and smart growth initiatives.
Evern Cooper Epps
Evern Cooper Epps is the retired President of The UPS Foundation and the retired Vice President of UPS Corporate Relations.
Then-President George W. Bush appointed her twice as a member of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. The YWCA of Greater Atlanta named her as their 2005 Woman of Achievement. She was selected for the Women’s Hall of Fame of the Atlanta Business League. She has been named as one of Georgia’s 100 most Influential Women in Corporate America.
In addition, she has served as the Board Chair of The National B
lack Arts Festival, has been a member of The Executive Leadership Council (ELC), and has served as Secretary of The ELC Foundation. Other board involvement has included the Advisory Board for Girl Scouts of Northwest Georgia, the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Hank Aaron’s Chasing the Dream Foundation, Cool Girl’s, and Emory School of Medicine.
Epps earned a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism from Michigan State University, and she continued her education at Emory University and Harvard School of Business.
Geri Thomas
Geri Thomas is Senior Vice President, Global Diversity and Inclusion Executive and Georgia Market President for Bank of America. She serves as the chief strategist and leader for diversity and inclusion globally and serves on the bank’s Global Diversity & Inclusion Council. As Georgia market president, Thomas is responsible for driving business integration opportunities across Georgia to grow market share and deliver the full power of Bank of America. She also oversees the company’s corporate social responsibility strategy locally.
Thomas is a member of the Consortium of Chief Diversity Officers at Georgetown University. She is on the board of trustees of the Georgia State University Foundation. She is currently a member of the Board of Councilors of the Carter Center, the Buckhead Coalition, the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Committee for Progress, and Leadership Atlanta. In addition, Thomas is a member of the executive committee for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Executive Leadership Council and serves as a trustee of Woodruff Arts Center.
Thomas received a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Resources from Georgia State University.
Glenda Hatchett
Judge Glenda Hatchett presides over the syndicated television show “Judge Hatchett,” and she is the founder of Parent Power Now, the online parenting network.
Prior to becoming a judge, Hatchett worked at Delta Air Lines, serving in dual roles as a Senior Attorney and as Manager of Public Relations. At the time, Ebony Magazine named Hatchett one of the “100 Best and Brightest Women in Corporate America.” She then became Chief Presiding Judge of the Fulton County, Georgia Juvenile Court, becoming Georgia’s first African-American Chief Presiding Judge of a state court.
Hatchett is a graduate of Mt. Holyoke College and Emory University School of Law. She was awarded the Emory Medal, the highest award given to an alum by the university. Hatchett is also the author of two national best-selling books.
Hatchett has served on the Board of Advisors for the Atlanta Falcons Football Organization, as well as the Board of Directors of Gap, Inc., the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), The Service Master Company, and Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming
Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming was appointed by President Barack Obama as the Region 4 Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in September 2010. She is the first African American to hold this position in Region 4. Fleming is responsible for eight Southeastern states, as well as six federally recognized tribes, making Region 4 the largest of 10 regions. Region 4 has approximately 1,000 employees, and Fleming manages a budget of over $500 million.
Prior to this position, she became the DeKalb County District Attorney in January 2005, making her the first African American and first woman ever to serve in this post. She also served as the first woman, first African American and youngest to ever be elected as DeKalb’s Solicitor General.
She is a member of the National Council of Negro Women, the NAACP and has completed several programs in leadership. She also chairs the Combined Federal Campaign.
Fleming is a New Jersey native and earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Douglass College and a law degree from the Emory University School of Law.
Ingrid Saunders Jones
Recently retired after 30 years, Ingrid Saunders Jones was the senior vice president of Global Community Connections for The Coca-Cola Company and Chair of The Coca-Cola Foundation. Ms. Jones headed the Company’s philanthropy efforts, which under her leadership contributed more than $460 million to support community initiatives. Earlier in her career, Ms. Jones worked with the Honorable Maynard Jackson, then Mayor of the City of Atlanta; served as a legislative analyst for the president of the Atlanta City Council; served as the Executive Director of the Detroit Wayne County Child Care Coordinating Council; and also taught in the public schools of Detroit and Atlanta. Ms. Jones is the National Chair of the National Council of Negro Women, a board member at Clark Atlanta University, the Woodruff Arts Center, The Ohio State University President’s Council on Women, and the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. She also is a member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta, the Society of International Business Fellows, and serves on the national board of directors of Girl Scouts USA.
J. Veronica Biggins
Veronica Biggins, Managing Director of the Atlanta office of Diversified Search, previously served as Assistant to the President of the United States and Director of Presidential Personnel under William Jefferson Clinton.
She was responsible for selecting and hiring all political appointees within the federal government. Biggins served as Vice Chairman of the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.
Biggins serves on the Avnet and Southwest Airlines Board of Directors. She was recognized by the Board of Directors Network (BDN) for her advocacy of women on corporate boards.
She completed the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative. She received a master’s degree from Georgia State University and a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College.
She is Chair of the Global Board of Visitors for Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), and she sits on the Carter Center Board of Councilors and is on the board of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
Jackie Parker
Jackie Parker is the Vice President of Corporate Philanthropy at Newell Rubbermaid Inc. and is President of the Newell Rubbermaid Foundation.
Parker is the founding pioneer for three of Newell Rubbermaid’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, which have transformed the company’s approach to investment and involvement in social causes and diversity and inclusion.
Parker has received many awards and honors, including the Atlanta Technical College Bridge Bui
lder Award; Atlanta’s Business-to-Business Magazine IMPACT Leader Awards; Savoy Magazine Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America; Atlanta’s Business -to- Business Magazine Women of Excellence; Hampton University Alumnus at Large Award; Georgia Assoc. Black Women Attorneys Professional Leadership Award; and the Trumpet Awards – High Heels in High Places Award.
She serves on many boards and has chaired many organizations and events, including the Advisory Board of Councilors, Carter Center; Board Chair, YWCA, Metro Atlanta Chapter Chair; President-Elect, OnBoardnow.org.
Parker earned her Master of Business Administration in marketing from Johns Hopkins University and holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Hampton University.
Janice L. Mathis
Esq. Is vice president of the Citizenship Education Fund, which was founded by the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson in 1984. Based in Atlanta, Janice practices law emphasizing personal injury and criminal appeals. She is a former member of diversity councils for Georgia Power and Coca-Cola. She is a graduate of Duke University and UGA law school. Janice served on the Democratic National Committee and on the Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters of the US. Janice is a graduate of Leadership Georgia and currently serves on the national Social Action Commission for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Janice McKenzie Crayton
Janice McKenzie-Crayton serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta (BBBSMA), one of the largest and oldest mentoring programs in the south. She has held this position since January 1992, and provides leadership to a diverse and multi-cultural staff of 43 professionals. In her 20 years as the chief administrator of this youth-serving organization, Janice has led BBBSMA through strategic growth and has expanded the reach of BBBSMA to 12 metro Atlanta counties currently serving approximately 3,400 children.
Prior to joining Big Brothers Big Sisters, Janice was the Vice-President for Development at Spelman College after moving to Atlanta in 1988. Prior to her notable work at Spelman, Janice held positions with Howard University, Hampton University and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Howard University.
JASMINE GUY
Jasmine Guy is a dancer, actor, singer, director and writer. She has a recurring role as Grams on the popular CW series “Vampire Diaries,” received critical acclaim for her role in the 2012 film “October Baby,” and starred in the 2012 Alliance Theater production of “God of Carnage.”
Her body of stage work includes Broadway productions of “The Wiz,” “Leader of the Pack,” “Grease” and “Chicago,” starring as Velma Kelly, and most recently starring locally opposite Kenny Leon in “Fool For Love.”
For television, she created the iconic southern belle Whitley Gilbert on the “Cosby Show” spinoff, “A Different World,” for which she won six consecutive NAACP Image Awards and numerous other honors. Other TV credits include the mini-series “Queen,” “Anne Rice’s Feast of All Saints,” “America’s Dream,” “Touched By an Angel,” “Fame,” “NYPD Blue,” “Melrose Place,” “Drop Dead Diva,” and Showtime’s “Dead Like Me.” Her film credits include Spike Lee’s “School Daze” and Eddie Murphy’s “Harlem Nights,” among others.
She is currently Producing Director of Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company in Atlanta.
Juanita P. Baranco
Juanita Baranco is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Baranco Automotive Group, currently consisting of Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead and smartCenter Buckhead. She and her husband, Gregory Baranco, founded the first Baranco car dealership in the metropolitan Atlanta area in 1978. Mrs. Baranco, along with her husband and former Ambassador Andrew Young opened Mercedes Benz of Buckhead in Atlanta in June of 2003.
Baranco earned her Bachelor of Science and Juris Doctorate degrees from Louisiana State University. Baranco was once Assistant Attorney General for the State of Georgia. An active business leader, Baranco has been featured on several occasions in Georgia Trend magazine’s annual list of the “100 Most Influential Georgians.” She has received numerous awards for her business and community activities, including recognition by the Dow Jones Company for entrepreneurial excellence and the first Trumpet Award recipient for entrepreneurial excellence. In 2001 she was inducted into the Georgia State University Business Hall of Fame.
Baranco serves on several boards and is Chairman of the Board at Clark Atlanta University.
Judy Forte
Judy Forte is Superintendent of the Martin Luther King, Jr. NHS, a unit of the National Park Service. She is responsible for the protection, preservation, interpretation and education of the places where Martin Luther King, Jr., was born, and where he has lived, worked, worshiped, and is buried.
She joined the National Park Service in 1978, after graduating from Tuskegee University in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree. She previously served as acting Associate Regional Director for Park Operations, and Regional Chief Ranger, Southeast Region, and Superintendent at Horseshoe Bend NMP, Dadeville, AL.
She was recognized by the U.S. DOI, for her leadership during Gulf Coast recovery efforts following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. She was selected by the Atlanta Business League as one of the Atlanta’s Top 100 Black Women of Influence for 2009, and Berean SDA Church selected her as a recipient of their Black History Award for 2013.
Karen Brewer-Edwards
Karen Brewer-Edwards is a Regional General Manager for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. She is responsible for managing more than $6 billion in revenue and approximately 28,000 associates and 95 stores in North Georgia including Atlanta. Her role consists of saving customers money so they can live better, executing business strategies for Walmart’s Southeast Division, serving communities in North Georgia, and talent development for the Southeast Division.
Brewer-Edwards serves on the Board of Directors for the Communities in Schools of Georgia and on the Executive Board for the Urban League of Greater Atlanta. In 2010 she was listed as one of the “Most Influential Women Business Leaders in Atlanta” by the Atlanta Business Journal and was featured in 2013 by “Who’s Who in Black Atlanta.”
Brewer-Edwards received her bachelor’s degree in business at the University of Central Arkansas.
Karmetria Burton
Karmetria Burton currently serves as General Manager for Strategic Programs with Delta Air Lines. The Houston, Texas, native was touted as one of the Top 25 Women Impacting Diversity by DiversityPlus Magazine over the past two years.
Burton is an advocate for minority and women-owned businesses, ensuring they are afforded competitive opportunities to service the international airliner.
Burton previously served in the area of strategic sourcing with a variety of leading corporations, including Xerox and AT&T. She also worked in supplier diversity management for the Intercontinental Hotels Group.
Burton earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Southern University-Baton Rouge, La., and a master’s degree in business from the University of Nebraska.
Additionally, she has taught business, procurement and diversity-related courses at Shorter, Georgia State and Kennesaw State University.
Kathleen Jackson Bertrand
Kathleen Bertrand maintains a dual career as Senior Vice President of Community and Governmental Affairs for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, and as a jazz vocalist.
A native Atlantan and a graduate of Spelman College, Bertrand is in her 30th year of employment with the ACVB.
She has been recognized by the Atlanta Business League as one of Atlanta’s Top 100 Black Women of Influence and by Black Meetings & Tourism Magazine as one of the Most Influential African-Americans in the Meetings/Tourism Industry, among other accolades. She is the 2007 recipient of the APEX Award for Distinguished Service by Black Meetings and Tourism Magazine.
Her board affiliations include the Atlanta Jazz Festival, the Black Women’s Film Network, and the Atlanta Community Food Bank. In 2007, she founded HIP – Hospitality Industry Professionals – an organization dedicated to the growth of diverse leadership within the hospitality industry.
Most recently, she serves as executive producer and founder for the BronzeLens Film Festival, created in 2009 to bring attention to Atlanta as a destination for film production by people of color. Bertrand’s singing engagements have included performances ranging from three Olympic Games (Barcelona, Lillehammer, Atlanta) to performances before two sitting U.S. presidents, to appearances at jazz festivals world wide.
LEONA BARR-DAVENPORT
Leona Barr-Davenport serves as President & CEO of the Atlanta Business League (ABL), Atlanta’s oldest minority business development and advocacy organization.
Her background combines more than 30 years experience in the areas of customer service, program development, organizational management and fundraising for associations and youth-oriented programs.
A native of Johnsonville, S.C., Barr-Davenport received a B.S. Degree in Business Administration & Economics from Benedict College in Columbia, S.C. and a Master of Business Administration degree with a Marketing concentration from Clark Atlanta University.
She has served with the Metro-Atlanta Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC), the Atlanta Inter-Alumni Council of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), and the Atlanta Red Cross, among others.
She was recognized by the National Business League with the Visionary Leadership Award and was inducted into the 2006 YWCA Academy of Women Achievers. She also received the 2008 Trumpet Foundation’s High Heels in High Places Award, the 2009 8th Annual Bridge Builder Award from Atlanta Technical Foundation, Inc. and the Spirit of Sweet Auburn Legends Heroes and Heroines Award in 2010.
Lisa Borders
Lisa Borders was recently named Vice President of Global Community Connections and Chair of The Coca-Cola Foundation at The Coca-Cola Company. Prior to that, Borders served as President of the Henry W. Grady Health System Foundation of The Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority. Borders served as Chief Executive Officer of LMB Group LLC. She worked as Senior Vice President of Cousins Properties Inc., the Atlanta-based Real Estate Investment Trust. Before working at Cousins, Borders worked in the healthcare arena for more than 15 years.
She serves as a Trustee at The Westminster Schools and as a Director with Teach For America. She also serves as a Director of Mercy Care Housing and as a Board Member of Research Atlanta and The Commerce Club. She served as Director of Saint Joseph’s Health System Inc. She serves as a board member at Clark Atlanta University, and as an advisory board member of Cool Girls and Year Up. She is a member of Leadership Georgia.
Borders holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Duke University and a Masters of Science in Health Administration from the University of Colorado.
Lisa Flagg
Lisa Flagg is CEO of the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority.
She has served as Staff Attorney to the Hon. Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore, former Chief Judge for the Superior Court of Fulton County. Thereafter, she opened a law office, where her practice included Family law, General Civil litigation and she served as Indigent Defense Counsel. Flagg also has served as Deputy General Counsel for the State Office of Public Health, and as Interim State Registrar for Georgia’s Office of Vital Records.
Flagg is co-founder of the Julian Lewis Youth Leadership Academy. She received a B.A. degree in Education from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and a J.D. degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She was the recipient of a Humanitarian Award for her work with the indigent community surrounding her undergraduate university. While in law school, she was awarded a public service grant to study the criminal justice system in the Bronx, New York.
Judge M. Yvette Miller was appointed to the Court of Appeals of Georgia by Governor Roy Barnes on July 12, 1999, when she became the first African-American woman and 65th Judge on the Court. She has been re-elected statewide without opposition by the citizens of Georgia for three six-year terms, most recently in July, 2012. Judge Miller was unanimously selected by her fellow judges to serve as Chief Judge for a two-year term, ending on January 1, 2011. Judge Miller is the first African-American woman to serve as Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. A former “Miss Macon,” Judge Miller received her B.A., cum laude, from Mercer University in 1977 and her J.D. from Mercer’s Walter F. George School of Law in 1980. Judge Miller also earned an LL.M. in litigation from Emory University School of Law in 1988 and an LL.M. in the Judicial Process from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2004.
 
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Mary Parker
Mary Parker, president & CEO of Atlanta based ALL(n)1 Security Services is the only nationally-certified African American female owner of a full-service security firm in the country. She started the business in 2001 after leaving another security firm. Now, thanks to contracts with both private and public clients, the company claims more than 200 employees and revenues that Parker says will top $10 million next year. ALL(n)1 provides services ranging from uniformed security guards who patrol construction sites, stores, corporations and other facilities, to access control, remote surveillance and alarm systems, to traffic control and employee background checks. The firm has worked special events such as sports events and concerts, and done jobs for companies like Atlanta Gas Light and clients such as Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council recently honored Parker with its Supplier of the Year Award, while the Atlanta Business League presented her with its Outstanding Achievement Woman of the Year Award.
Miranda Mack McKenzie
Miranda Mack McKenzie is the Area Development Director for UNCF, Inc. McKenzie recently retired from 30 years of service in the beverage industry, with the most recent being Anheuser-Busch, Inc., where she worked for 17 years.
McKenzie is a “Grady” baby and a Morris Brown College graduate. She started her career with WAOK Radio station. She is currently on the boards of the Atlanta Technical College Foundation, the NBCAHF Board, the Atlanta NAACP the BWFN and on the National Governance Committee for The Links, Inc. She is active at The Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church and with several civic and social organizations, including the Camellia Rose Chapter of the Links, Inc.
Mack has received numerous awards including Ebony’s Magazine Top Black Women in Corporate America, ABL’s Top 100 Women of Atlanta (tenured); 2011 Top Women of Atlanta Award and others.
Monica Kaufman Pearson
Monica Kaufman Pearson is the first woman and the first minority to anchor the daily evening news in Atlanta, where she worked for 37 years at WSB-TV. She’s won over 33 Southern Regional and local Emmy Awards for reporting, anchoring and her “Closeups” celebrity interview show.
The bipartisan Georgia delegation honored her in speeches on the U.S. House floor, when she retired in 2012. Since retiring, she writes a column, “Monica Matters” for Southern Seasons magazine and is a graduate student at the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
She is a volunteer, a motivational speaker, a singer, the daughter of a 90-year-old, the wife of an assistant police chief, and the mother of a budding entrepreneur. She’s a graduate of the University of Louisville and is a native of Louisville, Ky.
Nancy Flake Johnson is the President and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Atlanta. She hails from Detroit, Michigan where she previously served as the Vice President of Programs for the Detroit Urban League. She brings a wealth of knowledge to her position, having high-level work experience in both the public and private sectors. For ten years, Johnson served as the Executive Director for the Howard University Small Business Development Center. Prior to that, she built a career as a successful CPA and consultant operating an accounting, tax and consulting practice for 15 years. She began her professional career in Atlanta after graduating from Howard University in Washington, DC with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting, working with top CPA firms including Coopers and Lybrand and Arthur Andersen and Company. In addition to her work at the League, Johnson serves on the City of Atlanta Workforce Development Board and the Howard University Entrepreneurship Institute.
Pat Upshaw-Monteith
Since 1992, Pat Upshaw-Monteith has gone from Co-Executive Director to Executive Director and then was promoted to President and CEO of Leadership Atlanta in 2005. In this capacity, she has capably steered Leadership Atlanta to the position of excellence it now enjoys.
Prior to heading Leadership Atlanta, Upshaw-Monteith served as Associate General Manager of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for 13 years. When appointed to this position, she became the first African Americans hired in management by a major symphony orchestra.
Upshaw-Monteith is also a member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta and currently serves on the board of the Salvation Army, APEX and Advisory Board of Private Bank of Buckhead. She has been widely honored for her achievements.
Quinnie Jenkins-Rice recently joined Southwest Airlines as Community Affairs and Grassroots Manager where she is responsible for public relations, community outreach, crisis communications, event planning and social media. Her job includes building partnerships and developing programs like the Southwest Airlines Art & Social Engagement Project which works with Emory University undergraduate students, community leaders, and local artists to create public art projects reflecting important social issues in Atlanta. A former Corporate Communications Specialist for Air Trans Airways from 2007 to 2011, Jenkins-Rice has also worked for the Shepherd Center as a public relations manager. She is a 2001 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalist. Jenkins-Rice is also involved with the March of Dimes, Hands On Atlanta and the Habitat for Humanity.
Ms. Rene Lewis Glover has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlanta Housing Authority since 1994. Ms. Glover also serves as Director of Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Prior to joining the Atlanta Housing Authority, she was a corporate finance attorney in Atlanta and New York City. Ms. Glover reorganized AHA, the sixth-largest housing authority in the United States, into a diversified real estate company, with a public policy and service-oriented mission. As a result, she has been nationally recognized for her role in transforming U.S urban policy. Ms. Glover is a member of the international board of directors of Habitat for Humanity. Ms. Glover earned her juris doctorate at Boston University, her master’s degree at Yale University and her bachelor’s degree at Fisk University.
Shan Cooper
Shan Cooper is Vice President of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company and General Manager of the company’s Marietta, Ga., facility. She is also responsible for the company’s subassembly sites in Meridian, Miss., and Clarksburg, W.Va. In addition, she serves as the company’s Vice President of Business Ethics.
She has received the Women of Color in Technology Corporate Responsibility Award and the YWCA Tribute to Women of Achievement. She was named to Diversity MBA Magazine’s 2009 Top 100 Under 50 Executives and as one of Georgia Trend Magazine’s Most Influential Georgians in 2012 and 2013. She also received the 2013 Pioneer Award from US Black Engineer & Information Technology Magazine.
Cooper is the 2014 Chair of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education. She sits on the executive boards of the Boy Scouts of America Atlanta Area Council and the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce, among others. She is on the Board of Councilors for The Carter Center and the Board of Trustees of the WellStar Foundation and the Woodruff Arts Center.
She holds an MBA from the Business School at Emory University and is a graduate of the Rutgers Global Executive Masters in Human Resource Leadership Program.
Shirley Franklin
Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin recently joined the University of Texas in Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs as the Barbara Jordan Visiting Professor in Ethics and Political Values. Franklin served as mayor of Atlanta from 2002 to 2010. She was the first female to hold this position, and became first Black woman to be elected mayor of a major Southern city. In 2005, TIME Magazine named Franklin one of the five best big-city American mayors. She also was included in the U.S. News & World Report “Best Leaders of 2005” issue. Franklin was the recipient of a Profile in Courage Award in 2005, issued by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
In July 2009, Franklin was appointed to an ad hoc Department of Homeland Security special task force. She has served as a member on the Board of Directors for both Delta Air Lines and Mueller Water Products.
Franklin received her B.A. in Sociology from Howard University and her M.A., also in Sociology, from the University of Pennsylvania.
Stacey Abrams
Stacey Y. Abrams is the House Minority Leader for the Georgia General Assembly and State Representative for the 89th House District. She is the first woman to lead either party in the Georgia General Assembly.
She co-founded and acts as Senior Vice President of NOWaccount Network Corporation, a financial services firm, and she co-founded Nourish, Inc., a beverage company with a focus on infants and toddlers.
Among her numerous honors, in 2012, Abrams received the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award. She was recognized nationally as one of the “12 Rising Legislators to Watch” by Governing magazine, and she was named one of the “100 Most Influential Georgians” by Georgia Trend for 2012 and 2013.
Abrams serves on the Board of Trustees for Agnes Scott College, among other boards.
She received her J.D. from the Yale Law School. She graduated from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin with an M.P.Aff. in public policy. She earned a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies (Political Science, Economics and Sociology) from Spelman College, magna cum laude.
STACEY J. KEY
Stacey Key is the President and CEO of the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council (GMSDC) – the state of Georgia’s leading organization for supplier diversity and small business development. The GMSDC certifies Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) firms, develops their capacity and capability, and connects them with opportunities to do business with corporations and governmental agencies in Georgia. Key is also the president of GBK Enterprises, an entrepreneurial family-owned business. She has more than 20 years of management experience in sales, marketing, operations and customer satisfaction, for global brands such as IBM, Schlumberger, Bellsouth and Samsung. Key has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Computer Science from Western Kentucky University and an MBA from Kennesaw State University. Key sits on the Boards of Directors of Atlanta Technical College, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the State Transportation Board.
Stacy Cole-Bell
Stacy Cole-Bell is the Director of Government and Community Affairs with the Central Division for Comcast Cable Communications, a Fortune 500 Company and the largest provider of Cable TV and Broadband services in the United States.
The Central Division consist of the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. Cole-Bell is responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships with elected officials at the local, state and federal level. Additionally, Cole-Bell serves as a liaison between the corporate and regional Community Affairs teams.
Cole-Bell is the Immediate Past President of the Dogwood City Chapter of the Links, Inc., and she is a member of the Board of Directors of the Urban League of Greater Atlanta. Cole-Bell previously served on the Board of Directors of Cool Girls, Inc., Women in Cable and Telecommunications, and Literacy Action, Inc.
Cole-Bell received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington State University and a Juris Doctorate from Gonzaga University School of Law, where she served as the Articles Editor of the Gonzaga Law Review.
Tanya M. Coleman
Tanya M. Coleman, manager of marketing communications for Publix Super Markets, Inc., is a native Atlantan.
Coleman, responsible for developing and managing divisional marketing communications strategies and promotional activities in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina, successfully marries her professional word-load to long-held civic responsibilities and domestic oversight.
She is a member of Leadership Atlanta; a member and former president of the Dogwood City Chapter, The Links, Inc.; a member of The Junior League of Atlanta; and co-chair, The Friends of Jerry Pickney at The High Museum of Art.
Coleman has been recognized and honored by numerous groups and organizations. She is the recipient of the YWCA of Cobb County Women of Achievement Award and the Female Powerhouse (award) – Who’s Who in Black Atlanta.
Prior to Publix Super Markets, Coleman served as Director of Development, Families First; Director of Development, Spelman College; Area Development Director, UNCF; and buyer, Federation Department Stores.
Coleman is a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School (Magna Cum Laude) an
d Spelman College (Summa Cum Laude).
Tara Y. Coyt
Tara Coyt is an award-winning marketing strategist and writer. She has developed marketing and advertising campaigns for McDonalds, Sony, Porsche, General Mills, HBO, Showtime, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, Disney, UNCF and a host of other companies.
Coyt’s writing credentials include ghost writing, Time Served: My Days and Nights on Death Row Records and Your Passport to Reinventing You, written for NBA All Star, Sidney Moncrief. She is currently consulting on a photographic memoir for NBA All Star Joe Barry Carroll and has been published in numerous magazines and newspapers.
Coyt’s five-year tenure as the host and guest interviewer for “Newsmakers Live!” featured guests like Joseph Lowery, Jesse Jackson, Roy Ayers, the 2009 Atlanta Mayoral candidates, and the Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Her community involvement has included serving on boards for the Atlanta-Rio Sister Cities Foundation, the Atlanta Technical College Foundation, and the Atlanta Writers Club.
She is a Walter Kaitz Foundation Fellow and earned an MBA from Ohio State University and a B.S. in Natural Sciences from Xavier University of Ohio.
Xernona Clayton
Xernona Clayton is the Founder, Chair, President and CEO of the Trumpet Awards Foundation, Inc. and Creator and Executive Producer of the Foundation’s Trumpet Awards.
Clayton began her television career in 1967 and became the South’s first Black person to have her own television show. She was employed at Turner Broadcasting for nearly 30 years, where she served as one of the highest-ranking corporate female employees.
In 1965 she accepted a position with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and worked closely with the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. In 1966, she coordinated the activities of Atlanta’s Black doctors, which resulted in the desegregation of all hospital facilities in Atlanta.
She has received several Honorary Doctorate degrees. A school was recently named for her in Ghana and an auditorium in Las Vegas. She received the first Coretta Scott King Award from the SCLC and received EBONY’S Outstanding Women in Marketing and Communications award. The City of Atlanta honored Clayton by naming a street and a park after her in downtown Atlanta.
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