Nearly 200 members of The Links, Incorporated from across the state of Georgia convened in Atlanta for their annual Georgia Links Day at the Capitol (GLDAC). The two-day event was held Feb. 1- 2, 2026. With the theme “Changemakers: Linking Vision to Action,” the event brought professional women from 16 Georgia chapters to engage in policy briefings, attend advocacy programming, and meet with elected officials to address the key issues of housing insecurity, healthcare access, and especially, food insecurity.
The event kicked off on Feb. 1 with a community service project at the City of Refuge, a multifaceted social service nonprofit, located on Atlanta’s west side. There, the volunteers assembled Valentine’s gift bags for the residents, toured the facility, and presented a donation to the organization.
The next day the activities moved to the Georgia State Capitol area where there were panel discussions with legislators and nonprofit leaders. The Legislative Policy panel, which included Rep. Tangie Herring (Macon), Rep. Teddy Reese (Columbus), and Sen. Sonya Halpern (Atlanta), challenged everyone to engage in government to elevate their community. They emphasized the importance of getting young people involved in the voting process, researching the candidates, supporting your preferred candidates with donations because running for office is so expensive, and getting involved through your community and local schools.
The second panel was “Leading Where Policy Meets People: Frontline Perspectives on Housing, Health and Food.” It featured Keith Parker, Pres. & CEO of Goodwill of North America; Kyle Waide, Pres. & CEO of The Atlanta Community Food Bank; and Natosha Reid Rice, VP of Global Housing Opportunities at Habitat for Humanity. Waide noted that 1 in 7 Georgians experience food insecurity and 1 in 5 children live in food insecure households. He said, “We need to get more resources to more people across the state, “and said that policies like the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit were extremely helpful. Noting that people need a living wage, Parker said that Goodwill is having success converting people off SNAP with the philosophy of “teaching a man how to fish.” Rice emphasized how housing people promotes civic engagement and that, in turn, promotes voting. “When you solve problems for some, you end up solving for all,” she said. All the panelists emphasized the good news that these issues, especially housing, are currently on the minds of legislators on both sides of the aisle. She encouraged everyone to leverage their own power to push for issues they care about.
The day wrapped up with the event’s first ever press conference on the steps of the Georgia State Capitol which was facilitated by Marci McKenna, the President of the Atlanta Chapter of The Links, Incorporated.
Vanessa Falls, the Southern Area Director of The Links, Incorporated, reiterated the organization’s focus on advocacy and action by reminding the audience that, “Vision informs and action transforms.” The press conference also included Rep. Carolyn Hugley (Columbus), the House Minority Leader; Sen. Elena Parent, the Senate Minority Caucus Chair; Sen. Sonya Halpern (Atlanta), the Vice Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus; Rep. Tangie Herring (Macon), and Rep. Inga Willis (Atlanta), the Chair of the City of Atlanta Housing Delegation.
Rep. Willis concluded with a rousing call to action, saying “Now is the time to not surrender. Now is the time to not be apathetic. Now is the time to get to know your legislator. Now is your time to be present at the Capitol. Now is the time to know what legislation is coming down the pike that benefits our community. It’s also the time to pay attention to who supports that legislation and who doesn’t. It will take a bipartisan effort to make it work,” she concluded.
