Guest Columns
By Guest Columnist SARA PATENAUDE, chair of the Coalition for a Diverse DeKalb
On a recent freezing night in January, two unhoused residents found refuge in DeKalb County Fire Station No. 3, located in Avondale Estates. They were shown into the station conference room, where they were allowed to sit at the tables and chairs and spend the night out of the cold.
By Guest Columnist DAN REUTER, CEO of Reuter Strategy, an urban and regional planning firm
Georgia and most states have a history of pandemic influenza planning. President George W. Bush signed the first national Pandemic Influenza Strategy in 2005. The strategy was backed up by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Pandemic Influenza Plan.
By Guest Columnist JESSICA DUPEE, president, American Marketing Assoc., Atlanta
This time last year, there was cautious optimism that the new year – 2021 – would bring a return to normalcy thanks to vaccines and Covid-19 therapies on the cusp of widespread adoption (not to mention natural immunity).
By Guest Columnist JEFFREY STEPAKOFF, founding executive director, Georgia Film Academy
There are so many reasons to be proud of our state. But I’d like to share with you something that Georgia has quietly done which should be not only a point of pride for all of us, but should also give us a sense of optimism about our collective future and the role our state will play in the burgeoning entertainment, technology and creative industries.
By Guest Columnist ANTONIO MOLINA, chairman, Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
As a U.S. Navy Veteran, a community leader here in the state of Georgia, and current chairman of the board for the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, I am incredibly proud of the progress that the Latino community has made across the nation and the Peach state.
By Guest Columnist LIZ COYLE, executive director, Georgia Watch
More than a year into the pandemic, Georgia is still facing many pressing challenges. The highly contagious Delta variant followed by the Omicron variant, and low vaccination rates across the state, are driving a prolonged COVID-19 impact.
By Guest Columnist GIL FRANK, grief educator
At the start of the traditional holiday season, the total number of people who had died from COVID-19 in the United States exceeded 768,000, according to the Nov. 19 report from Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
By Guest Columnist BRIAN McGOWAN, president of the The Centennial Yards Co.
Returning to Atlanta after spending nearly three years in the Pacific Northwest, I see a city now facing the similar opportunities and challenges Seattle encountered on its journey to becoming a top market for tech talent and employers.
By Guest Columnist Dr. PREETI JAGGI, a pediatrician based in Atlanta
As a pediatrician, I’ve seen firsthand how the burden of pollution and climate change can disproportionately fall on our children.
By Guest Columnist BO HIERS, a semi-retired marketing officer in the reinsurance industry and super-proud grandfather of his beloved grandson, Fletcher
Thanksgiving week is – with apologies to a popular song about a different holiday – my most wonderful time of the year. If I could pinpoint a single year which kick-started my Thanksgiving fandom, it would be 1961. Like all second graders, I was blown away by large events with lots of people.
By Guest Columnists JIM KULSTAD, LORI LELAND-KIRK AND CAROLYN H. RADER, environmental advocate, urban planners and friends of Alycen Whiddon
Unsung visionary, landscape architect and urban planner, Alycen Whiddon left a permanent legacy in the urban design of Atlanta that we all enjoy today. Long before linking greenway trails, creating pedestrian and bike-friendly streets and zoning for vibrant urban spaces were commonly accepted concepts, Alycen was their champion.
By Guest Columnist HUDSON McGAUGHEY, undergraduate engineering student at Georgia Tech
On a blistering July day this summer, I strolled down the side of the road in Clarkston with three high school students, chatting and taking pictures. To others, we probably looked like another group of teenage boys, maybe looking for a place to cool off, and taking photos for Instagram. However, these pictures weren’t for social media. They were for research.
By Guest Columnist MELINDA SYLVESTER, president of the Greater Georgia Black Chamber of Commerce
Across the 50 states, there are 2.6 million Black-owned businesses that generate more than $138 billion in revenue annually. Georgia is among the nation’s leaders as Black entrepreneurs and Black enterprise flock to our state to launch new business to create jobs and wealth.
By Guest Columnist Dr. ANITA JOHNSON, National Breast Cancer Program director, Cancer Treatment Centers of America
Breast cancer is a disease most people recognize, and rightfully so. It is the second most common cancer diagnosed in American women, behind only skin cancer. That means one in eight U.S. women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. However, many people don’t understand the variations within the disease.
By Guest Columnist NATSU TAYLOR SAITO, a Regents’ professor and law professor at Georgia State University
In June 2020, in the wake of massive local, national, and worldwide demonstrations against racism and police violence, the Confederate monument in downtown Decatur came down.
By Guest Columnist BRENT PEASE, executive director, The Kyle Pease Foundation
Since 2011, The Kyle Pease Foundation has focused on generating awareness of inclusion and raising funds to promote success for persons with disabilities by providing assistance to meet their individual needs through sports.
By Guest Columnist MIKE DOBBINS, Georgia Tech professor of practice and former Atlanta planning commissioner
Stop, look and listen. Atlanta’s misguided densification planning and zoning strategy is barreling down the tracks. It has many negatives – it will exacerbate the housing affordability crisis, destabilize neighborhoods and gut the NPUs ability to shape their neighborhood’s future.
By Guest Columnist TAUHEEDAH BAKER-JONES, chief equity and social justice officer of Atlanta Public Schools
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit last March, the digital divide’s impact on public schooling became starkly clear. Now, as the surge in COVID cases forces some classrooms across the state to temporarily resume virtual learning, it’s more important than ever to ensure every student has the connectivity and digital tools they need to learn.
By Guest Columnist TIM ECHOLS, PSC commissioner and Dragon Con regular
To explore strange new worlds, to seek out new civilizations, to boldly go where no commissioner has gone before. For years now, I have attended Dragon Con to do just that. But this year, even Batman and Superman had to mask-up to do their good deeds.
By Guest Columnist HEATHER HUBBLE, ULI Atlanta Advisory Board
Shaping the Future of the Built Environment for Transformative Impact in Communities Worldwide. This is the mission of the Urban Land Institute, a global nonprofit education and research organization, founded in 1936, with a strong local chapter.
