Maria Saporta Archives - Page 17 of 46 - SaportaReport

Derreck Kayongo

Derreck Kayongo resigns as CEO of the Center for Civil and Human Rights

by Maria Saporta March 20, 2018 5:20 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:36 pm

Derreck Kayongo, president and CEO of the Center for Civil and Human Rights since December 2015, turned in his resignation on Monday.
Kayongo was the second CEO of the Center, which opened in June 2014. He followed founding CEO Doug Shipman, now president and CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center.e

Richard Cox

Mayor Bottoms names Richard Cox, a loaned executive, to serve as city’s COO for one year

by Maria Saporta March 13, 2018 11:35 amFebruary 17, 2023 3:36 pm

tlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has made one of her first major appointments – Richard Cox as the city’s chief operating officer.

Cox is a loaned executive from Cox Automotive (no relation to the Cox family), who will serve the city for one year before he returns to the privately-held company. Cox, who currently serves as vice president of client advising ad performance for Dealer.com, brings more than 15 years of management experience to the position.

Georgia Trust

Georgia Trust buys three parcels near Westside BeltLine

by Maria Saporta March 12, 2018 10:12 amFebruary 17, 2023 3:36 pm

It’s a new day for the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, which purchased three properties near the Atlanta BeltLine’s Westside trail in Washington Park and Mozley Park.

The Georgia Trust closed on the purchases Thursday – two houses and a vacant lot – with the intent of renovating the two homes and developing a new house on the vacant lot – all while keeping the properties affordable.

Bottoms press briefing

Atlanta’s Mayor Bottoms unveils $9 million effort to help low-income homeowners

by Maria Saporta March 9, 2018 2:25 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:36 pm

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced three new affordable housing programs Friday to help low income homeowners from being displaced.

The three programs total $9 million, which the mayor said was a “drop in the bucket” of what needed to be invested to make Atlanta an affordable city for everyone.

MARTA selects another Parker to be its next CEO

by Maria Saporta March 8, 2018 2:34 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:35 pm

MARTA’s Board of Directors Thursday selected Jeffrey A. Parker as its choice to be the agency’s next general manager and CEO.

Parker, who worked at MARTA as senior director of transportation operations from 2005 to 2008, currently is vice president of HNTB Corp., an infrastructure solutions firm that has worked closely with MARTA over the years.

East Lake

AHA board misses deadline to call special meeting to refinance East Lake project; sends letter instead

by Maria Saporta March 7, 2018 7:36 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:35 pm

The Atlanta Housing Authority did not call a special board meeting by Wednesday evening to vote on a plan to refinance the debt on the Villages of East Lake – a date needed for the project to receive $5 million in federal funds.

The Cousins Foundation sent a pointed letter to AHA’s board and executives following their Feb. 28th board meeting, when they did not put the East Lake financing on the agenda.

Robert Spano

ASO and musicians reach agreement for three-year contract extension

by Maria Saporta March 5, 2018 12:03 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:35 pm

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Players’ Association reached an agreement Sunday night on a three-year contract extension that will continue through the 2020/2021 season, the ASO announced today.

The agreement was completed more than six months the expiration of the current contract on Sept. 8. The new agreement will include increases to compensation totaling approximately 3 percent annually over the three-year period.

Meredith Britt John Ahmann

ATL Business Chronicle

City adopts land-use vision for Westside communities

by Maria Saporta March 3, 2018 11:53 amFebruary 17, 2023 3:35 pm

As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Dec. 8, 2017

A far-reaching land-use plan for the Westside received an important boost when it was unanimously adopted by the Atlanta City Council on Dec. 4.

The Westside Land Use Framework Plan — more than two years in the making — emerged after an unprecedented number of community meetings with more than a thousand participants.

Villages at East Lake

Update: Cousins Foundation mad at AHA board over East Lake refinancing

by Maria Saporta March 2, 2018 3:11 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:35 pm

By Maria Saporta The CF Foundation, which spearheaded the revitalization of the Villages of East Lake community 20 years ago, has been unable to get the Atlanta Housing Authority to vote on refinancing the development to allow for the renovation of the property. Lillian Giornelli, president of the CF Foundation, has sent a letter to […]

Bottoms, Leah Sears, Robert Benham

Delta Air Lines gets strong support from Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms

by Maria Saporta February 28, 2018 8:57 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:35 pm

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms expressed strong support for Delta Air Lines Wednesday during the annual awards luncheon of the regional chapter of the Anti-Defamation League.

“We are grateful for the partnership we have with Delta,” Bottoms said in an impromptu interview. “So much of what we do in Atlanta is with the corporate community, including Delta. Atlanta will remain a city that’s welcoming, inclusive and diverse.”

Mimosa Hall

An update: Roswell City Council approves Mimosa Hall renovation plans

by Maria Saporta February 26, 2018 8:41 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:35 pm

Roswell’s Mimosa Hall on Monday night got the green light to go green.

“The Roswell City Council has just unanimously passed a resolution to approve the installation of solar panels in the replacement roof for Mimosa Hall,” wrote an excited Steve Gibson in an email.

Gibson is the president of Friends of Mimosa Hall & Gardens, which helped put together a proposal to make the historic home into the oldest “net zero” house in the country.

Sam Olens

Former Georgia AG Sam Olens joining Dentons law firm

by Maria Saporta February 21, 2018 12:10 amFebruary 17, 2023 3:36 pm

Former Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens is starting a new chapter in his life – joining Dentons, the largest law firm in the world.

Before joining Denton’s, Olens served a relatively brief stint as president of Kennesaw State University, a role he held for about year before he resigned under pressure last December.

Johnny Isakson

U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson intends to run for re-election in 2022

by Maria Saporta February 20, 2018 3:38 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:36 pm

U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) plans to run for re-election in 2022.

Isakson was the luncheon speaker for the Atlanta Press Club’s newsmaker series on Tuesday when he addressed a variety of topics – from school shootings, mental illness, immigration and the political climate in Washington, D.C.

When he was asked whether he planned to run for re-election, Isakson quickly answered: “Of course.”

WomenLead

Commerce Club Foundation donates $200,000 for GSU’s WomenLead program

by Maria Saporta February 15, 2018 5:45 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:35 pm

The Commerce Club Foundation, the nonprofit arm of Atlanta’s historic business and civic club, has donated $200,000 to Georgia State University’s WomenLead program to expand and formalize its Atlanta Civic Leadership Initiative.

The Initiative is a program that connects students with influential civic leaders for educational and mentorship opportunities.

Kwame Johnson

Kwame Johnson to become new CEO of Atlanta’s Big Brothers Big Sisters

by Maria Saporta February 13, 2018 1:17 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:35 pm

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta has Kwame Johnson as its new president and CEO, succeeding Janice McKenzie-Crayton, who retired last fall after more than 25 years with the organization.

Johnson currently serves as the director of the Greater Atlanta Region for PowerMyLearning. Big Brothers Big Sisters is known for leveraging the power of mentors on behalf of metro Atlanta’s youth.

Rick Jackson

ATL Business Chronicle

Column: Business leaders launch ‘goBeyondProfit’ to promote giving back

by Maria Saporta February 12, 2018 11:42 amFebruary 17, 2023 3:35 pm

As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Dec. 1, 2017

A new initiative by civic-minded business leaders is being launched Dec. 1 as a way to make corporate generosity more visible and encourage other companies to give back to communities.

The goBeyondProfit initiative was founded by Jackson Healthcare, and a dozen or more business ambassadors have joined the effort to encourage business owners and company leaders to sigh the goBeyondProfit pledge.

By Maria Saporta The High Museum of Art has selected Georgia native Amy Sherald as the 2018 recipient of the prestigious David C. Driskell Prize in recognition of her contributions to the field of African-American art, the museum announced on Thursday. Among her notable achievements, Sherald received the commission to paint former first lady Michelle Obama’s official portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, which will be unveiled on Feb. 12. The Driskell Prize, founded in 2005, was named in honor of renowned African-American artist and art scholar David C. Driskell to recognize artists and scholars early or in the middle of their careers. Sherald will be honored as the 14th Driskell Prize recipient at the High’s Driskell Prize Dinner on April 27. The Prize includes a $25,000 cash award for the artist. Proceeds from the dinner will support the David C. Driskell African American Art Acquisition Funds Since the inception of those funds, the High has been able to acquire 48 works by African-American artists for its collection. Sherald was born in Columbus, Ga. in 1973, and she trained as a painter in Atlanta – earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Clark Atlanta University. She then was a Spelman College International Artist-in-Residence in Portobelo, Panama (1997). Sherald went on to receive her master’s degree in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Upon graduating in 2004, she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, and after completing a residency in Norway, Sherald moved home to Georgia to care for her family. She returned to Baltimore in 2008 to refocus on her practice, and her work began to gain national attention in 2011 when the National Museum of Women in the Arts acquired one of her paintings. Sherald received a life-saving heart transplant in December 2012 and, after her recuperation, resumed working in her studio in Baltimore. In 2016, Sherald was the first woman to win the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition for her 2014 painting “Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance). An accompanying exhibition, “The Outwin 2016,” has been on tour since 2016 and opens at the Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina, in June 2018. The New York Times selected Sherald among “19 Artists to Watch” in 2017. “Sherald is a remarkable talent who in recent years has gained the recognition she so thoroughly deserves as a unique force in contemporary art,” said Rand Suffolk, the Nancy and Holcombe T. Green, Jr., director of the High. “We are honored to select her as this year’s recipient and to support her incredible work, which celebrates America’s diversity and rich cultural heritage.” The selection process for the 2018 recipient of the Driskell Prize began with a call for nominations from a national pool of artists, curators, teachers, collectors and art historians. Sherald was chosen from among these nominations by review committee members assembled by the High. The committee included Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, the 2013 Driskell Prize recipient and director of the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art; Valerie Cassel Oliver, the 2011 Driskell Prize recipient and curator of modern and contemporary art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; and Michael Rooks , the High’s Wieland Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. The 2018 Driskell Prize Dinner is co-chaired by Helen Smith Price, Jane Jackson and Matthew T. Echols with Honorary Chair Ambassador Andrew Young.

Georgia native Amy Sherald to receive High Museum’s 2018 Driskell Prize

by Maria Saporta February 8, 2018 5:29 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:35 pm

The High Museum of Art has selected Georgia native Amy Sherald as the 2018 recipient of the prestigious David C. Driskell Prize in recognition of her contributions to the field of African-American art, the museum announced on Thursday.

Among her notable achievements, Sherald received the commission to paint former first lady Michelle Obama’s official portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, which will be unveiled on Feb. 12.

westside

Westside Future Fund acquires 35-unit apartment building to keep area affordable

by Maria Saporta February 2, 2018 2:24 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:35 pm

The Westside Future Fund unveiled its first property acquisition on Friday – a 35-unit vacant apartment building at 395 James P. Brawley Dr. NW.

The acquisition marked the beginning of a tangible effort to provide affordable housing to the legacy residents in the English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods.

Mori's

Mori Luggage & Gifts sold to a west coast company

by Maria Saporta February 2, 2018 11:10 amFebruary 17, 2023 3:35 pm

Atlanta-based Mori Luggage & Gifts, a family based retail chain, was bought by Bergman Luggage on Thursday.

“We had 46 wonderful years,” said Jean Mori, who started the company in 1971 with his wife, Betty, when they opened their first store at Northlake Mall. “But the last couple of years have been a little tough.”

cristo rey

Cristo Rey Atlanta’s new building dedicated during a morning of celebration

by Maria Saporta January 30, 2018 2:39 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:35 pm

Cristo Rey Atlanta on Tuesday officially dedicated its signature building on the city’s skyline.

Top dignitaries – Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms among others – attended the “miracle” of Cristo Rey Atlanta – a Jesuit high school that will graduate its first class in May.