By Dan Williams, program officer, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Teams from across the state recently gathered in Porterdale, Ga. in Newton County for the Balancing Nature & Commerce for Georgia’s Small Communities conference. The conference is a hands-on workshop about thoughtful and deliberate strategies for community planning and development. The Conservation Fund facilitated the […]
Category: Thought Leader
Ringing Up Goodwill Through Checkout Charity
Checkout charity, a phenomenon where cashiers or self-service technologies solicit charitable donations from customers during the payment process, is quickly becoming an established aspect of many retail and service experiences, including restaurants. It is a controversial practice, because many managers believe it is detrimental to the frontline service experience and thus hurts sales. But the […]
Giving Tuesday: Women United Advancement Initiative removes barriers preventing women from reaching full potential
Ashley Davis remembers being a little girl, looking up at her mother as she fixed her hair. She would sit patiently as the woman would twirl each strand before letting her get a closer look at the finished product in the mirror. She liked that feeling this new hairstyle gave her. So, she said she […]
Equality in the Arts: Where is Our Blue Wave?
By Robin Bernat With the midterm elections, we’ve witnessed a sea change in American politics and culture as more women were elected to national and state legislatures. How is this tilt back toward equality reflected in opportunities for artists in Atlanta? The national organization Artadia announced its 2018 awardees from Atlanta: Krista Clark and William […]
Giving a Fare Share
Local organizations working to eradicate food deserts in Atlanta & provide fresh, affordable nutrition By Dane O’Neill, Member, The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. With a restaurant scene worthy of mention in top national publications, it might come as a surprise that many Atlantans, particularly in the heart of the city, are living in areas with […]
Changing the Landscape of our Prisons, One Person and One College Course at a Time
By Katherine D. Perry, Associate Professor of English and Cofounder and Coordinator of the Georgia State University Prison Education Project Georgia State University’s Prison Education Project at Perimeter College (GSUPEP) was awarded a $210,000 grant in October from the Laughing Gull Foundation to help accomplish its mission to educate people in Georgia prisons. Led by […]
When communities like Downtown and the Westside thrive, Atlanta thrives.
Intro by John Ahmann Thanks to AJ Robinson, President of Central Atlanta Progress (CAP), for this week’s column. Founded in 1941, CAP is a member-based not-for-profit advocating on behalf of a vibrant Downtown Atlanta. As the leader of CAP, AJ has been a long-time advocate of greater connectivity between Downtown economic vibrancy and the historic […]
Curbing Antibiotic Resistance While Ensuring Access to All
Last week was World Antibiotics Awareness Week, an observance that takes place every November to increase awareness of antibiotic resistance worldwide. Efforts last week also encouraged best practice among the general public, health workers, prescribers, and policymakers to avoid the further emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. MAP International serves as a life-saving source for […]
Opportunities Lost Report Outlines Significant Economic Loss Linked to Child Care Challenges in Georgia
Metro Atlanta is home to a talented workforce fueling innovations across industries, and quality child care is a necessary component to maintaining high performance. A new report has revealed the child care challenges experienced by parents in the region and leading to an annual $1.75 billion loss economic activity for Georgia. The report joins a […]
Free Arts Education Helps Metro Atlanta Kids Succeed in School and in Life
By Ariel Fristoe, Co-Artistic Director, Out of Hand Theater Every child should have the opportunity to succeed, but if you’re born in Metro Atlanta, your chances of escaping from poverty are not good; in fact, they’re close to the worst in the nation. This fall, at Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Leadership Institute, I learned that […]
South Fulton Ready to Take Off: Q&A With Head of Connect South Fulton
By Lyle Harris With the world’s busiest airport in its backyard, convenient access to multi-modal transportation and large swaths of land primed for development, South Fulton County is on the move. Michael Davis, Executive Director of Connect South Fulton, is understandably “bullish” about the prospects for the region to emerge as a flourishing hub for […]
MARTA BUS OPERATOR RECOGNIZED FOR BRAVERY
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) bus operator Winston Douglas was recently recognized for saving a woman’s life while on his route. On Sept. 9, Douglas was driving his route on Ormond Street in southwest Atlanta when he saw a man attacking a woman. Douglas parked the bus, grabbed a stick from the ground outside, […]
Caring for the vulnerable in our region of abundance
By Terry Mazany, senior vice president, philanthropy, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta I was riding MARTA to work recently and at one stop I looked up to see a small elderly woman struggling to drag a large overflowing suitcase and plastic trash bag full of her possessions through the door next to me onto the train. […]
Forecaster: Corporate Sector Bounce-Back Leads Georgia Job Growth
Georgia’s job additions in the third quarter nearly equaled the total job additions in the first half of 2018, according to Rajeev Dhawan of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business. “In the first six months of 2018, the Peach State saw job gains of 35,600, just slightly […]
Building-the-Block to achieve affordable, sustainable homeownership and neighborhoods
Intro by John Ahmann: Thanks to Lisa Gordon, Atlanta Habitat for Humanity’s President and CEO, for this week’s column. Habitat for Humanity’s model is a great proof point of the “the more we, the more I can do,” from their engagement of the homeowner, to their volunteers, to their donors and sponsors. The proof is in the results: Atlanta Habitat […]
Joint Supply Chain and IoT Leadership Council Meeting Unites Thought Leaders Across Ecosystems
Metro Atlanta’s transformation into a top tech market is founded on innovations within its industries. Deloitte ranked the region as the #2 metro area for digital supply chain, and the presence of numerous Internet of Things and Smart Cities projects currently active in metro Atlanta mark the city’s forward-thinking ideology. The Metro Atlanta Chamber’s Supply […]
Why Social Science is Important in the Fight Against Neglected Tropical Diseases
By Caroline Kusi Dr. Bill Foege – who co-founded The Task Force for Global Health, among his many other contributions to public health – once said, “if we are to maintain the reputation this institution now enjoys, it will be because in everything we do, behind everything we say, as the basis for every program […]
More than Representation: Black Women Artists as Change Agents
By Tiffany LaTrice, Executive Director- TILA Studios Recently, TILA Studios hosted a reading room with Spelman College Museum of Fine Art at the AUC Woodruff Library to facilitate a discussion on Deborah Willis’ book, Posing Beauty. The dialogue was focused on unpacking the power of images as the book explores the ways in which African […]
The Future of Work, Technology and Education
By Phil Ventimiglia, Chief Innovation Officer of Georgia State University and Tiffany Green-Abdullah, Assistant Director of Learning Community Development at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning The world is changing at an unprecedented rate. Computers are being integrated into devices ranging from stoplights to smart speakers. Sensors collect immense amounts of data providing insights into everything […]
United Way’s Mission United helps veterans in need
U.S. Army Veteran Nelson Moody loved the time he served overseas. Moody participated in a “split-option” training program in high school in Baltimore, Maryland and he became a member of the U.S. Army Reserve. While in the Army Reserve, he received training similar to a Licensed Practical Nurse. He said he loved this experience so […]
