Leadership Atlanta names 83 to 2016 class

By Maria Saporta
Leadership Atlanta has selected another high-level group of people to be part of its upcoming 2016 class – with 83 leaders from education, law, business, religion, nonprofits, technology, media, healthcare, politics and government.
The all share a common desire – to move Atlanta forward by delving into some of the city’s thorniest issues.
“We are thrilled to welcome one of our largest, most diverse classes ever,” said Pat Upshaw-Monteith, Leadership Atlanta’s president and CEO. “We are proud to continue Leadership Atlanta’s tradition of bringing together the region’s most influential, engaged and creative leaders dedicated to working together for the greater good.”
The 2016 class will learn more about the region during the nine-month program, which will include retreats, full-day seminars, service projects, discussion groups and community tours. The goal is for them to find ways to become more effective leaders and build relationships of trust and understanding with each other.
The volunteer program chair for the 2016 class is Kimberly Esmond Adams, a Leadership Atlanta trustee who is a Fulton County Superior Court Judge.
“Since graduating from Leadership Atlanta in 2010, the region has continued to grow diversify and flourish,” Adams said. “There are significant opportunities to create a long-term, positive impact in metropolitan Atlanta. I look forward to working with this impressive group of leaders to move the needle forward and ensure that Atlanta remains the premier Southeastern city.”
Leadership Atlanta is the oldest continuously running training program of its type in the country. It was formed in the early 1970’s to address a growing need for trained leaders to move metro Atlanta towards unity and shared prosperity. More than 46 years later, Leadership Atlanta continues to educate and inspire local leaders.
Leadership Atlanta Class of 2016
Qaadirah Abdur-Rahim
Chief Executive Officer
Future Foundation
Leonard Adams
President and Chief Executive Officer
Quest Community Development Organization, Inc.
Michael Alexander
Research and Analytics Division Manager
Atlanta Regional Commission
Justin Anand
United States Magistrate Judge
United States Courts
Adam Bloomston
Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer
Payscape Advisors
Don Bolia
Principal
Peachtree Government Relations
Joan Buchanan
Chief Diversity Officer, Vice President
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Ayanna Buckner
Principal
Community Health Cooperative
Margaret Campbell
Partner
Troutman Sanders
Julio Carrillo
Vice President & Chief Operations Officer
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta
Ashley Carson
Senior Vice President, Relationship Manager
Atlantic Capital Bank
John Case
Senior Vice President for Operations and Chief Financial Officer
Morehouse School of Medicine
Lindsay Caulfield
Senior Vice President
Grady Health System
Kitty Chaney Reed
Senior Finance Director, Global Leader of Order to Cash
NCR Corporation
Pedro Cherry
Senior Vice President, Metro Atlanta Region
Georgia Power
Jennifer Christensen
Managing Editor/Producer
CNN
Eshe’ Collins
Senior Program Director; Member
Jumpstart at Georgia State University; Atlanta Board of Education
Sonji Jacobs Dade
Director, Leadership Communications
Cox Enterprises Inc.
Timothy Davies
Vice President and General Manager
Radio One, Inc.
Audra Dial
Atlanta Office Managing Partner
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton
Joy DiBenedetto
President and Chief Executive Officer
Friendship Force International
Andre Dickens
Councilman, Post 3 at-Large
City of Atlanta
Derin Dickerson
Partner
Alston & Bird
Austin Dickson
Executive Director
Literacy Action, Inc.
Amy Dosik
Chief Executive Officer
Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta
Dagmar Epsten
President and Chief Executive Officer
Epsten Group, Inc.
Joseph Folz
Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Porsche Cars North America, Inc.
DeLano Ford
Executive Director
Teach For America Metro Atlanta
James Franklin
Chief Executive Officer
TechBridge
Gerard Gibbons
President U.S. Sales
United Parcel Service
Shani Godwin
President and Chief Executive Officer
Communiqué USA, Inc.
Matt Gove
Chief Marketing Officer
Piedmont Healthcare
Louis Gump
President
Digital Current, LLC
Heather Hamby
Associate Vice President, Health Center Integration, Executive Associate Dean, and Chief Operating Officer, School of Medicine
Emory University
Eric Harrison
Vice President Sales, South Region
PepsiCo
Kim Hartsock
Partner
Warren Averett, LLC
Monique Honaman
Chief Execuitve Officer and Partner
ISHR Group
Brian Hooker
Executive Director
McPherson Implementing Local Redevelopment Authority
Bob Hope
President and Co-Owner
Hope-Beckham
Vaughn Irons
Chief Executive Officer
APD Solutions
Ehab Jaleel
Executive Director
Amana Academy Charter School
Erika James
Dean, Goizueta Business School
Emory University
Simms Jenkins
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
BrightWave
Jewelle Johnson
Senior Counsel, Chief Employment Counsel
Graphic Packaging International, Inc.
Ronald Johnson
Professor of the Practice
Georgia Institute of Technology
Tharon Johnson
Managing Director
McKenna Long & Aldridge
Jeremy Jones
Partner
Frazier & Deeter, LLC
Cassandra Kirk
Chief Judge
Fulton County Magistrate Court
Grace Kolvereid
Vice President, Tax
AGL Resources Inc.
Jeetendra Kumar
IT Director
Coca-Cola Enterprises
Joshua Lesser
Rabbi
Congregation Bet Haverim
Yolanda Lewis
District Court Administrator and Chief Administrative Officer
Superior Court of Fulton County
Willie Lovett
Judge
Fulton County Juvenile Court, Atlanta Judicial Circuit
Dana Lupton
Executive Director
Moving in the Spirit
Jason Martin
Executive Director
Community Guilds Inc
Courtney McBurney
Chief Compliance Officer, Energy Management
General Electric
Paedia Mixon
Chief Executive Officer
New American Pathways
Richard Moultrie
Deputy Assistant United States Attorney
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of GA
Melissa Mullinax
Senior Advisor to the Mayor
City of Atlanta, Office of the Mayor
Carol Naughton
Senior Vice President
Purpose Built Communities
Reginald OShields
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta
Zachary Parker
President and Chief Executive Officer
DLH Holdings Corporation
Randy Patterson
Chief Human Resources Officer
BlueLinx
Michael Paulhus
Partner
King & Spalding LLP
Chris Peck
Corporate VIce President, Human Resources
UPS
Jannquell Peters
Mayor
City of East Point
Hunter Pierson
Vice President
Goldman, Sachs, & Co
Condace Pressley
Manager, Programming Operations and Community Affairs
Cox Media Group Atlanta
Steve Reis
Principal
McKinsey & Company
Lauventria Robinson
Vice President, Multicultural Marketing
The Coca-Cola Company
Shana Rooks
Commissioner
Clayton County Board of Commissioners
JaKathryn Ross
Director, Community Affairs & Executive Director, YEGeorgia
Georgia-Pacific LLC
Rodney Sanders
Senior Vice President and Market Credit Executive
PNC Bank
Steve Sear
Senior Vice President Global Sales
Delta Air Lines
Salaam Semaan
Deputy Associate Director for Science
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Puneet Seth
Managing Partner
New York Life Insurance Co.
Tina Shah
Assistant General Counsel
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
Margaret Stagmeier
President
TI Asset Management/TriStar Investment
Tara Stoinski
President and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
Alan Stukalsky
Chief Information Officer
Randstad US
Katerina Taylor
President and Chief Executive Officer
DeKalb Chamber of Commerce
Timothy Wilkerson
Vice President, Store Operations
The Home Depot
Catheren Woolard
Owner and Chief Executive Officer
Catheren M. Woolard, Inc.
It’s an AWESOME group this year… Though there is still NOTHING like the Class of 07!!Report
Congratulations to all of them. I hope some of them will be at the Atlanta Studies Symposium tomorrow — https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwTqdi6NVFWLNXNfYW9lRUxUWVU/view MiLOReport
Congrats Bob Hope, Adam Bloomston, Joe Foltz, Erika James, and the rest of the next great Leadership Atlanta Class!Report