Posted inColumns

Alycen Whiddon – Atlanta’s unsung visionary city planner

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.

Posted inAtlanta Civic Circle

AH commissioner misses meetings, but he’s still an asset, agency leader says

By Sean Keenan Atlanta Housing (AH) commissioner Robert Highsmith has missed nearly as many agency board meetings as he’s attended, an investigation into AH roll-call records shows. Between Highsmith’s November 2017 appointment by former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and October 2020, he’s been absent from 20 of 40 AH board of commissioners meetings, agency documents […]

Posted inColumns

From marginalized to mainstream

By Guest Columnist JOE HUDSON, trailblazing Black business advocate, mentor and coach

Today is the day that the Black business community needs to begin to step into city/community leadership roles. And, now is the time to put together funds from the Black community and its Black businesses to help build Atlanta’s Black community infrastructure and to protect our interest going forward. We have money and business leadership talent. We have many rich Black people in Atlanta who, as former Mayor Maynard Jackson used to say, “Get what they can get, and sit on the can.”

Posted inColumns

Connected leadership: Emotional wholeness fosters improved morale, results

By Guest Columnist KAREN J. HARDWICK, leadership consultant and executive coach

Stressful doesn’t quite describe 2020. And it is the grueling pressure of this moment that is creating a leadership movement that harnesses the power of Connection. The kind of connection filled with grit and grace. The kind of connection that transforms us, our workplaces, and our relationships.

Posted inColumns, Main Slider

A conversation with Rebecca Serna of the Atlanta Bike Coalition

On Sunday, Sept. 29, the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition brings its massively popular event – Atlanta Streets Alive – to the Southwest and Southside of Atlanta.

To get a better feel of what Atlanta Streets Alive is, check out last year’s event which shut down 3.1 miles of Peachtree Street from Downtown at Ellis Street to the Colony Square building on 14th Street in Midtown Atlanta.

Posted inColumns

Leadership in Atlanta continues to change and evolve

In the 1960s, a small group of about a dozen white businessmen held a tight grip on power in Atlanta.

That group included Robert Woodruff of the Coca-Cola Co., the top Atlanta bankers of the day – Mills B. Lane of Citizens & Southern; Billy Sterne from Trust Company Bank; James D. Robinson Jr. of First National Bank; Jack Tarver of the Atlanta Journal and the Atlanta Constitution; Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. (who ran the office supply business started by his father); Larry Gellerstedt Jr. of Beers Construction; the top executives of Southern Bell, Georgia Power, Atlanta Gas Light among others.

Posted inFinancial Inclusion, Thought Leader

EVERYTHING I EVER NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT BUSINESS I LEARNED RIDING MOTORCYCLES

By Anita Ward, President, Operation HOPE When I was 12 I drove my first motorcycle into a tree at the bottom of State Road hill.  Bruised and embarrassed I stared up at the sky through rustling leaves laughing in the wind. Undeterred, I returned to the top of the hill and tried again.  A few hours later […]

Posted inLeadership in Action, Thought Leader, Uncategorized

Tools for Success

By: Tameeka Law Walker, MD, Director of Capacity Building, The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. (JLA) values collaboration and believes in maximizing community impact through effective external partnerships and internal relations to attain our shared mission of enhancing the lives for women and children in the Atlanta community. To this […]

Posted inArts & Culture Seen, Thought Leader

Leadership Trainings Builds Stronger Arts Communities

By Lara Smith, Managing Director of Dads GaragePeek into the business world and you’ll see executive of all types enrolling in leadership training courses. Listen to the radio and you’ll inevitably hear calls to enroll in some weekend course on leadership: Leadership for Women, Leading your Sales Team, Leading other Leaders, etc. You can take […]

Posted inColumns

An open letter to Mayor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms

Dear Mayor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms,

Congratulations on being elected Atlanta’s 60th mayor!

I begin this letter with an outstretched hand to let you know I want you to be a successful mayor.

My hope is you will appreciate the role of the press – to question, to inform, to probe, to be skeptical, and yes, to be critical when necessary.

This hope is not limited to me. Ideally you will embrace people who think differently than you do, that you will treat the press and fellow public servants with respect, and that you will seek mutually-beneficial solutions while governing our city.

Posted inMetro Business, Thought Leader

Atlanta Courts Companies and Investors in NYC and Declares Itself “Center of Holiday Shopping and Entertaining”

More than 30 executives from leading Atlanta companies, such as UPS, The Home Depot, First Data, Intercontinental Exchange and Mercedes-Benz USA, convened in New York City to celebrate the region’s success in business, talent attraction and innovation. With Fortune 500 and high-growth companies represented, metro Atlanta is the first U.S. region to gather at the […]

Posted inColumns

School leadership – challenges and new opportunities

By Guest Columnist DANA RICKMAN, PhD, the director for policy and research at the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education

Successful schools and school systems need strong leaders. Research has shown that leadership influences student learning, and among all school-related factors that contribute to what students learn at school, leadership is second only to classroom instruction. In schools and systems that have more challenges, leadership is even more impactful. Turning around troubled schools demands the intervention of a powerful leader.