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Leadership in Atlanta continues to change and evolve

March 25, 2019, 6:40 pm/10 Comments
Maria Saporta

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.

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Keisha Lance Bottoms thanks her supporters on Tuesday night. Credit: Maria Saporta

An open letter to Mayor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms

December 11, 2017, 2:01 pm/31 Comments
Maria Saporta

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.

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School leadership – challenges and new opportunities

November 19, 2017, 3:32 pm/0 Comments
Nicole Kennard

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.

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