Leaders ranging from Clayton County Schools Superintendent Morcease Beasley to Maggie Mers, founder of MBM International Logistics, will spend the next nine months together as Leadership Atlanta’s Class of 2021.
The 51-year-old program will bring together 80 people from business, education, arts, technology, law and medicine to "listen, have hard conversations, cultivate curiosity and be truly authentic" with each other, as Volunteer Program Chair Meagan Davies puts it. Participants in the leadership development program will learn about the region, its problems and possibilities in seminars and through service projects.
“We can’t wait to see what innovative ideas the Class of 2021 brings,” said the organization’s CEO, Pat Upshaw-Monteith.
This year’s leadership class includes:
Mark Bell, head of family office and private capital, Balentine; Junior Bernadin, dean of students and director of information technology at The Ron Clark Academy; Kamau Bobb, Google’s global lead for diversity research and strategy; Terri Bonoff, CEO of Jewish Family and Career Services.
Erik Bryant, senior vice president at Cadence Bank; Ryan Buchanan, assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia; Peter Bunarek, managing director for BBDO Atlanta.
Tiffany Burns, a partner at McKinsey & Company; Annie Hunt Burriss, president of AHB Solutions; Gayle Cabrera, senior vice president at Truist Financial Corp.
Arefa Cassoobhoy, senior medical director, WebMD; David Chaiken, partner, Troutman Sanders; Danielle Cheung, a senior vice president at Bank of America.
Lisa Clarke, founder of ATL Search Group; Denise Cleveland-Leggett, regional administrator, Department of Housing and Urban Development; Greg Cole, executive director of Emmaus House.
Joli Cooper, founding executive director, GreenLight Fund Atlanta; Todd Coyt, assistant chief, Atlanta Police Department; and Nedra Dickson, managing director, Accenture.
Brendan Doherty, co-founder, KNGDM Group; Monica Douglas, general counsel, the Coca-Cola Company; Christy Eikhoff, partner, Alston & Bird.
Ryan Esparza, CEO, at Jackson Healthcare; Jason Esteves, vice president, Equifax; Jessie Evans, deputy chief assistant district attorney, Cobb County.
Angeline Fife, co-founder, PDSI; Craig Frankel, shareholder, Gaslowitz Frankel; Ariel Fristoe, artistic director, Out of Hand Theater.
Terrica Ganzy, deputy director, Southern Center for Human Rights; Maria Thacker Goethe, president, Georgia Bio; Andre Greenwood, vice president, WellCare Health Plans.
Cheryl Haas, partner, McGuireWoods; John Hancock, president, Junior Achievement of Georgia; Cathy Hasbrouck, senior vice president Southwire Company.
David Hefner, vice president, Morehouse School of Medicine; Tonya Hicks, president Power Solutions.
Tamaron Houston, partner, Seyfarth Shaw; Anne Isenhower, principal, Anne Isenhower Communications; Alicia Jones, partner, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton.
Frank Jones, president, Atlanta Medical Association; Steve Kester, founder, Crossroads Treatment Centers; Audrey King, regional director, Georgia Power; Judy Kruger, deputy chief, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Lars Minns, chief human resources officer, Mercedes-Benz USA; Pooja Mishra, cancer center executive director, Grady Health Center
David Nour, author, advisor, The Nour Group; Whitney Ott, partner, Jackson Spalding; Adam Pannell, executive vice president, OneDigital.
Ebbie Parsons, managing partner, Yardstick Management; Cody Partin, senior vice president, Cox Enterprises; Audra Pittman, vice president, SCAD Atlanta Savannah College of Art and Design.
Asif Ramji, chief product officer, FIS (Worldpay); Chris Reinking, founding partner, Jabian Consulting; Grant Rivera, superintendent, Marietta City Schools.
Anthony Rodriguez, co-founder Aurora Theatre; Anurag Sahu, associate professor of medicine, Emory Healthcare; Suhail Seth, partner, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough.
Alonzo Sexton, surgeon, Northside Hospital Sports Medicine; Lain Shakespeare, senior director, Mailchimp; Sophia Shoate, president U.S. sales, UPS.
Courtney Showell, partner PricewaterhouseCoopers; Courtney Smith, senior vice president, PNC Financial Services Group; Nellie Sullivan, partner, Womble Bond Dickinson.
Aaron Swain, president Columbia Residential Property Management; Kenneth Taylor, cardiologist, Piedmont Heathcare; Kristen Manion Taylor, vice president, Delta Air Lines.
Melissa Taylor, partner, Porter Novelli; Nadia Theodore, consul general, Consulate General of Canada in Atlanta; Linh Tran, founder, Advanced Commercial Group.
Depriest Waddy, CEO, Families First; Kathy Waller, retired executive vice president, Coca-Cola Company.
Jim Wehner, president, Focused Community Strategies; Joy White, vice president, Morehouse College; Dave Williams, senior vice president, Metro Atlanta Chamber.
Joshua Williams, COO, City of Atlanta; Peter Williams, head of community strategy and operations, Blackrock.
Bradley Wilson, CFO, Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta; Tyler Woolson, CFO, Georgia-Pacific.
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