On Leadership

Jean Douglas is Executive Director of the Women’s Resource Center to End Domestic Violence, a nonprofit organization at which she’s spent 30 years, first as a volunteer and then as an employee. It aims to create a world where domestic violence does not exist, through intervention, prevention, education and advocacy. Demand for the center’s services is up. Calls to its hotline increased 35% from la...

Sarah Morrison had a 40-year-career working at the Shepherd Center before retiring as its president and CEO in September 2024. A catastrophic diving accident in college and the arduous path to recovery led her to the field of physical therapy and the Shepherd Center. She has seen the Atlanta-based rehabilitation hospital grow from 40 beds to 152. Last year, it launched its “Pursuing Possible” camp...

Grace C. Fricks founded Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs in her laundry room 24 years ago. What started off as a $50,000 loan fund to help small business owners in North Georgia, has become a force to help underserved entrepreneurs across the state of Georgia start and scale their businesses. Since 2000, ACE has loaned $200 million. It’s served 2,600 businesses and created or retained 21,000 jo...

Milton Jones has amassed a wealth of knowledge from his decades-long career in the banking sector. The Atlanta-native is considered a pioneer, having been the first African-American to hold the title of Georgia market president for Bank of America. He also forged a path in his civic involvement. He was elected chairman of the UNCF board, becoming the first African-American to hold that position. H...

Kirk Halpern launched Farmers & Fishermen Purveyors with his son Ben in 2019. While the business is only four years old, it seems the duo has hospitality in their DNA. Halpern’s maternal grandfather and father were food purveyors. Now he’s charting a path forward with the next generation of family and customers in mind.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Priva...

When Erica Qualls-Battey applied for a position at Marriott in 1993, she was just looking for a part-time job. More than 30 years later, she is Area General Manager for Marriott International’s Atlanta market, overseeing the company’s properties in the metro area. She is also GM at Atlanta’s largest hotel—the Atlanta Marriott Marquis which has 1,663 rooms and more than 125,000 square feet of...

For Alex Urban, working as the Executive Director of the PGA TOUR Championship is nothing short of his dream job. The annual tournament takes place at the historic East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta where 30 of the PGA Tour’s top golfers compete for the FedEx Cup. The Atlanta community also scores big from the event. Since 1998, the tournament has raised more than $54 million for nonprofits.   Se...

For the past four decades, Atlanta Habitat for Humanity has been building and improving single family homes in 100 neighborhoods across the metro area. Now, it’s renovating its mission. Rosalyn Merrick, president and CEO of Atlanta Habitat for Humanity says her objective is to also build master planned communities with more than 100 homes. Its first development, Browns Mill Village, is set to...

Dr. Patrick O’Carroll decided early in his career that public health, and its long-term, collaborative approach to problem solving, suited him. An epidemiologist by trade, he is president and CEO of the Task Force for Global Health, a $100 million nonprofit whose mission is to advance health equity by working with partners across the world to eliminate diseases, ensure access to medicines and stre...

As President and CEO of the YWCA of Greater Atlanta, Danita Knight is dedicated to the organization’s mission: “Eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.” She’s leading the nonprofit in a $19.5 million fundraising campaign to renovate the historic Phillis Wheatley YWCA to uplift women on Atlanta’s westside.  See Privacy Policy at https://a...

As president and CEO of CHRIS 180, Kathy Colbenson has been on a mission, “to try to make the world a better place and help people to be their best selves.” That’s been her North Star since she took the helm of the non-profit in 1987. Since then, CHRIS 180 has had many accomplishments including creating the first program in the state for youth aging out of foster care, and launching the first scho...

From policing to politics to protests, Jill Savitt has a unique ability to put current events in historical context. She is president and CEO of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, an organization that aims to inspire and empower people to change the world. This year marks its 10th anniversary, and the launch of a $56 million expansion project.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19...

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Adam Noyes leads Atlanta’s largest catering company. He’s CEO of Proof of the Pudding. It provides food services for a variety of venues from the Atlanta Botanical Garden to the University of Georgia’s athletics stadiums, overseeing more than 20,000 events a year. And after 45 years in business, it is not slowing down. With Bruin Capital signing on last year as a majority investor, Noyes and his t...

As Christine Whitaker sees it, she’s at the center of “technology and innovation powering the global economy.” She is the president of Comcast’s Central Division based in Atlanta. That division spans 12 states, has 21 million customers and about 17,000 employees. While it is massive, Whitaker says she aims to connect with the community through efforts to bridge the digital divide and support small...

When Milton Little Jr.’s mother told him as a child to “make sure you help people,” he had no idea how much those words would prove to illuminate his career path. As president and CEO of United Way of Greater Atlanta, Little leads one of the largest United Way chapters in the world. Its focus is helping residents reach their highest potential including the nearly 500,000 youth in metro Atlant...

When Jeff Call joined Bennett Thrasher in 2002, the company had about 50 employees. Today, that number has increased to 500 nationwide. Call is Managing Partner at the financial services firm. Bennett Thrasher reached a milestone in 2023 of $100 million in revenue. Call credits the company’s taking a “people first” approach to its employees and clients as one reason for the growth. Another factor...

Mentoring helped Helene Lollis move from developing plastics to people. For more than two decades, the former BP engineer has been president and CEO of Pathbuilders, a firm that uses mentorship to transform top female talent “to change people and companies everyday.” Since its founding in 1995, the company has helped to develop 6,000 women from hundreds of organizations including Fortune 500...

From age 11, Jay Bailey knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur. Now as CEO of the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE), he leads the nation’s largest hub for developing and scaling Black-owned businesses. Since launching in 2019, RICE has served more than 350 small business owners, which have driven $450 million in economic activity. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and...

It’s not lost on Morgan Shaw Parker that Atlanta’s WNBA franchise is named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream" speech. When she joined the Atlanta Dream as its president and COO in 2021, she sought to incorporate Dr. King’s values of respect, integrity, and diversity into the franchise. The Atlanta Dream’s staff is the most diverse of all WNBA’s teams. In 2023, the Atlanta D...

As president of Atlanta Technical College, Victoria Seals is on a mission—to connect students with industry in a way that leads to greater economic mobility. Now entering her eighth year as president, Seals is well on her way to achieving that goal. Its 2023 annual report shows ATC students have a 99% job placement rate, 79% find jobs in their field of study. The institution’s economic impact on t...

Jesslyn Rollins has a deep connection to the company she leads. Not only is she Biolye’s CEO, Rollins’ family started the business as a solution for her mother, who in 2016, was battling breast cancer, and needed medical-grade hydration to endure treatment and overcome the disease. Rollins began selling Biolyte beverages from the back of her car in 2017—generating six-figure revenue. At the time o...

Pam Shipley has spent more than 30 years in healthcare, and one thing she says she’s learned, “It’s all about the people.” As Georgia Regional President of Kaiser Permanente, Shipley oversees 700 physicians and more than 315,000 members across the 32-county metropolitan Atlanta area. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-s...

Fay Twersky never sought a career in philanthropy. “I just wanted to do the work,” she said, and that she has, at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and in 2021 she became president and director of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. Since 1995 it has committed more than $1 billion to support positive change in mental health, democracy, environment,...

Former college football quarterback and NFL player Nate Hybl is using lessons learned on the gridiron to now grow his restaurant brand. Hybl is founder and CEO of Gusto, a healthy, fast-casual restaurant chain based in Atlanta. “Competition is fierce,” Hybl says, with competitors that include Sweetgreen and Cava. But the former pro athlete is proving a formidable opponent. Founded in 2014, Gusto h...