Mike Alexander serves on the Executive Leadership team of the Atlanta Regional Commission focusing on innovation-driven strategic leadership, systems planning and policy implementation. As the Center Director, I lead the efforts of six groups within the regional planning agency: Community Development, Natural Resources, Research & Analytics, Transportation Accessibility & Mobility, and Mobility Services. The Center staff is multidisciplinary, focused on policy implementation in the fields of transportation planning, environmental planning, community development, economics and demographic forecasting.

Bill Bolling is Founder, Chair and Senior Advisor of Food Well Alliance, a collaborative network of growers, community and city leaders working to build thriving community gardens and urban farms across metro Atlanta. Prior to starting Food Well Alliance, Bill founded the Atlanta Community Food Bank in 1979 and served as its Executive Director until 2015. In this capacity, he oversaw the distribution of millions of pounds of food and grocery products each year through a network of more than 600 local congregations and nonprofit organizations that feed the hungry across 29 Georgia counties. He was also instrumental in starting the Georgia Food Bank Association, through which he helped launch 8 food banks across the state, serving more than 2,600 congregations and community-based organizations in every Georgia county. As a charter member of Feeding America, the national network of food banks, Bill was engaged in the startup of food banks across the country. Prior to leading the Atlanta Community Food Bank, he served as Director of Community Ministries for St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta.

Bill currently serves on the board of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Inspire Brands Foundation, Convergence, Georgia Forward, the Regional Commission on Homelessness, and the Deans Council of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. He is Founder of the Atlanta Regional Housing Forum, begun in 1984, and continues to serve as convener and moderator. He is past Chair of the Board of the Regional Leadership Forum, and the State of Georgia Housing Trust Fund Commission. He is a 2015 inductee into Georgia Trend’s Most Influential Hall of Fame and was named Georgia Trend’s Georgian of the Year in 2012. He is a frequent speaker on topics related to sustainability, hunger, poverty, affordable housing, and public policy reform.

Brennen Dicker is a seasoned film and television professional boasting an impressive 25-year career. Currently, he serves as the Executive Director of the Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII) at Georgia State University. CMII stands out as the nation’s most diverse media institute, catering to over 900 students pursuing studies in media entrepreneurship, game design, game development, and an MFA program focused on Virtual Production and VFX.

Before joining Georgia State University, Brennen held the pivotal role of General Manager at SIM International (Post) Atlanta, a renowned provider of production and post-production services. SIM contributed to the success of numerous iconic TV series and blockbuster movies, including “Stranger Things,” “Watchmen,” “The Gifted,” “Dynasty,” “The Originals,” “True Detective” Season 3, and the critically acclaimed “Get Out.”

Tiffany Friesen joined Philanthropy Southeast in March 2019 as vice president of programs and partnerships. Prior to that she was with the United Way of Greater Atlanta as senior director for partnership engagement, where she created new programming to strengthen and deepen relationships with funded and non-funded agencies to increase collaboration and impact for the well-being of children and families in Atlanta.

Her prior experience also includes work with Be The Match, part of the National Marrow Donor Program, where she led an initiative to grow the diversity of bone marrow donors in the Southeast region.

Since arriving in Atlanta in 1991, Tiffany has worked across sectors, including in the political arena as campaign manager for Lisa Borders for Mayor and on the support team for the Atlanta Committee for Progress. In addition, her experience in the nonprofit sector has ranged from working at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce during the Centennial Olympics period to Coxe Curry & Associates.

Tiffany is an active community member, having served on the boards of Hands On Atlanta, KIPP Ways Academy, Families First, Victim Witness Assistance Program and the D’AIR Project. She was involved with the startup of the Neighborhood Charter School in Grant Park and taught English as a second language to Vietnamese immigrants through the Carter Project when she first moved to Atlanta in 1992.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Goshen College and is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta Class of 2012.

Lesley Grady is a Principal with Chrysalis Lab, a premier social equity consulting firm. Lesley is described by her colleagues as a “catalyst,” “connector,” “synthesizer,” and “strategist.” Holding an MA in Public Policy and Economic Development, she has provided strategic and visionary leadership for over three decades as a senior executive within major philanthropic and economic development organizations. A highly respected and sought after advisor, Lesley’s professional and civic experiences have profoundly equipped her to leverage her capacities, relationships, and passions to establish and sustain authentic connections with a cross-section of diverse leaders to facilitate positive social change.

Ayesha Khanna is the Managing Director of CARE Enterprises Inc. (CEI), with 20 years of experience in the social impact and business sectors leading national and global organizations and scaling for-profit and non-profit ventures. She was founder of the Civic Accelerator with a portfolio of 245 social enterprises and most recently was with the Acumen Fund after serving a decade as the President of Civic Innovation with Points of Light, the largest global organization dedicated to civic action. She began her career building health centers in rural India and in the strategy practice of Accenture. CEI is a for-profit subsidiary of global humanitarian organization, CARE USA, and is focused on creating economic opportunities for people in poverty, with women at the center, by investing in proven and scalable for-benefit companies.

As its first initiative, CEI is raising a $75 million gender justice fund – CARE-SheTrades Impact Fund – in partnership with Bamboo Capital Partners and ITC SheTrades. Ayesha has served on various community boards and currently serves on Childfund International, the national Fuse Corps city fellowship program, civic journalism non-profit Atlanta Civic Circle and TEDx Atlanta’s Boards of Directors. She lives with her husband David Edwards and their daughter in Atlanta, Georgia.

Debra Lam is the Managing Director of Smart Cities and Inclusive innovation for Georgia Tech, a newly created role to drive smart cities and urban innovation work across the university and beyond.

Prior to this, she served as Pittsburgh’s first ever Chief of Innovation & Performance where she oversaw all technology, sustainability, performance and innovation functions of city government. She crafted the city’s first strategic plan for innovation, Inclusive Innovation Roadmap. She has been a receipt of various awards, including one of the top 50 Women in Technology nationally. She has worked and lived in New York, the United Kingdom, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Saba has provided communications expertise to numerous political campaigns and ballot initiatives, counseled tech startups, and served as a liaison for a White House advisory panel on infrastructure and cybersecurity. Saba has worked on nearly every major transit referenda in metro Atlanta since 2010, bringing transit back to Clayton County and expanding MARTA service in the city of Atlanta. She transitioned from the Atlanta Civic Circle board of directors to lead the organization. While she does not come from a traditional media background, Saba brings a fresh perspective to how local media can meet the needs of everyday residents. She’ll never turn down a hot yoga class or tickets to a good concert.

Dr. Lough studies visual communication and solutions journalism, with an emphasis on photojournalism. He teaches graduate-level visual communication method & theory, as well as undergraduate photography and journalism ethics & diversity courses.

His research explores questions of power, access and boundaries. Within visual communication, he studies how news images are made, selected and interpreted, as well as the photographers themselves in how they define and operate within their field as they fight for legitimacy and job security. His solutions journalism work investigates how it is conceptualized/created, audience effects and the interplay of words and images. Solutions journalism, a growing field of interest within journalism studies, compels journalists to go beyond just reporting about problems in a community by also covering what people are doing about it.

Judith is a marketing and communications executive with 20+ years of experience in the Arts & Cultural and Non-Profit sectors. She is COO and Chief Brand Ambassador for Chez Montier, a chef-driven, boutique catering company founded by her husband, Juan Montier. Judith most recently served as vice president of Marketing for The National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Inc. where she played a vital role in launching this award-winning, interactive museum. In this capacity, Judith and her team secured extensive local, national and international PR and media coverage to announce The Center’s opening and created the foundational marketing platform for the institution.

Before bringing her skills and talents to her work at The Center, Judith served as vice president of Marketing & Communications for United Way of Greater Atlanta. She also served as the director of Marketing and Corporate Sponsorship for the National Black Arts Festival, the entertainment manager of the Olympic Village for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games and worked for superstar Diana Ross. Judith is a graduate of Dartmouth College. She serves on the board of C.H.O.I.C.E.S. (Center for Helping Obesity in Children End Successfully) and the Rialto Center for the Arts. She is an alumna of Leadership Atlanta, class of 2013. Judith is married to Juan Montier, a chef with a background in architecture and interior design. They have two sons and reside in Decatur, GA.

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Cheryl F. Turner is a seasoned attorney committed to community service and expanding opportunities for others.

She is a graduate of Emory College and Emory University School of Law, where she was a Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar and a Woodruff Scholar, respectively.  As an active alumna, she has been a member of several university boards, including the Emory Alumni Board and the Emory Law School Alumni Board.  In addition to her board service, she spearheaded the creation of the Dr. Rudolph Byrd Memorial Scholarship, an endowed scholarship benefiting Emory college students.  Currently, she serves as the Alumni Counselor to the Emory University Board of Trustees.