Photograph by John Stephens
Arts | Film, Music, & Entertainment | Sports | Legends
ARTS
Jennifer Barlament
Executive Director
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Since assuming the leadership role at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 2016, Jennifer Barlament has transformed the institution. After years of budget deficits and labor strife, the ASO has now enjoyed consistent annual budget surpluses, multiple successful contract negotiations with the orchestra’s musicians, and audience growth. She has also expanded community programming, completed an endowment campaign, and enhanced ASO’s Talent Development Program for pre-college Black and Latinx classical musicians. Barlament’s crowning achievement has been the naming of international star Nathalie Stutzmann as the ASO’s music director in 2022. Prior to coming to Atlanta, Barlament was general manager of The Cleveland Orchestra. A past recipient of the League of American Orchestras’ prestigious Helen M. Thompson Award, Barlament also is a musician (she was a student of ASO principal clarinetist Laura Ardan).
EDUCATION Emory University, Eastman School of Music (MM)
FIRST JOB Indexing historic land deeds in the Liberty County Clerk of Court’s Office
HIDDEN TALENT Baking pies
FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION The eastern shore of Lake Michigan
Susan Bridges
Owner and Director
Whitespace Gallery
For more than 15 years, Atlanta native Susan Bridges curated off-site projects in unusual spaces throughout the city, including shipping containers, an underground parking garage, a church, and a U-Haul storage facility. In 2006, she opened Whitespace Gallery, which is housed in an 1893 carriage house behind her Victorian home in Inman Park. Today, the gallery represents over 35 local, regional, and national artists practicing in all disciplines. Additionally, three project spaces are reserved for emerging and underrepresented artists.
EDUCATION University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
FIRST JOB Receptionist, ad agency
WHAT I’D TELL MY 18-YEAR-OLD SELF Everything’s going to be okay.
FEW PEOPLE KNOW I love to dance.
FAVORITE ATLANTA PLACE TO VISIT My garden
Yehimi Cambrón Álvarez
Artist
Yehimi Cambrón is a multidisciplinary artist, activist, and public speaker born in Michoacán, México. Immigrated to Georgia at age seven, she grew up undocumented in Atlanta, and has been a DACA recipient since 2013. Cambrón’s work centers on immigrants and predominantly reflects the experiences of undocumented Americans. Her series Family Portrait was displayed at the High Museum in 2019 and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia in 2020. In June 2020 she completed her tallest mural to date, We Give Each Other the World, a community-responsive piece cofunded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the City of Hapeville. In August 2020, Cambrón completed Monuments: Atlanta’s Immigrants, a mural at the Home Depot Backyard at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. She has had solo exhibitions at the USC Upstate Art Gallery and Oglethorpe University Museum of Art and has exhibited at MOCA GA, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, and Agnes Scott College’s Dalton Gallery, among others. Currently working on a curatorial project at Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Cambrón is also completing her MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
EDUCATION Agnes Scott College
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT 2023 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow
Photograph by Brandon Barr
Monica Campana
Founder and Executive Director
Living Walls
A native of Peru, Monica Campana moved to the United States in 1998. As the founder and executive director of the mural program Living Walls, The City Speaks, she’s facilitated the creation of more than 500 public murals throughout the metro Atlanta area from a diverse array of national and international artists. The concept of reproductive rights through the lens of empowerment, community, and empathy are explored in a new mural unveiled on Decatur Square in 2024. Living Walls has produced work across metro Atlanta, Brunswick, Birmingham, Miami, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Paris, and Mexico City. Campana has also served as curator at WISH ATL and project manager for Philadelphia’s Open Source, and curated an exhibition at Moscow’s Artmossphere biennale.
Photograph by Kim Link
Annette Cone-Skelton
President, CEO, and Founding Director
Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia
Annette Cone-Skelton founded the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia in 2000 with a mission to support the state’s artists. MOCA GA is currently home to more than 1,600 pieces, as well as a library and a voluminous archive. In 2024, the City of Atlanta invested $2 million to support MOCA GA’s capital campaign to help build its new state-of-the-art facility at The Goat Farm, which is slated to open in 2026. Additionally, Northside Hospital and MOCA GA are developing a groundbreaking arts therapy program “Art for Healers,” which recognizes the unique challenges and post-pandemic environment of Georgia’s nurses, medical technicians, and physicians. A longtime educator, curator, and editor, Cone-Skelton is also a respected artist whose work is collected in the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the High Museum of Art, among other places. She received the Governor’s Award for the Arts & Humanities in 2012 and Atlanta Contemporary’s Nexus Award in 2019.
EDUCATION Atlanta College of Art
HOMETOWN LaGrange, Georgia
HIDDEN TALENT Played the French horn in high school
FAVORITE ATLANTA PLACE TO VISIT Atlanta Botanical Garden
Ariel Fristoe
Artistic Director
Out of Hand Theater
Ariel Fristoe is the artistic director and founder of Atlanta’s Out of Hand Theater. Winner of The New York Times Best Theater of 2020, the Governor’s Award for the Arts & Humanities 2021, and the Bloomberg Public Art Challenge 2023, Out of Hand works at the intersection of art, social justice, and civic engagement. Based on the pillars of racial justice and economic justice, its programs include Equitable Dinners, Shows in Homes, Community Collaborations, Creative Kids, and the Institute for Equity Activism. Fristoe leads the Concentration in Arts Management at Emory University and is an Innovator in Residence at Emory’s Hatchery Center for Entrepreneurship. Selected as an Atlanta Business Chronicle Women of Influence honoree in 2024, Fristoe is a member of Leadership Atlanta’s class of 2022 and a LINK Trip delegate.
EDUCATION Emory University
FEW PEOPLE KNOW My husband and I have been foster parents to three children.
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT The Atlanta Journal-Constitution named Fristoe one of its Everyday Heroes. Harvard Business School published a case study on her business model titled Out of Hand Theater: Monetizing Creativity.
Shanequa Gay
Artist
Artist Shanequa Gay exhibits her works and procures residencies within the United States, Europe, Japan, and South Africa. She is a Do-Good Fellow recipient and an Emory University Arts and Social Justice Fellow (2020). A visiting professor at Spelman College, Gay’s accomplishments include selection for Off the Wall, a city-wide civil rights and social justice mural initiative led by the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee (2019). Recent exhibitions include the European Cultural Centre Personal Structures-REFLECTION, 59th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy, (2022); Atlanta Biennial, Atlanta Contemporary (2021); Le Monde Bossale, Montreal, Canada (2021); Adorned, McColl Center for Arts and Innovation, Charlotte (2020); and Holding Space for Nobility: A Memorial for Breonna Taylor, Ackland Museum, Chapel Hill North Carolina (2020). Her Psalms for Black Girls exhibition is on display at the Emma Darnell Aviation Museum and Conference Center through January 18.
EDUCATION Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia State University (MFA)
HOMETOWN Atlanta
Nena Yvette Gilreath
Cofounding Director
Ballethnic Dance Company
A ballerina, an entrepreneur, and an artistic director, Nena Gilreath has spent her career immersed in dance. Gilreath danced with the Ruth Mitchell Dance Theatre, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, and the Atlanta Ballet. Seeing the need for greater racial diversity in ballet, Gilreath and her husband, choreographer Waverly T. Lucas II, cofounded Ballethnic Dance Company and Academy of Dance in 1990 to provide superior instruction and performance opportunities to underrepresented communities. Honored with the Governor’s Award for the Arts and Humanities in 2023 along with her husband, Gilreath has produced Ballethnic’s performances at The Alliance Theatre on the Coca-Cola stage and as one of three Black professional ballet companies to perform in the Reframing the Narrative ballet performances at The Kennedy Center.
EDUCATION University of North Carolina School of the Arts
HOMETOWN North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
BEST ADVICE RECEIVED “Fight until the end,” as witnessed by my best friend, Gloria Bowden, who worked until the day before her death from cancer
Angelica Hairston
Harpist Founder
Challenge the Stats
Angelica Hairston is a harpist who serves as an Artist in Residence at the Palm Heights Resort in Grand Cayman and has performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and others. In 2016, she founded Challenge the Stats, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering artists of color. She also serves as an artistic consultant for Atlanta’s Urban Youth Harp Ensemble. She is one of the youngest recipients of the Georgia Governor’s Awards for the Arts & Humanities and received Atlanta magazine’s Women Making a Mark Award in 2020. Hairston earned a Master of Music Industry Leadership from Northeastern University as a 2015 MLK Fellow and a Bachelor of Music from The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Omari J. Henderson
Partner
ZuCot Gallery
Omari J. Henderson has managed to fuse his educational background, business acumen, and love of art to strike a delicate balance between his passion, personal, and professional life as a partner and co-owner of ZuCot Gallery. Through his leadership, ZuCot has become the largest African American art gallery in the Southeast, endeavoring to elevate the careers of artists while providing a unique customer experience for collectors, corporations, and private consultations. A Decatur native, Henderson is also the founder of The Art Brothers Foundation and Youth Challenge Inc., which strives to enrich young minds with entrepreneurship, art, and technology. Having served on boards for several organizations, Henderson currently serves as chair of boards for Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company and Park Pride.
EDUCATION Tuskegee University
WHY I CHOSE THIS WORK Since my youth, art has always been a real passion. I was not skilled in creating work, but really appreciated what I saw my father and other artists create (across many platforms). I’ve always been an innovator with an entrepreneur mindset.
BEST ADVICE RECEIVED You have a responsibility to build a legacy that can propel generations to come.
Onaje Henderson
Partner/Gallery Director
ZuCot Gallery
Onaje Henderson is a partner and gallery director of ZuCot Gallery in Atlanta. Under his leadership, ZuCot has advanced the careers of countless African American artists and currently stands as the largest African American fine arts gallery in the Southeast. A community educator, Henderson regularly collaborates with art enthusiasts, high-end collectors, and corporate executives to promote the necessity of owning one’s culture and has also advised countless clients on art selection. A member of the Hammonds House Museum board, the Decatur native is also a member of the Fulton County Arts Council, along with the Arts Advisory Committee formed by Mayor Andre Dickens in 2023.
EDUCATION Tuskegee University
BEST ADVICE RECEIVED Talk less, listen more.
TOUGHEST CHALLENGE Building a business that has the ability to adapt and pivot with the times or circumstances is paramount to staying viable and profitable.
FAVORITE MOVIE Coming to America
NONPROFITS Hammonds House, Art Papers, Youth Challenge Inc.
Donovan Johnson
Director
Johnson Lowe Gallery
Donovan Johnson has more than a decade of experience in world-class contemporary art galleries, in both New York, having worked at Lisa Cooley Gallery, and in Atlanta, at Hathaway Contemporary and Bill Lowe Gallery, where he worked very closely with its founder as assistant director, directing exhibit operations and sales before becoming the gallery director in 2021. He has experience in art curation and collection; more notably, he has curated shows such as Michael David’s The Mirror Stage and Jimmy O’Neal’s An Introspective. In 2023, Bill Lowe Gallery announced a rebrand as Johnson Lowe Gallery under the new leadership of Johnson.
FIRST JOB Intern, Bill Lowe Gallery
HOMETOWN Newnan
WHY I CHOSE THIS WORK Art has always been and will be my first true language.
BEST ADVICE RECEIVED From Bill Lowe: “Know who you is and who you ain’t.”
TOUGHEST CHALLENGE The passing of my friend and mentor, Bill Lowe.
FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION Parent’s home
NONPROFIT Nsoros
Tinashe Kajese-Bolden
Co-Artistic Director
Alliance Theatre
Tinashe Kajese-Bolden was named co-artistic director of the Alliance Theatre in 2023. An award-winning director, actor, and producer, Kajese-Bolden’s directing credits include Toni Stone, The Many Wondrous Realities of Jasmine Starr-Kidd, Nick’s Flamingo’s Grill, School Girls, Or the African Mean Girls Play, Ghost, Native Gardens, Pipeline, and Eclipsed. She has also worked as a director and actor regionally and on and off Broadway. As the BOLD associate artistic director at Alliance Theatre, Kajese-Bolden stewarded the Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab, cultivating new works for Atlanta-based artists, and oversaw the Spelman Leadership Fellowship, the first mentorship program of its kind partnering a regional theatre with a historically Black college and university to offer paid career opportunities for students interested in arts leadership positions. In addition to her work as a director, her television and film appearances include Strays, Hawkeye, Valor, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Greenleaf, Cherish the Day, and The Bobby Brown Story.
EDUCATION University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS 2020 MAP Fund Award grantee for the development of ALL SMILES for children on the autism spectrum as a part of The Kathy & Ken Bernhardt Theatre for the Very Young program, 2020 Princess Grace Award for directing
Hala Moddelmog
President and CEO
Woodruff Arts Center
Hala Moddelmog is president and CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center. She has spent more than a decade serving in volunteer leadership at the Arts Center. She served on the Woodruff Arts Center Board of Trustees from 2011–2017 and has served on the Woodruff Governing Board since 2017. She also served on the Alliance Theatre Board of Directors from 2011–2020 and led the Alliance Theatre Board as co-chair from 2017–2019. In 2024, Woodruff Arts Center kicked off its $67 million capital campaign “Experience Atlanta, Experience Woodruff” with a groundbreaking ceremony for two additional spaces: the Goizueta Stage for Youth & Families and PNC PlaySpace, with the spaces set to open January 2026. Throughout her career, Moddelmog has served in top executive roles and has served as a corporate director for four NYSE companies and a Carlyle Group private portfolio company board. In 2014, she became the first female president and CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber. Previously she was president of Arby’s Restaurant Group, president and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and the first woman to lead an international restaurant company as president of Church’s Chicken.
EDUCATION Georgia Southern University, University of Georgia (MA)
Christopher Moses
Co-Artistic Director
Alliance Theatre
Christopher Moses was named co-artistic director of the Alliance Theatre in 2023. During his more than two decades at the Alliance, Moses has overseen the Alliance Theatre Institute, Theatre for Youth & Families, and the Acting Program. Also, under his leadership, the Alliance launched The Kathy & Ken Bernhardt Theatre for the Very Young program, which provides fully interactive professional theater experiences for children of all abilities from ages newborn through five years old; the Alliance Teen Ensemble, which performs world premier plays commissioned for and about teens; and Alliance@work, a professional development program designed for the business sector. In 2024, the Alliance launched the Imagine Campaign, establishing a $10 million endowment fund exclusively dedicated to sustaining theatrical programming and removing access barriers such as ticket and transportation costs for young audiences of all backgrounds in the new Goizueta Stage for Youth & Families. Moses received the Governor’s Award for the Arts and Humanities in 2023.
Gennadi Nedvigin
Artistic Director
Atlanta Ballet
In 2016, Gennadi Nedvigin became the fourth artistic director in the 87-year history of the Atlanta Ballet. Born in Russia, Nedvigin was accepted into the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Academy at age 10 and joined the Moscow Renaissance Ballet upon graduation. He joined the San Francisco Ballet in 1997 and was promoted to principal dancer three years later. Nedvigin has performed as Albrecht in Giselle, Nutcracker Prince in The Nutcracker, and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. Since joining Atlanta Ballet, Nedvigin, with choreographer Yuri Possokov, assembled a world-class design team and created a world premiere production of The Nutcracker for Atlanta Ballet in 2018, followed by the company’s debut performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2019. Under Nedvigin’s guidance, the company has grown to 40 dancers and has established the Academy training program and Atlanta Ballet 2, a top-tier performance ensemble.
EDUCATION Bolshoi Ballet Academy
FIRST JOB Soloist dancer at Moscow Renaissance Ballet
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS Isadora Duncan Dance Awards (2001, 2010, and 2017), Erik Bruhn Prize (1999)
Ann-Carol Pence
Cofounder and Producing Artistic Director
Aurora Theatre
Ann-Carol Pence is the producing artistic director of Lawrenceville’s Aurora Theatre, which she cofounded more than 20 years ago with Anthony Rodriguez. Under their leadership, the theater grew from 120 to 5,000 season subscribers; it produces 800 events annually for 80,000 visitors, and is the second-largest theater in Georgia by membership and budget. The company recently moved into its new $35 million, 59,500-square-foot Lawrenceville Arts Center. Pence continues her work as an advocate of radical inclusion, creating space where people of all backgrounds gather to celebrate the arts. She’s also been a pianist and/or musical director in productions nationally and in Atlanta.
EDUCATION James Madison University
HOMETOWN Harrisonburg, Virginia
WHY I CHOSE THIS WORK As a musician by trade, I believed Gwinnett County deserved and could sustain a professional theater, capable of producing world-class musicals in a way I had not seen produced in Atlanta.
FIRST JOB Church organist at age 12
INSPIRING PERSON Oprah Winfrey
Michael Rooks
Wieland Family Curator of Contemporary and Modern Art
High Museum of Art
Since joining the High Museum in 2010, Michael Rooks has curated or managed dozens of exhibitions and increased the museum’s collection by a quarter, including work by Julie Mehretu, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, and Kara Walker. He was also commissioner and cocurator of the U.S. pavilion at the 12th International Architecture Exhibition at the 2010 Venice Biennale. A 2015 Atlanta Contemporary Nexus Award winner, Rooks previously held curatorial positions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Honolulu’s Contemporary Museum, and the Honolulu Academy of Arts.
EDUCATION School of the Art Institute of Chicago (MA)
HOMETOWN Ottawa, Illinois
FIRST JOB Paper route
LESSON LEARNED The necessity of compromise to enjoy the pleasure of consensus-building
Photograph by Jeoff Davis
Lauri Stallings
Founding Artist
glo
As the founder of the dance company glo, conceptual artist and choreographer Lauri Stallings has transformed the Atlanta dance scene, collaborating with artists including Robert Spano, Janelle Monáe, and Big Boi. Stallings’s work has been commissioned and presented by venues including the Center for Civil and Human Rights, the High Museum of Art, Art Basel Miami Beach, and the Zuckerman Museum of Art. In 2018, she received the Hudgens Prize from the Hudgens Center for Art & Learning. She is also a MOCA GA Fellow (2017) and Rome Prize nominee (2013). In 2019, Stallings was the first choreographer in residence at the High Museum of Art and shared her choreographies in the XII Florence Biennale, where she was one of 400 artists representing 55 countries. In 2022 Georgia Trend included Stallings in its list of 100 Most Influential Georgians, and in 2024, Stallings and glo launched The Blooming City, a new city-wide social sculpture in Palmetto, Georgia.
EDUCATION Point Park University
HOMETOWN Gainesville, Florida
Photograph by KatMax Photography
Randall Suffolk
Nancy and Holcombe T. Green Jr. Director
High Museum of Art
Randall Suffolk became the High Museum’s director in November 2015. Since his arrival, he has championed a commitment to community engagement, placing particular emphasis on collaboration, inclusivity, and access. To support these objectives, the museum has reduced admission fees, focused programmatically on the demographics of its audience, reinstalled its entire collection, and added numerous important acquisitions.
EDUCATION Connecticut College, Columbia University (MA), Bryn Mawr College (MA)
HOMETOWN Tallmadge, Ohio
FIRST JOB Waiter
BEST ADVICE RECEIVED Always live within walking distance of the office.
HOBBIES Cycling
Troy T. Taylor
Founding Partner and Owner
ZuCot Gallery
Troy T. Taylor is a founding partner and owner of ZuCot Gallery, the largest African American-owned fine art gallery in the Southeast. Its mission is to promote original works of art by living African American artists. Taylor has helped to develop a go-to-market strategy that was highly indexed at attracting the growing wealth of the city’s young African American professional population. He has amassed a client list of over 1,000 collectors and a social media following of over 10,000 followers. He has also developed an educational program with Atlanta Public Schools where over 2,500 students visit the gallery during the school year.
EDUCATION Penn State, University of Pennsylvania (MS)
FAVORITE HOBBY Boating
FAVORITE MOVIE Star Wars
FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION Singapore
Allan C. Vella
President and CEO
Fox Theatre
Allan C. Vella has worked in the facility management field since 1986, managing theaters, arenas, amphitheaters, and exhibition facilities. His experience spans a wide range of events, including NCAA tournaments, MLB and NHL games, ballet, concerts, and presidential visits. As president and CEO of the Fox Theatre, Vella is responsible for all operations and programming. The Fox hosts more than 150 performances and 750,000 guests annually, with events ranging from rock concerts to Broadway, ballet, comedy, and movies.
EDUCATION University of Iowa
TOUGHEST CHALLENGE Assisting with recovery efforts for Southeast Texas after Hurricane Rita
HIDDEN TALENT I’m an amateur rock drummer. My realization that a future as a successful musician was highly unlikely led me to my career.
FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION Saint George Island
Anna Walker Skillman
Owner
Jackson Fine Art
Anna Walker Skillman is the owner of Jackson Fine Art, a Buckhead gallery that emphasizes a mix of 20th-century and contemporary fine art photography. With a degree in art history, Walker Skillman began her career at the Haines Gallery in San Francisco, moving to Atlanta in 1993 to manage the studio of artist Todd Murphy. Joining Jackson Fine Art in 1998, she purchased the gallery in 2003 from Jane Jackson, who founded it in 1990. Jackson Fine Art’s clients include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the High Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
EDUCATION University of Georgia
John Welker
Artistic and Executive Director
Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre
With four other veterans of the Atlanta Ballet, John Welker cofounded Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre in 2017 after a long career in dance. Debuting as a professional dancer at age 16, the Ohio native spent 22 years as a principal dancer for the Atlanta Ballet, where he performed lead roles in productions including Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, The Four Seasons, and Seven Sonatas. In 2010 he founded the contemporary dance company Wabi Sabi under the umbrella of Atlanta Ballet, which commissioned 35 new works over seven years for outdoor performances from Serenbe to the High Museum of Art to the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
EDUCATION Kennesaw State University (MBA)
WHY I CHOSE THIS WORK Dance combines athleticism, spirituality, science, and art into the human form, and when combined, dance becomes a powerful communicator—there is nothing else like it.
FIRST JOB Newspaper route with the Columbus Dispatch
HIDDEN TALENT I can hit a high G-flat into an F-sharp with my voice. It’s extraordinarily terrible.
FAVORITE MOVIE The Godfather: Part II
Tomer Zvulun
General and Artistic Director
The Atlanta Opera
Tomer Zvulun has been general and artistic director of The Atlanta Opera since 2013, directing more than 30 new productions including Dead Man Walking and The Flying Dutchman. During Zvulun’s tenure the opera has tripled its fundraising and doubled its annual number of productions; his focus on innovation has led to a Harvard Business School case study, a TED Talk, and an International Opera Awards nomination. In 2024, Zvulun announced that The Atlanta Opera will transform the historic Bobby Jones Clubhouse, located on the Atlanta Beltline, into a home for opera and the performing arts in a multidisciplinary arts center. The $45 million arts center is expected to be completed by 2027. A celebrated director, Zvulun has staged work at the Washington National Opera, the Seattle Opera, and internationally; prior to coming to Atlanta, he spent seven seasons on the Metropolitan Opera’s directing staff.
EDUCATION Open University of Tel Aviv
HOMETOWN Ashqelon, Israel
WHY I CHOSE THIS WORK Opera’s combination of music, theater, and design is the most powerful artistic style I was ever exposed to.
FIRST JOB Worked in the Israeli opera in every entry position imaginable: usher, stagehand
FILM, MUSIC, & ENTERTAINMENT
Photograph courtesy of individual
Kenny Blank
Executive Director
Atlanta Jewish Film Festival
Kenny Blank is executive & artistic director of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival—the largest film festival in Atlanta and the world’s preeminent Jewish film fest. A communications and journalism veteran, Blank worked for Atlanta mayors Maynard Jackson and Bill Campbell in the early 1990s, and won an Associated Press award for special coverage of the 1996 Olympics as a producer at WSAV-TV in Savannah. Most recently, Blank was an executive producer for WXIA-TV, where he received an Emmy for breaking-news coverage. A recipient of the IMAGE Film Award and Atlanta Contemporary’s Nexus Award, Blank previously chaired the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund.
EDUCATION New York University
BEST ADVICE RECEIVED Four things that can never be recovered: the stone after it’s thrown, the word after it’s spoken, the occasion after it’s missed, and the time after it’s gone.
FAVORITE MOVIE Lawrence of Arabia
FAVORITE VACATION DESTINATION Hilton Head Island
WHO’D PLAY ME IN A BIOPIC Jake Johnson
Kandi Burruss
Entertainer and Entrepreneur
Atlanta-born and bred singer, songwriter, entrepreneur, and TV personality Kandi Burruss got her start in the entertainment industry when she cofounded the all-female R&B group Xscape, as a 14-year-old student at Tri-Cities High School in East Point. She went on to write hit songs for Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran, Pink, Whitney Houston, Destiny’s Child, ‘N Sync, Mariah Carey, Usher, Alicia Keys, Boys II Men, and TLC, including the latter’s Grammy-winning smash “No Scrubs.” Having starred in 14 seasons of Bravo phenomenon The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Burruss is also restaurateur, as she opened Old Lady Gang and Blaze Steak and Seafood in the city. In 2024, Burruss, who owns several businesses, launched Amazon Live talk show Generation Face-Off featuring Burruss, her mom, Mama Joyce, and her daughter, Riley Burruss, as they explore the generational differences shaping the world.
Danielle Deadwyler
Artist, actor, and filmmaker
An Atlanta native, Danielle Deadwyler is rooted in theatre, dance, and creative writing. Hometown institutions such as Gate City Heritage House, Total Dance Theatre, Gary Harrison Studios, Atlanta Street Theatre, Henry W. Grady High School, and Spelman College shaped her Southern sensibilities. As a professional actor, Deadwyler has performed in productions with Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company, Horizon Theatre Company, Synchronicity Theatre, Theatrical Outfit, Aurora Theatre and the Tony Award-winning Alliance Theatre. Deadwyler has since performed in numerous television and film roles, presented nationally and internationally, including Watchmen (HBO), Atlanta (FX), FBI: Most Wanted (CBS), Being Mary Jane (BET), and as Quita Maxwell on Tyler Perry’s The Haves & The Have Nots (OWN), among a host of independent films and experimental works. Deadwyler’s portrayal of Mamie Till-Mobley in the 2022 biopic Till earned her a 2022 Gotham Independent Film Award for Outstanding Lead Performance and award nominations from several organizations including the Screen Actors Guild, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and the NAACP. In 2024, she starred in the Denzel Washington-produced The Piano Lesson, a film adapted from August Wilson’s play of the same name.
Jim Farmer
Festival Director and Executive Director
Out on Film
Jim Farmer has served as the festival director of Out on Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ film festival, since 2008. Under his leadership the festival has won ArtsATL’s Beacon Award for Community Engagement and the Center for Civic Innovation’s Civic Impact Award, and received an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences grant for its visiting-filmmaker series. Out on Film was also named an Oscar-qualifying festival in 2020, one of only six such LGBTQ+ film festivals in the world. MovieMaker magazine listed the festival in its 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee list in 2022. Farmer has been an Atlanta Pride grand marshal as well as a longtime arts writer for outlets including Atlanta magazine, ArtsATL, Georgia Voice, and Project Q Atlanta.
EDUCATION University of Georgia
HOMETOWN Milledgeville, Georgia
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT Leading Out on Film’s growth from a seven-day film festival to its current incarnation as an 11-day festival and becoming one of the most respected LGBTQ+ film festivals in the country
FEW PEOPLE KNOW I am incredibly shy.
WHO’D PLAY ME IN A BIOPIC Dan Levy
London Holmes (London on da Track)
Producer
As a teenager London joined a rap crew called Dem Guyz and developed his musical skills by playing piano at his local church. In 2011, he released his first track, “Curtains,” with Young Thug. In the next few years, he collaborated with Waka Flocka Flame, Gucci Mane, and Rich Homie Quan before signing with Cash Money Records. He’s become known for breaking new artists and has produced hits for performers such as 21 Savage, Summer Walker, Saweetie, G-Eazy, and more. He was the executive producer of Jamaican artist Shenseea’s album Never Gets Late Here, which was nominated for Best Reggae Album in 2024 for the Grammy Awards. He was also the producer of Irish rapper Jordan Adetunji’s song “Kehlani,” which was nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance in 2024 for the Grammy Awards. The Grammy Awards will be announced in February.
Photograph by Getty/Dia Dipasupil
Janelle Monáe
Musician
With albums including The ArchAndroid, The Electric Lady, and Dirty Computer, Janelle Monáe creates music that pushes the boundaries of rock, funk, hip-hop, R&B, and electronica. As a musical innovator, the 10-time Grammy nominee has been influenced by Prince, Stevie Wonder, and George Clinton, and is the founder of the Atlanta record label Wondaland Arts Society. Monáe is also an actress (Moonlight, Hidden Figures, Harriet, The Glorias, and Antebellum), CoverGirl model, author (The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer), and activist who’s spoken up on behalf of LGBTQ+ rights and raised money for Flint, Michigan, following the contamination of its water. Her fourth album The Age of Pleasure was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Progressive R&B Album in the 2024 Grammy Awards.
Hometown: Kansas City, Kansas
Paula D. Murphy
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Soul Circus Inc.
Paula D. Murphy is the executive vice president, chief operating officer, and co-owner of Soul Circus Inc., producer of UniverSoul Circus, one of the top family-focused entertainment touring shows in the world. Founded in Atlanta, UniverSoul Circus celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2024. With over three decades of proven business experience in dozens of countries around the world, Murphy has played a key role in navigating the growth of Soul Circus Inc. One of her career highlights includes helping create a training program for roadies of color to get experience in the live entertainment industry. A dedicated advocate for education, Murphy is chair of the board of directors of Resurgence Hall Charter School in metro Atlanta.
EDUCATION Georgia State University
HOMETOWN Fairfield, Alabama
BEST ADVICE RECEIVED Listen to be heard.
FEW PEOPLE KNOW I speak sign language.
WHO’D PLAY ME IN A BIOPIC Tracee Ellis Ross
Will Packer
Producer
Will Packer Productions/Will Packer Media
Will Packer has produced and executive-produced a wide range of movies that have grossed more than $1 billion worldwide at the box office, including 10 films that have opened at number one. Packer’s films Girls Trip and Night School were the highest-grossing comedies for 2017 and 2018, respectively. Packer’s television, digital, and branded-content company, Will Packer Media, produces episodic scripted and unscripted series including Queens Court, a reality dating series which debuted in 2023 on Peacock; That Girl Lay Lay on Nickelodeon; Ready to Love and Put a Ring on It on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network; and Fight Night and Lower Bottoms podcasts on iHeartRadio. Packer produced the 2022 Academy Awards 94th Oscars Ceremony—receiving an Emmy Award nomination as Producer, Outstanding Variety Special Live, for the 2022 Oscars. In 2024, Packer executive-produced the Peacock limited series Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, a true-crime drama based on the Fight Night iHeart podcast. Also in 2024, Packer was named a minority owner of the Atlanta Falcons.
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS National Black Arts Festival Trailblazer in the Arts Award (2023), NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture for Girls Trip (2018)
Frank Patterson
President and CEO
Trilith Studios
Frank Patterson is the president and CEO of Trilith Studios, where the films Avengers Endgame, Spider-Man Homecoming, and Passengers were produced, among others. He led the transition of the studio from a facilities business to an ecosystem intentionally built for the creative industries. Prior to Trilith, Patterson co-founded and served as the CEO of Pulse Evolution Corporation, a technology company that produces hyper-realistic digital humans for live and virtual reality applications. While at Pulse, Patterson produced the immersive live production of Michael Jackson’s “Slave to the Rhythm” at the Billboard Music Awards, which featured an original performance by Pulse’s digital human likeness of the late Michael Jackson.
EDUCATION Baylor University (MA)
Photograph by Getty/Jamie McCarthy
Tyler Perry
Actor, Director, and Producer
Tyler Perry Studios
One of the most commercially successful African American filmmakers in history, Tyler Perry created his famous character Madea on the stage before bringing her to the screen in 2005’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman, which grossed more than $50 million. In 2008 in Atlanta, he opened Tyler Perry Studios—the country’s first major African American-owned film studio. In 2019 Perry opened a new production facility, one of the nation’s largest, on the site of the former Fort McPherson. Perry has also created television shows including Sistas, served as an executive producer of the Lee Daniels film Precious, and starred in David Fincher’s Gone Girl, among other acting projects. Perry’s documentary for Amazon Studios Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story debuted in 2023. In 2024, Perry extended his exclusive multiyear linear and streaming content partnership agreement with BET Media Group through 2028, and received The Paley Honors Award from The Paley Center for Media for his landmark achievements.
HOMETOWN New Orleans
Usher Raymond IV
Entertainer, Entrepreneur, and Philanthropist
Usher Raymond IV, who is professionally known as Usher, is a singer, songwriter, dancer, actor, and entrepreneur with over 75 million records sold worldwide and eight Grammy Awards. Headliner of the 2024 Super Bowl LVIII halftime show, Usher also released his ninth album Coming Home in 2024. His Las Vegas residency My Way kicked off in 2022 and concluded in 2023, and he is currently performing throughout the world as a part of his Usher: Past Present and Future tour. In 2024, Usher’s New Look, a nonprofit organization founded by Usher in 1999, hosted its seventh annual UNL Disruptivator Summit for 500 students on the campus of Oglethorpe University. The summit provides a platform for students from a variety of backgrounds to “disruptivate” the issues affecting them by offering new approaches, new solutions, and real-time opportunities. Through his foundation, 100 percent of UNL students graduate from high school and 95 percent go on to college, with 61 percent being first-generation college students. In 2024, Mayor Andre Dickens presented Usher with a Phoenix Award, which recognizes outstanding achievements and service to the city, state, nation, and world, and is the highest award an individual or group can receive from the mayor of the City of Atlanta.
Photograph courtesy of individual
Michael Render (Killer Mike)
Musician
Run the Jewels
Michael Render might be as famous for his activism as he is for his music: Raised in the Adamsville–Collier Heights neighborhood, the Grammy-winning rapper served on Keisha Lance Bottoms’s mayoral transition team. Render’s advocacy on behalf of the #BankBlack movement helped move an estimated $60 million to Black-owned banking institutions, and he was appointed to the board of the High Museum of Art. In 2020, he partnered with Bounce TV founder Ryan Glover and former Atlanta Mayor and civil rights activist Andrew Young to create Greenwood Bank, a Black-owned online bank that caters to economically underserved Black and Latino communities across the United States. Render performs as Killer Mike in the hip-hop duo Run the Jewels. In 2023, he won three Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for his song “Scientists & Engineers” featuring André 3000, Future, and Eryn Allen Kane and Best Rap Album for his latest album Michael. In 2024, Render, accompanied by The Mighty Midnight Revival, teamed up with comedian Dave Chappelle for the Still Talkin That Sh*t tour and reopened the iconic Bankhead Seafood with rapper T.I.
Alyssa Michelle Stephens (Latto)
Rapper
Latto won the first season of the reality television series, The Rap Game, in 2016, when she was going by Miss Mulatto. She notoriously did not sign with Jermaine Dupri, breaking through as an independent artist with her 2019 single, “Bitch From Da Souf.” She released her debut album, Queen of Da Souf, through RCA in 2020. That same year, she was nominated for Best New Hip Hop Artist at the BET Hip Hop Awards. In 2023, she was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Melodic Rap Performance at the Grammy Awards. Also, in 2023, the HALLS brand partnered with Latto to bring some “Big Energy” to the cold, cough, and flu season through its “Rapper Wrote This Wrapper” campaign. The limited-edition cough drop wrappers featured a variety of pep talks inspired by Latto’s hit songs such as “Big Energy” and offered words of encouragement like “keep your crown on” and “belief in relief.”
NONPROFIT Win Some Give Some Foundation
Michael Williams, II (Mike WILL Made-It)
Producer
Michael Williams grew up in Marietta surrounded by music. His mother was a recording artist, his father DJed in clubs, and one of his sisters was a drum major. As a high school student, he started supplying tracks for Gucci Mane. He attended Georgia State but soon had his first hit with Meek Mill and Rick Ross. The multiple Grammy winner’s many hits include “No Lie” by 2 Chainz, “Bandz a Make Her Dance” by Juicy J, “Pour It Up” by Rihanna, “Body Party” by Ciara, “We Can’t Stop” by Miley Cyrus, “Formation” by Beyoncé, and “Humble” by Kendrick Lamar. As lead music producer, Williams curated music throughout the 2023-2024 NBA season in a partnership with ESPN’s custom NBA music strategy. Also in 2024, Williams released the first single “High3r,” featuring rappers Lil Yachty and Lil Wayne from his latest album R3SET.
SPORTS
Kimberly Beaudin
President and CEO
College Football Hall of Fame
Named president and CEO of the College Football Hall of Fame in March 2020, Kimberly Beaudin is the first female CEO of the storied institution, which was founded in 1951 by the National Football Foundation. Beaudin’s primary focus is driving revenue through sponsorship and philanthropic development, while leveraging her vast experience in partnership sales, strategic marketing, community and public relations, and event and group sales. Before joining the Hall, Beaudin served for seven years as the vice president of Marketing and Communications for Atlanta-based Arrow Exterminators, the sixth largest pest control company in the country. Prior to Arrow, Beaudin’s career spanned a who’s who of sports and entertainment including Disney, CNN, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Atlanta Thrashers. Appointed to the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Authority, Beaudin also serves on boards for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the Atlanta Sports Council, and the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau.
EDUCATION University of Central Florida
HOMETOWN Auburndale, Florida
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS Atlanta Business Chronicle Most Admired CEOs (2024); Atlanta Women in Sports Trailblazer Award (2023)
Dawn Churi
Executive Director
BlazeSports America
Dawn Churi is the executive director of BlazeSports America, formed as the legacy organization of the 1996 Paralympic Games held in Atlanta. Churi joined BlazeSports America in 2020 with a background in executive leadership in both the nonprofit and sports industries. Since then, Churi has helped the organization expand the programs it offers to both youth and veteran athletes. Most notably, Churi expanded veteran programs to include those veterans who suffer from PTSD rather than focusing solely on those with physical disabilities. Additionally, she helped create the organization’s first female-only wheelchair basketball team. BlazeSports commemorated its 28th anniversary during the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games while BlazeSports alumna and wheelchair basketball player Bailey Moody won a silver medal competing in the Paris Paralympic Games. Before her time at BlazeSports, Churi was the vice president of marketing, communication, and fundraising for the Georgia Tech Alumni Association.
EDUCATION University of Florida (MS)
HOMETOWN Mount Dora, Florida
FIRST JOB Disney’s Wide World of Sports
FAVORITE GEORGIA COLLEGE SPORTS TEAM Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Photograph courtesy of individual
Dan Corso
President
Atlanta Sports Council
Dan Corso is president of the Atlanta Sports Council, the arm of the Metro Atlanta Chamber that serves as a recruiter for major regional, national, and international sporting events. The ASC was instrumental in the selection of Atlanta as the site for Super Bowl LXII, marking the city’s fourth time as a host city. The game will take place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in February 2028. Additionally, the ASC was instrumental in the selection of Atlanta as the site for the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship and Super Bowl LIII in 2019. Atlanta will be the first city to host the College Football Playoff National Championship again this month, and in 2026, the FIFA World Cup will be held in the city, one of 16 host cities across North America. Additionally, Corso is president of the Atlanta World Cup Host Committee, the local organizing committee for the 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup. Recognized by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as a Most Admired CEO in 2024, Corso serves on the boards of the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau and College Football Hall of Fame. Prior to joining the ASC in 1999, Corso was vice chair of the festival division for the 1998 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
EDUCATION Florida State University
Steve Koonin
CEO
Atlanta Hawks
As CEO since 2014, Steve Koonin oversees all business, financial, and strategic operations of the Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club and State Farm Arena and represents the owners as the head of the organization. Under Koonin’s leadership, State Farm became the new naming-rights partner for the team’s venue; following a $192.5 million renovation, the rechristened State Farm Arena was named Best New Concert Venue by Pollstar in 2020, and the Hawks ranked first in the NBA for Overall Game Experience. The team also built a state-of-the-art practice and training facility at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex in Brookhaven. An Atlanta native and a veteran of the entertainment and marketing industries, Koonin previously served as president of Turner Entertainment Networks.
EDUCATION University of Georgia
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT Atlanta Sports Council Lifetime Achievement Award (2020)
BOARD MEMBERSHIPS Koonin is chairman of the board of the Georgia Aquarium, and he is on the board of the Atlanta Police Foundation. Additionally, he serves on the executive committee of the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
Garth Lagerwey
President and CEO
Atlanta United
Garth Lagerwey was named president and CEO of Atlanta United in 2022. Lagerwey oversees the leadership of Atlanta United, Atlanta United 2, and the Atlanta United Academy, bringing more than 17 years of experience as an executive in Major League Soccer. Lagerwey was named winner of the Best Executive Award by the World Football Summit in 2022 and MLS’s Sporting Executive of the Year in 2019. After graduating from Duke University in 1994, Lagerwey played five seasons as a goalkeeper in MLS with the Kansas City Wizards, the Dallas Burn, and Miami Fusion FC. Following his playing career, Lagerwey went on to earn his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2004. Lagerwey joined Real Salt Lake from the law firm of Latham & Watkins LLP, where he served as an associate in the corporate department of the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.
EDUCATION Duke University, Georgetown University Law Center (JD)
HOMETOWN Elmhurst, Illinois
FIRST JOB Cutting neighborhood grass
FAVORITE ATLANTA PLACE TO VISIT Georgia Aquarium
FAVORITE ATLANTA PODCAST The History of Atlanta Soccer
Rich McKay
CEO
AMB Sports and Entertainment
CEO
Atlanta Falcons
Rich McKay has been a fixture in the National Football League for more than 30 years. One of the league’s most influential executives, McKay joined the Atlanta Falcons in 2004. During McKay’s tenure, the Falcons have been to the playoffs seven times, been to three NFC Championship games, and played in Super Bowl LI. McKay was hired by owner and chairman Arthur M. Blank in 2004 and served his first four years as the team’s general manager. He was promoted to president and chief executive officer in 2011. McKay was promoted to his latest role in January 2023. In addition to his Falcons duties, McKay played a central role in the development, opening, and operation of Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Announced as one of 25 candidates in the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s contributor category for the class of 2025 in October 2024, McKay will serve as the 2026 Metro Atlanta Chamber board chair.
EDUCATION Princeton University, Stetson University College of Law (JD)
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT Atlanta Business Chronicle Most Admired CEOs (2022)
Renee Montgomery
Co-owner and Vice President
Atlanta Dream
Renee Montgomery is part owner and vice president of the WNBA Atlanta Dream. Montgomery won three Girls State Basketball Championships and graduated from the University of Connecticut as a two-time All-American in 2009. She was drafted fourth in the WNBA and won two WNBA championships while also being named an All-Star and Sixth Woman of the Year in her 11-year professional career. She retired in 2021 after sitting out the 2020 season to focus on social reform and justice. That same year, she became co-owner and vice president of the Atlanta Dream, making her the first WNBA player to become an owner and executive of an WNBA team. Most recently, she’s added designer to her name with her fashion line C-Suite 21, with SIA Collective, described as luxury comfort made for athletes all the way to C-Suite executives. Additionally, her documentary, A Radical Act: Renee Montgomery was released in October 2024 on Roku. Montgomery also serves as a sports analyst and a celebrity host to numerous media outlets and host of her weekly podcast Montgomery & Company.
EDUCATION University of Connecticut
FIRST JOB My first “real job” was being a broadcaster for NBA TV.
Raheem Morris
Head Coach
Atlanta Falcons
Raheem Morris was named the 19th head coach in Atlanta Falcons history in 2024. Morris, who is the first Black head coach of the Falcons, took over the club after spending three seasons, 2021 to 2023, as defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams. During his tenure with the Rams, Los Angeles made two postseason appearances and captured a title in Super Bowl LVI. Prior to Los Angeles, Morris spent six seasons, 2015 to 2020, with the Falcons in a variety of roles including assistant head coach. Morris made his NFL coaching debut with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a defensive quality control coach in 2002, when the club won Super Bowl XXXVII. Morris was also a college coach at Hofstra University and Cornell University. Morris played safety at Hofstra University from 1994 to 1997.
Education: Hofstra University
Hometown: Irving, New Jersey
Amy Phuong
Vice President, Government Relations
Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena
Amy Phuong is vice president of government relations for the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena—a position that signifies an expansion of the Hawks’ efforts to unite the broader Atlanta community through basketball while deepening the organization’s relationships with local and state leaders. Prior to joining the Hawks in 2019, Phuong spent nearly a decade in public service. As parks and recreation commissioner, she oversaw some of Atlanta’s most ambitious park projects, including Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry, the Grant Park Gateway, and the largest strategic expansion to date of Piedmont Park. An Atlanta native, Phuong was also the city’s first chief service officer. In 2024, Phuong was one of 70 women named an inaugural Georgia Tech Pathways to Progress Honoree, representing 70 years since women were enrolled at Georgia Tech.
EDUCATION Georgia Tech (MBA)
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS Atlanta Business Chronicle 40 Under 40 (2017), Georgia Asian Times 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia (2015)
FIRST JOB Server at Baskin-Robbins
FEW PEOPLE KNOW I went tandem skydiving to brainstorm innovation solutions to a political/organizational issue I was stuck on . . . and it worked!
Derek Schiller
President and CEO
Atlanta Braves
As president and CEO of the Atlanta Braves, Derek Schiller manages all business functions of the front office and sets the strategic vision for the Braves organization. Schiller joined the Braves in 2003 as senior vice president of sales and marketing and became executive vice president of sales and marketing in 2007. As part of the Braves’ executive leadership team, he was instrumental in creating the vision for what is now Truist Park and the Battery Atlanta and played a pivotal role in the design and execution phases of the transformational project. He has also been integral in the organization’s split from Liberty Media into MLB’s only publicly traded team (Nasdaq: BATRA, BATRK).
EDUCATION Vanderbilt University
HOMETOWN Colorado Springs, Colorado
FIRST JOB Selling ice cream sandwiches—Chipwiches, to be specific. I think I ate more than I sold!
FAVORITE MOVIES Anything with Clint Eastwood, including the old spaghetti westerns
CHARITIES Jack & Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation
BUCKET LIST Heli-skiing in Canada or Alaska
WHO’D PLAY ME IN A BIOPIC Clint Eastwood (the version from High Plains Drifter)
Kirby Smart
Head Coach
Georgia Bulldogs
In 2015, Kirby Smart was appointed head football coach at the University of Georgia, his alma mater. At press time, he had claimed six SEC Eastern Division championships, two SEC titles, and six bowl victories, and had led the Bulldogs to back-to-back National Championship victories in 2021 and 2022. Smart’s 2019 Bulldogs became the first team in Bulldogs history to win 11 or more games in three straight seasons. Previously, Smart was a defensive coordinator at the University of Alabama, and has coached at Valdosta State University, Florida State University, and Louisiana State University. The son of a high school football coach, Smart played defensive back during his college career.
EDUCATION University of Georgia, Florida State University (MS)
Damon Stoudamire
Head Coach
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Damon Stoudamire became the 15th head coach in Georgia Tech men’s basketball history in 2023. During his first year at Georgia Tech, Stoudamire became the first Georgia Tech coach in the Yellow Jackets’ 45-year ACC history to defeat Duke University on his first try. Stoudamire came to Georgia Tech after most recently serving as an assistant coach of the Boston Celtics. He was with the Celtics for nearly two seasons, from 2021 to 2022 and from 2022 to 2023, after a successful five-season stint as the head coach of the Pacific Tigers at the University of the Pacific, from 2016 to 2021. At Pacific, he was named West Coast Conference Coach of the Year in 2020 after leading the Tigers to a 23-10 record in 2019-20, a third-place finish in the WCC. Stoudamire began his coaching career as director of player development at Rice University from 2008 to 2009. Named the 1996 NBA Rookie of the Year, Stoudamire played with the Toronto Raptors before moving on to the Portland Trail Blazers, Memphis Grizzlies, and San Antonio Spurs.
EDUCATION University of Arizona
HOMETOWN Portland, Oregon
Alex Urban
Executive Director
Tour Championship PGA Tour
Alex Urban became the executive director of the PGA’s Tour Championship in 2022. Formerly, he had served as general manager and executive director of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii, and was instrumental in Sentry Insurance’s onboarding as the event’s new title sponsor and subsequent extension. A Tour employee since 2013, Urban previously held roles in the Corporate Partnerships and Communications departments.
EDUCATION Clemson University, University of Georgia (MA)
HOMETOWN Powell, Ohio (outside Columbus)
BEST ADVICE My dad had a very successful career in business, but I’ll always remember him telling me that pursuing passions in life is more important than chasing a paycheck. If you have passion for what you do, the rest will fall into line.
FEW PEOPLE KNOW I have been in several bands in my life and can play myriad instruments.
NONPROFITS The First Tee of Metro Atlanta, East Lake Foundation, Purpose Built Communities, and more
Rayford Trae Young
Guard
Atlanta Hawks
Acquired by the Atlanta Hawks from the Dallas Mavericks, Trae Young officially signed a contract with the Hawks in 2018. Young was a unanimous NBA All-Rookie First Team selection as he averaged 19.1 points, 8.1 assists, and 3.7 rebounds in 30.9 minutes in 81 contests during the 2018-2019 season. In the 2020-2021 season, Young led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals, the team’s first appearance since 2015. In November 2023, Young returned to his hometown in Norman, Oklahoma where the new Trae Young Drive was dedicated by the City of Norman. The new street is in front of the Young Family Athletic Center. Additionally, the Young Family Athletic Center Multisport and Swimming Complex opened in 2024. Young is a three-time NBA All-Star as he played in 2020, 2022, and 2024.
MOST INSPIRING PERSON My grandfather who passed away when I was 10.
LEGENDS
Vincent Anthony
Now retired, Anthony founded the Center for Puppetry Arts in 1978. Under his leadership, the center received a record 12 Citations of Excellence from UNIMA-USA, the U.S. division of Union Internationale de la Marionnette, the international organization for the art of puppetry. A native of Sarasota, Florida, Anthony has also received a personal Citation of Excellence from UNIMA-USA—puppetry’s most prestigious award.
Christopher Bridges (Ludacris)
One of the first Dirty South rappers to achieve mainstream success, Ludacris rose to the number four slot on the U.S. Billboard 200 with his 2000 major-label debut, Back for the First Time. He founded the Atlanta record label Disturbing tha Peace and has won Screen Actors Guild, MTV Video Music, and Grammy awards.
Ryan Cameron
A member of the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame, Cameron hosts the #1 afternoon show on WAMJ Majic 107.5/97.5 and is nationally syndicated by Urban One Inc.’s Reach Media. He was also the first Black announcer in the history of the Atlanta Hawks.
Pearl Cleage
Cleage is the author of 15 plays, eight novels, two books of poetry, two books of essays, a book of short stories, and a memoir. She worked in politics as speechwriter/press secretary to Mayor Maynard Jackson and as a consultant in many local political races. She is currently an Artist in Residence at the Alliance Theatre.
Peter Conlon
As president of Live Nation Atlanta, Conlon books the city’s top venues, from Chastain Park to State Farm Arena. He cofounded Music Midtown in 1994 with the late Alex Cooley, whom he befriended in the 1970s while arranging concerts for Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign. The longtime collaborators became the city’s most powerful music promoters.
Bobby Cox
A former infielder, Cox led major league teams for three decades, racking up more than 2,500 career victories. In the 1990s, he led the Atlanta Braves to 14 straight division championships, five National League pennants, and a 1995 World Series title. He is in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Radric Davis (Gucci Mane)
Born Radric Davis in Bessemer, Alabama, the rapper known as Gucci Mane moved to East Atlanta at the age of nine and is considered one of the architects, along with T.I. and Jeezy, of trap music.
Jermaine Dupri
A renowned producer, singer, and songwriter, Jermaine Dupri founded So So Def Recordings in 1993 as a joint venture with Columbia Records—and helped put Atlanta on the national hip-hop map. Dupri has produced and written hits for Kris Kross, Monica, Usher, Jay-Z, Janet Jackson, and Mariah Carey, and released several albums of his own. In 2018 he joined the Songwriters Hall of Fame as the youngest songwriter ever inducted, at age 45—and only the second hip-hop artist following Jay-Z.
Donald Glover
Glover is not only the guiding force behind the FX series Atlanta that garnered multiple Emmy and Golden Globe awards, he has also won four Grammys for his music. Raised in Stone Mountain, Glover is now at work on a Star Wars project based around his portrayal of Lando Calrissian.
Fay Gold
Gold pioneered contemporary art in Atlanta. For more than 30 years, she has staged groundbreaking exhibitions of artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cindy Sherman, Robert Rauschenberg, Alex Katz, Keith Haring, Irving Penn, Andres Serrano, and Robert Mapplethorpe.
Indigo Girls
Performing together since high school, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers released a self-titled record for Epic in 1989 that became the first of six consecutive gold- and/or platinum-certified albums. One of the most successful folk duos in history, they have enjoyed a 35-year career that began in clubs around their native Atlanta.
Tom Key
Now retired from his longtime role as artistic director of the Theatrical Outfit, Key has appeared on many national stages as well as those of the Alliance Theatre, Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre, and non-singing roles with The Atlanta Opera. He has received the Governor’s Award in the Humanities and the Georgia Arts and Entertainment Legacy Award.
Chuck Leavell
A conservationist, sustainable-development advocate, tech entrepreneur, and the Rolling Stones’ musical director for more than 30 years, Leavell cofounded the Mother Nature Network, which he sold in 2020. Leavell owns a tree plantation south of Macon. He’s also a Grammy-winning keyboardist who has recorded with Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and the Allman Brothers Band.
Kevin Lee
Kevin Lee, aka Coach K, is the cofounder and chief operating officer of Quality Control Music and the manager of some of Atlanta’s biggest hip-hop stars. His roster of acts has included Migos, Lil Yachty, Jeezy, and Gucci Mane. With his Quality Control partner, CEO Pierre “Pee” Thomas, Coach K also runs the music and entertainment management firm Solid Foundation.
Kenny Leon
Leon is the former artistic director of Atlanta’s True Colors Theatre Company, which he cofounded with Jane Bishop in 2002 following 11 years as artistic director of the Alliance Theatre. Leon is a Tony Award–winning film and theater director whose Broadway credits include Fences, A Raisin in the Sun starring Denzel Washington, and The Mountaintop starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett.
Terry McGuirk
The chairman of the Atlanta Braves since 2001, McGuirk is the bridge between Ted Turner’s ownership of the team and current owner Atlanta Braves Holdings Inc. He oversaw the team’s move to Truist Park in 2017, and the 2021 World Series Champions.
Antwan Patton (Big Boi)
Patton was part of the iconic Southern hip-hop duo OutKast, which won six Grammy Awards and sold more than 20 million records.
Billy Payne
A lawyer, real estate developer, and former UGA football star, Payne is best known as CEO of the Atlanta Committee for the 1996 Olympic Games and then president and CEO of the games themselves. He chaired Augusta National Golf Club for more than 10 years, during which women were first admitted to membership.
Camille Russell Love
A former art gallery owner, Love recently retired as executive director of Atlanta’s Office of Cultural Affairs, a job she held since 1998. In her role she oversaw programs such as Chastain Arts Center, the city’s public art program (including Elevate), and the Atlanta Jazz Festival.
John Schuerholz
A Baltimore native, Schuerholz began his baseball career with the Orioles, helping build a Kansas City Royals team that won the World Series in 1985. In 1991, he teamed up with Bobby Cox to help the Braves go from “worst to first” and win the National League pennant. Then from 1991 to 2005, the Braves finished first in their division in every completed season. He was the first general manager whose teams captured World Series titles in both the American and National Leagues.
Mary Stanley
Stanley founded her eponymous studio in 2004 and has long been a vibrant presence on the Atlanta art scene—as a private art consultant, artist representative, and curator who’s organized shows at the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Hathaway Contemporary Gallery, and Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia.
Dominique Wilkins
A basketball legend, the former Atlanta Hawks star now serves as the team’s vice president of basketball and special advisor to the CEO. An 18,500-pound bronze statue of Wilkins is at the entrance to State Farm Arena.
Advertisement
