Thank you for joining us in 2021!
Guest Speakers
Stuart Andreason
Stuart Andreason is an assistant vice president and the director of the Center for Workforce and Economic Opportunity at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
In his role he conducts research and works across the country to support Federal Reserve and partner organization efforts in workforce development, the labor market, and economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income workers.
Additionally, he is the editor of Developing Career-Based Training and Models for Labor Market Intermediaries and the reviewer for several academic and practice-based journals and publications. Andreason teaches economic development analysis at Georgia Institute of Technology and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in urban and environmental planning from the University of Virginia as well as a PhD in city and regional planning from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Meria Carstarphen
With more than 20 years of leadership experience, Dr. Meria Carstarphen, works mainly in diverse, urban cities. She has extensive experience setting, achieving, and surpassing strategic goals to dramatically improve student and organizational outcomes. Most recently, she was the superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, leading the district’s nearly 52,000 students, 6,000 full-time employees, and 87 schools, while overseeing an annual $1 billion budget.
Her tenure at APS followed the largest cheating scandal in the history of public education and she worked to restore organizational integrity through transparency and engagement creating a student-focused culture resulting in higher graduation rates, student achievement, staff, parent and alumni engagement, and increased college enrollment rates. She is passionate about working to make communities stronger through the equalizing power of education from early childhood through college.
Dr. Cayanna Good
Dr. Cayanna Good serves as the Assistant Commissioner for Adult Education with the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG). In this capacity, Dr. Good leads the TCSG Office of Adult Education (OAE), which administers federal Adult Education grants, provides adult education training programs for approximately 50,000 Georgia citizens, and supports local adult literacy community groups throughout the state.
Dr. Good has experience as both a high school and elementary school teacher. She has also worked as an overseeing partner of the New Teacher Project’s Georgia Teaching Fellows and as the managing director of the Teach for America School Leadership Initiative. Dr. Good earned a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Fisk University, a master’s degree in Education from Georgia State University and a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from Mercer University.
Brett Lacy
Brett Lacy currently serves as the Workforce Division Manager for Select Fulton where he leads the WorkSource Fulton team in developing regional partnerships among key industries and providing investment to address the workforce development needs of Fulton County. He is serving on the advisory board for Westside Works and is currently serving a term as Co-Chair of the Workforce Collective at Aerotropolis Alliance.
Prior to joining the WorkSource Fulton team, Brett was part of the State’s workforce administration at the Georgia Department of Economic Development, creating innovative workforce solutions to keep Georgia the ‘No. 1 State for Business.’ He is a proud Eagle Scout and ‘Double Dawg’, holding both a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Georgia.
John Stephenson
John Stephenson became Executive Director of the J. Bulow Campbell Foundation in 1985, coming from Emory University where he spent five years as Secretary of the University and seven years as Vice-President for Development.
A native Texan, John attended Emory and then received his MBA from Southern Methodist University. Over the years he has been active in the Southeastern Council of Foundations, among other professional associations, and he is a member of the Atlanta Rotary Club.
Bentina C. Terry
Bentina Terry is Georgia Power’s Senior Vice President for Region External Affairs and Community Engagement. She leads Georgia Power’s statewide external efforts to serve its 2.6 million customers by strategically partnering with local governments, development authorities, chambers of commerce, charitable entities, and other stakeholders across Georgia to power our communities.
She is also leading the company’s employee volunteer and giving efforts, fostering the company’s relationships in historically underserved communities including people of color, seniors, women, and LGBTQ+ and leads the company’s social justice initiatives.
In 2021, she was honored to be selected as one of Atlanta Magazine’s 500 Most Influential Atlantans and one of the National Diversity Council’s 100 Most Influential Women in Energy. She has also been named one of the Greater Atlanta YWCA’s Women of Achievement and one of Atlanta Business League’s 100 Most Influential Women.
Thank you to our 2021 Sponsors:
