Events

For more than 25 years, John Ahmann has been driven by the determination to improve the way communities and institutions function in Atlanta. From his early days working in Washington, D.C. to his positions with private, governmental, and organizational entities in the Atlanta area — including his eight years as an elected school board official in Decatur — he has focused his energy on solving the big problems whose resolutions can ultimately change Atlanta’s trajectory. He has worked primarily behind the scenes, bringing together diverse stakeholders and managing initiatives through to fruition, and has had a hand in some of the region’s most important public policy initiatives and cross-sector collaborations. Along the way, John has built a vast network of individuals who are impacting Atlanta and its future.

John is a native son. He was born at Grady Hospital in Atlanta in 1965, was one of Paideia School’s first graduates in 1983, and earned his BA in Political Science from Emory University in 1987. After having moved to Washington, D.C. and worked for Representative Pat Williams of Montana and then Congressman Ben Jones of Georgia, he entered Yale School of Public Private Management in 1991 and graduated with seven letters of recognition in 1993.

Within months after returning to Atlanta, John was hired by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games as the Program Coordinator of Government Relations. He was soon promoted to Manager of Federal and State Government Relations where he worked with officials from four federal government offices, including the White House. Following the 1996 Olympic Games, John worked at Edington & Wade, a public affairs firm, and then Georgia’s Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism (GDITT, now the Department of Economic Development), where he led and managed strategic planning teams. From there he moved into GDITT’s newly created position of Deputy Commissioner for Strategic Planning and Research.

In 2000, John was hired by the Metro Atlanta Chamber to serve as its Senior Vice President of Community Development. There he oversaw the Chamber’s initiatives regarding transportation, education, arts and culture, the environment, and legislative affairs. In 2003, John bought the majority interest in a local public affairs firm, and in 2006 he established Ahmann, Inc. While in private practice in 2004, John began his engagement as the outsourced Executive Director of the Atlanta Committee for Progress (ACP), a group of top CEOs and university presidents that advises and supports the mayor on priorities critical to Atlanta’s economic vitality.

While with ACP, he was heavily involved in launching the Atlanta Beltline, the acquisition of the Martin Luther King Jr. Personal Collection, the 2015 Renew Atlanta Bond Program, and ACP’s Westside Redevelopment Task Force that lead to the launch of the Westside Future Fund. John is currently the Executive Director of the Westside Future Fund.

John has also been an elected public servant. He won his race for the City Schools of Decatur Board of Education in 2003, was re-elected in 2007 without opposition, and served until 2011. John was the first Paideia School alumni invited to join the Paideia School’s Board of Trustees where he served for four years.

John’s unwavering commitment to Atlanta and deep knowledge of specific areas such as education, economic development, infrastructure and local fiscal policy make him a unique presence in Atlanta’s change landscape. He is honored to serve the board of Westside Future Fund as its Executive Director.

Tom C. Rawlings was named Interim Director, Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS).  Rawlings is the director of the Office of the Child Advocate. He was the first full-time juvenile court judge in the Middle Judicial Circuit and oversaw juvenile justice and child protection cases in five counties. Rawlings was the country director for International Justice Mission in Guatemala, where he directed a child sexual abuse prosecution and treatment team. He is certified as a child welfare law specialist by the National Association of Counsel for Children and a former Fulbright Senior Specialist in law. Rawlings is the author of “Georgia Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice: Policy, Practice and Procedure.” He earned a bachelor’s degree from Duke University, a law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law and a master’s degree with distinction in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford. Rawlings and his wife, Kay, have three children and reside in Sandersville. 

Brad Carver will clarify the on-going dispute between Georgia and neighboring states over water rights, an issue that landed him on the front page of the Wall Street Journal and on the History Channel "How the States Got Their Shapes."

Brad Carver is a partner with the law firm of Hall Booth Smith, P.C., and Senior Managing Director of Government Affairs.  He also served as Special Executive Counsel to former Gov. Sonny Perdue on water issues.

He gives an insider look at where we are now and where we go from here regarding this crucial problem.  Brad went to Duke undergrad and UGA Law and MBA, is a Daily Report Dozen Under 40, Atlanta Business Chronicle and Georgia  Trend 40 Under 40.  He is also a U.S. Army Officer in the rank of 1st Lt. Colonel with combat deployments to both Bosnia and Iraq where he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and Bronze Star Medal during combat operations.

Brian Hooker serves as Executive Director of the Fort Mac LRA, the organization leading the redevelopment of 486 acres in the underserved Southwest Atlanta community. His chief responsibility is to lead the Fort Mac LRA team and its partners to manage and facilitate nearly $1 Billion of revitalization projects featuring mixed used, affordable developments utilizing market based financing and public incentives.  Previously, Brian served as the Director of Real Estate for Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., and prior to that Brian served as Director of Site Selection Consulting with CBRE.  

Brian has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He serves nationally on both Urban Land Institute’s Public Development and Infrastructure Product Council and as Co-Chair of the Association of Defense Communities’ LRA Directors Council. Locally he was appointed to the City of Atlanta’s IN REM review board and serves on the Southwest Atlanta Partnership Board of Directors.

Brian hails from Southwest Atlanta where he graduated from Benjamin E. Mays High, and where he now lives with his wife and family.  He is member of Cascade United Methodist Church, where he serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees.

As the founding executive director, and now president and chief executive officer, Beth Finnerty has helped Skyland Trail grow from a start-up nonprofit serving four clients to a nationally recognized psychiatric treatment organization serving hundreds of clients and their families each year.

Finnerty has led the development and implementation of four strategic plans, the completion of four capital campaigns totaling more than $48 million, and the development and construction of new treatment facilities across four campuses. She also has overseen a significant expansion of clinical services and programs. A leader in the field of recovery-focused psychiatric treatment, Skyland Trail offers innovative programs including integrated primary care  and wellness counseling, vocational services, interfaith pastoral counseling, cognitive remediation therapy, comprehensive psychiatric assessment and adjunctive therapies such as art, music and horticultural therapy.

The American Psychiatric Association recognized Skyland Trail with the Gold Award in 2004 and with a special presidential commendation in 2014. Skyland Trail has also received the Rosalynn Carter/Johnson & Johnson Caregiver Award, the Managing for Excellence Award from the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, the 11-Alive Community Service Award, and the Georgia Center for Nonprofits Revolutions Award.

Finnerty received her bachelor’s degree from Davidson College and a dual master’s degree in  business and healthcare administration from GSU.  She serves on numerous boards and advisory committees and is a past member of many boards and organizations.  She is a Diplomate in the American College of Healthcare Executives and is a 2006 graduate of Leadership Georgia and a 2009 graduate of Leadership Atlanta. Finnerty was a Woman of the Year honoree in 2007 by Atlanta Woman magazine and received the 2006 Leadership Award from the Georgia Psychiatric Physician’s Association. In 2014, she was selected as a YWCA Woman of Achievement and was recognized with a Womenetics POW! Award.

Dr. Ray Kotwicki is the Charles B. West Chief Medical Officer at Skyland Trail.   In this role, he oversees all the clinical, educational, quality, and research activities within the organization.  He trained as a Department of Energy Fellow and was a Medical Scholar at the University of Wisconsin Medical School.  He had post-graduate training at Harvard Medical School, the Boston University School of Medicine, and Emory, where he earned a Master in Public Health degree in Health Policy and Management. He remains on the adjunctive faculty at both the Emory School of Medicine as well as the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Kotwicki has presented more than 200 invited lectures, symposia, and seminars to thousands of attendees. He regularly appears on television, radio and in newspaper articles discussing issues related to mental health and integrated medical care.  He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is President of the Georgia Psychiatric Physicians’ Association, a member of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2011 and served as President of the Board of Directors of Positive Impact, the Southeast’s premiere HIV mental health program for three years. He has received numerous distinctions, including Emory University’s most prestigious Dean’s “Golden Apple” Teaching Award and the Rollins School of Public  Health at Emory University’s “Distinguished Achievement Alumnus Award” in 2017.