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Dr. Pamela J.W. Gore is the Pfofessor of Life & Earth Sciences at Georgia State University Perimeter College.

INTRODUCTION: Chuck Bruce

INVOCATION:

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.

Virginia Pryor has approximately 30 years of experience in child welfare and social policy with a focus on bringing tangible hope to organizations and communities through human service innovation, leadership development, and strategic system and policy reform. She is currently the Director of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services -- providing vision, leadership and strategic direction for all programmatic and administrative operations responsible for serving individuals, children and families across the state. This includes leading a staff of almost 8,000 and overseeing an annual budget of more than $1 billion dollars. In her role she is responsible for leading the state’s reform effort -- The Blueprint for Change -- which focuses on three key platforms: Robust Workforce Development, a Practice Model and Constituent Engagement. As a change agent, she is now also championing the next evolution of the reform effort, which is Georgia’s journey toward a State of Hope. Prior to assuming her current role as Director she served as both the Division’s Chief of Staff and Deputy Director of Child Welfare.

Prior to her work in Georgia she served for over 11 years with Casey Family Programs (CFP), a national child welfare foundation based in Seattle, Washington. During her tenure at CFP she continued her commitment to children and families in several capacities, including as the Senior Director of Strategic Consulting, launching and implementing Family Group Conferencing throughout the Casey Field Offices, serving as the Chair of National Foster Care Month, supporting state child welfare jurisdictions, and leading several key national relationships.

Her commitment to hope and inspiration also extends to her volunteer work as a mentor for youth in the foster care system, as well as her service as past Board Member and President of the Black Administrators in Child Welfare (BACW) – an organization whose mission is to advocate for culturally appropriate services for African American children and families in the child welfare system. She has also served as Adjunct Faculty for the Schools of Social Work at Howard University and Virginia Commonwealth University, working to prepare the next generation of child welfare advocates. Ms. Pryor is also the Principal of Immersion Consulting which allows her to demonstrate purposeful inspiration by building the capacity of individuals, groups and organizations to both lead and serve.