Speakers

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TO ATTEND IN PERSON.  Registration closes THURSDAY, Nov. 28 at Noon.

To View on Zoom:  Click Here.

Marian Pittman is one of the broadcast media industry’s most innovative and successful leaders. As the President of Cox Media Group (CMG) Content and WSB-TV, she spearheads the ongoing evolution of the company’s multi-platform and award-winning content. Marian’s mission is to inspire and elevate the journalistic field, making a lasting difference in local and national media landscapes.

With the viewer at the center of everything, Marian is intent on driving audience and revenue growth – for both clients and CMG. To bring this to life, she focuses on Broadcast, Streaming, Websites, Mobile Apps, while also leading the strategic direction of distribution, optimization, and audience engagement. That includes CMG’s OTT platform, which streams national, local, and original content 24/7. Leveraging deep consumer preference research, Marian and her team have launched thirty-two streams with a variety of content.

Throughout her remarkable career, Marian has garnered numerous prestigious accolades, a testament to her visionary leadership and commitment to journalistic integrity. In 2010, under her leadership, WSB-TV’s newsroom was awarded both the Alfred I. DuPont Award for journalistic excellence and the Edward R. Murrow Award for overall excellence, honoring her dedication to setting and maintaining the highest standards in news.

Her leadership has also brought CMG national recognition with two National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Service to America Awards: one for the impactful “Real Estate Racket” investigative series, which uncovered unethical business practices and led to legal actions and policy changes across multiple states, and another for the “Gets Real” campaign, a nationally recognized initiative fostering critical community conversations around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

Marian serves on several prestigious boards, including the National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation (NABLF), Georgia Association of Broadcasters (GAB), and the International Women’s Forum (IWF). She is an active leader within CMG’s Women in Leadership Employee Resource Group (ERG) and co-leads the Content Creators committee for the Alliance for Women in Media (AWM). A proud graduate of Leadership Atlanta’s Class of 2010, Marian has also served on the NBC Television Affiliates Board of Directors, the FOX Board of Governors, the Interactive Advertising Board (IAB), the Metro Atlanta Chamber, and Emory University’s Journalism Program Advisory Board. Certified in Digital Media Sales, a globally recognized credential, Marian has extended her commitment to journalism education as executive sponsor of the Georgia News Lab, an award-winning program through Georgia State University that offers diverse college students hands-on experience in investigative journalism alongside Atlanta’s top reporters. Her wide-reaching leadership and dedication to empowering future media leaders continue to shape the industry.

Balancing her professional achievements with personal pursuits, Marian finds inspiration in both her family and her enduring commitment to fostering innovation, journalistic integrity, and inclusivity in the media industry.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TO ATTEND IN PERSON.  Registration closes THURSDAY, Dec 5  at Noon.

To View on Zoom:  Click Here.

Ambassador (ret.) Charles Shapiro is a senior advisor at The Pendleton Group and co-founder of Art of Diplomacy Travel.

At the U.S. Department of State, Shapiro held a number of senior positions including Ambassador to Venezuela, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Western Hemisphere, and Director of Cuban Affairs.  In 2011, he became president of the Institute of the Americas at the University of California San Diego and in 2014 moved to the World Affairs Council of Atlanta. While at the World Affairs Council, he taught international business at the Robinson College of Business at GSU.

Shapiro’s op-eds have been published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the Miami Herald, the San Diego Union-Tribune and the Los Angeles Times.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TO ATTEND IN PERSON.  Registration closes THURSDAY, Dec 12 at Noon.

The 2024 Holiday Luncheon will take place at Maggiano's Little Italy in Buckhead!

Featuring music from the Salvation Army Brass Band!

Distribution of 2024-25 Grants: Chair John O'Kane, Kiwanis Foundation of Atlanta and KCA President-Elect Russ Wagner, Chair , KCA Grants Committee

Invocation: Dick Stephens

 

No Kiwanis Club of Atlanta Meeting today.  Happy Holidays!

No KCA Luncheon Meeting today - Happy New Year!

The Loudermilk Center will be closed the week of January 6, 2025 for kitchen renovations.

 

Intro: Tayen Hazqiyal

 

INTRO: Blake Young

 

 

Bill Crane is nearing 30 years as a senior communications strategist. He began his career in broadcasting, later serving in senior communications staff positions under Georgia’s Gold Dome as well as on Capitol Hill, working for two U.S. Senators and one Governor, in both major political parties.

Crane also has significant economic development experience, serving as Vice-President of Marketing and Communications for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce during Atlanta’s Olympic years.

During the 2000 decade, Crane was a Senior Vice President with the GCI Group, a global public relations firm, where he helmed client engagements for AFLAC, Cousins Properties, Deloitte Consulting, InterContinental Hotels Group and Johnson & Johnson to name a few.

Since the 2000 Presidential Election, Crane has become one of the southeast’s most visible political analysts and commentators, first with 11Alive News, Atlanta’s NBC affiliate, and since 2011 with Channel 2’s WSB-TV Action News.  Crane added radio in 2006, since providing commentary for WSB-95.5FM and 750AM.  In 2009, Crane began a weekly political column, carried initially by The Champion, DeKalb County’s legal organ, and now by almost 50 other media outlets across Georgia.  Crane’s poltical analysis can also be seen on Georgia Public Television, “The Lawmakers,” as well as CNN International, China Global Television Network (CGTN) and AlJazeera English.

During 2009, Crane opened his own firm, CSI Crane, LLC providing a full-range of marketing, public affairs and communications services to individuals and corporations, specializing in crisis management, corporate reputation and executive visibility as well as the communications and governmental challenges of highly regulated industries.

Crane is a graduate of the Grady College of Journalism at the University of Georgia.  He remains an avid Bulldog fan, as well as the proud father of two daughters, and grandfather of twin boys.  He lives in Scottdale, Georgia. 

Intro: Dan Douglass

 

Intro: Karen Sheldon
 

General and Artistic Director of The Atlanta Opera since 2013, Israeli born Tomer Zvulun is also one of opera’s most exciting stage directors, earning consistent praise for his creative vision, often described as cinematic and fresh. His work has been presented by prestigious opera houses around the world, including The Metropolitan Opera, the opera companies of Israel, Buenos Aires, Los Angeles, Montreal, Wexford, Glimmerglass, Houston, Washington National Opera, Seattle, Dallas, Detroit, San Diego, Minnesota, Boston, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, New Orleans and Wolf Trap, as well as leading educational institutes and universities such as The Juilliard School, Indiana University, Boston University, and IVAI in Tel Aviv.

Since taking the leadership in Atlanta a decade ago, he personally directed thirty of the company’s productions. He increased the operations of the company from three to six productions per season, while stabilizing the financials and in the course of his first decade tenure, secured Atlanta’s position as one of the top 10 opera companies in the US. Some of his noted achievements includes launching the successful Discoveries series, creating the first young artist program in the company’s history, tripling the company’s annual fund raising, launching the company’s first RING cycle, creating The Atlanta Opera Film Studio, and building a theatre in a circus tent where performances were conducted safely during the pandemic.

His work at The Atlanta Opera attracted international attention by earning numerous awards and prizes including the nomination of The Atlanta Opera for the International Opera Awards in London and the selection of his production of Silent Night as both the Irish Times and Atlanta Journal-Constitution production of the year. His focus on innovation led to an invitation to deliver a TED talk as well as a case study that is being taught at Harvard Business School. His productions travel the world and bring wide exposure to the company. Next season his productions of Rigoletto travel to Los Angeles Opera, his La bohème returns to The Dallas Opera, and his acclaimed production of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs will make its Kennedy Center debut at the Washington National Opera.

INTRODUCTION: 

 

Intro: Kathy Colbenson

Kathryn McClymond was appointed as the 18th President at Oglethorpe University in November 2023 and is the university’s first female president. She previously served as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Oglethorpe University as well as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia State University. Dr. McClymond is a scholar of comparative religions. She is the author of numerous articles and books, including a co-edited volume exploring how humanities disciplines contribute to research on moral injury among veterans. She has served on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Religion and the American Society of the Study of Religion, and she currently sits on the Southern Athletic Conference Executive Committee as Incoming Chair and Treasurer.

Intro: Thornton Kennedy