During our MAX Annual Meeting on December 10, 2024, we had the pleasure to announce our inaugural Leadership MAX Class of 2025! Leadership MAX is a leadership development program designed especially for developing leaders in the workforce development field. Class members will have the opportunity to grow in the workforce development community and develop into a community of peer leaders that will solve problems together in the years to come.
2025 Leadership MAX Chairs John Helton, CEO, CareerRise, and Breezy Straton, Vice President, Elevate Douglas, excitedly announced our Leadership MAX Class of 2025, presented by Amazon.
- Autumn Andrews, Gwinnett County Government
- Rachel Ash, Elevate Douglas Economic Partnership
- Dr. Chuck Barlow Jr., Saving Our Sons & Sisters International aka SOSSI
- Ann Burris, Georgia Department of Human Services
- Dr. Maxine Cain, STEM Atlanta Women, Inc.
- Lisa N Davis, Atlanta Regional Commission
- Chanell Davis, City of Atlanta
- Carla DeBose, Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG)
- Tiffany Francis, Urban League of Greater Atlanta
- Nate Futrell, CareerRise
- Sergio Galeano, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
- Brenda Johnson, The Collaborative Training Company
- Jason Martin, ThrivalED
- Dr. Ubani Ogbonnaya, Atlanta Technical College
- Angelia O’Neal, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
- Ashlee Phillips, First Step Staffing
- Anggie Pope, City of Refuge
- Dr.Susan Simmons-Stevenson, Americans Thrive, LLC
- Jahari Soward, NPursuit Career Partners
- Paul Terlemezian, Georgia LEARNS Now, LLC
- Jordan Troutman, Newton County School System
- Michelle Vialet, WorkSource Fulton
- Joshua Williams, Decide DeKalb Development Authority ; WorkSource DeKalb
- Toya Williams, STRIVE Atlanta
- Olivia Wilson, CobbWorks Inc. / WorkSource Cobb
“One of the greatest benefits of MAX is the networking and getting to know who’s who in the state and region, especially the decision-makers,” says Jenny Taylor, Chair, MAX Board of Directors, and Vice President and Chief Mission Officer, Goodwill of North Georgia, noting how because of MAX, we advance our collective mission and operate at the ‘Speed of Trust’. Says Taylor: “I am confident that Leadership MAX will be an accelerant, both for the emerging and experienced leaders in the cohort AND for the workforce development ecosystem. I am so proud of the participants in the inaugural class for stepping forward, and of each member of the board and leadership who is volunteering their precious time to pour into their development.”
ABOUT LEADERSHIP MAX
As an extension and evolution of our commitment to provide high-quality professional development and network-building opportunities for our members, MAX is launching a competitively selected, cohort-based leadership development program known as Leadership MAX. Leadership MAX is designed especially for developing leaders in the workforce development field.
