On January 8th and 9th, MAX hosted our opening retreat for our second cohort of Leadership MAX…the Leadership MAX Class of 2026, presented by Amazon, at The University of Georgia, Center for Continuing Education & Hotel. The two-day retreat was led by Leadership MAX Class of 2026 Program Chairs Jenny Taylor, chief mission officer and vice president of career services with Goodwill of North Georgia, and Kristin Laarhoven, assistant commissioner with the Technical College System of Georgia.
On day one, cohort members explored how to lead authentically with Kara Gooch, thought leader with Route to Rise, did a deep dive into metro Atlanta and Georgia’s workforce ecosystem, and heard from some of our ecosystem’s top executives through an “executives unplugged” session. Special thanks to the following MAX board members who joined Taylor and Laarhoven along with MAX Board Chair Dana Inman, president & CEO with Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency, on this first day to personally invest in our Class of 2026 members:
- Dr. Theresa Austin-Gibbons, Commissioner, Atlanta Department of Labor and Employment Services
- Derek Dabrowiak, Chief Academic Officer, Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG)
- John Hallman, Deputy Commissioner, Georgia Department of Human Service
- Brett Lacy, Managing Director, WorkSource Atlanta Regional
- Dr. Barbara Wall, Deputy Superintendent, Georgia Department of Education, Career, Technical, and Adult Education (CTAE)
Day two was filled with back-to-back sessions designed to help cohort members better understand their strengths and reflect on their own leadership journeys thus far. Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach Shundra Lee, a global principal HR consultant with Living Labs LLC led the cohort in reviewing their results from their CliftonStrengths assessments and used these results to help cohort members form teams that they will continue on throughout the year. Dr. Emily Saunders, public service faculty with UGA’s J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development created a space for cohort members to reflect on their leadership journeys thus far and their goals for their continued leadership development as they considered how they can best exercise their leadership for today and tomorrow.
Following a full day’s work on day two, Taylor presented a special MAX award to Laarhoven for her leadership in supporting Leadership MAX in 2025 and serving as fellow program chair for the Class of 2026. The retreat concluded with group reflections and shared enthusiasm for the days ahead through Leadership MAX.
Special thanks to Leadership MAX Class of 2025 alum Brenda Johnson, CEO with The Collaborative Training Company, and Jason Martin, principal with ThrivalEd for joining our retreat in support of our Class of 2026!
Members of the Leadership MAX Class of 2026 include:
- Mariska Angall, Fulton County Government, Select Fulton, WorkSource Fulton
- Sheri Blight, CareerRise
- Jumoke DeLoach, Beyond Basic Consulting
- Nickell Durham, Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency
- Tomica Felton, Atlanta Committee for Progress
- April Fresh, Wellspring Living
- Megan Heaphy, Georgia Life Sciences
- LaDonna Huggins, WorkSource Cobb, CobbWorks
- Petra Jeffrey, Year Up United
- Dr. Robert Joseph, Team MindShift
- Nate Marsh, MUST Ministries
- Angela Marshall, Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison
- Nicole McQueen, Technical College System of Georgia, Office of Workforce Development
- Kashara Moorman, Talent Circuit Strategy
- Rudi Pangad, Decide DeKalb Development Authority
- Trey Powers, Inspiritus
- Twana Roots, Cobb Chamber of Commerce
- Antonio Sherrell, Atlanta Technical College
- Natalie Williams, Atlanta Mission
- Sooraya Williams, YWCA Greater Atlanta
ABOUT LEADERSHIP MAX
Leadership MAX provides an exciting opportunity for workforce developers to grow within the workforce development community and develop into a community of peer leaders who will solve problems together in the years to come. Designed especially for developing leaders in the workforce development field, this cohort-based leadership development program is as an extension and evolution of our commitment to provide high-quality professional development and network-building opportunities for our members. Click here to learn more.
