On May 14, 2026, MAX convened members of the Leadership MAX Class of 2026 for Economic Development Day, presented by Amazon. The day began with welcome remarks from program chairs Jenny Taylor, Chief Mission Officer and Vice President of Career Services for Goodwill of North Georgia, and Kristin Laarhoven, Assistant Commissioner with the Technical College System of Georgia’s Office of Workforce Development. Marion Phillips, Associate Executive Director of Corporate Responsibility at Georgia Power, also offered greetings on behalf of herself and fellow board lead for the day, Breezy Straton, President of Elevate Douglas.
Special thanks to Georgia Power for hosting our class at the Georgia Experience Center. Jennifer Zeller, Director of Strategic Solutions with Georgia Power Economic Development, welcomed the Leadership MAX Class of 2026 and kicked off the day with an engaging overview of economic development, including key trends shaping the future of Georgia’s economy and workforce.
Following Zeller’s session, Samir Abdullahi, Executive Director of Select Fulton, and Brett Lacy, Managing Director of Workforce Solutions with the Atlanta Regional Commission, shared candid perspectives on the growing connection between workforce development and economic development, highlighting how the two increasingly intersect to drive community and regional success.
Throughout the day, class members had the opportunity to connect with some more of Georgia’s leaders in economic development, including:
- Andrew Carnes, Regional Economic Development Manager, Northeast Georgia, Georgia Power
- Asher Dozier, Acting Director of Economic Development, University of Georgia
- Andrew Hickey, Senior Director, Economic Development, Partnership Gwinnett
- Greg King, Associate Vice President for Economic Development, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Patrick Ledford, Economic Development Liaison, Georgia Department of Education
- Randi Mason, Vice President of Economic Development, Decide DeKalb
- Ben McCumber, Assistant Commissioner, Academic Affairs, Technical College System of Georgia
- Brandon Ona, Executive Director, Business Engagement, Technical College System of Georgia, Office of Workforce Development
- Michelle Shaw, Director of Existing Industry and Regional Recruitment, Georgia Department of Economic Development
- Gregg Simon, Senior Vice President of Project and Partner Development, Metro Atlanta Chamber
- Dr. Costas Spirou, Chief Innovation and Entrepreneurial Strategies Officer, University System of Georgia
- Joshua Williams, Vice President of Economic Development, Georgia Piedmont Technical College
The day also featured a special presentation from the team at Georgia AIM (Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing) including Quia Cunningham, Project Director, Stephen Hunte, Technologist and Co-founder of Kitt Labs, and Armelia Cartier, Director of Community Engagement, who shared inights on current and emerging trends in artificial intelligence and economic development. Following the presentation, Georgia AIM colleagues Von Smith, Akura Smith, and Breanna O’Neal showcased AI in action through demonstrations featuring Novo, a robotic dog, as well as immersive AR/VR simulations.
John Werkman, Economic Development Manager with Amazon Web Services (AWS), led the final session of the day, highlighting AWS’s workforce development model and the impact of its partnerships with Southern Crescent Technical College and other organizations in strengthening workforce pipelines.
Taylor concluded the day by facilitating a group exercise focused on how participants can best leverage their CliftonStrengths results to build and strengthen the local partnerships needed to support economic development efforts.
Special thanks to each of the leaders joining us on this day for sharing their time, expertise, and perspectives with our class members and for offering an inside look at how economic development in Georgia is advanced through strong partnerships and collaboration at both the state and local levels.
And a special thank you to Amazon, our Presenting Sponsor, and to program sponsor Goodwill of North Georgia for their support in making this experience possible for our Leadership MAX Class of 2026 members.
If you have not already done so, click here to meet our Leadership MAX Class of 2026!
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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.
