On August 13, 2026, MAX convened members of the Leadership MAX Class of 2026 for Employer Engagement Day, presented by Amazon, bringing together workforce leaders and employer partners for a day focused on employer engagement, workplace needs, and regional talent connections. The learning day was hosted by Ferrovial Construction, with support from Cintra, and included featured remarks, employer and provider discussions, job-shadow reflections, and a leadership development session.
The day opened with a welcome from Class of 2026 chair Jenny Taylor, Chief Missions Officer and Vice President of Career Services at Goodwill of North Georgia. Taylor thanked Stella Vargas, Director of Diversity Contract Compliance with Ferrovial Construction, for hosting the class and Jean Leier, Community Affairs Director with Cintra, for her partnership in bringing the day to life. She then introduced opening featured speaker Dr. Eloisa Klementich, President and CEO of Invest Atlanta, and presented her with a MAX Award recognizing her foundational role on the steering committee that launched MAX in 2014. Dr. Klementich shared how Invest Atlanta builds and maintains strong partnerships with employers of all sizes and highlighted the latest companies choosing to call Atlanta home.
The day continued with a fireside chat hosted by Abe Heller, National Director of Sales at First Step Staffing, featuring Tammy Gomez, Talent Acquisition Manager at Toyo Tires, and Hannah Shaw, HR Manager at Ferrovial Construction. Gomez and Shaw shared candid insights on what employers look for in their workforce provider partners. The Class of 2026 also heard from a provider panel moderated by Angelia O’Neal, Founder and CEO of MWI Workforce Institute and a Class of 2025 alumnus. Panelists Lisa Brown, Regional Manager of Employment Services at Goodwill of North Georgia; Vermell Hill, Founder of STEM Institute; and Joe Paolini, Vice President of Business Services at Bobby Dodd Institute (BDI), shared best practices for building stronger connections between workforce providers and employers.
The Class of 2026 later shared reflections from their job-shadow experiences in a session led by Class of 2026 co-chair Kristin Laarhoven, Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Workforce Development with the Technical College System of Georgia. As part of the Leadership MAX experience, each class member arranged to shadow two or more leaders in the Atlanta region over the summer. These shadow days exposed class members to new experiences in the world of workforce development. Class members described their job shadow experiences, reflected on the leadership qualities they observed, and shared what they learned and how the experience will influence their future. They also praised the meaningful experiences they had with members of the MAX Board of Directors, Leadership MAX alumni, Leadership MAX speakers, and others who hosted class members for a job shadowing day.
The day was capped with a dynamic session based on the book “Impact with Integrity” by Becky Margiotta and led by Dr. Adrian Epps, Chief Strategist & Senior Partner, EPPIC Innovative Solutions, LLC and Former Dean and Professor, Bagwell College of Education at Kennesaw State University. Epps led class members in a time of personal reflection and heart-felt dialogue as they considered their “essence” and how they are impacting those around them.
Heartfelt thanks to our MAX Board Leads for Employer Engagement Day, Dr. Theresa Austin-Gibbons, Commissioner with the Atlanta Department of Labor and Employment Services, and Joe Paolini, Vice President of Business Services with Bobby Dodd Institute (BDI), for creating a wonderful Leadership MAX experience for our Class of 2026.
We also appreciate Leadership MAX alum Jahari Soward-Weaver, CEO of NPursuit Career Partners, for joining us, along with Angelia O’Neal, to spend meaningful time engaging with our class members.
As always, a huge shout-out to Amazon for serving as our Presenting Sponsor and to Goodwill of North Georgia for serving as a Program Sponsor for the Leadership MAX Class of 2026. We are also grateful to Ferrovial Construction and Cintra for sponsoring Employer Engagement Day.
We appreciate the commitment of each of these leaders and organizations to investing in the professional growth and leadership development of our Class of 2026!
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.
