Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta

We’re thrilled to welcome 8 new members to our Board of Directors! Courtney I. Smith is the Senior Vice President of Community Development at PNC Bank. Mr. Smith joined PNC Financial in 2013 and leads the bank’s Community Development efforts for the Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee markets. He has an impressive background as a community development professional with experience in expanding nonprofit capabilities, addressing housing affordability, leading diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, cultivating small business and micro-lending activities, and managing retail and commercial banking activities. He is passionate about minority and small business development, neighborhood revitalization and enjoys promoting financial mobility for all people and businesses. Read more about our full 2024 cohort here: https://lnkd.in/dsZiRXus

We’re thrilled to welcome 8 new members to our Board of Directors! Marissa Ahrens is the Director of Community Engagement for Atlanta United. In 2016, Marissa came on-board to curate the club’s outreach efforts in the community. In this role, Marissa is responsible for the development of the club’s community programming and engagement with the club’s registered supporter groups. In the fall of 2016, Marissa helped launch the present-day Atlanta United Community Fund – the Atlanta United associate led giving committee. The Atlanta United Community Fund has granted over 3 million dollars since its inception to provide free and accessible soccer programming, pitches, and equipment to Georgia’s youth across the state. Read more about our full 2024 cohort here: https://lnkd.in/dsZiRXus

We’re thrilled to welcome 8 new members to our Board of Directors! Ricardo Simon is a Managing Director and Head of Structured Credit Products Origination at Truist, where he brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the financial services industry. In this role, Rico manages three distinct businesses including Asset Based Lending, Equipment Finance, and Working Capital Solutions. Prior to his current role, Rico was the Head of Real Estate Syndicated Finance leading the loan syndication efforts for Truist Bank’s Commercial Real Estate and Real Estate Investment Banking businesses. Rico graduated with a BS in Finance and an MBA from Florida A&M University. He also currently serves on the Governing Board at Woodward Academy, where he currently chairs the Finance Committee and serves on the Executive Committee. Read more about our 2024 cohort here: https://lnkd.in/dNS4-sFV

We’re thrilled to welcome 8 new members to our Board of Directors! Aparna Phatak Shah is the SVP and General Manager of the U.S. Information Solutions Direct to Consumer (D2C) business at Equifax. She joined the D2C business in 2022 and is responsible for driving revenue growth of identity and credit monitoring and lead generation services across digital and call center channels. Aparna joined Equifax in 2009 and has held several roles across the organization including SVP of Strategic Initiatives - responsible for managing business transformation efforts, M&A integrations, and new product introductions - and VP in Marketing - with roles in product innovation and strategic pricing. Prior to Equifax, Aparna was a management consultant in Strategy and Operations at Deloitte. She has her MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and a Mechanical Engineering degree from Georgia Institute of Technology.  Read more about our full 2024 cohort here: https://lnkd.in/dsZiRXus

We’re thrilled to welcome 8 new members to our Board of Directors! Brooks McElyea, CPA is a Partner at Ernst & Young, LLP in the Atlanta office. With nearly 20 years of experience in professional services, Brooks has worked extensively with some of the market's largest accounts, helping them identify ways to transform finance from a compliance function into a significant value driver. He has a strong interest in leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance finance operations, streamline data analysis, and improve compliance processes, facilitating more strategic and value-driven management approaches. Brooks’s expertise in managing dynamic situations and complex regulatory responsibilities in a global environment makes him a valuable asset to any organization. Read more about our full 2024 cohort here: https://lnkd.in/dsZiRXus

We’re thrilled to welcome 8 new members to our Board of Directors! Susanne Hall is Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc. (UNITED). Founded in 1902 and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Coca-Cola UNITED is among the largest bottlers and distributors of Coke products in the U.S. Hall leads sales and marketing, revenue growth, planning and analytics, as well as digital and E-commerce. She previously served as Vice President of Coca-Cola UNITED’s West Region. Hall also served as Senior Vice President of Region Sales and Operations at Coca-Cola Refreshments, where she was responsible for sales and field operations in 22 states along the East Coast and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Hall has been with the Coca-Cola System since 1996 and is a graduate of the University of New Orleans, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting. Read more about our full 2024 cohort here: https://lnkd.in/dsZiRXus

We’re thrilled to welcome 8 new members to our Board of Directors! Temano Shurland is a Life Sciences and Health Care Principal (Partner) within Deloitte and is the US Healthcare Finance Transformation Leader. He serves Deloitte’s largest and most complex clients within the Healthcare and Life Sciences industry. He has more than 20 years of progressive finance transformation lifecycle experience and provides thought leadership and strategic advice to Chief Financial Officers, Chief Accounting Officers, and their finance and controllership functions.Temano has advised clients across a broad range of operational issues within the accounting and finance space focusing on helping them find and provide value that effectively positions the finance function to better serve their key stakeholders through process, technology, and/or organization and talent transformation. Read more about our full 2024 cohort here: https://lnkd.in/dsZiRXus

We’re thrilled to welcome 8 new members to our Board of Directors! Renee Pearson (GVP & CTO at Rollins, Inc.) is a business technology executive with experience leading teams, cultivating change, and executing strategies to achieve business and enterprise goals. She is a transformational leader consistently sought out to define and execute first-of-a-kind practices, teams, and projects enterprise-wide, including multi-year digital transformation efforts. Over the course of her career, she has held leadership positions at Kimberly-Clark, Georgia Pacific, and Republic National Distributing Company.  In her current role, she manages Rollins IT spanning Data & Analytics, Application Development, M&A /Technology Integration, Technology Transformation, Infrastructure, and Business Relationship Management.  She is engaged in the Atlanta community through various board engagements and an advocate and mentor for women in technology.  Read more about our full 2024 cohort here: https://lnkd.in/dNS4-sFV

#TBT This time last week, BGCMA attended Boys & Girls Clubs of America's 3rd Summit for America’s Youth in Washington, D.C. Teens from our Douglas County Club had the opportunity to meet with representatives from the offices of Rep. Hank Johnson, Sen. Jon Ossoff, and Sen. Raphael Warnock to discuss mental health and gun violence issues. #YouthVoice #SAY2024 💙 Special THANK YOU to our chaperones Greg Banister and Lauren Odom! 💙

🎉 Celebrating a LEGACY of IMPACT at the 3rd Annual BGCMA Staff Symposium! 🎉 Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta staff came together to celebrate the end of the program year and get energized for the new school year. This year's theme was LEGACY OF IMPACT, and the event was a true testament to the incredible work our team does every day. 🌟Here are some highlights: 🌟 🏴 We kicked off with a Legacy Walk, where Club directors proudly carried flags representing all 27 sites in order of establishment – from our Joseph B. Whitehead Club (1948) to our KIPP Soul Club (opening August 2024)! 🔊 Remarks! Our President & CEO David Jernigan delivered a State of the Organization address, our CEO Culture Council led a discussion on revamping our core values, and our Board Chair Larry Patrick left us full of inspiration. 💙 We honored 11 BGCMA legends (Sarah Berry-Rabun, Missy Dugan, Lee Fox, Claire Guitton, Patricia “Ms. Pat” Jackson, Jenkins Ronnie, David Kazanowski, Mike Miller, Terry Neal Nelson, Eric Osborne, and Ruth Osborne), who have made a significant impact on our Movement, surprising them with $1,000 scholarships named in their honor for graduating seniors. 🎭 Staff and Club member performances had the crowd literally dancing in the aisles and snapping their fingers. 🎙️The "TIM TALK" with our Trustee Chair Sam Johnson and immediate past Trustee Chair Tim Tassopoulos was filled with wisdom & humor. {In case you didn’t know … After 46 years of service, Tim recently retired as President and COO of Chick-fil-A Restaurants; his vision has led to the establishment of The Tassopoulos Centers for Innovation & Excellence – thanks to a generous gift from Chick-fil-A. We’re launching the centers this fall at our Harland Club to amplify our staff's onboarding experience and foster a culture of innovation and excellence.} A special shout out to the Staff Symposium committee (Kimberlie Milton, Ruben Lamar Royster, Dami Saliu, Jalon Edwards, Lawtoinette Faison, MBA, LE, Lauren Odom, Whitney Brown, Vincent Blake, Christin Jackson, Brittany Dunn, Greg Bannister, Alexandria Weeks, Brandon Farmer, Roshunnia Dennis, Marlon Montgomery and Shernā "Dr. Nae" Phillips, Ph.D.) for their hard work and dedication in making this event a success. The week continues with the Youth Development Summit training for all Club staff. #BGCMA #LegacyOfImpact #YouthDevelopment #Leadership #Community