FORT MAC LRA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Atlanta Beltline Affordable Housing Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Atlanta Beltline Affordable Housing Advisory Board
- Literary Festival - Board Member and Interim Director
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Executive Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer at T. Dallas Smith & Company
- Senior Real Estate Executive
Audra is a senior real estate executive who transitioned into tenant representation following a 23-year career in telecommunications including time with BellSouth and Earthlink. She performed in several management roles, including call center management, marketing, product management and national special projects.
Audra is currently the Executive Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer at T. Dallas Smith & Company. She is the firms first female executive in the firm's history. Audra is committed to diversifying the commercial real estate industry mentoring and coaching young people in the CRE industry. Audra is on the board of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Midtown Alliance, Council for Quality Growth and the CoreNet Atlanta Chapter. She enjoys golf, reading, travel and spending time with her family.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Founder and Chairman of Capital Fortitude Business Advisors
Cassius F. Butts, the founder and chairman of Capital Fortitude Business Advisors, was previously the regional administrator of Region IV for the U.S. Small Business Administration. Butts was also a presidential management fellow with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He recently completed a two-year appointment as an executive in residence at Georgia State University's J. Mack Robinson College of Business. Butts is a graduate of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Emory University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Technology Specialist
- Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc
Cathleen Richardson has been a pioneer educational technology specialist for over 25+ years. She has worn many hats from being a classroom educator to currently spearheading 2 $100 million dollar national Community Education & Racial Equity and Justice initiatives at Apple. She understands the current educational landscape and has her finger on the pulse of the future of education. Informing and conversing daily with policy-makers, elected-officials, superintendents, collegiate presidents, non-profit organizations, and the public-at-large, Cathleen strives to achieve best practice technology infusion into teaching and learning with high energy.
When she is at home in Atlanta, Georgia she enjoys her personal affiliations. Cathleen is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. - Nu Lambda Omega Chapter and the Atlanta Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. She is very active in her local community and was recognized as Fulton County School District's Volunteer of the Year. Cathleen is a proud parent of three children and she enjoys traveling, fashion, decorating, arts and crafts, and entertaining.
CeCe Ross is the Asset and Property Manager for McPherson Implementing Local Redevelopment Authority (Fort Mac LRA). As the Asset and Property Manager for Fort Mac LRA, CeCe keeps the property secure, the grounds maintained and the buildings operational. CeCe has been a RE ALTOR® at RE/MAX for over 15 years and has sold properties all over the Atlanta-Metropolitan area. She is an Associate Broker and a member of the Cobb County Board of Realtors and earned designations as a COPE and SFR.
Courtney English believes in leaving thing better than he found him. An Atlanta native, English was the youngest person to hold city-wide office in Atlanta's history, first elected to the Atlanta Board of Education at age 24. In 2014 at age 28, he was elected unanimously by his colleagues to serve as that board's chairman-the youngest in the history of the school system. During his tenure in the board, he raised teacher pay, increased classroom spending, increased the graduation rate from 51% to a record high of 79%, and sent more students off to college.
English is a pioneer in building partnerships and creating solutions. Raised in Atlanta's West End, he readily credits his mom for his community-driven spirit. Her unconditional love and exemplary work ethic serve as guideposts in helping him develop others, young people, and emerging leaders alike. Courtney English is a devoted husband to his wife Kelly, who is better than he is at pretty much everything.
Mr. Burt is an urban planning and real estate professional with over twenty years of experience in matters related to real estate market analysis, economic development, and commercial and residential property development. He has diverse experience in both the public and private sectors with a strong background in downtown redevelopment efforts. He has created financial pro formas and investor packages for multiple mixed-use and adaptive re-use projects throughout the Southeast managed the development of commercial and residential properties and provided real estate market analysis for local governments as part of the planning process.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Senior Advisor
Ernestine Garey, senior advisor to the CEO of the Atlanta Housing Authority and former vice president and COO of Invest Atlanta. Garey is the president emeritus of the board of directors for the National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies and the chairman of the board for the Diabetes Association of Atlanta. She sits on the board for HomeFirst Community Oversight and the boards of directors for the Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. and Atlanta Emerging Markets Inc. Garey is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta.
Laurel Hart joined Georgia based Columbia Residential's executive team as the vice president of asset management and preservation in 2019. In this position, Laurel is responsible for leadership, strategy and implementation of the firm's economic, physical and operational sustainability across its portfolio, which includes 7,500 affordable and mixed-income apartments. Prior to joining Columbia, Laurel served as the Director of the Housing Finance and Development Division at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Founder and CEO of Quest Community Development Organization, Inc
Leonard L. Adams, Jr., is the Founder and CEO of Quest Community Development Organization, Inc.; a GA based 501c3 non-profit organization. Mr. Adams is a true visionary taking this once grassroots organization starting with $30,000.00 to an annual operating budget of $4.5M, with $39M in current assets and securing over $100M in gov't grants and subsidy support for affordable housing under his leadership.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Fulton County Commissioner
Fulton County Commissioner Liz Hausmann. Hausmann also is the vice chair of the Atlanta/Fulton County Water Resources Commission. Hausmann is a member of the House Commission on Transit Governance and Funding, the Governor's Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and the Atlanta Regional Commission's Community Resources Committee. She sits on the WellStar North Fulton Regional Health Board, the board of directors for the Fulton Education Foundation the Fulton County Retirement Board.
Hausmann is a graduate of the Regional Leadership Institute. She has two children and two grandchildren. Hausmann resides in Johns Creek.
Marvin Arrington, Jr. Esq., serves Fulton County as Commissioner of its new District 5, which encompasses largely unincorporated Fulton County, East Point, East Atlanta and small parts of Union City and College Park. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Mr. Arrington is a renowned "Super" lawyer with over 15 years of litigation and judicial process. The son of Marvin Arrington, Sr., retired Fulton County Superior Court Justice, and Marilyn Arrington, a retired educator; Mr. Arrington adheres to a strong creed of community service and empowerment.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Atlanta Board of Education
Job Titles:
- Member of the Atlanta Beltline Affordable Housing Advisory Board
- Income Housing Coalition - Member / Urban Land Institute - Member
A native of Atlanta, Nick Hess graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in computer science. At Tech, he started volunteering with The Mad Housers, an Atlanta nonprofit known for building and giving away individual shelters to the homeless as an act of harm reduction. He wound up leading the organization for fifteen years, stepping down when he was elected chair of Neighborhood Planning Unit ‘S', covering the neighborhoods of Oakland City, Venetian Hills, Cascade, Bush Mountain, and Fort McPherson.
Job Titles:
- Director of Real Estate Development
James R. Hayley, better known to the Atlanta Community as "Pete Hayley", began his tenure as Program Management Consultant in 2015 for the McPherson Implementing Local Redevelopment Authority (Fort Mac LRA) at Fort McPherson, a 486 acre former military base closed by the Federal Government in 2004. Pete's responsibility is to over-see the planning and development of approximately 123 acres remaining after the sale of 332 acres to the Tyler Perry Studios. At Fort Mac, Pete marries his love for real estate development with community revitalization, economic development and a natural gift for community engagement and consensus building.
Pete began his illustrious career as a Sales Manager and later, Associate Broker for a local real estate company where he managed operations, bought and sold residential properties and assessed, trained and monitored staff productivity. Several years later, Pete opened his own company, Real Estate Specialists Network (RESN) where he negotiated contracts for commercial and residential real estate sales and leasing, and acquired properties for public and private use. He managed the negotiations of acquisition contracts on behalf of the State of Georgia and facilitated the physical relocation of impacted residents for the Georgia Dome Project. He also managed land assemblage required for Olympic facilities and relocation of affected residents for the Metropolitan Atlanta Olympic Games Authority (MAOGA).
In 1996, Pete joined the staff of the Atlanta Economic Development Corporation, now known as Invest Atlanta. There he assisted the inner city neighborhoods of Atlanta with implementing economic development visions for their respective communities and creating strategies for public/private partnerships. He also assisted with commercial development strategies and worked with neighborhood community corporations to redevelop neighborhood residential units. While at AEDC he served as Project Manager for the Historic Westside Village, a $140 million dollar mixed use development, bringing the first major grocery store to the location. Pete also worked with the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) to create plans for transit oriented development initiatives, marketed the City of Atlanta to attract new businesses to commercial corridors and assisted with the expansion of an existing Tax Allocation District (TAD) and the creation of a new TAD.
In 2002, Pete was recruited to lead the University Community Development Corporation, (UCDC) that provided support to the historically Black Colleges and Universities of the Atlanta University Center. As Executive Director, he managed daily operations and developed and implemented plans to revitalize the communities that surrounded the Atlanta University campus. During his thirteen year tenure, he interacted with local community groups and the Neighborhood Planning Units (NPU), serving as liaison to government officials and agencies. Under his leadership UCDC constructed and rehabbed $10.6 million in single family housing and multi-family developments. Pete was responsible for land acquisition, design standards, financial pro-formas and construction management. In addition, Pete managed economic development initiatives, e.g., business recruitment, job creation and small business development for the residents of the communities around the Atlanta University Center area.
Over the course of his career, Pete worked as a consultant to DJ Miller and Associates providing management and technical assistance to SBA 8a minority contractors in an eight state region under the SBA 7J program, including the development of business plans, marketing plans and budget and financial strategies. He also assisted with the certification of minority business for participation in the MBE/WBE programs for Raleigh/Durham and Washington National Airports.
Pete is a graduate of Georgia State University with a BA in Business Administration and Marketing. He is also a graduate of Leadership Atlanta and the Regional Leadership Institute, a certified Mediator and holds certifications from the International Economic Developers Council, (Certified Economic Developer, C.ED) and the National Development Council (Certified Economic Development in Finance).
Pete's civic affiliations include: Past President of The Atlanta Housing and Neighborhood Developers, BB&T Community Reinvestment Steering Committee, First Congregational Church Board of Trustees, First Church Community Development Corporation, Past Chair of the Fulton County Hospital authority and Past Co-Chair of the Neighborhood Planning Unit I.
Job Titles:
- Controller
- Senior Business Consultant for International Profit Associates
Robert Mosby joined McPherson Implementing Local Redevelopment Authority (Fort Mac LRA) in September 2015 and serves the Fort Mac Project in the planning and development of the former military base closed by the Federal Government in 2004, as its Senior Staff Accountant. Robert brings years of quality professional tax, bookkeeping, accounting and consulting services to the overall business community in this capacity by increasing net profits for the program and implementing critical processes and fraud analysis.
Sandra Tennyson is Executive Assistant to the Executive Director of Fort Mac LRA. She joined the Authority in April 2008. Some of her responsibilities include providing direct support to the executive director and providing confidential executive level coordinating support to Fort Mac LRA's Board of Directors. She maintains the calendar for the executive director, prepares agendas, minutes and confidential material for board books. She manages and prioritizes multiple tasks, answers the phone, and arranges travel plans for the all managerial staff and board members.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Principal of Rhoades Strategies Consulting
Sondra Rhoades Johnson is Principal of Rhoades Strategies Consulting, having previously we've in an array of roles ranging from Fulton Conty Tax Commissioner, Georgia Technology Authority's Chief Planning Officer for IT Strategic Planning, CEO of the St Croix Valley Girl Scout Council to Executive Director of the Georgia Council for the Hearing Impaired. Sondra has served on numerous boards and currently serves on the AARP GA Executive Council, President of the East Point AARP Chapter, and Executive Committee of the Magnolia Chapter of the Links, Inc.
Thomas is a husband, small business owner, community activist and former elected city council member who has served on numerous local, regional, and statewide boards. He believes service to others increases the vibrancy of life and the community at large.
Job Titles:
- Project Coordinator
- Real Estate Agent With Virtual Properties Realty
Tracey Upshaw is responsible for supporting the LRA team by organizing, coordinating and executing projects. Prior to joining the LRA team in March of 2018, she was the Project Coordinator for each of Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms' campaigns from 2004 through 2018. While in the Political arena, she also managed Political Call Centers. Tracey was a manager at American Tele Network for 10 years. She studied Early Childhood Development at Clayton State University and currently is a certified Fitness Instructor, Dance Leader at DFMI International and a member of the Women of Society (Cobb Chapter).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Principal With YTH
Mr. Hughley is proud to have earned his BA degree from Morehouse College. He also has earned three executive certificates from Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government. There he received extensive training in: State, Local Government and Not for Profit Management, Strengthening Families in Communities and Achieving Excellence in Community Development. Young also completed a 3-year internship with the Association of Theatrical Press agents and Managers. The professional management union for legitimate theater and professional performances.
Young Hughley is a principal with YTH and Associates. The focus of which is: consulting with peers, professional and grassroots leadership in organizational development, affordable housing, art and community engagement for positive change and growth.