Atlanta Regional Commission Board Chairman Andre Dickens made officer and committee appointments for 2024 and outlined a regional agenda for the year ahead.

The meeting marked Dickens’ first as ARC Board Chair after being unanimously elected by his fellow ARC Board members last November. Dickens is the first City of Atlanta Mayor to serve in this capacity in ARC’s 53-year history.

The officer and committee appointments made by Chair Dickens are as follows:

• ARC Officers:

  • Vice Chair – Michael Caldwell (Mayor, City of Woodstock)

  • Secretary –Alfred John (Chair, Forsyth County Commission)

  • Treasurer – Nicole Hendrickson (Chair, Gwinnett County Commission)

• Governance Committee: Chair – Andre Dickens (Mayor, City of Atlanta), Vice Chair – Michael Caldwell

• Budget and Audit Review Subcommittee: Chair – Nicole Hendrickson; Vice Chair – Steve Stancil (Citizen Member District 15)

• Ethics Committee: Chair – Alfred John; Vice Chair – Lisa Cupid (Chair, Cobb County Commission)

• Pension Board of Trustees: Chair – Andre Dickens, Chair; Vice Chair – Michael Caldwell

• Strategic Relations Subcommittee: Chair – Amol Naik (Citizen Member District 4); Vice Chair – Rusty Paul (Mayor, Sandy Springs)

• Advisory Committee on Aging: Co–Chair – Mike Mason (Mayor, Peachtree Corners); Co-Chair – Govind Hariharan (non-ARC member)

• Atlanta Regional Workforce Development Board: Co–Chair – Sara Ray (Citizen Member District 5; Co-Chair – Randy Hayes (non-ARC member)

• Community Resources Committee: Chair – Patti Garret (Mayor, City of Decatur); Vice Chair – Jeff Turner (Chair, Clayton County Commission)

• Transportation & Air Quality Committee: Chair – Carlotta Harrell (Chair, Henry County Commission); Vice-Chair – Harry Johnston (Chair, Cherokee County Commission)

• Urban Area Security Initiative/Senior Policy Group: Chair – Andre Dickens; Vice Chair – Lisa Cupid

“I am honored to collaborate with this group of dynamic and talented leaders and the entire ARC board to build a better, brighter future for all residents in the Atlanta region,” Chairman Dickens said. “We have a busy year ahead of us. I’m excited to roll up my sleeves and get started.”

During the meeting, Dickens previewed the year ahead for ARC and outlined upcoming events and several regional priorities for his two-year term as Chairman. These include:

• Reconnecting the Region: Work with ARC staff and local governments to best position the Atlanta region to win major federal infrastructure grants by adopting a unifying theme of ‘reconnecting the region’ in applications.

• Emergency Preparedness Funding: Seek an increase in emergency preparedness funding that the Atlanta region receives from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, through the Urban Area Security Initiative, or UASI.

• Health Care Access: Address the vast disparities in ambulance response times for communities across the region, particularly in the South Metro area.

The 41-member ARC Board consists of the county commission chair from each of the 11 member counties, the mayor and a council member from the city of Atlanta, and a mayor from each of the 11 counties with the exception of Fulton, which has two mayoral representatives, one from North Fulton and one from South Fulton. The board also includes 15 citizen members selected by the board’s elected officials and a representative from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.