Twenty five established young professionals have been selected to participate in the inaugural program of Leadership DeKalb’s Emerging Leaders of DeKalb Class of 2017.

As Leadership DeKalb embraces its 30th year, the organization is excited to explore a new pipeline of talented leaders and to develop the next generation of emerging leaders in DeKalb County.

The Emerging Leaders of DeKalb program chairs are Leadership DeKalb Alumni Joel Alvarado ‘03, Director of Community Outreach and Engagement, Georgia Piedmont Technical College and newly elected DeKalb County Solicitor General, Donna Stribling ’15.

“The ELD is about the young professionals realizing that they too have a voice, and they too have an opportunity to be a forceful change. I think it’s visionary that Leadership DeKalb is looking to expand opportunities for people to take on the mantle of leadership,” said Joel Alvarado.

Inaugural Members of the Class of 2017 includes:

Rashidah Bahar, Manager- Technology Initiatives, Special Projects & Policy, DeKalb County School District

Mercedes Ball, Attorney, DeKalb County Child Advocacy Center

Angela Chambliss, IT Project Manager, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Telvin Debnam, Executive Director, A+ Squash

Cheryl Foster, City Administrator, City of Lithonia

Brian Gaither, Assistant Solicitor General, Office of the DeKalb Co. Solicitor General

Laurin Garner, Senior Admin to Superintendent, Atlanta Public Schools

Vaughn Gay, Asst. Director of Counseling Services, Morehouse School of Medicine

James Hammond, Managing Partner, Ikon Filmworks LLC

Brad Hill, Information Systems Security Analyst. Karna LLC

Davisha Johnson, CEO , D.L. Johnson Consulting Agency LLC

Nadia Jones, Executive Director, Atlanta First Day School

Monique Keane, Owner and Managing Attorney, The Keane Firm, LLC

David Kendrick, Community Caller Team Manager, CoStar Group

Johnathan Lewis, Master Police Officer, DeKalb County Police Department

Brittany Marshall, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Evaluation Fellow, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Munir Meghjani, Investment Associate, Sands Investment Group

Brianna Rindge, Senior Planner, City of Doraville

Natalie Simpson, Project Manager, Metro Atlanta Chamber

Renee Skeete, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Research Fellow, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Daniella Singleton, Resource Development Coordinator, Habitat for Humanity-DeKalb

Holly Smith, Elections Training Coordinator, Georgia Secretary of State

Danielle Walker, VP of Operations, Image360 Tucker

Ashley Wright, District Director, Commissioner Gregory Adams District 7

Kate Zelenka, Marketing Communications Professional, Jackson Spalding