Rowen Announces Gwinnett Community Advisory Task Force
Thursday, February 25th, 2021
The Rowen Foundation has tapped 18 Gwinnett leaders to serve on its Gwinnett Community Advisory Task Force. The task force is charged with identifying opportunities for Rowen to support, strengthen, and partner with surrounding public, private, and civic stakeholders, and is composed of leaders in business, education, health, faith and community service.
The Advisory Task Force will work with Rowen Foundation staff, governing board and others to ensure that broad community input is secured as the 2,000-acre knowledge community moves deeper into its planning phases.
Mason Ailstock, president of the Rowen Foundation, will serve as the convener of the group.
"A critical priority for the Rowen Foundation is ensuring deep and meaningful community engagement and input as we begin to get more specific in our planning," said Ailstock. "This group of advisors will provide invaluable guidance as we begin the hard work in earnest."
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Task force members include: Nicole Love Hendrickson Chairwoman, Gwinnett Board of Commissioners |
Jasper Watkins Gwinnett County District 3 Commissioner |
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Nikki Merritt Georgia State Senator, District 9 |
Chuck Efstration District 104 Representative, Georgia House of Representatives |
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Sam Park State Representative, Georgia House District 101 |
Marlon Allen Partner, Ramp Marketing LLC |
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Ethel Andersen Partner at Andersen, Tate & Carr, P.C. |
Major Michelle Anglin Commander of Community Affairs Section for Gwinnett County Police Department |
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Everton Blair, Jr. District IV Representative, Chair of the Gwinnett County Board of Education |
Valerie Cadet, PhD Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Bio-Medical Sciences - PCOM Georgia |
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Frederick Dawkins Owner of Frederick C. Dawkins, Esq. |
Melvin Everson Vice President of Economic Development, Continuing Education Department, Gwinnett Technical College |
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Ashish Gandhi Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer, OFS Fiber Optics |
Doug Jenkins 2021 Chairman, Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and Regional Director, Metro North - Georgia Power |
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Santiago Marquez CEO, Latin American Association |
Beverly Paff President, Gwinnett Historical Society |
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Jessica Stewart Community Program Manager, Gwinnett County Government |
Dr. Tyler Yu Dean of School of Business, Georgia Gwinnett College |
“Rowen offers the elements needed to generate unprecedented economic, educational and innovative impacts rooted in the history of the site and the state. But these elements are nothing without the leadership, creativity, rigor, and partnerships to put them to work,” said Sachin Shailendra, chairman of the board of directors of Rowen Foundation. “All aspects of Rowen’s development must be actively and equitably shaped, and we are excited to welcome the Task Force to help guide our approach to actualizing these benefits.”
The Task Force will meet monthly for the next six months, starting in March, to begin work on a final report, which they will share once complete with Rowen Foundation and
the public via Rowen’s website. For more information about the Rowen Foundation and updates regarding the Task Force’s progress, please visit www.rowenlife.com.
Announced in August, Rowen is a knowledge community that will bring together entrepreneurs, researchers and innovators at the intersection of the Atlanta, Athens and Gainesville metropolitan statistical areas. Its programmatic focuses are agriculture, medicine and the environment.
