The Center for Civic Innovation (CCI), a coalition of Atlanta’s good troublemakers who are fighting to solve inequality in Atlanta, announced their 2022 Good Trouble Honorees. 

The celebration of some of our city’s brightest stars is scheduled for Thursday, March 31 at 6 p.m. with a “creative black-tie” celebration at the Fox Theatre. CCI will be recognizing the work of community leaders from across Atlanta in the areas of civic engagement, championing equity, innovation in government, and investing in impact. 

More than 300 people leaders in philanthropy, corporate and non-profit will gather at the organization’s first fundraiser since the start of the pandemic. 

“There are so many incredible leaders in Atlanta that are doing the work every day and who are committed to bettering our city and their communities,” said Rohit Malhotra, executive director of CCI. “The Good Trouble Honors honor the values and the voices of Atlanta’s good troublemakers, and I am so proud to know and work with each of them.” 

The event is sold out for in-person attendance, but supporters can purchase a ticket to watch via livestream beginning at 7 p.m. 

CCI’s 2022 Good Trouble Honorees are: 

Civic Engagement: 

• Kiyomi Rollins, The Ke’nekt: The Ke’nekt Cooperative works to bring power to the community by disrupting the capitalistic and racial economic disparities of commercial real estate by creating an economic empowerment ecosystem rooted in shared cooperative beliefs.

• Rosario Hernandez, Historic Westside Garden: The Historic Westside Gardens mission is to advance the wellness of Atlanta’s Westside community through home food gardens, wellness education, health advocacy and economic empowerment.

• Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights: The Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR) educates and organizes the Latino community in Georgia to defend and promote their civil and human rights.

• Championing Equity: 

  • disABILITYLINK: disABILITY LINK, Georgia’s largest Center for Independent Living (CIL) led by and for people with disabilities, provided over 25,000 individual services in 2021 with advocacy, information, resources, and programming designed to support individuals in living in the community of their choice with or without support. 

  • Natasha Harrison, CommunityBuild Ventures: CommunityBuild Ventures is a pro-Black, solutions focused firm committed to eliminating racial disparities by developing powerful, impactful, and racial equity driven leaders and organizations. 

  • Raising Expectations: Raising Expectations provides Atlanta’s youth in crisis with long-term, transformational support focused on high school graduation and post-secondary planning. 

  Innovation in Government: 

  • Hope Wollensack, GRO Fund: The Georgia Resilience & Opportunity (GRO) Fund is exploring bold solutions to racial justice — and engaging community members and policy decision makers to do it.

  • DeKalb Together “Get Vaxxed DeKalb”: This campaign was created to encourage residents to get COVID-19 vaccinations. The community hopes to reach more than 60 percent in the months ahead. The campaign was developed in partnership with MARTA, the DeKalb County Board of Health, Medcura Health and Emory.

  Investing in Impact: 

  • Joey Womack, Goodie Nation: Goodie Nation is a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating the relationship gap that stands in the way of success for far too many promising entrepreneurs, especially those who are people of color, women or are not located in coastal financial centers. 

  • Village Micro Fund: The Village Micro Fund builds economic growth in underserved communities through teaching, investing, and supporting Black entrepreneurs.

  Good Trouble Honor: 

  • Park Cannon, District 58 Representative: Park Cannon, who was first elected at 24 years old, is the Democratic State Representative for Georgia House District 58. She advocates for a variety of issues including housing affordability, healthcare access, reproductive justice, and mobility. 

  • Georgia Chidi, Journalist: George Chidi is a seasoned journalist and a former reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In the rare moments when George is not writing or reporting on crime and politics for The Atlanta Objective, he covers Georgia for The Intercept, hosts public affairs programming for Fox 5 Atlanta and contributes a column to the local publication Decaturish. 

    • Soisette Lumpkin, Friends of the Atlanta Urban Food Forest at Browns Mills Park: Soisette Lumpkin is the organization’s Executive Director, and in her role, she leads the group’s commitment to eliminate hunger by teaching families to become self-sufficient in the Forest service areas.

    CCI Alumnus Honor: 

    • Wande Okunoren-Meadows, Hand Heart and Soul Project: Wande is a 2021 CCI Fellow who was selected for the CCI Alumnus Honor by a community of 100+ alumni and partners. Wande leads the Hand Heart and Soul Project, an organization that serves communities as a 'boots on the ground' organization for healthier kids and families.

    “If we truly care about our city, we have to invest in the people who are on the ground, doing the work,” said Malhotra. “They are our greatest representation of resilience and hope.”