The Board of Directors of Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative is pleased to announce its strategic direction for the next three years.

“We are clear this is an ambitious, bold and unapologetically race explicit roadmap guiding our future to Black economic liberation,” says Board Chair and Co-Founder Janelle Williams of its recent strategic planning effort.

The Board engaged Blaze Leadership to reassess what community wealth building means for Atlanta’s Black communities in the wake of the recent pandemic. An exhaustive interview and research process confirmed a need for concrete outcomes on the ground in Atlanta and a broader awareness campaign that reaches far beyond its borders.

The next phase includes the continuation of the 1000 Black Business campaign, and the unveiling of new work. The Black Community Wealth Network and Advisory Council, The Black Community Wealth Fund, and The Black Community Wealth Institute are the guiding bodies of work outlined in the plan.

“We want to use Atlanta’s greatest strengths – a conducive startup environment for entrepreneurs and a rich civil rights legacy – to combat what I believe to be its greatest embarrassment – the staggering gap that remains between the haves and the have-nots. The solution is not easy, but it is doable. I believe, we are the city that can make it happen and become an example for the country,” says Williams.

As the organization embarks on the next chapter, its first Executive Director, Latresa McLawhorn Ryan, has decided to step down. The board will begin the search for a new leader in July. Ryan, who came in just weeks before the pandemic, stewarded the organization through this difficult time. Kim Anderson, former nonprofit executive and co-founder of Chrysalis Lab, will serve as Interim Executive Director.

AWBI’s first chair and co-founder, Tene Traylor, reflected on the organization’s unprecedented first two years. “We are deeply appreciative of Latresa’s leadership over the past two years. She led us during a time we could not have predicted. She responded with grace and urgency. We wish her well in her next endeavors. With new and renewed commitments from community, public, private and philanthropic partners, AWBI is continuing to scale the focus on collective and cooperative economic success and power for Black communities."