Theme: Would that work here?

Many of today's most pressing issues have been tackled before in other parts of the state, country and world. How did others respond when faced with adversity? What did they discover from the experience? How did they move forward? We can all learn so much from hearing how other people and communities responded to the problems of our time. We just need to still ourselves, listen and ask, "Would that work here?" Our thought leaders will share their stories and start the conversation. Join us.

Savoy Automobile Museum
3 Savoy Lane
Cartersville, Georgia, 30120
United States

Aimee Copeland

Director of Aimee Copeland Foundation, All Terrain Georgia, and Grant Park Counseling Group

Aimee Copeland, LCSW, MA, CCTP, CHT, RYT is a psychotherapist, activist, registered yoga instructor, competitive swimmer, and executive director of Grant Park Counseling Group, Asheville Center for Inner Healing and Aimee Copeland Foundation. Copeland contracted flesh-eating bacteria at a tragic ziplining accident that ultimately led to quadruple amputations. She went on to complete dual masters degrees in psychology and social work. Copeland served as an intern at a top 10 rehabilitation hospital where she used her experience and training to teach others to cope with life changing circumstances and thrive. Shortly after her injury, Copeland launched All Terrain Georgia to bridge the gap between nature and accessibility. Copeland is the Chief Executive Officer of Grant Park Counseling Group in Atlanta, GA and the Center for Inner Healing in Asheville, NC and practices psychotherapy as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Amanda Reed Myers

President and CEO Live4It Community/Chief Strategy Officer for HealthOne and Alliant Health Plans

Amanda Reed Myers is the former Chief Operating Officer and current Chief Strategy Officer for HealthOne Alliance, Alliant Health Plans, and Serventy Insurance. She is also the President and Chief Executive Officer of Live4It Community, a non-profit 501(c)3. Amanda earned her B.S. in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill's Kenan Flagler Business School. She has been Rotary Club of Dalton's President (2019-2020), executive leadership member for the American Heart Association's Dalton Heart Ball, board member of the Community Foundation of NW Georgia, executive board member at the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce (Chair 2022-2023). For 10+ years, she was Chairman of Rotary's Charlie Bowen Service Above Self Program which recognizes 5th Graders for their selfless service. In addition, Amanda has been trained on community resilience with the goal of increasing awareness about the correlation between stress and trauma and short/long-term health status.

Anne Quatrano

Restauranteur/Chef

Anne is the Chef/Owner of Bacchanalia, Star Provisions, Floataway Café, and W.H. Stiles Fish Camp. She has helped steer the trajectory of Atlanta’s dining scene for more than two decades by pioneering a simple principle—she was one of the city’s first chefs to showcase local ingredients prepared with precision and presented artfully. Quatrano is a graduate of the University of Vermont and San Francisco’s California Culinary Academy and her career has taken her through fine dining establishments from the Bay Area to New York City before she relocated to Atlanta. She has won numerous James Beard nominations and awards, including “Best Chef Southeast” in 2003. She is currently a Director on the Board for the James Beard Foundation, Chairman of the JBF Awards Committee and has served on the Board of Directors for Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, and Georgia Organics, as well as on various committees for the James Beard Foundation and Southern Foodways Alliance.

Carol Cain

Storyteller Carol Cain is from a big family and a small town, which both give her plenty to talk about. She told stories in her classroom until her retirement last summer, after thirty years of teaching language arts and theatre arts with the Troup County School System in LaGrange, Georgia. In addition to being her school system’s Teacher of the Year for 2000, Carol was named a top five finalist for Georgia’s 2001 Teacher of the Year. She has been a member of the Azalea Storytelling Festival planning committee since the festival’s inception in 1997. She has been the emcee of the Azalea Festival for the past eleven years and was a featured teller in 2015 and 2022. In addition to her work at museums, schools, churches, senior centers, and libraries throughout the Southeast, Carol performed at the 2011 Timpanogos Storytelling Festival in Orem, Utah. She is featured on the Donald Davis workshop video entitled “What's Your Story?” which has been broadcast on both BYU-TV and North Carolina Public Broadcasting. More recently, Carol portrayed Captain Nancy Hill Morgan, organizer of a female Civil War militia, in a documentary called “The Nancy Hart Militia: Women of Uncommon Courage” which debuted on Georgia Public Broadcasting. For the past twenty-eight years, Carol has performed as Rosie the Riveter at the Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia and other locations throughout the U.S.

Jackie Killings

Innovator/Strategic Planner/Consultant

Jackie is co-founder of K & M Technologies – a technology and innovation scouting firm that connects entrepreneurs and start-ups with established corporations. She is also the founder and President of Khensani Business Advisors – an organizational management and training firm that helps organizations unlock their potential and be better versions of themselves. Jackie is a High Energy Disruptive Innovator, Strategic Planner, Learning Enthusiast and Master Connector of Innovation. She is passionate about discovering and nurturing innovations that will disrupt traditional industries. She works with small organizations, university researchers and entrepreneurs to advise them on strategic and technical direction and to assist them with building relationships with larger corporations. Jackie received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University and her MBA from Kennesaw State University.

Jenna Ellett

Jenna Ellett is a Senior Analyst at Cloudmed, but she's also a Naturalist at the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell where she: • Acts as the main Chattahoochee Nature Center representative during scheduled weekend times. • Works as the liaison between Facilities, Wildlife, Discovery Center, Community Programs and any other divisions to ensure programs are running smoothly throughout the day including staffing and logistics. • Develops new educational and interactive programs. • Acts as main point of contact for any issues/emergencies that arise. • Promotes the mission of the Chattahoochee Nature Center: Connecting People with Nature.

John Stephens

Vice President, Consumer Strategy Shaw Industries

John Stephens is vice president of consumer strategy for the residential division of Shaw Industries, a global flooring provider and pioneer in Cradle to Cradle® design. Immersed in commercial and residential spaces throughout his 30-year career, John is focused on the impact of the spaces around us on our lives and creating thoughtful, sustainable, human-centric solutions for people and the planet. What Shaw calls sustain[HUMAN]ability®. John has been active in the International Interior Design Association and served on the Shaw Corporate Diversity and Inclusion Council. In his current role, John is responsible for developing a consumer-centric and future-focused marketing strategy, including developing and executing innovative consumer experiences.

Josh Rifkind

Musician/Executive Director of Songs for Kids Foundation

Josh founded the non-profit organization, Songs For Kids, in 2007 during his career as a music manager. As the executive director, Josh oversees a team that typically performs both with and for over 17,000 hospitalized children across the country throughout the year, while providing year round music mentorship for kids with disabilities, injuries, and illnesses at the Songs For Kids Center in Atlanta, GA. At the Center, kids and young adults can take any musical journey they dream with their mentors, at no cost to their families. Songs For Kids was born out of his "day job" managing a band and being a musician himself, his father's life as a trauma surgeon, and the desire to rock out while bringing people together. Josh has been featured on CBS This Morning and as one of People Magazine's "Heroes Among Us."

Larry Stevens

Larry Stevens served as a U.S. Army counterintelligence agent in West Berlin before becoming a Public Relations Manager at BellSouth in Atlanta. Today, he is a beloved interpretive naturalist for the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of the South and also studied professional writing at Kennesaw State University.

Lauretta Hannon

Author/Blogger/Podcaster/Foundation Director

Named the “Funniest Woman in Georgia” by Southern Living Magazine, Lauretta Hannon is the bestselling author of The Cracker Queen–A Memoir of a Jagged, Joyful Life (Gotham Books, Penguin) and has been a commentator on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, where her stories have reached 25 million listeners. Her memoir was named “One of the Top 25 Books All Georgians Should Read” by the Georgia Center for the Book. A documentary about her story, Raised in the South of Normal, captured numerous awards at film festivals across the country. In 2018 she was selected to be a faculty member at the prestigious Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop at The University of Dayton. Lauretta mentors and teaches writers and others and is a shameless promoter of joy and wonder. She blogs and podcasts at laurettahannon.com. By day she serves as executive director of the Georgia Northwestern Technical College Foundation.

Lisa Russell

Author/Instructor/Academic Assistant Dean

Lisa M. Russell is a writer, instructor, and academic assistant dean. She writes micro-history books about “lost things.” She supports regional historical societies. She guested on several local television/radio programs and podcasts, including the History channel. Russell earned her Master of Arts degree in professional writing (MAPW) from Kennesaw State University. The MAPW awarded Lisa the 2020 Distinguished Alumnus Award. Lisa teaches English full-time at Georgia Northwestern Technical College, where she serves as the Assistant Dean of Dual Enrollment. She is a part-time professor of communication at Kennesaw State University. In her “spare time,” you can find Lisa exploring North Georgia with her micro-historic lens to discover her next “lost” story. She is currently writing two more books about lost Georgia history.

Marc Feuerbach

Educator

Dr. Marc Feuerbach understands the transformative power of education and is committed to serving the students, staff, and local community as superintendent of Cartersville City Schools. A lifelong educator, Marc's career has taken him from the classroom to the superintendent’s office. Marc obtained his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Florida, his master’s degree from Kennesaw State University, his specialist degree from Georgia College and State University, and his doctorate from Valdosta State University. An avid fan of leadership-focused material and experiences, Marc enjoyed his participation in Leadership Bartow in 2020. Currently he serves on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and will serve as the Chamber of Commerce Chair in 2023. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Advocates for Children. Marc received the 2022 President's Award from the Georgia School Superintendents Association, of which he has been a member for four years.

Ryan Gravel

Urban Thinker/Designer/Author/Entrepreneur

Ryan Gravel is an urban thinker, designer, author, and builder – an entrepreneur working on ideas about the future of cities. Best known for his master’s thesis and early work that launched the Atlanta Beltline, Ryan’s work centers on strategies for change that advance a broad, inclusive vision for communities. He was the lead creator of the Atlanta City Design, which designs the city’s inevitable change so that it grows into a better version of itself. And along with other projects at Sixpitch and his book, Where We Want to Live, Ryan investigates the cultural side of infrastructure, describing how its intimate relationship with our way of life can illuminate a brighter path forward for cities. Connect with Ryan via www.ryangravel.com or on social media at @ryangravel (Twitter and Instagram).