Our Mission

Our Mission is to provide leadership on key issues important to economic growth and inclusion for all citizens in the City of Atlanta.

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About

The Atlanta Committee for Progress (ACP), a unique public-private partnership, was founded in 2003 by Mayor Shirley Franklin. The new committee allowed the Mayor to gather input and collaborate with c-suite level business, civic, philanthropic and academic leaders on issues of critical importance to the city.

Today, the ACP includes more than 40 highly-engaged chief executive officers, university presidents and civic leaders who offer expertise in service to Atlanta and its future development under the leadership of Mayor Andre Dickens.

The ACP’s tremendous impact as an organization is due to the unique, execution-oriented partnership between the Mayor and leaders from business, non-profit and academic institutions on the most critical issues facing Atlanta. The organization’s key focus areas have been public sector fiscal accountability; economic development; infrastructure and transportation; K-12 public education; technology and innovation; and culture/quality of life.

Board Leaders

Andre Dickens

Mayor

City of Atlanta

Carol Tomé headshot

2024 Chair

Carol Tomé

CEO

UPS

Colin Connolly headshot

2023 Chair

Colin Connolly

President & CEO

Cousins Properties. Inc.

Ryan Marshall headshot

2022 Chair

Ryan Marshall

President & CEO

PulteGroup, Inc

Alex Taylor headshot

2021 Chair

Alex Taylor

President & CEO

Cox Enterprises, Inc.

Edward Bastian headshot

2020 Chair

Edward Bastian

CEO

Delta Air Lines, Inc.

Doug Hertz headshot

2019 Chair

Doug Hertz

Chairman & CEO

United Distributors

“We’re committed to the success of our city and our mayor, and to expanding opportunity that benefits all our citizens.”

— Larry L. Gellerstedt, III, Former 2019 Chair

“ACP drives results by leveraging the talent and commitment of many of Atlanta’s most respected business, academic and civic leaders.”

— John Dyer, Former 2017 Chair

Members

Claire Lewis Arnold headshot

Claire Lewis Arnold
ACP Treasurer
CEO
Leapfrog Services, Inc.

Arthur M. Blank headshot

Arthur M. Blank
Owner & CEO
Atlanta Falcons

Dr. Brian Blake headshot

Dr. Brian Blake
President
Georgia State University

Raphael Bostic headshot

Raphael Bostic
President & CEO
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Matt Bronfman headshot

Matt Bronfman
CEO
Jamestown

Joylon Bulley headshot

Joylon Bulley
Chief Executive Officer, Americas region,
and Group Transformation Lead, Luxury & Lifestyle for IHG Hotels & Resorts

Dr. Ángel Cabrera headshot

Dr. Ángel Cabrera
President
Georgia Institute of Technology

Helene Gayle headshot

Helene Gayle
President
Spelman College

Kim Greene headshot

Kim Greene
Chairman, President & CEO Georgia Power

Dan Cathy headshot

Dan Cathy
Chairman, President, & CEO
Chick-fil-A, Inc.

Ted Decker headshot

Ted Decker
President & CEO,
The Home Depot

Reade Fahs headshot

Reade Fahs
CEO
National Vision

Greg Fenves headshot

Greg Fenves
President
Emory University

Steve Fisher headshot

Steve Fisher
President & CEO
Novelis

Dr. George T. French Jr. headshot

Dr. George T. French Jr.
President
Clark Atlanta University

James Hannan headshot

James Hannan
Executive Vice President   CEO of Enterprises
Koch Industries, Inc.

Venessa Harrison headshot

Venessa Harrison
President
AT&T Georgia

John Haupert headshot

John Haupert
President & CEO
Grady Health System

Donna Hyland headshot

Donna Hyland
President & CEO
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Paul Judge headshot

Paul Judge
Founder
TechSquare Labs
& Chairman
PinDrop

Jenna Kelly headshot

Jenna Kelly
President, North Georgia Region
Truist

Tim Oliver headshot

Tim Oliver
President and Chief Executive Officer
NCR Atleos

Dimitris Psillakis headshot

Dimitris Psillakis
President and CEO
Mercedes-Benz USA

James Quincey headshot

James Quincey
Chairman & CEO
The Coca-Cola Company

Tony Ressler headshot

Tony Ressler
Principal Owner & Chair of the Board of Directors
Atlanta Hawks

Michael Russell headshot

Michael Russell
CEO
H.J. Russell & Company

Andrew Schlossberg headshot

Andrew Schlossberg
President and CEO
Invesco

David Sewell headshot

David Sewell
CEO
WestRock

Alan Shaw headshot

Alan Shaw
President & CEO
Norfolk Southern

Wendy Stewart headshot

Wendy Stewart
President, Global Commercial Banking
Bank of America

Scott Taylor headshot

Scott Taylor
President & CEO
Carter

Dr. David A. Thomas headshot

Dr. David A. Thomas
President
Morehouse College

David Wilkinson headshot

David Wilkinson
Chief Executive Officer
NCR Voyix

Chris Womack headshot

Chris Womack
Chairman and CEO
Southern Company

Kathy Waller

Executive Director

Kathy Waller is the Executive Director for the Atlanta Committee for Progress. The ACP was founded in 2003 and their mission is to provide leadership on the key issues important to economic growth and inclusion for all citizens in the City of Atlanta. The committee includes more than forty highly engaged chief executive officers, university presidents and civic leaders who offer expertise in service to Atlanta and its future development.

Kathy has over 35 years of broad financial and operational leadership experience within the consumer and retail sectors. She has a proven track record of success in driving transformations, delivering strong financial performance, and forming strong relationships with investors and industry analysts. She has extensive knowledge across all areas of finance, including financial planning, investor relations, M&A, accounting, treasury, and tax. She also serves on several public and private company boards.

Waller retired in March 2019 after 32 years with The Coca-Cola Company where she was the Chief Financial Officer and President, Enabling Services. In these roles, Waller led the company’s global finance, technical and shared services organizations, and represented the company to investors, lenders, and rating agencies. Waller also serves as a Board member for Delta Airlines, CGI Group, Cadence Bancorporation and Beyond Meat.

Waller possesses deep and broad business experience, gained in global leadership roles at one of the world's most iconic brands. As CFO, she led the M&A, Investor Relations, Tax, Treasury, Audit, Account & Controls, Reporting & Analytics, Real Estate and Risk Management sectors of the business. As President of Enabling Services, Waller had responsibility for other key governance areas specifically Global Technical and Integrated Services. The Integrated Services organization provides global operational support in areas of Financial Services, Associate Services and Supplier Services. Among her many accomplishments in these two roles, Waller was instrumental in:

  • Leading a broad effort to transform and modernize Coca-Cola’s finance function, especially modernizing its technology solutions.
  • Creating a vision for finance, one that delivers more standard and simplified processes; and
  • Developing next generation of talent. While transforming the function, Waller always maintained a focus on how to develop leaders at the forefront of her mission.

In addition to her c-suite role, Waller was the founding chair of The Coca-Cola Company’s Women’s Leadership Council.

Along with her public board responsibilities, Waller is a member of the Board of Trustees of Spelman College, The University of Rochester, The Woodruff Arts Center, The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and The Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta. Prior to her retirement she served as Vice Chair of the Advisory Board of Catalyst, a global nonprofit working with some of the world’s most powerful CEOs and leading companies to help build workplaces that work for women.

Waller holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a degree in Business Administration from the University of Rochester and is a Certified Public Accountant.

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Staff

Brittany Edwards headshot

Brittany Edwards
Program Manager
Atlanta Committee for Progress

Sonya Kalara headshot

Sonya Kalara
Business Manager
Atlanta Committee for Progress

Community Collaborators