Adam Forrand

Vice President, Education, Talent and Leadership Development
Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce

Adam serves as Vice President of Education, Talent & Leadership Development for the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and Partnership Gwinnett, the chamber’s economic and community development initiative. He represents Gwinnett businesses as a member of the Atlanta Regional Workforce Development Board.

Adam has made contributions to the success of companies that include his own marketing communications agency, a Seattle-based education technology start-up and multinational education companies such as Pearson Learning and McGraw-Hill.

Adam has a bachelor’s in marketing from Stetson University. He resides in Suwanee.

Albert Assad

Founder and Managing Partner
Atlantic Consulting Solutions, LLC

Originally from Los Angeles, Albert has lived in six countries, speaks four languages and holds three master’s degrees (an MBA, a Master’s in Philosophy and a Master’s in Social Responsibility) from universities in Europe and Latin America. He also holds a professional development certificate in strategy and finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Albert has more than 20 years of global consulting experience in management, strategy and finance. He is the founder of a management consulting firm in Atlanta and serves on the board of several nonprofits.

Alex Camardelle

Senior Policy Analyst Economic Mobility
Georgia Budget and Policy Institute

Alex Camardelle is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, where he produces research focused on reducing poverty, improving social services and providing workforce support. He leads the PROSPER Georgia coalition, a statewide network of workforce advocates who champion an inclusive economy.

Prior to joining GBPI in 2018, he worked for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, where he was responsible for strengthening economic opportunity through research, grants and partnerships. Alex serves on the board of Foreverfamily, Inc., a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting youth with incarcerated parents. The Georgia Center for Nonprofits recognized Alex as one of its “30 Under 30” in 2017, and he was named Georgia State University’s 40 under 40 alumni.

Alex holds a master’s in policy analysis & evaluation from Georgia State University, where he is now a Ph.D. candidate studying the participation of youth in federally-funded job training programs.

Gov. Brian P. Kemp

Governor of Georgia

Brian Kemp was elected Georgia’s 83rd governor in November 2018. He earned more votes than any gubernatorial candidate in state history.

Kemp built his first business, a construction company, with a pick-up truck and a shovel. Over 30 years later, he is a successful entrepreneur with businesses and investments in banking, farming, timber, manufacturing and real estate.

As governor, Kemp is fighting to make Georgia #1 for small business through regulatory reform. He has ensured that all parts of our state – including rural Georgia – have opportunities to grow and thrive. Kemp is fundamentally reforming state government, keeping our families safe, and always putting hardworking Georgians first.

Chris Clark

President and CEO
Georgia Chamber of Commerce

A Georgia native, Chris Clark has served as President and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce since 2010. Prior to joining the Georgia Chamber, he served as commissioner for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and as deputy commissioner for the Department of Economic Development.
Chris leads one of the largest chambers of commerce in the country. He is a graduate of Leadership Georgia and has been consistently named one of the most influential people in Atlanta and Georgia.
Chris received his bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University and his master’s degree from Georgia College and State University.

Clara Richardson-Olguin

CEO
CIC Floors

Clara Richardson-Olguin is the CEO of CIC Floors, a one-stop shop that offers quality flooring products and professional installation. She founded CIC Floors with her husband, Cesar, 16 years ago. A lawyer in her native Dominican Republic, Clara immigrated to the U.S. to earn a post-studies in music management at Georgia State University.

Her awards include the 2019 Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce Minority-Owned Small Business Award, 2019 finalist of the Minority Entrepreneur Person of the Year for the Atlanta Business Chronicle and second place in the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Business Accelerator Competition in 2019. In 2016, she was recognized with the Georgia Hispanic Construction Association’ Residential Business award.

Clara is a 10K Small Business Goldman Sachs alum, and a member of the National Association of Women Business Owners, the National Wood Floors Association, the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Professional Women, the Flooring Covering Association and the Georgia Hispanic Construction Association.

CIC Floors is certified Minority Business, Women Business Enterprise and a Georgia Minority Supplier and is certified to do business with the City of Atlanta. Clara has served in many leadership roles in the Atlanta community.

Cynthia Román-Hernández, Ph.D.

Managing Director, Family Stabilization and Well-Being
Latin American Association

Cynthia Román Hernández is Managing Director of the Family Stabilization and Well-Being Department at the LAA. A social worker, Cynthia has worked in different settings, including clinical practice, community organizations, program management and research, in Puerto Rico, New York and Georgia.

Since 2010, Cynthia has served as managing director of the Family Well-Being Department at the LAA. In this role, she supervises case managers and connects families and parents with community resources, serving more than 12,000 families a year. Through direct services that address basic needs, the LAA empowers low-income Latino families to achieve stability and long-term self-sufficiency.

Cynthia is certified by the Academy of Certified Social Workers and is a member of the National Association of Social Workers.

Daniel Acosta

CEO and Founder
Quickly Media

Daniel Acosta is the CEO and founder of Quickly Media. He has a demonstrated history of working in the marketing and advertising industry with small and medium-sized businesses. He is skilled in social media advertisement, lead generation, customer service, corporate branding and conversion strategies.

Daniel studied entrepreneurship at Kennesaw State University’s Michael J. Coles College of Business.

U.S. Rep. Doug Collins

Doug Collins pastored Gainesville’s Chicopee Baptist Church for over a decade before serving the local community as an attorney and the representative for Georgia’s 27th State House District. He is a northeast Georgia native and graduate of the University of North Georgia.

As a U.S. military chaplain, Doug has ministered to service members since 2002. He completed a 2008-2009 deployment to Iraq while stationed at Balad Air Force Base. A lieutenant colonel, Doug remains active in the Air Force Reserve and has represented Georgia’s Ninth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2013.

In the 116th Congress, Doug serves on the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary. In this role, Doug works on a wide breadth of issues, which include fighting to uphold and safeguard the Second Amendment, protecting the lives of unborn children, defending religious liberty and overseeing law enforcement agencies.

Dr. Audrey Arona

CEO and District Health Director
Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale County Health Departments

Dr. Audrey Arona serves as CEO and District Health Director of the Gwinnett, Newton & Rockdale County Health Departments. She has led the largest health district in Georgia, serving 1.3 million individuals, since 2019. Before this role, she served as the district’s medical director, after years of serving as a consultant.

An OB-GYN, Audrey owned a private practice in Lawrenceville for 20 years. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and completed an OB-GYN residency at the University of Southern California.

Gabriel Vaca

Interim President and CEO
Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Gabriel Vaca is the interim President and CEO of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Gabriel has been an integral part of the growth transformation of the GHCC for over 15 years and has held a variety of positions, including chairman of the board.

Gabriel retired in 2018 from UPS International after 24 years and was responsible for consulting and supporting UPS’ largest enterprise customers in their international logistics and global supply chain. Gabriel was an entrepreneur and business owner for 15 years in the areas of international importing, exporting and manufacturing before entering corporate America.

He was born in Mexico City and raised in Washington, D.C., and lives in Roswell.

Ivan Shammas

General Manager
Telemundo Atlanta

Ivan is General Manager and General Sales Manager at Telemundo Atlanta. He oversees local and national advertising sales, local programming, local news, marketing and community affairs initiatives. Ivan has worked in Spanish-language media and in Atlanta’s Hispanic community for more than two decades.

Ivan serves as chair of the board of directors of the GHCC, one of the largest Hispanic chambers in the nation. He also serves on the board of the Atlanta Community Food Bank. He is rolling off the board of the United Way of Greater Atlanta, where he served for the past six years.

In 2020, Ivan was selected as one of Georgia’s 100 Most Influential People by Georgia Trend Magazine.

Jason Esteves

Chair
Board of Education
Atlanta Public Schools

Jason Esteves serves as Chair and at-large representative on the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education. Elected to the board in 2013, he has focused his efforts on promoting equity and improving the financial outlook of the school district, one of the largest in Georgia.

An attorney and former educator, Jason is working to ensure that every child in Atlanta Public Schools obtains an education that prepares them for college and career.

Jason serves as vice president in the legal department at Equifax Inc. He worked as an associate at the law firm of McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP (now Dentons US LLP) after graduating from Emory University School of Law. Jason is a Georgia native.

Joe Dan Banker

Deputy Commissioner for Technical Education and Workforce Development
Technical College System of Georgia

Joe Dan Banker is Deputy Commissioner for Technical Education and Workforce Development at the Technical College System of Georgia, a position he has held since 2019.

Joe was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in psychology, before joining the Navy. He served as an officer in the Navy for over 20 years and was on the faculty at the United States Naval War College.

Before joining the Technical College System of Georgia as executive director for academic affairs, Joe worked for Albany Technical College as director for continuing education and business and industry services, and as dean for academic affairs and then as vice president for academic affairs. He was named assistant commissioner for workforce development for the Technical College System of Georgia in 2018.

Joe moved to Georgia following his retirement as a senior officer of the Navy. He served as the senior naval science instructor and commander of the Naval Junior ROTC unit at Lee County High School, in Leesburg, Georgia.

Jon Ossoff

Jon Ossoff is a Georgia native, media executive and investigative journalist.

In 2012, he took over as the CEO of a multi-Emmy award winning investigative television production company called Insight. Under Jon’s leadership, Insight has produced investigations of war crimes, corruption and human rights abuses around the world.

His team’s recent work includes an award-winning investigation of ISIS war crimes against women and girls in Iraq, an investigation of high-level corruption in international sports that caught a World Cup referee taking bribes and an investigation of atrocities committed by international peacekeeping troops.

Jon is a graduate of Georgetown University and the London School of Economics. He previously worked as a national security aide for Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson.

In 2017, Jon was the Democratic nominee in the Special Election for Georgia’s Sixth District. He entered the race at 29 years old, six weeks after Republican Congressman Tom Price had been re-elected by 24%. It became the biggest Congressional race in American history, which Jon narrowly lost by 3% after mobilizing the strongest Democratic Special Election turnout in over a decade and producing the highest turnout of all time for a stand-alone House Special Election.

With the endorsements of Congressman John Lewis, Congressman Hank Johnson and Georgia State Legislative Black Caucus Chair Rep. Karen Bennett, Ossoff is challenging Senator David Perdue in 2020

Juan Perez

Chief Information and Engineering Officer
UPS

Juan Perez is the Chief Information and Engineering Officer for UPS. He is a member of the UPS Executive Leadership Team and is responsible for all technology and engineering functions. He is the executive advisor for the UPS African American Business Resource Group. Juan currently serves on the board of directors of The Hershey Company.

Juan began his UPS career 30 years ago as an intern. Since then, he has held assignments in operations, industrial engineering, process management and technology in the U.S. and international business units. In his current role, he manages a budget of over $6 billion.

His work with the UPS technology and engineering teams helped develop ORION, the On-road Integrated Optimization and Navigation System that optimizes delivery routes to improve service levels and operational efficiencies. ORION was a major technology accomplishment that changed the delivery and pick-up routing process at UPS. Juan holds 17 issued patents and has another 20 pending patent applications.

Juan is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he received a B.S. in industrial and systems engineering and an M.S. in computer and manufacturing engineering. For seven years, Juan was a lecturer at USC.

Juan was born in Mexico City, the son of Cuban immigrant parents who sacrificed everything to give their children the opportunity for a better life and the hope for freedom.

Kevin Greiner

President and CEO
Gas South

Kevin Greiner has served as President and CEO of Gas South since the company’s founding in 2006. Gas South is one of the Southeast’s largest energy marketers and provides natural gas to over 300,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in competitive markets in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Kevin serves as a volunteer and board member with numerous nonprofits, including the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Select Cobb, the Metro Atlanta Chamber, the Atlanta Opera, Learn4Life and the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education. He will serve as chairman of the YMCA of Metro Atlanta in 2021-22.

Kevin earned an MBA and MS in natural resource policy from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University.

Mariela Romero

Regional Community Empowerment Director
Univision Communications

Mariela Romero is Regional Community Empowerment Director for Univision Communications. She implements the corporate responsibility platforms under the social corporate responsibility property “Contigo.” Romero also develops content for special programs and is the anchor, writer and producer of the regional newsmagazine “Conexión Fin de Semana” in Philadelphia, Atlanta and North Carolina.

Mariela has received 23 Emmy Awards from the Academy of Television Arts, southeast region, and was named one of the most influential Latinos in the state by the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The Latin American Association recognized Mariela in 2019 with the prestigious Olga C. de Goizueta Award.

She is a native of Caracas, Venezuela.

Mónica Cucalón

Managing Director of Economic Empowerment
Latin American Association

Mónica Cucalón is the Managing Director of Economic Empowerment at the LAA. She is a marketing and branding professional with 25 years of experience in the U.S. and Latin America.

Prior to her current role, Monica led the LAA’s Latinas’ Economic Empowerment Program ¡Avanzando Juntas! Monica has worked closely with hundreds of Latina immigrants to capitalize on their interests, skills and talents in their journey of professional growth. Previously, she worked as marketing manager at MundoHispánico, Atlanta’s largest Spanish-language newspaper.

Before moving to the United States in 2010, Monica worked for Unilever and Best Foods International.
Monica has a bachelor’s in business and a master’s in marketing from the Technological Institute of Monterrey, Mexico.

Rev. Raphael Warnock

Reverend Raphael Warnock grew up in Kayton Homes public housing in Savannah. The family was short on money, but long on faith, love and humor. Raphael and his 11 brothers and sisters were taught the meaning of hard work.

Reverend Warnock’s father was a veteran, a small businessman and a preacher. He spent the week hauling old cars to the local steel yard, and on Sundays he preached at a local church. Reverend Warnock’s mother grew up in Waycross, where she spent summers picking tobacco and cotton, and still lives in Savannah today. She worked hard to raise Raphael and his siblings to know that they could do anything they put their mind to.

When he enrolled at Morehouse College, Reverend Warnock didn’t know how he would pay the full tuition. With the help of low-interest student loans and Pell Grants Raphael graduated, earned a Ph.D. and was ordained in the ministry. Fifteen years ago, he was chosen to serve as senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the former pulpit of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was the youngest pastor selected to serve in that leadership role at the historic church.

Reverend Warnock believes his impact does not stop at the church door, and has been an advocate to expand health care coverage and to ensure hardworking Georgians can make a living wage.

As Senator, Reverend Warnock will focus on fighting for quality, affordable health care, for the dignity of working people who are paid too little as our government works more for Wall Street, and to make sure every voice is heard.

Rob LeBeau

Director, WorkSource Atlanta Regional
Atlanta Regional Commission

Rob LeBeau is the Director of WorkSource Atlanta Regional and Manager of the Workforce Solutions Group at the Atlanta Regional Commission. In this role, he also serves as the Director of the Atlanta Regional Workforce Development Board. Rob oversees WorkSource Atlanta Regional, which provides programs and services for dislocated workers, unemployed adults and youth, and businesses with employment needs.

From 2000 to 2015, Rob worked in the Land Use, Government Services and Community Development Divisions at ARC. In roles ranging from principal planner to section manager, Rob was involved in a variety of technical and management functions related to planning, economic competitiveness and leadership development for the 10-county Atlanta region.

Prior to joining ARC, Rob worked in local government and as a consultant focusing on comprehensive planning, zoning and neighborhood redevelopment.

Rob has a Master of Public Administration with emphasis in urban planning from the University of Central Florida and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Santiago Márquez

CEO
Latin American Association

Santiago Márquez is CEO of the Latin American Association. He joined the LAA in July 2020, after serving as president and CEO of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

In 2020, Santiago graduated from the University of Notre Dame, Mendoza School of Business, with a master’s in nonprofit administration, and returned to the LAA as its CEO, a life-long dream. Santiago has been working in the nonprofit sector since 1998 and joined the GHCC in September 2008 as its COO.
Santiago was born in Cuba and came to the United States in 1971. He is a graduate of Georgia State University.

Tania Allen

President and CEO
ItGresa Consulting Group, Inc.

Tania Allen is President and CEO of ItGresa Consulting Group, Inc., a technology company she founded with her personal savings. ItGresa manages technology for governments and small-to-medium businesses, specializing in cybersecurity, cloud, networks, Web development, digital presence and robotics education for children ages 4 to 15. Tania is a technologist and a serial entrepreneur.

Tania was recognized as “Businesswoman of the Year” by the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 2018. In 2020, ItGresa received the #SupplyChainCity Leadership Award. Her company currently holds seven business certifications, including Minority Business Enterprise, Woman Business Enterprise, Women-Owned Small Business and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. Her firm has been awarded partner status by Cisco Systems, Microsoft and Google.

She works with the FBI and law enforcement in a public/private partnership called InfraGard. She is active in the cybersecurity community and volunteers for the Information Systems Security Association and the Information Systems Audit and Control Association.

Tania grew up in Venezuela, where she earned degrees in nursing, IT and digital engineering, and immigrated to the US in 1999.

Willie Rivero

Vice President of Automotive Fleet Maintenance and Engineering, U.S. Operations
UPS

Willie Rivero is Vice President of U.S. Operations for UPS Automotive Fleet Maintenance and Engineering. He has been a UPS senior executive staff member since 2016 and has three decades of experience in the automotive industry.

He leads a team of over 5,000 UPS’ers responsible for maintaining an equipment fleet size of 355,000 power and non-power units, with an annual budget of $1.4 billion for the U.S. domestic fleet maintenance operations.

Willie is the executive advisor for Crecer, the UPS Latino/Hispanic Business Resource Group and serves as vice chair of the board of directors of the Latin American Association.

He is a graduate of Bellevue University, where he received an MBA and a master’s degree in business management.