Gwinnett Chamber Kicks Off 27th Class of Leadership Gwinnett

Class to Be Led by New Leadership and Education Director Lisa Zaken

Duluth, GA- The Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce recently kicked off the 27th class of Leadership Gwinnett which will train Gwinnett’s newest leaders in the business, civic, and cultural communities from August 2011 – May 2012. From the nearly 800 nominations received each year for the nine-month experience, Leadership Gwinnett alumni selected the final group of 40 based on work experience, accomplishments, community involvement, education and other information from their individual applications. The program year is comprised of two overnight retreats, seven one-day symposia covering world class community, infrastructure, economics, education, health & human services, justice and regional relations, as well as monthly study groups and other activities.

“Choosing the class requires balancing the occupations, qualifications and commitment of the candidates to insure a representation that reflects a cross section of the county. The caliber of these applicants makes selection more difficult. Since the class size is limited to 40, many excellent candidates are not chosen on their first nomination. For this reason, we strongly encourage candidates to apply again if not selected,” said Jann Moore, sr. director, public policy and education, Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce.

“Leadership Gwinnett has been a tremendous success for our county. Since the program’s inception in 1985, over 800 alumni have taken their places in our community as decision makers and role models. Leadership graduates can be found in every aspect of Gwinnett business, civic and cultural life,” said Jim Maran, president and CEO, Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce.

This year’s Leadership Gwinnett Class will be led by the Gwinnett Chamber’s new Leadership and Education Director, Lisa Zaken. A 2005 graduate of Leadership Gwinnett, Zaken has devoted many volunteer hours to the Leadership Gwinnett program, including serving as the alumni chair of the communications committee since 2008. Lisa was also the event organizer for the Leadership Gwinnett World Class Community Committee in 2007, co-chair of the Education Day committee in 2006, as well as event organizer for the Education Day Committee in 2005. Zaken was instrumental in the success of the Leadership Gwinnett 25th Anniversary Party last year.

“I look forward to supporting the mission of Leadership Gwinnett – to educate, equip, and engage leaders to serve and strengthen Gwinnett County and the region,” said Zaken. “I am excited about working with the 2011-2012 class who represent a new set of modern leaders affecting positive change in Gwinnett and the region for decades to come.”
The 2011 – 2012 Leadership Gwinnett Class includes:

Ruth Bettandorff, University of Georgia, Gwinnett Campus
Susan Boland Butts, Hi-Hope Service Center, Inc.
Joy Bolt, Georgia Gwinnett College
Kyle Bowen, Development Planning & Engineering, Inc.
Cliff Bray, Westbrook, McGrath, Bridges, Orth & Bray
Melissa Burton, Annandale Village
Kevin Carmichael, Georgia Chamber of Commerce
Brian Carmony, Andersen Tate & Carr, P.C.
Jackson Chang, Golden Seed International Group
Jay Dennard, Gwinnett Medical Center
Samuel Donley, Fifth Third Bank
Dick Goodman, Suwanee City Council
Kristen Griffin, Merial
Stephanie Hills, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Beth Hilscher, Beth S. Hilscher, P.C.
Tom Jackson, Eastside Medical Center
Debbie Kalec, RBC Bank
Laurie Ann Kimbrell, American Red Cross
Dan Kniffen, Drew, Eckl & Farnham
Chris Earnest, E2E Benefit Services, Inc.
Greg Lahatte, Gwinnett County Public Schools
Tim Le, Exit Realty Platinum
P. K. Martin, Hood Insurance Agency, Inc.
Molly McAuliffe, Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology
David McNeill, 4th Strand LLC
Steve Moyers, Gwinnett Technical College
Ron Osterloh, Pond & Company
Jaye Peabody, Covenant Counseling & Family Resource Center
Stephen Pereira, Thompson & Sweeney, P.C.
John Reidy, O’Brien & Gere Engineers, Inc.
Ken Rutherford, Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce
Ed Shaddix, North Gwinnett High School
Kelly Sloan, Georgia United Credit Union
Anne Soutter, Primerica
Richard Steele, Gwinnett County Office of the Tax Commissioner
Alex Villasana, Christos Community Church
Kendra Washington-Bass, Gwinnett County Public Schools
Mark Willis, Georgia School Boards Association
Lisa Winton, Winton Machine Company
Latabia Woodward, Southern Company

Leadership Gwinnett Sustaining Partners, whose generous financial support helps to make the program possible, include Andersen, Tate & Carr, PC; Brand Banking Company, Brand Mortgage Group, Cisco, Georgia Gwinnett College, Gwinnett County Public Schools Foundation, Gwinnett Medical Center Foundation, King & Spalding, and McKenna Long & Aldridge, LLP.

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