Speakers

Representative Georganna T. Sinkfield has been a civil servant to the people of Georgia for more than two decades. The South Carolina native earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Tennessee State University and attended Emory University School of Law. Elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1982, from then-District 37 in Atlanta Fulton County.

As the longest-serving woman in the history of the General Assembly, Georganna Sinkfield has been a voice for Georgians for nearly 30 years. She chaired the Committee on Children and Youth for 14 years. She also chaired the Subcommittee of Appropriations on Human Development, which had the responsibility to oversee the budgets of the departments of Human Resources, Juvenile Justice, Medicaid and Medicare.

Leona Barr-Davenport  is President & CEO of the Atlanta Business League (ABL), Atlanta’s oldest minority business development and advocacy organization. As President, she works with the board of directors to provide increased access to business opportunities for minorities with specific emphasis on the development of businesses owned or operated by African-Americans. Her background combines more than twenty-five (25) years experience in the areas of customer service, program development,organizational management & fundraising for associations and youth oriented programs.

Mayor Donna Pittman      Doraville, Georgia

A native of DeKalb County and a 25 year resident of Doraville, Donna Pittman was elected to complete the term of the late Mayor Ray Jenkins in a Special Election Run-Off held July 19, 2011. Previously, Mayor Pittman served as Mayor Pro Tem for four years, including a three month stint as Acting Mayor (February – May 2011) in the wake of Mayor Jenkins’ death. Prior to being elected mayor, Pittman served on the City Council for six years. She was initially appointed to replace retiring District One Councilman Thurman Roach in January 2005. Later that fall, she was re-elected and again in November 2009. Mayor Pittman will seek reelection in November 2011. With four children, Mayor Pittman is married to Winston Pittman, a businessman and former Marine. She is a former officer of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, and in her last assignment she served as a Community Relations Officer.

Bettieanne Hart 

Former Judge and Deputy District Attorney, Fulton County & CEO  Bettieanne Childers Hart, Attorney at Law, LLC

Bettieanne Childers Hart recently retired as a Deputy District Attorney, a  member of the executive staff of  Fulton County District Attorney, Paul L. Howard, Jr. ,  for more than 13years.. She was responsible for supervision and management of the appellate attorneys;   post-conviction appeals; oral arguments at Georgia Supreme Court  and Court of Appeals; and serves as legislative liaison for the office.  She currently serves as CEO of the law firm of  Bettieanne Childers Hart, Attorney at Law, LLC where she specializes in Appellate and Probate Law.  She is also a certified Mediator and Arbitrator. Hart is currently Chair of the Board of Interfaith Childrens Movement, a statewide advocacy and training organization which seeks to engage members of faith communities to be the voice for  children in advocating for strong public policies for children in education, health, juvenile justice and community care at both state and national levels. In 1995, she was appointed Superior Court Judge in the Augusta Judicial Superior Court  by the governor making her the first and only African-American woman Superior Court Judge outside the Atlanta metro area. Prior to this appointment, she was elected to two terms in the Georgia General Assembly as  a State House Representative from a Burke-Richmond County district.

Stormy Wellington is definitely a rising star in the multi-level marketing industry, generating an income of over $2 million dollars in 24-months… Wellington is a woman who is driven and lives by her abiding faith in God and conducts herself with style and grace. She has trained a worldwide organization with a success team of over 100, 000 people, while breaking every organizational record. She recently made a multi-million dollar decision to partner with Organo Gold in the healthier coffee industry.

Wellington is known as a strategist and strategic thinker. She is a millionaire coach that takes professionals and non- professionals from a five-figure income to a six-figure income in 6 to 12 months! She lives by the creed that “Faith is Power.” With Organo Gold she mentors and coach independent distributors and provides them with the necessary skills to move through different levels of success.

PRECIOUS ANDERSON SCOTT

Precious Anderson Scott Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer of The Anderson Firm, LLC

Harvard graduate and Entertainment Attorney Precious Anderson Scott is the Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer of The Anderson Firm, LLC. As a deal lawyer and civil litigator, Attorney Anderson Scott represents clients in business, entertainment and certain civil litigation matters. Prior to starting The Anderson Firm, LLC, Ms. Anderson Scott worked as an associate with King & Spalding, LLP and as a partner with Hopewell, Jackson & Anderson Moore. Her experience also includes co-executive producing “Kingdom Comedy” and working as an intern for King & Spalding, Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan, National Public Radio, Gannett News Service (USA Today) and The late Governor Lawton Chiles Press Office in Tallahassee, Florida. Ms. Anderson Scott’s entertainment experience also extends to projects she produces for A Precious Production, LLC.

Dr. Teresa Hairston

Founder & Publisher, Gospel Today and  Founder & Chair, Gospel Heritage Foundation

You may know her as the founder and publisher of Gospel Today or as the host of the Gospel Today TV Show; or, maybe you’ve heard her on the “The Light” Radio Network. What you may not know about Teresa Hairston, however, is that back in 1989, as a divorced mother of three small children, all she was able to scrape together to invest in her “dream” of becoming a publisher was $300. That’s it. She had $300, three small children, no husband and a dream.

Today, Gospel Today Magazine is a reality, and is the most respected Urban Christian lifestyle publication in existence.  GT is a fixture among progressive ministries and Christians who want inspiring reading material.

Renee Knorr

Fashion & Beauty Director of The 19th Hole Magazine

Renee Knorr is a producer, fashion director, model, mother,  mentor,  author and humanitarian is the Founder and CEO of Knorr Enterprises, a P.R. Social Marketing & Entertainment Firm, and the Fashion Director of Events for the 19th Hole Magazine, a golf fashion and lifestyle publication. Knorr is proud of her community charity work, which allows her to share her story of perseverance in the face of adversity, and life experiences. She is constantly on the move.  Knorr is the Founder of 100 Girlfriends POWER Network, an international network of richly diverse powerful girlfriends who are women leaders from all walks of life. The vision of 100 Girlfriends POWER Network is to build strong communities through the empowerment of 100 young people. Knorr recently finished her second year with the students of Future Seekers Organization’s annual empowerment program.

Dr. Lei Lewis

Publisher and CEO of Women of Wealth Magazine

CEO & Founder/Executive Producer of the 2011 Global Women Mentoring and Philanthropy Summit featuring the Red Carpet Experience

Dr. Lei Lewis, a non-denominational minister and worldwide speaker is the Publisher and CEO of Women of Wealth Magazine, one of the leading publications on mentoring and philanthropy. She is also the founder and President of 1000 Women Strong Mentoring (WSMI) Global Initiative “Changing The Face Of Wealth through mentoring and philanthropy” and the Executive Producer of America’s Next Woman PowerBroker Reality Show. Dr. Lewis is a graduate of the University Of Georgia Law School. She practiced business and nonprofit law for over 20 years. She has ministered and taught in South Africa, London Paris and Amsterdam. She is positioned to change the face of a nation through her multicultural vision to change the face of wealth through mentoring, empowerment and philanthropy. Dr. Lewis is an international motivational speaker.

ALONIA “Destiny Diva” JERNIGAN

Principal, Dream to Destiny Enterprises

Alonia “Destiny Diva” Jernigan is a woman who wears many hats: Journalist, Author, Preacher/Teacher/Speaker, Entrepreneur, Encourager, Destiny Coach are the most accurate. Alonia is the owner/principal visionary of Dream to Destiny Enterprises, wherein she uses the business skills gained over the past 20 years to help people get from where they are in life to where they want to be. She embodies a wealth of expertise in the areas of written communications, broadcasting (television and radio), public speaking, workshop presentations/training, public relations and ministry. For more than two decades, Alonia has used her awesome gift of communication to garner a distinct reputation as an excellent writer, captivating and witty speaker and challenging teacher/trainer. She is perhaps best known as the President and CEO of The Effective Communicator, a full service corporate communications and professional development company and as the founding publisher of IMANI Magazine. Alonia “Destiny Diva,” Jernigan proudly bears the mantra, “Caring, Communicating and Coaching You to Destiny.”

Miss Phyllis Wallace

Founder & CEO Miss PDW Enterprises, LLC

With over 16 years of human resources (HR) experience for The Coca-Cola Company, Honeywell and IBM, Phyllis has been successful in turning her passion into profits by providing coaching, mentoring and consulting to 100,000+ clients. Prior to leading her Blessings Unlimited Market Place Ministry Phyllis was a Human Resource Director for The Coca-Cola Company. For Miss PDW Enterprises, LLC Phyllis designs interactive classes, seminars and delivers key note speeches. The topics include but are not limited to Personal Branding, The Journey: From Corporate America to Entrepreneur, Customer Service: The Gold Standard and Faith in the Workplace. She has a Master of Science in Labor and Industrial Relations from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Michigan State University.

Sebrena Sumrah-Kelly (not pictured)

Sebrena Sumrah-Kelly is Known as Atlanta’s No1. Networker. A Native of Guyana, South America she and her mother Migrated to the United States in 1985. She is  the Founder and President of The Caribbean and American Business Connections. She is known to many for her dedication and passion for connecting people by forming personal and professional relationships. Her platform teaches people how to effectively network and be the best they can be. Sebrena has been in the Networking marketing industry since 2007 and will give credit to her first business Avon.   Her current Platform THE Caribbean and American Business Connections, was created to bridge business relationships with America and the International community. Her unique style to networking has been viewed by many as something that is needed. The CABC travels to a different community each month to spotlight local businesses and affords her clients an opportunity to network with other people they normally would not have contact with. The CABC platform challenges everyone to Spotlight their business, passion, dreams.

Brandi Harvey    (Founder & Chief Executive Officer)

Brandi Harvey is the Assistant Director for the Steve Harvey Foundation. Since 2003, Brandi has served the needs of people through a number of community outreach programs and initiatives. As a former educator in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Brandi has committed herself to teaching others the importance of striving for excellence in their everyday life. In 2009, Brandi began to shift gears and refocus her goals; thus finding herself back in the world of non-profit. As the Assistant Director of the Steve Harvey Foundation, Brandi oversees programming, assist in fundraising efforts and ensures that the foundation adheres to its mission. Brandi has dedicated her life to teaching women of all ages how to live their best life. She considers herself to be a servant with the sole purpose of better serving humanity. She believes that life is not defined by what you are but, by what you give.

Stormy Wellington is definitely a rising star in the multi-level marketing industry, generating an income of over $2 million dollars in 24-months… Wellington is a woman who is driven and lives by her abiding faith in God and conducts herself with style and grace. She has trained a worldwide organization with a success team of over 100, 000 people, while breaking every organizational record. She recently made a multi-million dollar decision to partner with Organo Gold in the healthier coffee industry.

Wellington is known as a strategist and strategic thinker. She is a millionaire coach that takes professionals and non- professionals from a five-figure income to a six-figure income in 6 to 12 months! She lives by the creed that “Faith is Power.” With Organo Gold she mentors and coach independent distributors and provides them with the necessary skills to move through different levels of success.

Leona Barr-Davenport  is President & CEO of the Atlanta Business League (ABL), Atlanta’s oldest minority business development and advocacy organization. As President, she works with the board of directors to provide increased access to business opportunities for minorities with specific emphasis on the development of businesses owned or operated by African-Americans. Her background combines more than twenty-five (25) years experience in the areas of customer service, program development,organizational management & fundraising for associations and youth oriented programs.

Michael V. Roberts , JD  Chairman & CEO is the classic American entrepreneur. Born to middle class hard working parents, educated in the St. Louis public school system, he worked his way through college and law school to become one of St. Louis’ leading businessmen. Throughout his rise in business, Mr. Roberts maintained a strong commitment to the African-American community from which he came. Locating his headquarters in the heart of this community, his endeavors over the last thirty-five years have created thousands of jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities, raised the level of economic activity and enhanced the quality of life for the African-American community. Mr. Roberts’ broad range of professional knowledge and experience developed as both a business owner and public official (St. Louis Board of Aldermen, 1977-1985) encompasses the application of innovative financing strategies for large public projects, public-private sector development negotiation strategies, and successful management techniques for urban commercial properties. His leadership in the creation of innovative strategies for financing of redevelopment projects propelled the City into a major redevelopment phase that lasted throughout the 1980s.

 

 Representative Alisha Thomas Morgan

A courageous champion for justice, equality and empowering communities, Alisha Thomas Morgan made history at age 23 by becoming the first African-American to serve in the Georgia House of Representatives for Cobb County. Elected to her fifth term in July 2010, winning over 73% of the vote, at age 32 Morgan remains one of the youngest members of the entire Georgia General Assembly. A powerful political voice, inspirational speaker and empowering trainer, Morgan is one of today’s trailblazing architects for change.Morgan has become a statewide leader in the movement for education reform, forging a bipartisan coalition to pass HB 251 in 2009, a bill which empowers parents to access more options within the public school system. In February of 2010, Morgan was selected to participate in a national bi-partisan group of legislators to work under Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and with senior staff at the US Department of Education (DOE) on the reauthorization of “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB). Recently appointed to the National Board of Directors of the Black Alliance of Educational Options (BAEO), Morgan also serves as the national co-chair of the Parent’s Advisory Council of the National Coalition of Public School Options (NCPSO).

 

Prophetess Tapika M. Howard is a prolific writer, teacher, mentor, spiritual counselor and minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as well as Founder of Barren Breaking Ministries in Lithonia, Georgia.  Barren Breaking Ministries was birthed in 2000 out of a desire to destroy both the physical and spiritual barrenness in the lives of God’s people.  It is a ministry ordained by God to birth men and women into a realm of the Spirit that they have never been before by preaching relationship with Jesus Christ and teaching the power of intercession.  The ministry concept is to teach people the importance of spiritual intercourse, conception and delivery:  the three-fold cord that is not easily broken.   Out of this ministry, God began to reveal an even greater work.  Tapika developed the skill to write while working for the United States Senate for 7 years as Project Director and for a private institution in Atlanta, Georgia.  This skill was put into action when Tapika wrote and self-published her first book entitled, “Expect the Supernatural.”

Elder Lily L. Jenkins is the Founder and CEO of Lily Jenkins Ministries and Vice President and Co-Founder of the Purpose Development Institute. Her role is to oversee all Certified Coaches to ensure that they are promoting the basic tenants of Purpose Development in their practices and that all satellite institutes are using training materials that include the basic tenants of the Purpose Development message.A woman with many qualifications, Mrs. Jenkins is a Certified Human Behavior Consultant, Christian Life Coach and the first female Certified Purpose Development Coach. She has over 14 years of teaching experience at all levels including the university level as a Professor.Mrs. Jenkins is a mentor for women, young and old. She spends time coaching her Ladies of Purpose group to help them develop a greater sense of purpose for living. Her transparency is a catalyst for purpose that encourages others to remove their insecurities, break limitations and discover their God given purpose.

SPEAKER’S TESTIMONIES