Board Members

Sandra Font is the Spanish Language Services Operations Manager for CredAbility, formerly known as Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta and owner of The EuroBoutique.com an on-line business specializing in European children’s clothes. Previously Ms. Font worked from 1997 – 2008 for the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GHCC) serving as its Chief Operating Officer and Vice President and most recently as Interim President. During her tenure at the GHCC, Ms. Font established long-term relationships with top tier business executives and government leaders at the local, state, and national levels. Ms. Font is very involved in community service. Currently she is a board member of the Better Business Bureau Foundation of Metro Atlanta, board member of Women Looking Ahead magazine and serves on the Fulton/DeKalb Local Advisory Board of BB&T. She is a past board member of the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council and the Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee, District 4 of the State Bar of Georgia.

In June 2008, Ms. Font was recognized by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of the 100 most influential people in Atlanta, and in the same month, received the 2008 Woman of the Year award by Woman Looking Ahead Magazine. She has Co-Chaired the Atlanta Latino Business Series of Latin Magazine, and is a graduate of Regional Leadership Institute 2006 and Leadership Atlanta 2008.

Sandra was born and raised in Lloret de Mar (next to Barcelona), Spain where she graduated from college with a degree in Business Administration. She has also resided in a number of different countries including England, Germany and Holland where she learned to speak the languages. Currently Ms. Font resides in the Atlanta area and is married with two children.

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Judge Adams earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia State University in 1981 in the area of Criminal Justice and a law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1983.

Judge Adams made history when he was elected to the Superior Court of the Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit on July 20, 2004 by running unopposed for an open seat. On April 10, 2007, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to re-name the new 40 million dollar juvenile court, the “Gregory A. Adams Juvenile Justice Center”; thereby making him the first judge to have a building named in his honor in the history of DeKalb County which was founded in 1822.

Prior to becoming a Superior Court Judge, he served as the Chief Judge of the DeKalb County Juvenile Court for ten years. As a result of Judge Adams’ work he was honored in 2005 with a portrait hung in the DeKalb County Juvenile Court; thereby making him the first African-American jurist in DeKalb County to have a portrait displayed in a county building.

Judge Adams was the first person who has served both as the president of the DeKalb Lawyers Association and as president of the DeKalb Bar Association. Judge Adams was the first African American to be elected as president of the DeKalb Bar Association, which was the second largest bar association in the state of Georgia.

Judge Adams is former chairman of Leadership DeKalb and a graduate of The National Judicial College.

Judge Adams was a member of the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court's Commission on Professionalism (1994 - 1997) and has served as a member of the advisory board for the Junior League of Decatur since 2001.

Judge Adams is a member of the Decatur Rotary Club and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

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Delores Crowell is a resident of Atlanta, Georgia and has been District Manager for Regulatory and External Affairs at AT&T - formerly BellSouth since 2001. In her position at AT&T, Ms. Crowell manages corporate and regulatory affairs in the city of Atlanta and in DeKalb, Henry and Rockdale Counties. Preceding her position as District Manager, Ms. Crowell served as Sales Operations Manager for BellSouth as well as Product Marketing Manager, including Network Solution Sales. Prior to her association with BellSouth, she managed the Office of Diversity for AT&T which included the development and implementation of Diversity and HR Programs supporting over 34,000 employees.

Ms. Crowell currently chairs the DeKalb Workforce Development Youth Council and is the former chair and president of the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce. She is also involved in the Rockdale, Henry and Lithonia Chambers of Commerce and currently an instructor in the Lifeskills/Job Readiness Program for the DeKalb Department of Corrections. Since 1993, Ms. Crowell has served on the Board for the South African Missions Enterprise Organization. She graduated from State University College of New York at Buffalo with a BS Degree in Sociology; she is also a graduate of Leadership Georgia, Leadership DeKalb and the Regional Leadership Institute.

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Susan Eckert, Ph.D. is a resident of Atlanta, Georgia and is retired from Emory University where she served as Senior Associate Dean for Administration at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. Dr. Eckert’s responsibilities included the oversight of the School's administrative infrastructure and served as Chief Financial Officer representing the School on finance and research administration committees in the University.

Prior positions included, serving as Assistant Dean and Director of Business and Finance for the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and as Administrator for Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology. She also held the position of Director of Human Resources Administration at Georgia State University's College of Education.

Dr. Eckert is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Atlanta, the American Sociological Association, the American Association of University Administrators and the Kappa Delta Pi International Education Honor Society. Dr. Eckert also writes a bi-monthly column, "Scientists at Work" for Science Magazine: Next Wave, an on-line career development newsletter of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is also co-author, with Dr. Jeremy Boss, of the book, Academic Scientists at Work: Navigating the Biomedical Research Career, (Springer, 2003) which is now in its second printing. She received her Doctorate Degree in Higher Education Policy from Georgia State University.

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Roberta L. Hall is a consultant with the Georgia Department of Labor. Previously Ms. Hall was Executive Director of DeKalb Workforce Development.

Ms. Hall is a graduate of the Class of 2007 Leadership DeKalb and received the 2007 Susan B. Owens Award from Leadership DeKalb for her trademark “School is My First Job!” program. She also received a 2005 award for Women Who Change City Government from the City of Atlanta and a 2007 Honorary Chair Award for DeKalb County Rape Crisis Center. Ms. Hall received her Associate of Science in Business Administration from Shorter College.

Ms. Hall’s community affiliations include, DeKalb County United Way Advisory Board, Georgia Governor’s Office for Career Academy Network Board, Georgia Energy and Industrial Consortium Board, DeKalb Literacy Council and Georgia’s Innovation Crescent Committee.

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Jack Manning holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Hampton University in Virginia and a Masters of Business Administration in Finance and Financial Accounting from Wayne State University in Michigan. For the majority of his career, Mr. Manning worked for the General Motors Corporation, including serving as Director of the Cost Analysis Section in 1988, as Director of Finance and Administration for North America, Director of Finance for the GM Card, Director of Employee/Supplier Purchase Programs and most recently served as Comptroller for the Doraville Assembly Plant until his retirement. Mr. Manning is past-chairman for the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management's Corporate Advisory Board, a member of the National Black MBA Association, a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and past board member of the Pontiac Cultural Council and CYERA House for battered women and children.

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Tim Melvin is past CEO of Rockdale Career Academy in Conyers, GA. Mr. Melvin is a veteran educator and led the Career Academy since its opening in 2005 and through its positive growth of over eighteen technical majors and 1300 high school students. Prior to moving to the Career Academy, Mr. Melvin served as program leader: Secondary Technical Center and as an Assistant Principal in Garden City, Georgia. Mr. Melvin served as an officer in the U.S. Army from 1984 to 1988. He holds a masters degree and advanced certification in administration and supervision from Georgia Southern University and is currently working on his doctorate degree.

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David Purcell is the Chief Operating Officer of Perimeter Community Improvement Districts. Previously Mr. Purcell was an employee of Georgia Power Company from 1972 until his retirement in 2009 serving most recently as External Manager/Assistant to Region Manager. During his tenure with Georgia Power, Mr. Purcell served as Marketing Representative, Senior Marketing Representative, Residential Marketing and Outdoor Lighting Supervisor and District Accounting Manager. Mr. Purcell's responsibilities included working in areas of education, economic development, state legislative network, county and city government liaison, environment and philanthropy on behalf of Georgia Power.

Mr. Purcell has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from Piedmont College. Current active community involvement includes the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce where he has served as past board chair, DeKalb Partners in Education Foundation serving as past board chair, Senior Connections board chair, and the United Way Advisory Board. Past board activities include the DeKalb Rape Crisis Center, DeKalb History Center, American Cancer Society, Neighborhood Playhouse, American Heart Association, and as "loaned executive to DeKalb County" to serve for one year as Economic Development Director for the County. Special studies include training in Speaking, Public Presentation, Marketing, Critical Thinking, Organizational Dynamics, and Certification to teach Heating/Air-Conditioning/Ventilation.

Mr. Purcell is married with two daughters and two grandchildren.

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Teri Rogers has recently joined the board. Biographical information will be coming soon.

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Jerry Silvio resides in Covington, Georgia and is President of Silvio Development Company, a design/build construction company for industrial and commercial development. Previously Mr. Silvio was with Pattillo Construction Company from 1973 until 2007, where he was Vice President - Southeast and was responsible for directing all leasing, sales, and community development activities in Georgia. He is a member of the Georgia Economic Developers Association, the Newton and DeKalb County Economic Development Councils and the DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce. He also served as a former president of the Rotary Club of Stone Mountain and is an Alumni of Leadership DeKalb, Class of 1988. Mr. Silvio is a board member for the First Nation Bank and a member of the Japan America Society and the German American Chamber of Commerce. He received his M.B.A. in Finance from Georgia State University and is an Honor Graduate of the United States Marine Corps, Paris Island.

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Aaron Varner is a lifelong resident of Newton County and served as Chairman of the Newton County Board of Commissioners from 2001 to 2008. Mr. Varner also serves as a board member of the Community Service Board, Northeast Regional Development Council, Newton County Board of Health, Newton County Development Authority, and the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia Board of Managers. Mr. Varner served in Vietnam, receiving several accolades, including a Bronze Star. He is a graduate of DeKalb Technical College and the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government as well as the Academy of Leadership of the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia, the Certified Commissioners Advanced Program, and Leadership Newton County.

Mr. Varner and his wife Ann have two children and three grandchildren.

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A Commissioner from Morgan County District 4, Ms. Warren has been an active Morgan County resident and cattle farmer for 28 years. She is Treasurer of the Madison-Morgan Conservancy and the Morgan County Cattlemen’s Association; member of the Board of Trustees of the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center for the past ten years; past Chair and current member of the Morgan County Board of Equalization for the past 12 years; member and past Board Member of the Morgan County Humane Society; member of the Chamber of Commerce, serving on the Agribusiness Committee. Among her many distinctions, Ms. Warren received the FFA 1999 Honorary Member Award, her family was named Farm Family of the year in 2004, and she was a 1996 Olympic Torch Bearer. She was also Chair of Leadership Morgan County, and served on the Future Land Use Plan Steering Committee. Ms. Warren received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Tennessee. She retired from Delta Air Lines after 33 years of service. She is a member of the Pennington United Methodist Church.

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