– KIMBERLY KLINE DICKENS –
Kimberly Kline Dickens is a highly respected real estate attorney and community leader with over 20 years of experience serving the Atlanta area. As the founder of Kim Kline Law, she has built a reputation grounded in integrity, excellence, and results.
Her practice focuses on commercial and residential real estate, estate planning and probate, and corporate law, where she has successfully guided individuals, families, and businesses through complex legal matters. Kimberly has represented over 200 lenders nationwide, reflecting both her expertise and the trust placed in her counsel.
Kimberly has also demonstrated leadership within her profession, serving on the Board of the Georgia Real Estate Closing Attorneys Association (GRECAA). Passionate about giving back, she established a legal internship program that has mentored high school and college students—many of whom have gone on to become practicing attorneys in their communities.
She founded her firm on the principle that clients should be treated like family, creating a personalized, results-driven approach that fosters lasting relationships and peace of mind.
Driven by purpose, Kimberly is committed to using her legal knowledge to uplift others and strengthen her community. As she often says, “Success is not measured by what you close, but by the doors you open for others.”
– CAROLE HOPSON –
Carole Hopson is a Boeing 737 Captain for United Airlines, based in Newark, NJ.
After a remarkable 20-year career as a journalist and executive, she followed her dream to become a pilot and share her passion with others as a flight instructor, while raising her family.
Walking away from executive-level positions, she went to flight school with gusto and completed flight training at the peak of her corporate accomplishments.
True to her roots as a writer, Carole published her debut novel, A Pair of Wings, based on the life story of pioneer aviatrix Bessie Coleman, the first American to earn a French civilian pilot’s license.
Carole also heads the Jet Black Foundation, dedicated to sending 100 Black women to flight school by the year 2035.
– DR. RYLAND GORE –
Dr. Ryland Gore is a board-certified, fellowship-trained surgeon specializing in breast surgical oncology and practices exclusively at Dream Breast Care Center in Atlanta, Georgia, located in the heart of Buckhead, and serving the entire metropolitan Atlanta area.
In addition to her passion for women’s health and breast care, and devotion to her patients, Dr. Gore brings a wealth of knowledge and breast health and cancer care experience to the medical landscape. She has been voted numerous times as one of Atlanta’s top doctors (Atlanta magazine) and as an Influential Atlantan in Medicine (Modern Luxury Atlanta magazine). She was also named a Top Doctor in 2024 from Memphis magazine. Dr. Gore is a highly sought-after speaker, medical contributor, consultant, and lecturer on breast cancer, breast health, breast cancer disparities, surgical disparities, and other women’s health topics.
Her expertise has opened so many doors and has allowed her to be featured in or contribute to print, radio, and TV media.
– NINA SIMONE MEYERS –
Nina Simone Meyers is a seasoned growth equity investor and strategic leader dedicated to advancing economic opportunities for visionary founders, capital providers, and stewards of capital.
As of 2025, Nina has succeeded her late father as CEO and lead lobbyist of The Meyers Group. Under her leadership, Nina has expanded the breadth of the firm’s offering to include strategic advisory, leveraging her successful tenure as the Lead Growth Equity Investor of Goldman Sachs’ One Million Black Women Initiative. During her tenure at Goldman Sachs, she played a pivotal role in the firm’s One Million Black Women initiative, a $10 billion commitment aimed at closing opportunity gaps for Black women through investments in key sectors such as affordable housing, education, job creation, and access to capital. Having deployed nearly $100mm in her seat, she has led and overseen the execution of transactions across healthcare, education, and financial health. Nina’s investments will impact an estimated 80,000+ Black women.
– LaSHELLE FRANKLIN –
LaShelle Franklin is a dynamic leader, attorney, and changemaker dedicated to expanding opportunities for the next generation. A Cleveland, Ohio native and graduate of the Cleveland School of the Arts, she brings a deep commitment to community and excellence to her work.
She is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Williams-Franklin Foundation (WFF), a national nonprofit supporting students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) through scholarships, mentorship, and career development. Since co-founding WFF in 2014 with her husband, Dwight, the organization has raised nearly $1 million to support HBCU scholars nationwide.
A proud graduate of Howard University, LaShelle has built a distinguished legal career across government, private practice, and nonprofit sectors in Maryland and Washington, D.C., litigating complex family law cases and advocating for underserved communities.
Now leading WFF full-time, she drives strategic growth, cultivates partnerships, and advances initiatives that promote educational equity and economic mobility.
– CHARMAINE BROWN –
Charmaine Brown is a powerhouse strategist, executive coach, speaker, and entrepreneur who has spent nearly three decades helping leaders and organizations turn vision into action and complexity into results. Known for her sharp business insight, dynamic presence, and ability to move people from ideas to execution, Charmaine has built a career at the intersection of leadership, strategy, and transformation.
She is the Founder and President of Connexions Consulting, Inc., a woman-owned management consulting firm based in Michigan that partners with corporations, nonprofits, foundations, and public sector organizations seeking stronger leadership, sharper strategy, and measurable performance. Charmaine helps organizations align purpose with execution through strategic planning, organizational development, leadership effectiveness, and sustainable growth.
Before launching Connexions Consulting in 2015, Charmaine held senior corporate leadership roles, including serving as Head of Diversity & Inclusion.
– COCOA BROWN –
Whenever actress, comedienne, and Screen Actors Guild award nominee Cocoa Brown takes the stage, the world stands still! Brown is undeniably one of the most talented comics and performers of this generation. The Newport News, Virginia native, born Farah Brown, assails her craft with such passion and soul-searching veracity that she claims a stage, the ensuing act is nothing short of a force of nature.
This tour de force audaciously draws from painful reminiscences and hard-knock lessons, bravely weaving humorous tales that uplift, upend, and upgrade everything you thought you knew about comedy. What is it that drives the comic whom female fans nationwide have nicknamed “The Truth” It’s the sheer will of a woman who survived the worst life had to offer and is still standing. Being appropriately dubbed as a “comedy machine gun” by America’s Got Talent judge Sharon Osbourne, she has received numerous awards, including the DC Comedian of the Year after only a short time of stand-up, and was handpicked by the family of Moms Mabley to receive the 2018 Moms Mabley Legacy Award.
– TIFFANY L. HOLLINGER –
Tiffany L. Hollinger is the founder of Astraea Development, a Cleveland-based real estate firm dedicated to purposeful revitalization, workforce housing, and community-centered growth. With more than a decade of experience in real estate investment, property management, and residential redevelopment, Hollinger brings a disciplined, impact-driven approach to projects that align financial sustainability with neighborhood transformation.
Through Astraea, her focus is on strategic reinvestment in emerging corridors and proximity-to-opportunity locations, creating housing that supports the city’s workforce while contributing to long-term economic stability and community vitality.
Her flagship Commercial Real Estate venture, Project Fifteen Hundred (1500 E. 105th Street), represents the firm’s vision in action. The project involves the adaptive reuse of a historic four-story building into five premium residential units designed for medical and academic professionals working near Cleveland’s major healthcare and education institutions.
– DR. SHIRICKA FAIR –
Dr. Shiricka Fair is a visionary mental health strategist, educator, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) whose influence spans industries, communities, and continents. With over two decades of cross-sector leadership across academia, nonprofit systems, clinical practice, and global partnerships, she is redefining how mental wellness, health equity, and workforce development intersect in today’s world.
As Senior Director of Provisions Wellness Solutions, Dr. Fair leads transformative initiatives in executive coaching, leadership development, and culturally responsive program design. Her work equips organizations to prioritize mental wellness as a strategic advantage – strengthening leadership, enhancing performance, and cultivating healthier workplace cultures.
A dynamic community leader, Dr. Fair has created and hosted impactful initiatives such as Beyond The Jersey, focused on suicide prevention and athlete mental wellness, and Barbershop Talks.
– DR. LaDENA BOLTON –
Commissioner Dr. LaDena Bolton—widely known throughout the community as Dr. B—is a dynamic leader, accomplished chemist, and lifelong advocate for equity, safety, and opportunity in DeKalb County. Elected to represent Super District 7 in December 2024, she brings a bold, compassionate, and collaborative approach to governance, grounded in her deep roots in the community where she was raised, is raising her family, and continues to serve. Under her leadership, District 7 has been proudly branded as the district of bee pollinators—a symbol of collective purpose, productivity, and care. Just as pollinators sustain ecosystems, Dr. B’s mission is to cultivate a community where every resident is valued, and every family is healthy, safe, and thriving.
She chairs the Employee Relations & Public Safety Committee, championing constituent services, crisis response, and interdepartmental coordination. Her district motto—“Growing Businesses. Empowering Families”—guides her work to uplift legacy neighborhoods, support small businesses, and expand equitable access to resources.
